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DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh
This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan. Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanzu River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanzu River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger! 
Each Shinkenger posses a small “folding-spirit” known as an Origami, which have been passed down from generation to generation. Each Origami is an embodiment of its owner and will follow only his or her command. Their small size allows them to spy on Gedoushuu activity or act as distractions. Through the use of both mojikara and specifically-designed Secret Discs, a Shinkenger can command their Origami to perform special maneuvers or even grow to giant size to combat the second lives of an Ayakashi monster! 
The Shishi, Ryuu, Kuma, Saru, and Kame Origami belong to the core Shinkenger team. Each has a dormant Emblem Mode, which displays the kanji symbol of the specific Shinkenger that controls them. Shishi Origami kanji: fire (火)
Ryuu Origami kanji: water (水)
Kame Origami kanji: heaven/sky (天)
Kuma Origami kanji: wood (木)
Saru Origami kanji: earth (土)
When instructed to, they can unfold themselves into Animal Mode, and act independently/sound like the animals they physically appear as. All are able to fly, though when grown to giant size, only the Ryuu and Kame Origami can still fly (the others become land-bound except for attacks and special maneuvers). Shishi Origami (lion) 
Ryuu Origami (dragon) 
Kame Origami (turtle) 
Kuma Origami (bear) 
Saru Origami (monkey) 
Though intelligent on their own, when the Origami grow to giant size through the use of the Henshin Keitai Shodou Phones and mojikara- “Origami dai-henge” (great change) kanji: big (大) -they are boarded by their respective Shinkenger for more-direct control in battle. They can also modify their forms as needed, converting back to a larger version of their Emblem Mode for escape or special attacks.
For the toys, both the Emblem and Animal Modes are at 1/1-scale with how they appear in their smaller forms in the series. (Shrinking/enlarging mecha is rare [thus-far] in the Super Sentai Series, and so to have them in-scale is extra special. Only the living-mecha Engines from 2008’s “Engine Sentai Go-Onger” had their toys in 1/1-scale, which could later grow to gigantic proportions in the series.) Samurai Gattai 
This is what happens when a gattai is performed incorrectly- without mojikara… kanji: unite (合) 
“Shinken-Oh, united under Providence!” 
Shinken-Oh’s primary weapon is the DaiShinken katana sword. (The blade is hollow PVC, the rest is ABS.) 
Notice the simple-shaped Origami that appears on the blade… 
The Hiden Shield (essentially a giant Secret Disc) is normally stored on its back. (This was also true for real samurai in ancient times.) 
It can be placed on the side of the left arm… 
…or it can be held in either hand, usually the left. 
For the toy, the Hiden Shield can be removed from its base… 
…and placed onto the Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru. Thus, the Shield becomes the Shinkenger’s own Shield Disc- which is used to activate the Shinken-Oh’s finisher, the DaiShinken Samurai Slash.
The loss of poseability on the separate Origami is no big issue since smaller Super Sentai mecha usually get such treatment anyways. Poseability has never been a strong point in DX-sized mecha, and this one is no different. In this toy- if it moves, it is needed for a transformation only. The exceptions are the jaws of the Shishi, Ryuu, and Kuma Origami, and the shoulders of the combo. In combined form, it is only the shoulders that are dedicated to posing. What does irritate me, though, is the kanji symbols in Emblem Mode- they only appear on one side of the figure rather than both sides. While this is countered a little by the presence of smaller patterned shapes molded into the black surfaces, there is no such black surface on the back of the Shishi Origami- just a mass of folded-up parts. One thing to note that is different from the series is the golden crown on the helmet- it is closed on the toy, whereas in the series there is a gap between the two horns. I seriously doubt this was changed for safety reasons, and was more likely for stability of the plastic used. A returning flaw is really annoying- it cannot hold the full length of the grip of the DaiShinken in the right hand since it is closed on the other side of the fist. One must remember, though, that Bandai and Toei like using puns and play-on-words in their naming of items, mecha, and monsters- Origami (in this case, “folding spirit/god”) is meant to be a homonym of the word origami (“folding paper”). Thus, you need to look at the mecha here not just as more transformable mecha, but as folding and twisting and bending in the same way as the ancient Japanese paper craft. When you can see it that way, the value (or rather, the unusually-high price) of the DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh becomes clearer. Submitted by EVA_Unit_4A on 23 October, 2009 - 20:54.  