The Rise & Fall of S.H. Figuarts: Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Dragon Ball Z, Marvel, Sentai [Soundout12]

[@ssj4jason737]

One thing that can make Figuarts better is stop giving characters accessories meant for other characters, seriously I was gonna flip a table if one of Astra's accessories was Leo's Ultra Mantle

[@Soundout12]

Hard agree. Its a marketing technique, sure, but it doesn't help the individual figure purchase if someone isn't collecting the whole line. Things like a hive five hand for Zero with Grigio so they can do their hive five from UGF is fine, but if someone wanted just Tregear, they're stuck with a beam effect for another figure

[@Baconlovesreddead]

I actually really enjoy them doing that. Something about it is cool to me, but that’s just my opinion.

[@donhillsmanii5906]

I got hooked on these in 2015. Bought 3 at a convention I was guesting at. Got severely Depressed and in 2017, decided to start collecting these to battle my depression. Now I have every single Figuarts Kamen Rider/Vehicle/Accessories (roughly 628) and awaiting more, because this has completely turned me away from the harmful garbage in my life(drugs/tobacco/alcohol) so hopefully Bandai will keep this train going lol

[@TamerChris]

P-Bandai is really a thorn in collectors side. I have also been collecting since the original SH Figuarts Decade but after main Riders start having their upgraded forms become P-Bandai is the time I started to slow down on purchasing them. Perhaps the problem lies in Bandai/ Tamashii Nations pushing out more figures than their suppliers/ factories can make. That's why we see Vietnam made Figuarts in the Dragon Ball lines. Having P-Bandai seems to be their way to make new figures (to generate hype) while at the same time control how much figures they can push out a year. I would honestly not mind if they choose to slow down on new releases and restock popular or high in demand older Figuarts.

[@Soundout12]

Agreed. Similar to a lot of Hasbro lines, slowing down would help bring collectors back and make the lines better

[@user-ir1xo9jp8w]

Quite recently they've had Saber Primitive Dragon a limited 10-day P-Bandai exclusive release that is only available in Preban Japan and nowhere else. Meaning if you want it, you'd have to go through a middleman. Primitive Dragon, an important form for Saber that was also the catalyst of an important arc for the main rider was given the same treatment as Realizing Hopper, a last-minute form that was basically just Rising Hopper but stronger. But Arabian Night Espada, a movie-exclusive form that showed up for a few seconds was given the normal Preban treatment. ZakuAurelius made a good video on P-Bandai. I don't think the increase of preban releases means the line will be phased out, otherwise the model kit line which is also having the same issue would need to be phased out, too. It's probably that Bandai just wants to make sure their target audience (Japan) to get their stuff and for them to not have to go through the retailing and marketing and what not. It still sucks tho.

[@Soundout12]

The Primitive Dragon release is honestly so maddening too. And Arabian Night Espada and Serval Tiger Valkyrie both fit the "normal p-bandai but only appeared for seconds" category. Which is weird it happened two times in a row for a tertiary Rider's v-cine form. I think if P-Bandai releases were given wider availability in the rest of the world, it would alleviate some of the complaints. It feels like they want to focus on Japan only but yet still release the retail items overseas. It's just hard to figure out if Bandai wants to expand their market or not cause at the moment, it feels contradictory

[@mb2000]

I love the Figuarts. I got the ones for Kamen Rider Den-O, which was the first Rider series I ever watched. They’re still on display in my house; all the Den-O forms including Plat, Wing, Liner and Climax, two to show off both Zeronos Altair and Vega, plus Zero. Even got a Momotaros! If these were hard to find over here and/or expensive, I’d certainly get a couple for every show I’ve watched so far, like Decade, W and OOO.

[@SymbiSpidey]

The "Display Only" problem is really annoying. They've shown off a Kamen Rider Saga prototype twice and STILL no release for him at all. Why even bother?

