Samurai Gattai Series #2- Kajiki Origami

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

In Act 07: “Fishing for a Swordfish with a Pole”, the Kajiki Origami, which had been lost in the previous Gedoushuu war, has been found wandering off the coast of Japan, acting as if it were a real wild animal. With a new Ayakashi monster sighted, Ryuunosuke (Shinken Blue) is dispatched to capture and re-tame it. When the other four Shinkenger are quickly taken down by a particularly smelly and spaced-out Yamiororo (a creature which dwells in dark corners of the Sanzu River), the urgency of Ryuunosuke’s task intensifies; the Shiba Clan’s records say only the healing powers of the Kajiki Origami can save those afflicted. Unfortunately, while he knows the Origami is in the area, he only catches junk, and the repeated-but-necessary use of mojikara as a lure is draining him with each cast of the fishing pole. A homeless man that sees him fall, and somehow recognizes him as a Shinkenger, takes him in, but tells him there’s no point in fighting if they lose. Determined not to fail his Lord Takeru, Ryuunosuke defiantly goes back to fishing. Even when the man tries to convince him that he can choose not to be a samurai, he keeps fishing because he knows that Takeru is fighting willfully despite being poisoned. When Ryuunosuke finally gets a bite, the man unexpectedly helps, allowing them to capture the Kajiki Origami. Returning to the battle, he uses the power of the Kajiki Secret Disc to cure everyone who was poisoned. When the Ayakashi Yamiororo uses its second life to become larger, the Shinken-Oh is disabled from its poisons, but the re-tamed Kajiki Origami is fast enough to evade damage, and uses its pointed nose and Kajiki Gyorai torpedo attack to send the mindless monster sprawling. In order to awaken and control the Kajiki Origami, the Kajiki Disc must be fit onto a Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru, and place it into the control column in the cockpit. At the same time, a giant version of the Kajiki Disc appears along the outside of the Origami itself as well.

Kajiki Origami (marlin)

The Kajiki Origami features no posability, save for an opening beak-like mouth. The spear-like nose and dorsal fins are made of soft PVC, while the rest of the toy is ABS. It rests on three small independent blue wheels underneath. Unlike the five Origami from the DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh, but similarly to the Kabuto Origami, the Kajiki does not collapse into a Badge Mode, and instead can store its own Hiden Disc within the center of itself.

There are three blue Kajiki Gyorai torpedo projectiles provided (though it only fits two at a time; the third is a spare). The torpedoes are not spring-powered, but rather their distance depends on how fast/hard you push the opposing triggers. The Kajiki Origami’s nose can bounce upwards once a small catch lever on top of its head is released. Then, when the Kajiki Disc is spun, the nose will bounce up-and-down slightly in sync with it.

The Kajiki Disc can be placed onto the Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru. When it is spun, you see the black silhouette of the Kajiki jumping out of water!

Samurai Busou Kajiki Shinken-Oh

Sets required for this combination:

• DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh
• Samurai Gattai Series 02 – Kajiki Origami

As the Yamiororo pitifully clutches its behind, the Kajiki Shinken-Oh is formed, and the DaiShinken is converted into its extended twin-bladed Naginata Mode for quick attacks. Finally, the DaiShinken converts back to its original form and is perched atop the Kajiki Shinken-Oh’s helmet for the specialized Kajiki Ittou Kyoudan (“One Cut, Two Halves”) finisher. Shinken Blue retains use of the Kajiki Secret Disc for the remainder of the series. (Also, the homeless man from the beach turns out to be a former kuroko [i.e. theater stage-hand] house servant for the Shiba Clan, who left after the previous Shinken Red, his Lord, died in battle. At the end of the episode, he returns to serve the Shiba Clan once more as an anonymous kuroko.)

The Hiden Shield once more loses its perch on the back of the Shinken-Oh, but can still be attached to the side and hand of the left arm. Unfortunately, there are no extra part(s) for the DaiShinken to be turned into its Naginata Mode; this remains a TV series-exclusive weapon. (Boo-hiss!) The Kajiki Gyorai torpedoes are still accessible, but they are aimed upwards now. To activate the Kajiki Ittou Kyoudan, the nose of the Kajiki atop the helmet splits apart to reveal a small socket for the handle of the DaiShinken to be inserted into. Then, when the catch lever is released, the entire toy can be leaned forward and the tall blade will swing downwards to 45-degrees. While it is possible to place the DaiShinken into the Kajiki Origami’s mouth when it is separate, this does not happen in the series.