Thank you! Die-cast content has been lacking for some years now- more-or-less since 2002 for "Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger"; and 2003's "Power Rangers Ninja Storm" didn't have any at all in the zords since it was all replaced with plastic. In place of this, they've been using more shiny plastic (the reflective stuff is called...?) and paint. ------------------------------  If any thing screams "I am a Japanese TOY!", this is certainly it. Hehehe. Great photos, and review as usual EVA, and more succinct than previous entries. Nice job. Thank you! Yeah, other than lack of posing for the individual Origami and the usual in combo form, the biggest hindrance to this set is its price- $86! That, I think, is way too expensive, even for a triple-changer. And it indeed has its own style unique to Super Sentai, like the MagiKing did, which- admittedly- I liked a lot more than this one. It retains the thickly-armored appearance of its peers, but does it in its own way with sharp angles and corners.  this is one of the first Sentai figures I've considered picking up in a long time. The design is unique and serious attention was paid to the gattai proportions. I'll probably buy the J. version, but I'll wait to see the level of bastardization BA inflicts. Thorough review, and good pics. I forgot to mention it above, but since someone finally brought it up... There will not be a bastardization of this guy. Or any other "Shinkenger" toy, for that matter. In 2010, Disney and Bandai America are planning to revisit MMPR season 1 with brand new toy lines, and a full rebroadcast of the classic debuting series! It is very clear now that with all of the Japanese cultural references- the extensive use of kanji for summoning weapons & Origami, the design of the suits, the appearance of the Gedoushuu & Ayakashi [monsters], etc., that it would be very difficult to incorporate "Shinkenger" generically into an Americanized series. . . . What is coming for the Super Sentai Series, however, seems to be a return to the status quo. The recently-titled "Tensou Sentai Goseiger" is rumored to have a playing card-based theme, though other rumors suggest a return to a space theme like the earlier "Denji Sentai MegaRanger" (1997). I remember "Gosei Sentai DaiRanger" (1993) meant "Five-star Taskforce Chi-Rangers". The limited artwork I've seen of the new team makes me thing they're translated as "(???) Taskforce Star-Rangers". Supposedly, they can mode-change regularly in the series from the start, but what that means isn't clear to me yet.  I'm pretty sure that Dairanger meant "Great Ranger". Ki (気) was the source of their powers, but the kanji doesn't ever read as dai. Tensou (天装) roughly translates as "Heavenly Clothing". As for Goseija that's anybody's guess. It could be a Japanese word (in which case you can't definitely say the meaning without the kanji), a pun on an English word (or words) that isn't immediately obvious, or even both of those at the same time. Even though I've only seen the first subbed episode of "DaiRanger" I knew ki was the source of their powers. Not very often in the Super Sentai Series does the source of the rangers' powers get mentioned in the title of the show. "Heavenly clothing", huh? Well, I guess that nails-down the mode-shifting concept AND the space-theme. Only reason I suggested "Star Ranger" was because of the title of "Gosei Sentai DaiRanger", which I understood to mean "Five-star". (Whew- one of the concepts for my own original Super Sentai Series was going to be called "Galaxy-armored Taskforce StarRanger". Good thing I changed the concept, or I woulda been pissed about the name of this new series! Currently, I'm brainstorming for a story called "Gaia Sentai RyuRanger".) Can't say I can see an credible English pun in there either. For instance, and I seriously doubt it is, "Goseiger" could be "Five Sage Rangers" Oh, no- I wasn't implying it was "Five-Star Ranger"! I just know that the romanji "sei" usually appears when the word "star" is in the vicinity. And I don't know Japanese. No you are right there. Sorry I'm probably coming across a lot worse than I sound inside my own head. Trust me that's the last thing I'd ever want to be. No offense taken. We're sorting this out, is all, and making sure we're being clear to each other. You know Japanese. So by default you are waaaaaay better than me.  I'm not really up to date on my sentai news, could you point me to where I could see whatever's known about the upcoming series? This review pretty much exemplifies the small issues this thing has and what it shines at, cool stuff. Well, here's the thing: Toei (who produces the Super Sentai Series) and Bandai (who makes and markets the toy lines) are in the process of filling for the trademarks and copyrights to the newest series. (It's usually around this time of year that they do this anyways, September to October.) From second-hand news, the claims say the paperwork marks the new series as "Tensou Sentai Goseiger". (I found out the title through Wikipedia's entry on the Super Sentai Series.) Now, as to the themes that will be used, I got my info from simply browsing Google and Yahoo with searches like "2010 Super Sentai", etc., and I get various fan boards [in English] on the matter. The real money on the newest series and images of the toys will not come until around November, when Bandai is obligated to post their wares to various Japanese toy magazines and corporate heads, and Toei's patents have been approved.  