[@donhillsmanii5906]

Saga is the only officially cancelled Rider Figuarts (and has since been resculpted into SS line ONE DAY MAYBE NOT HOLDING MY BREATH) but I still have hope

[@LT200913]

The same happened with Build Genius figuarts, which was a head scratcher to wait so long imo to confirm and release it after constantly being shown off at multiple Tamashii Nations Events after its initial reveal especially since it has the same mold as the other Build figuarts and nothing was changed about it

[@SmythTheCrow]

Figma isn't too much better. Not only have the amount of releases declined overall, but certain Figmas have one accesory (sometimes a necessary one) be locked as a pre-order bonus on GSC's web store.

[@FireFury190]

Yeah. Akibataku39 did a great video regarding the decline of figma. Soundout12's video on figuarts reminded me of his video. Shame cause I do dive into that line from time to time for some Nintendo figmas and any animes I like SSSS Gridman.

[@Soundout12]

Having collected Figma as well, the pain is real. Especially recent figure like Persona 5 Royal Violet and Metroid Dread Samus being limited release and therefore higher price

[@Soundout12]

I usually go for Figmas for the same reasons. Since most times, Figma is the only option, it just seems like we have to deal with the issues if we want figures of those characters

[@peacemaker2448]

This really hits home because when I first got into Rider it felt like Figuarts was my only option for what I wanted. I didn't know a whole lot about the various gimmick and candy toy options at the time so I kept going with Figuarts even if it became more and more of a problem to get what I wanted. I decided with 01 that enough was enough and I swapped over to SO--DO/SHODO and have never looked back since. If Figuarts makes a thing to fill a hole I will go out of my way to get but otherwise I've stopped cold and have not regretted that decision once.

[@Soundout12]

That was a good call. Bandai's candy toy lines have gotten so good as of late. I wasn't planning to get into them but I got the So-Do Chronicle Ryuki sets and Super Shodo Liveman. The Ryuki sets are so nice that I'm tempted to get more

[@SonicHedgehog1991]

There's also a line called CHO-DO that for some reason, SELL ALL OF THE CHARACTERS ACCESSORIES SEPARATELY.

[@STheRider]

Love the video. Summarizes all the problems of figuarts and P bandai as a whole. P bandai is honestly the core of the problem with Bandai products. You should do a video on that as well.

[@Soundout12]

Thank you! I definitely want to discuss P-Bandai more. Especially for model kits and dx toys

[@ghosttrainz4701]

Another big problem with the Ultraman is that alot of the kaiju are bandai exclusive

[@Soundout12]

For sure. I only own 4 Kaiju because most of the ones I want were PB

[@ghosttrainz4701]

@@Soundout12 yeah but from what I understand is that in Japan kaiju aren’t as popular compared to the ultras but in American I’ve seen people asking for kaiju I feel like that even more recently to have releases in the USA Bandai store

[@Soundout12]

@@ghosttrainz4701 For sure

[@AEGYOKILLER]

Thanks for putting me on so many different lines I had no clue about!

[@Soundout12]

Your welcome!

[@eissbott]

another great video .. man I feel this pain as an Ultraman fan and collector. Bandai needs new management. keep up the great work!

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

Do you think you could do more rider retrospectives? I really liked the Fourze one.

[@Soundout12]

I definitely want to do more in the future. Next one probably would be Zero-One

[@Inikalord]

