Akiyama Ren was a belligerent punk with a chip on his shoulder until he met a woman who made a better man of him. She urged him to stop fighting but in one of life’s bitter ironies, she ended up being the reason Akiyama is locked in mortal combat. As Kamen Rider Knight, Akiyama will battle 12 other Riders to the death for the ultimate prize — one reality-altering wish — because it’s the only chance he has of reviving his now-comatose love.
Bandai’s R&M2 Kamen Rider Knight set is the second in the Rider & Monster action figure series based on the Kamen Rider Ryuki show. The set was originally released in 2002 for 2500 yen and it was released locally a few months ago for RM99.90.
Contents
The set comes in a box with an inner plastic tray containing:
- Kamen Rider Knight
- Dark Wing
- Dark Visor
- Wing Lancer
- Holster
- Mantle
- Instruction sheet in Chinese and English
- 3 Advent cards
Knight Rider
This is hands-down my favourite Kamen Rider design even though the only traditional element retained is the belt. It just looks so damned classy. Broadly, Kamen Rider Knight is a delightful blend of Batman and a chivalric knight.
The figure is a good representation of the character though the show costume is a much darker shade of blue.
The only thing I don’t care for is the “fangs” on the helmet. I can understand the designer’s attempt to incorporate some bat element into the helmet design but it didn’t really work for me.
The articulation is similar to the Ryuki figure reviewed earlier with 24 points of articulation altogether. It’s certainly nothing to sneer at but some joints are impeded or have a disappointing range of motion. For instance, the shoulder armour hinders the shoulder posability in some directions and the ball-jointed head is limited by the collar. I would have also liked a greater range of motion for the hips but the figure is posable enough.
Bat, man
Knight’s contracted monster is a giant bat which looks … okay. It’s just not as impressive on its own as Dragreder or Magnagiga.
Dark Wing is nicely articulated, though. The wings have three joints each, the tail has a hinge joint and the head and feet are ball-jointed.
The best thing about Dark Wing is it attaches to Knight’s back to provide either flight or protection and manages to look good in either mode.
Dark this, wing that
Knight’s Dark Visor, the card-reader device that allows him to initiate his special attacks, comes in the form of a sword. This would have been a nice accessory if it weren’t for the fact the blade of the sword is made of easily warped PVC. Pre-warped in the package itself, it defied my attempts to straighten it and it now exudes all the menace of a wet noodle.
A separate holster piece is provided so the sword can be sheathed but it does look awkward since the hilt practically sticks into his armpit.
Knight’s Wing Lancer, a lance formed from Dark Wing’s tail, is much better executed. One might point out the hilt is much shorter than it should be but one would be a nitpicky bastard indeed.
The final accessory is the mantle and it’s the weakest of the lot. It’s supposed to make Knight look noble and stately but unfortunately, Dark Wing’s prominent head makes Knight look like he’s carrying a bat papoose-style.
The bottom line
The set is retailing locally for the same price as the Ryuki and Zolda sets which might make it seem like less of a bargain but I just love this design and as such it gets thumbs-up from me.
Links:
- A review (in Japanese) by K.
- Kamen Rider Knight data by TV Asahi, Jillun and Joey Leung.
- Additional photos of the figure.