I got the Samurai Gattai Series 01: Kabuto Origami because it looked moderately cool, both separately and when combined as Kabuto Shinken-Oh. Then when I finally had it in my hands, the more I sat and really thought about it, the more I came to realize it wasn’t that great. It somewhat deadened the impact of the second Samurai Gattai Series set, but then, I already knew this one would be bad when I saw it on-screen that first time. Block-forming aside, the Secret Disc gimmick for this set is absolutely terrible. In theory, when you spin the Secret Disc, the nose is supposed to bounce up and down (why is that, again?) When you understand how this is accomplished, you can see why the nose is just barely nudged. Honestly, the nose on this is too short, almost giving it the appearance of a bottle-nosed dolphin. Aside from perhaps the Mohawk-like dorsal fin, there really isn’t anything to distinguish this as a marlin, or simply “swordfish”, if you prefer. It looks like a dolphin with a Mohawk that landed on a three-wheeled fish cart, and then lost half the mass of its tail. Oh, and its little ventral fins are practically non-existent. Unlike the Kabuto Origami, which is supposed to have a bit of mass and bulk, this thing pretty much threw its hands in the air early during development when they needed space for the wheels and Secret Disc gimmick. The projectile launchers on this thing are worse that on the Engine Gattai Series #07: Engine Jettoras from last year’s “Engine Sentai Go-Onger” (2008): they just barely clear the tubes in which they’re stored no matter how hard you jam down on those triggers. I expect that kind of wishy-washy “don’t point it at your eye” crap from a Power Rangers product, not a Japanese toy. Pathetic! It can only just keep its balance on a flat surface on its closely-placed wheels. Oh, and it has that same blunt, unforgiving giant wing sticking out the right side of it (compared to the one on the left side of the Kabuto). Fail, fail, fail. I have to say, though, that the combo mode isn’t half bad. Take that literally: half is good, half is bad. The missiles suck, they don’t even clear their tubes, it’s got half a wing sticking out the right side, but here’s the thing that really pissed me off… The Secret Disc gimmick around which the entire toy is based is rendered absolutely useless in this form! For the Kajiki Ittou Kyoudan, you don’t spin the Disc and the sword bounces back & forth. No! Instead, you have to release the lever and tip it yourself… once! I want to blow my brains out! Why would they make a gimmick that is dependent on that Disc moving and then turn around and deprive it of that gimmick just to have you do it!? Make up your minds, PLEX! Anyways, inserting sword into the helmet is kind of stylish, but it would have worked if the Kabuto Shinken-Oh had been more aesthetically pleasing and better incorporated its own Secret Disc gimmick. And finally, I would have appreciated that the second-half of the Naginata Mode blade be provided that was completely compatible with the DaiShinken katana from the DX Shinken-Oh. But then… it wouldn’t have been able to grip it in the right hand because of how the Kame Origami was designed: to not allow the handle to fit all the way through the fist. So, what happened to the good part(s)? Well, I actually like the not-as-outlandish helmet because it actually is definable. I liked how the body becomes an actual backpack, even though the transformation still involves just swapping parts. Despite having the Ryuu Origami’s blue, the lighter blue isn’t too out of place. In spite of parts/brick-forming, an awkward backpack, terrible missile launchers, and a deprived-of-purpose Secret Disc gimmick, I actually find myself kind of liking the Kajiki Shinken-Oh. So, the plot thickens… marginally, for the Origami line. Not the greatest examples of Japanese toy engineering, though, I must say. Again, I cannot put my heart into this toy, seeing as it only forms the opposing half of whatever it and the Kabuto Origami compose. As a standalone toy, it is absolutely NOT worth it at all, and the combo is only half-way decent. I’m really not feeling this new direction the Samurai Gattai Series is taking us, and the Kajiki Origami does nothing to change that. 1.5 out of 5 stars.