For all the faults that Figuarts has, I can't help but also look towards Figma to contrast and compare. On the whole Figma has it so, so much worse than Figuarts for a lot of main reasons: - Overpricing where most Figma now are retailing (without online discounts) for over 10k yen. Compare the Figma Chainsaw Man to the Figuarts where the former goes for double what the latter does. - Bare bones accessories even for some of the more "premium" releases. They've tried selling both barebones and DLX releases but this just makes collectors even more mad since the DLX release has things the regular release should have. - Locking certain "exclusive" accessories behind the GoodSmile online store where you have to pay full price with no discount + No choice in what shipping method to use so if you're in a country where EMS is expensive... Tough luck. - Constant delays where it's pretty much a meme now where people guess which month to month releases are going to be delayed and for how long. Even before the pandemic it wasn't unusual for Figma to never meet their slated release date. - In all the time that Figma has existed, there has been little to no evolution in the engineering of the figures, especially in the joints. Compare and contrast a Figma Haruhi released in 2008 to most current Figma and you'll likely find they still use the same modular joints that make the back of the knees and elbows look like they have bulbous tumors. This isn't all to say your video didn't have good points on their own. It just came to mind that another toyline I like to collect suffers from its own issues. In a nutshell... Being a Collector is Suffering :D

[@Soundout12]

I agree! I also collect Figma and the recent price bumps have been killer. I have all the Persona 5 figmas but the price jump on Violet almost had me tapping out. I don't even know how to describe the sticker shock I felt when Dread Samus got solicited. They definitely haven't evolved much over the years tho I will say the SAC 2045 Motoko from Ghost in the Shell is improved over the original SAC version, but dang it if those same joints have been used for the line's entire run. Collecting is fun but its also a nightmare lately XD

[@Inikalord]

For whatever reason KZbin didn't let me know you replied. Perhaps a similar video to this one but centered around Figma could be something for you to pursue. I know AKIBATAKU 39 made a decently comprehensive video on the subject but it's never a bad thing to add more voices into the mix.

[@Soundout12]

@@Inikalord I’ll add it to the ideas list. I definitely think its worth doing

[@donhillsmanii5906]

Subscribed. Well thought out and informative, I agreed with many points, but what about Super Sentai? And you really shouldn’t be surprised they pump out the Rider figures, this line is a continuation of the Shochaku Henshin (originally the “S.H.” of Figuarts) line, specifically made for Kamen Rider. Everyone else has been a hit or miss experiment

[@Soundout12]

Thanks for subscribing! It’s honestly crazy how Rider is their most consistent output yet lately is treated somewhat as an afterthought

[@Basillikos]

I think a point worth mentioning, although not directly Figuarts related is that P-Bandai started limiting the amount of stock people could directly order from them. The reason was to prevent scalping of model kits that were being hoarded by neighboring Asian countries, but it had the secondary effect of making it harder for middlemen to order more than a certain amount of figures per account. Something like the limit dropping from a max of 40-20 figures to 10-3.

[@Soundout12]

That’s an excellent point. I honestly should have mentioned it because its been a frustration of mine trying to pre order SHFs from certain stores. I missed Izu Kamen Rider Zero-Two from my preferred store because of the limit

[@onigshii]

Correction: the other Ultraman SKC use a different type of plastic than Tiga. I have for over a year now Ultraman and his paint doesnt crack or the "rubber" sections arent cracked either. The new SKC Ultras are more durable due to their updated materials. Even the Tiga reissue had the new material although it severely limited his ab crunch

[@Soundout12]

I noticed that when I got Dyna. He definitely feels better than first release Tiga did. I would still prefer the plastic torso (or a hard plastic/soft plastic mix like Titas and Fuma) but the post-Tiga style works fine

[@ZeltraxMillennium]

I'm kinda shocked you didn't mention some of the craziness with the Sentai figuarts. But yeah damn, this sucks for collectors of Figuarts in general. I know the Power Rangers Lightning Collection has a lot of issues, but at least there? Hasbro can guarantee you an action figure of a Sentai suit. If they get to Jungle Fury & realize that dream of a poseable Rio & Mele with Jarrod/Dai-Shi & Camille, I'm gonna be one HAPPY son of a gun.

[@Soundout12]

Well I did do a Sentai SHF video a few months ago, so I sort of covered that. Lightning Collection's availability of a wide range of characters is definitely what makes the line worthwhile

[@FireFury190]

@@Soundout12 How much you wanna bet Sentai figuarts coming back is in response to Hasbro’s Lightning Collection? I know Taka from Kotetsu Toys Japan imported Shadow Ranger cause Dekamaster never got figuart. So I wouldn’t be shocked if other Japanese fans were importing LC toys for their Sentai collection.

