Figure Review: S.H.Figuarts - Kamen Rider Zero-One Rising Hopper [50th Anni ver]

Rising Hopper! A jump to the sky turns to a Rider Kick

Kamen Rider Zero-One – as the first Reiwa Rider – has a design philosophy that combine both the gimmicky style of Neo Heisei as well as the classic “insectoid” style of Showa. Being a futuristic series that deal with the uprising of Artificial Intelligent, KR Zero-One also mark a new step for S.H.Figuarts – with some new engineering to add on to Kamen Rider’s most popular figure line.

+ Design: Kamen Rider Zero-One is, obviously, the titular Rider of the series, and Rising Hopper is also his first Henshin form. The design carries a grasshopper motif with the green color, but instead of a dark green like Ichigo, they give him a green neon color to make it look more cyberpunk-ish, and it looks great on him. The eyes’ dark red really contrast with the green faceplate and make it stand out. His main color scheme is black and green neon, but there are also small streaks of red and grey here and there to break up some monotonous armor plate.

The new thing about Zero-One is the bumpy, net-like texture on the black parts. It give an extremely deluxe feel and is very durable since it’s just pure black plastic but still looks amazing. It is the first time this has been done on a Kamen Rider, fitting for the first Reiwa rider. The extremely small diamond pattern on the black makes it feel like he’s wearing protective gear for a biker, which is pretty awesome.

+ Articulation: People usually praise Shinkocchou Seihou for its increased articulation, but this figure doesn’t need that label to authorise some amazing and dynamic pose. Honestly, even some old S.H.F already had amazing range of movement, and Hiden Aruto is no exception. The new texture makes it feel very good to handle the figure, which is a great plus as it feel much more solid.

The range of the shoulder and hips are also very wide as you can “extend” the shoulder and hip joints for greater range. And due to being the base form, there’s not much armor to get in the way, so you can use the full double-jointed knees and elbows to its fullest potential. As with all Riders, the feet is crucial for the Rider Kick, and I’m please to say that his feet pivot and swivel is amazing. Although his feet design resemble a running sneaker, so the sole is a bit small, but you should have no problem balancing him.

+ Gimmicks: Being the base form, there’s not much gimmick to the figure aside from the Driver. You can eject the Progrisekey for him to hold. But that’s about it for the “gimmick” of this figure.

+ Accessories: The figure came with some basic accessories (mostly hand parts):
– 2 x closed-fists
– 2 x pointing hands
– 2 x relaxed hands
– 2 x style hands
– 1 x Rising Hopper Progrisekey

This version is basically the same as every other Rising Hopper SHF out there, so there’s no need to wonder which one you should get. Just get the one with the prettiest box-art for you.

+ Conclusion: The S.H.F Zero-One Rising Hopper is a worthy figure to start off the Reiwa era of Kamen Rider figures. It retains the good basic of the line and implemented a new engineering that elevate the feel of the figure. It’s fun to play with and very durable. Although I’d really like if Bandai include the Attache Calibur to give it much more value, but eh, the way Bandai operate is familiar to us all. If you want something, pay up. Thankfully, this figure is quite affordable.

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