Furyu and Rairyu

In 2012, Bandai announced many of the mecha from GaoGaiGar in their uncombined forms, each set of them coming with one-fourth of their command center, the Big Order Room. This third, web-exclusive release features FuRyu and RaiRyu, another section of the BGO, and the famous Key to Victory.

The box is the usual for Super Robot Chogokins, but in grayscale due to its Tamashii Web status. It’s covered with super-stylized Japanese, and a shot of the completed Big Order Room, with the still-unannounced Goldymarg in it.

The trays are clear plastic, efficiently packing in FuRyu, RaiRyu, and their accessories. Already you can see that they don’t have nearly as large of an arsenal as HyoRyu and EnRyu, who these two are retools of.

To have the Chinese twins ready for action, all they need is their backpacks snapped on. FuRyu’s is a cement mixer, which in the show, launches his Feng Dao Dan attack that shoots super-pressurized air. RaiRyu’s is a dump bed, which has their combined form GekiRyuJin’s chestplate attached to it.

Really the only notable difference in the base figures from HyoRyu and EnRyu is the balljoint on FuRyu’s back panel does not slide back and forth, as his cement mixer doesn’t need to move side to side at all.

Even in the most basic of poses, these are certainly cool-looking chogokins. At 12.5 centimeters tall, they’re not enormous, but they do tower over the 4.5cm Nise Gundam.

Of course, they’re still just as poseable as their predecessors. Double-jointed arms and legs allow the Chinese twins to assume almost any pose you could think of. The lower leg still features a ratchet joint, as well.

Now, of course, for their accessories. In addition to fists FuRyu and RaiRyu also have a set each of splayed hands and hands to hold weapons. Plus, they both get with a swappable yelling face, Tamashii stand adapters, and RaiRyu’s Elek-Gun.

To get the alternate face, just pop the head off its balljoint and slide the normal face off to insert the other one. I’m not a fan of the yelling expression, it looks somehow TOO angry, but it’s still a nice touch.

RaiRyu’s gun is one of the few things in this set besides the backpacks that isn’t just a repaint, although it definitely has its similarities to HyoRyu’s Freezing Gun.

Tamashii Stages certainly get the full potential of their poseability out. My one complaint about this set is that it includes hands to hold weapons that FuRyu doesn’t even have, but doesn’t add hands for RaiRyu to do his signature Thunder attack. The splayed hands come close, but was it too much to ask for a single flat hand?

However, this is made up for by FuRyu being able to pull off his Feng Dao Dan pose perfectly.

While it’s not used for any attacks, nor is it mentioned in the manual, RaiRyu can use his dump bed as a surfboard like in the show.

One of the coolest parts of this set is the Key to Victory, that Chief Koutaro Taiga uses to activate GaoGaiGar’s final weapon, the Goldion Hammer. It’s actually pretty hefty, I’m pretty sure it has more metal content than the actual figures, which only have a small amount in the legs.

Last but not least, the third piece of the Big Order Room, with another two seats for FuRyu and RaiRyu. The BGO is certainly starting to live up to the “Big” part of its name.

And there’s part 3 of 4. Depending on how you get your web exclusives, this is already a $240 or more investment. As a die-hard GaoGaiGar fan I love this set, but I would only recommend it to others who enjoyed the show as much. Next time, I’ll review Mic Sounders the 13th, along with the fourth and final piece of the Big Order Room!