[@Firestarter1331]

nice take. My problem for me is Kamen Rider continuity between regular S.H. Figuarts and Shinkocchou Seihou. Eg. There are no regular S.H. Figuarts for Kiva and Hibiki. Bandai went straight to Shinkocchou so there is a gap in the SHF Base releases. Unlike how Bandai transitioned from Shochaku Henshin to SHF.

[@Soundout12]

I do with the scale was more consistent between them. they size up the Seihous a bit too much

[@tofubi6922]

Excellent information presented here, well done! (Subscribed~) Any reason in particular you dislike the Evolution Toys line? I'm not a fan of the molds/paint jobs they use for their more 'human" like characters (Ultraman/Super Sentai) , though I have been looking into them more recently and think that the robotic/mecha character molds seem to have decent paint jobs and proportions. Never held one in my hand however, I've been debating the Uchuu Tetsujin Kyodain releases if I can ever find them.

[@Soundout12]

The main thing I don't like with Evolution Toy is their overall quality. It just seems like they used weak plastic despite charging very high prices

[@unholybruhmoment3865]

The soft parts on the shf power type Tiga, Ultraman, and Ultraman Dyna seem to have been built far more sturdily, even a recent re release of multi type Tiga seems to have better material at the cost of some articulation i think. This shows that Bandai is actively listening to its customer base and comes out with solutions to problems for figures instead of just letting things happen.

[@unholybruhmoment3865]

but your points about premium bandai and accessories still stand

[@Soundout12]

I'm glad it improved! I definitely liked the way Dyna felt much better than Tiga was

[@razorgiraffe]

It is the whole part about how Figure Rise Standard kits are cheaper yet pretty articulated when it comes to more human body types even with some of the Kamen Rider kits, you get more accessories that may be sold separately with the figuarts version or not even made

[@Soundout12]

Definitely. The effect parts with Black and Trigger including his sword and beam is a perfect example

[@ssj4jason737]

Even though they've only done main riders and Ultras which is kinda limiting

[@razorgiraffe]

@@ssj4jason737 there are kits of other riders but most of them are P-Bandai hopefully they do other riders

[@Noizemaze4]

as someone who has bought ALL of Ryuki's figures, E.V.E.R.Y. single rider from R&M (2002), Souchaku Henshin (2004 - 2008), S.H. FIguarts (2011-2017?), it PISSES ME OFF to no end that the SO-DOs got ALLL 5 Gazelle beasts for Imperor before the SHF did =_+ .............. honestly, REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLYYYYYYYYYYYYY wish Bandai would FINISH UP the Mirror Monsters Ryuki. They did all the riders, even Abyss for crying out loud but not the OG monsters Dx and for SH they forgot to do the Survive Monsters .................. sighs, I even have all the FIGMAs of Dragonknight, that's how much I love the Ryuuki molds. However I will NOT be chasing down the SO-DOs since they're just so tiny and the quality is NOT worth the P-bandai price points

[@Soundout12]

You’ve been a true warrior in the Mirror World

[@Baconlovesreddead]

This video sort of aged like milk 😭😭 Still very well done and one of my favorite videos about figuarts but Tamashii is just proving a “decline” wrong lol. Which is a very good thing.