I noticed you don't watch Shinkenger well; I caught 2 mistakes: 1) I thought the 1st Shinkengers were 18 generations ago, not 13 1) Oh, maybe it was 18. And, yes- I do watch the series. Thank you much! The pedant in me also wants to note that it's technically hiden shield, and by extension discs, rather than "hidden". The Japanese word hiden basically means secret, I guess it's often a pun that it could also mean hidden. They use it in the Pokemon games too, where hiden machines in the Japanese versions get translated into hidden machines in the English. Yeah, I kinda figured it went back-and-forth like that, but I wondered if someone had made a typo somewhere.  Nice review, EVA. I really like the look of this toy. I just hate how his sword is worn "upside-down" when not in use! ;) One nitpick: are you sure it's the river, "Sanuz"? In Japanese Buddhism, the river, Sanzu, is the river of the dead...akin to the Styx in Greek mythology. -- The DaiShinken won't fit any other way on the left hip; the raised surfaces along the hollow left side won't permit it. Aww- I musta typed it in wrong. Yes, it's meant to be "Sanzu"... but I was going off of the TV Nihon sub [as so many seem to think Wikipedia is full of crap].  Very nice review, I liked shinkenOh a lot, and will probably get it. I think all these have been introduced in the show by now and there even a bigger mode with the monkey and turtle origami attached by the side of the legs http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8971/1242650612285.jpg The picture you have there is of the 9-part Daikai Shinken-Oh. The new DX Mougyudai-Oh (sp?) is an oxen with a cart behind it. That means there's a final combo- the Samurai Ha-Oh, which is a 10-component mecha (the one with the Kame and Saru Origami on the legs). That will be the immovable Cluster-fk Megazord we're waiting for, and basically looks like a mecha standing on an ornamental throne. It's a good bet right now I'm not gonna get the DX DaiKai-Oh, Mougyudai-Oh, or accessory Daigoyou. Like the Kyouretsu-Oh from last year, none of their modes or the final combo(s) are worth me investing another $200+ into them, so someone else will have to do them.  I refer to the above reply about the 10 piece gattai of Samurai Ha-Oh. If you count it right, you actually have 11 pieces for Samurai Ha-Oh. 5 from Shinken-Oh, 3 for DaiTenkuu, 2 for Ika DaiKaiOh and 1 for Mogyu Dai-Oh. That means, Shinkenger didn't break Go-Onger's record YET. However, I do feel a little annoyed on DaiGoYou being so separate. It isn't like Go-Roader from Go-Onger where it poses together. I don't think Samurai Ha-Oh will need DaiGoYou for any finisher (I hope they do in the future). For me, I already have all the pieces except Kyoryu and DaiGoYou so, the Mogyu is something just awaiting my purchase. I would say that Shinken-Oh does have its bad points and the DaiTenkuu sets are released to counter that main bad point, the soft backbone of Shishi origami in gattai mode. Shinken-Oh is not your average little kid's toy where you can swing around and bash it. The backbone might fall and fold down and hurt your finger if you don't play with it carefully. I won't elaborate further on what the DaiTenkuu sets gave to improve that flaw but all I know is, even the Ika origami has it. Hopefully I am getting the Mogyu to make Ha-Oh just in case Bandai HK doesn't import them over here to Malaysia.  Good review. I agree there should be a little more flexibility in the zords. I noticed with MogyuDai Oh they could have put a little more work in the joints, the arms don't bend at all except the sholder. I have been disappointed with the entire Shinkenger line. In my view, they have decided to go away from making toys to plastic statues. My nieces and nephews disliked the entire line because they could not "morph" them easily. This line was actually worse than RPM. I'm inclined to think of it this way: the poseability has been consistently dull over Super Sentai's entire 33-year history, with a few notable exceptions. However, even though the designs get more intricate and gimmicky over time, the poseability is really the only thing that hasn't caught up with the rest. Many opportunities presented themselves for poseable legs, and it didn't happen; even more-so with the neck & elbows. I wonder if PLEX isn't somehow trying to keep an 'old-school' feel by intentionally limiting the articulation... but then that would be contrary to all the evolution that everything else has gone through. One of the biggest hindrances, IMO, is the accessory-upgrade mecha- so much money is put into them that the basics are being pushed aside now, and a lot of people seem to be sharing that opinion now.  If you're looking for articulation then the miniplas are great. only problem is that you either sticker them up or paint them. I have the Shinkenoh minipla and its got great articulation. I've known about the Miniplas and Candy Toys for some time now. I just wish Bandai would transfer that great articulation over to the DX-sized stuff! |
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Nice, indepth review. Was it not so long that many of the 'Zords' featured die-cast? I have noticed, at least for the Power Rangers line, that some (Zords) are made in Thailand and some China. The China-born Power rangers/Sentai toys have a much lower quality standard. It would seem they're on thier way to Suckville if the quality keeps getting worse.