[@Soundout12]

It really bounced back right after I made this 🤣

[@Baconlovesreddead]

@@Soundout12hank you Soundout for changing the timeline 🙏🙏

[@TandooriJones]

I don't know if my comment didn't go through or not when I first posted it yesterday (if you deleted it because these big comments are annoying I'll understand, but I just don't see it while scrolling) so I'll retype it. Out of all the prototype stuck in the void I can think of, the one I think of a lot is the Cure Ange S.H.Figuarts. At the time the Precure line was clearly dying, with like 15 releases being exclusives in a row or something (maybe the main Cures had a regular release it's been years), but the Cure Ange figure, who was team member number two, of a five member team, was not released, while the other four members of her team were. So it's... I think the only Precure team that can't ever be completed? And that sucks and it's like the Boukenger release all over again. The Precure SHFs had their problems, possibly in an attempt to be premium, none of their hair was hollow, and while collectors will normally complain about figures feeling hollow, if you want to say, Google "Cure Marine SHF" you can look at that neck joint and the feet size and you'll see the problem instantly as a toy collector. The hair weighed pretty much the same as the body so they came packaged with stands as a necessity, so I'm actually convinced the Precure line only succeeded for as long as it did out of love for the characters, because they were not good figures at all until ironically the final few waves where even characters with giant hair were stabilized enough that they could stand by themselves somehow. Meanwhile the Sailor Moon ones still fall apart by themselves. I hear if you air out your BLACK in a room for like three hours it won't break, and most of the breaking is from people who pose it right away. But that's just what I hear from other people so it's not from first hand experience. I hate the soft rubber either way I'm with you there. I even bought the third party replacement torso for Tiga but haven't bothered installing it yet. "Some people didn't even want Ultraman Tregear" stings because I did but I had ordered him from Nippon Yasan and they stole him from me and my money lol. Lost Titus to them too which super stings (hopefully he gets a second run when Joneus gets released, which they're hinting at). I miss when P-Bandai was made to order. Ribut makes perfect sense for a regular release though, he has kids KZbin shorts and like, the very first one in google has 17 million views so I can understand him not being exclusive. Tartarus is really weird but they might be doing it to advertise the KZbin channel, but back in the day it was a HEAVY RUMOR that S.I.C only did figures of characters they liked, and Decade forced them to make a Kabuto because they for whatever reason wanted to do Decade Complete, because it seemed like they were doing everyone EXCEPT Kabuto. Maybe SHF is the same. I don't know if C19 also played a part in some of the numbers for releases or not, but maybe in the future we'll learn of it. But still excellent video.

[@Basillikos]

Feels like the pandemic and the effect it had on production gave Bandai the perfect cover to finally drop Precure. Figuarts had lots of IPs they abruptly drop over the years but this one stands out because it was one of the first non-Rider licenses the line ever covered, debuted alongside Dragonball too.

[@Draconyx13]

Aye, I still feel a twinge of pain in my chest every time I'm reminded of the fact that I didn't pre-order Titus because I foolishly thought he would end up cheaper on the secondhand market... In regards to the "excessive" P-Bandai releases (as someone else already pointed out), that's less indicative of the line being in decline, and more so to do with guaranteeing sales within Japan, as well as a way to recoup costs for releases that may have been overproduced in the past, such as the Ultraman Rosso and Blu or Kamen Rider ZO figures. Yes, it's asinine, and yes, that whole business model _really_ ought to change, but as long as Japanese buyers continue to support it, it'll just keep on going until the end of time... or at least until there aren't any people left in Japan to buy this stuff. 😛

[@Soundout12]

It definitely feels like P-Bandai is testing customer’s breaking points lately. Like how most of the Revice DX line was PB, but then overall sales of Rider toys were down so now most of Geats’ DX line is retail

[@awelojoe5544]

Bandai killed the Super Sentai line with Premium Bandai, and now we not even have a complete team

[@lolo27234]

With the recent announcements (chainsaw man one peace and squid game) I really doubt there planning to kill the line I just feel like there just trying to find new pullers of the line as a whole with them bleeding the dragon ball mcu and Star Wars stones past dry

[@Soundout12]

They definitely seem to be expanding to any brand that they can license which is part of the problem. The list of brands under SH Figuarts on the Tamashii Web site is insane honestly but with so many of them, they do 1 figure, maybe 2 tops. So in total all those brands are less than Kamen Rider for one year.

[@SonicHedgehog1991]

They're making freakin squid game into an SHF figure now?

[@lolo27234]

@@SonicHedgehog1991 yeah it was announced earlier this year might pick up one or 2 of the pink goons

[@SonicHedgehog1991]

@@lolo27234 I was not expecting squid game out of anything to be turned into toys.

[@lolo27234]

@@SonicHedgehog1991 I mean they also did a set for the Japanese comedy group down town

[@FireFury190]

As a figuarts collector I’m glad this video was made. As I’ve noticed these issues over the years too. The only thing I can think of as to why Rider has so many Pbandai releases as opposed to retail is that Japanese retailers do not want a ton of potential unsold stock. Especially with how expensive figuarts are. Apparently this all happened back when Fourze came out and a lot of the figuarts from his series shelf warmed. Which would explain why in Wizard all of his extra element styles were pbandai. Heck a recent example I can point to is Kamen Rider Blades. He has so much unsold stock that stores were selling him for less than 1000 yen just to get rid of him. If you combine that with the large number of main riders and forms being released every season it’s no wonder so many go to pbandai. Especially if certain characters aren’t popular enough. Because they could end up having a large quantity of unsold figures that normal people won’t want. Which makes sense why most stuff is going to Pbandai for the Japanese market, but sucks for us worldwide where the only way to get these pbandai figuarts is from middle man sites. Edit: Seihous are also guilty of shelf warming too. Like Amazon and Accel were apparently shelf warmers at retailers. So I don't know if V3 would have faired any good. He's well known but not that popular of a rider compared to others. As for the accessories being split I don’t get it. At first with rider I assumed it was because they wanted to drive up bike sales because Kamen Rider bikes in the figuarts line don’t sell well now a days. And I’m not surprised because they’re hardly used in the shows. Now it just seems to be used to drive the sales of other figures. On the topic of that rubber on figuarts. I’ve got SS Ultraman and he doesn’t have any rubber at all. Same with Tiga Power Type. I don’t own it but they apparently abandoned doing the rubber on the figuarts due to the immense backlash Black and Tiga got due to it breaking.

[@therussianwanderer4851]

They barely use bikes, due to the bike laws in Japan.

[@FireFury190]

@@therussianwanderer4851 Yeah I know that.

[@Soundout12]

The Fourze and Wizard lines were definitely a breaking point for Bandai. I think my biggest issue is the lack of a pattern with what is retail vs what is PB. I'm glad to hear the rubber has seemingly been phased out. Black and Tiga were breaking points for me and seeing Bandai use the phrase "Soft material" now just makes me sweat nervously

[@phantomroxas2002]

As someone who loves the line, Dragon Ball, Jujutsu Kaisen, Digimon and Naruto all being SH Figuarts I like to collect, one thing I've noticed is that sometimes prices go way too high for some figures. While for instance I can understand the price on Gallantmon or so, the upcoming Kakashi goes for $70, and especially ridiculous is the MonsterArts line, where they sell figures for over $100 apiece with no accessories at all. I still love these figures and I'm still gonna collect them, but it is true more could be thrown in to justify the price sometimes. They definitely have it better than figma, though, at this very moment. At the same time I think their Dragon Ball, Naruto and Digimon figures are still really great.

[@Soundout12]

I'm definitely impressed with the new Naruto line so far and the Digimon ones feel so nice and actually premium. I only get a couple Dragon Ball figuarts a year but the ones I've gotten are solid. And that's definitely why I keep coming back to SHF even with the problems that keep happening.

[@phantomroxas2002]

@@Soundout12 I just hope they don't start banishing all the Digimon and Naruto ones to P-Bandai. Living out here in South Asia it's a pain in the neck to get my hands on these, and P-Bandai would just really put a nail in my coffin. It'd especially suck considering I loved both Alphamon and Gallantmon so far and I'm looking forward to Angewomon, and I also liked all three of the Naruto ones released so far (Sasuke might just be my figure of the year). But knowing how big a series Naruto is, it does concern me because P-Bandai is a very real possibility. It'd especially suck hard if stuff as important as Obito or Itachi ended up on there.

[@Soundout12]

Luckily the Digimon ones have been running a “PB in Japan, Non PB outside Japan” track so far and I’m grateful for that I’m also hoping Sakura being retail is a sign that the new Naruto line is going to make sure to keep main characters widely available

[@phantomroxas2002]

@@Soundout12 I'd sure hope so. Kakashi is gonna be a retail too, if I'm not mistaken. The Digimon ones being a retail overseas is a lifesaver, I'd be in actual physical pain if Beelzemon came out and was a PB exclusive. While I hope the Naruto line stays away from exclusives, I'm still worried about accessories being thrown around on different figures. I don't wanna see a neutral Rinnegan face for Sasuke to end up on something I'd wanna skip like Tenten or something. Kakashi missing the Lightning Blade is also a little concerning, so I hope we don't see a trend of this stuff or anything.

[@Soundout12]

@@phantomroxas2002 Agreed. I wonder if Kakashi’s lightning blade was omitted due to price. Or maybe Bandai just wants to sell their lightning effect parts sets.

[@thunderstudent]

I had to jump through hoops to get all the MMPR Rangers and I have Ryuuranger as well. Would be nice if Bandai didn't cancel the rest of the line LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO! I have such a love/hate relationship with the line. They'll produce some figures forever while others get a brief release and are never seen again driving the prices to insane heights. Then they'll announce something, you get excited for it, show nothing for ages and then cancel the line and you feel pain! Alternatively they'll announce something, you get excited for it, show a prototype at a toy fair, then you hear nothing for ages and then cancel the line and you feel pain! Such has been the fate with almost every line besides DB and HunterXHunter! Even Kamen Rider isn't safe! Even Street Fighter, the most popular fighting game in Japan and probably the world got canned!

[@Soundout12]

Agreed!

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

Don’t forget the Power Rangers releases of the super sentai ones.

[@Soundout12]

I covered those in my Super Sentai SH Figuarts video!

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

@@Soundout12 Oh, OK.

[@Kamiyartz]

I just discover this video and 1 year later, Bandai is still doing the same shit. I collect Kamen Rider Figuarts and I'm so frustrated that most of them are PBandai. I wanted to get the 4 main riders from Geats but only Magnum Boost and Entry form are retail, now the after market price for Buffa is insane and no one is buying Entry form Geats. The worst offender are the event exclusives like 2018 Kamen Rider No.1 Sakurajima and 2022 Old No.1, they are brand new molds but they make them exclusives which is difficult for everyone outside Japan to get it. Event exclusives should be existing figures but clear or chrome colour, not brand new. Whose decision in Bandai to make this kind of judgement, I don't know.

[@Soundout12]

That’s why I’ve bought less and less Rider SHFs over the years. It’s frustrating. And also due to their more complex designs, the price value on them isn’t nearly as good compared to the anime shfs

[@Kamiyartz]

@@Soundout12 Yeah, I fore go any completionist mindset and just buy the main rider form and nothing else. The bike or other riders, I treat them as "If I like the show or characters enough to buy them". Not to mention, buying Figuarts in my country, Singapore, is just expensive, the retail price is essentially double.

[@lolo27234]

Also not including the lines Bandai would focus getting a international retail release like Jujutsu Kaisen (a smash hit global anime) it feels like this video should be call is SHF done with tokusatsu

[@conradojavier7547]

They should make More Precure Figuarts, even do Precure is not a Toku.

[@Soundout12]

I was going to mention the Jujustu Kaisen line but it was cut for time. Since so far its just been 7 retail release figures and most were this year, it definitely feels like Bandai's supporting it, but its hard to tell how much life it will have in it.

[@lolo27234]

@@Soundout12 well with the chain saw man and one peice reviles there gonna be pushed to retail easy and the recent bleach line announcement I’m guessing there’s a strobe push in the direction of currently running anime

[@Soundout12]

@@lolo27234 Definitely. Maybe that is Bandai’s plan with SHF to focus on current anime and longer running anime that have global popularity

[@lolo27234]

@@Soundout12 yeah and currently popular live action shows and movies like squid game and the mandalorian while releasing toku and dragon ball stuff less frequently it’s a more sound business decision for a more now global brand it’s worth remembering when the line started it was a niche Japanese only line

[@jemgabrielluna3319]

Wow. First time i watched video this long but not movie I share the same sentiments, esp on quality! Thats why i prefer figma. Sadly, some are bandai exclusives

[@Soundout12]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I also collect Figma and I usually don't have a choice between Bandai and Figma since SHF will get Naruto and Figma will get Shaman King for example.

[@therussianwanderer4851]

Also, Rose Gundam got relegated to P-Bandai.

[@Soundout12]

PB Gunpla is a whole video for another time

[@haydenreviewscustomcombos]

Well, I’m just going to get my rider and Ultraman stuff from P Bandai US

[@tokublwhovian]

I’ve never bought figures (not my thing) but this is interesting.

[@Soundout12]

Glad you enjoy the topic!

[@Th3Treasoner]

This video aged like milk.

[@Soundout12]

I knew it would

[@crossx4974]

More the fall and rise, Compare kamen rider decade first version with the 2021 version

[@kiva_6641]

Dude for my Shinkocchou Seihou di end I paid like 144 bucks so yeah I know what that's like that could have been a retail release

[@Soundout12]

Damn. That's rough. I wanted Seihou Diend originally but when it became an event exclusive, I basically gave up on it

[@kiva_6641]

@@Soundout12 I paid $154 bucks for neo decade I had the money to blow I figured why not will I be doing that again most definitely not.

[@Soundout12]

Damn

[@donhillsmanii5906]

Damn ya’ll paying too much for these SS figures, seriously. Where is everyone getting these? Amazon?

[@kiva_6641]

@@donhillsmanii5906 actually eBay and I was real late in the game trying to get these and I'm not really too keen on ordering overseas too many bad experiences too many times I lost money.

[@chandrawijaya2813]

For Titas, its really sucks. Last year I just get it from Mandarake about 21.000 Yen, the price is Drop but still expensive. Luckily the Bandai China just Reissue Titas exclusive for Chinese Market. The SCLA ver So If you want it, Go check that out. It great video, that's what we feel for Ultraman Collector especially Main Ultraman. Suddenly become P bandai, sucks. I really want to know all your Shf Ultraman Collection, very interesting. Cheers Support from Indonesia.

[@Soundout12]

I might have to track down that SCLA ver. Tri-Squad doesn't feel right without him. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@Penbin123]

Almost a year later, and I still hate P.Bandai

[@Soundout12]

Same

[@jamiesworld1690]

Plus a few a years ago Bandai Japan branded into Western culture sh figuarts like spider man, Marcel, DC to music band duo can't remember their name

[@Soundout12]

I believe you're referring to Daft Punk

[@jamiesworld1690]

@@Soundout12 absolutely yeah they branded into other properties which was cool but totally agree with everything u said in the video why sh figuarts got pb released rather than retail beyond me plus rrkease dates very sparsdicetc

[@Soundout12]

@@jamiesworld1690 Definitely. It honestly feels very random

[@jamiesworld1690]

Wish they do more sentai figuarts

[@Soundout12]

I'm curious to see if they'll do anything beyond the current and most recent seasons in their rebooted line. Super Shodo is definitely the Sentai line to beat Sentai lines right now

[@jamiesworld1690]

@@Soundout12 agree plus with rider better off with their gimmick budget line too even premium banadi one time released gimmick figures of riders too

[@Soundout12]

@@jamiesworld1690 True, Tho the gimmick line for Geats already having 3 PB releases is kind of appalling