Space Sheriff Sharivan is one of the legendary "Metal Heroes" of Japanese Television

Space Sheriff Sharivan hails from the Tokuatsu show Uchuu Keiji Sharivan (宇宙刑事シャリバン) which ran from 1983 1984. Specifically, Sharivan is a Metal Hero show, a sub-genre of tokusatsu that features characters in shiny armor as opposed to bodysuits.

As a rule, most of the Space Sheriff shows are relatively unknown in the US, but you might be more familiar with them than you think. Several toys in the Godaikin line, such as Vavilos and Daileon made its way to the us, and there was also a few larger, sound and flash figures that Bandai put out outside of the line.

I picked up this figure on a clearance sale, having largely ignored the line in the past. But with the quality of this figure I was driven to collect all three Space Sheriff figures.

These things do, in fact, rock. The basic idea is you have a plastic action figure that you apply bits or armor to. The shrunken head is a signature aspect of the Souchaku Henshin line. As lame as it looks - you really almost never display it without the armor on.

Each armor part is metal. The helmet is two parts that snap together, while the vest opens in the back to allow the figure to sit inside. All of the other armor points essentially "plug in" to the body. Be careful, some of the parts don't stay on too well. I lost one part of my shoulder armor minutes after assembling it, only to finally find it months later.

Articulation is not too bad and you can get some great poses out of it. Poseability is limited around the head area due to the helmet. it can still turn, but that's about it.

Accessories include a pistol and two different swords. One sword is clear blue, the other is solid.

This figure is a real satisfying purchase. Recommended.

I admit I know next to nothing about the Kamen Rider series. I’ve never watched them, and can barely tell one rider from the other. What I do know about is Chogokin, and as these toys are labeled as such, it was my obligation to check them out.

The Souchaku Henshin Kamen Rider Gai (装着変身 仮面ライダーガイ) comes from the series Kamen Rider Ryuki, which aired from 2002-2003. The toy is part of both the Chogokin line and the Souchaku Henshin line. It is also known as Masked Rider Gai . Gai means "Rhinoceros" in Japanese.

Shouchaku Henshin literally means “Armor Transform”, and applies to most of the recent Kamen Rider and Metal Hero figures. The figure consists of an articulated basic body with snap on metal armor.

Without the armor, the figure is very plain. Most notable is the “pinhead” appearance of the head. The head has to be small to fit the helmet around it, but it just looks terrible like this.

Once the armor is on, the figure looks great. The armor is solid and holds tight. You can still pose it pretty well, but a small amount of articulation is lost.

Kamen Rider Gai comes with 1 weapon – Metal Horn. The right hand turns into a gauntlet with a horn on it.

Metal Horn

The packaging has some great Engrish on it: “You can attach various figures like weapons, armor and options!”

These toys came out in Japan, but were actually distributed in the United States by Diamond Comics Distributors.

I admit I know next to nothing about the Kamen Rider series. I've never watched them, and can barely tell one rider from the other. What I do know about is Chogokin, and as these toys are labeled as such, it was my obligation to check them out.

I admit I know next to nothing about the Kamen Rider series. I’ve never watched them, and can barely tell one rider from the other. What I do know about is Chogokin, and as these toys are labeled as such, it was my obligation to check them out.

The Souchaku Henshin Kamen Rider Ouja (装着変身 仮面ライダー王蛇) comes from the series Kamen Rider Ryuki, which aired from 2002-2003. The toy is part of both the Chogokin line and the Souchaku Henshin line. It is also known as Masked Rider Ouja.

Shouchaku Henshin literally means “Armor Transform”, and applies to most of the recent Kamen Rider and Metal Hero figures. The figure consists of an articulated basic body with snap on metal armor.

Without the armor, the figure is very plain. Most notable is the “pinhead” appearance of the head. The head has to be small to fit the helmet around it, but it just looks terrible like this.

Once the armor is on, the figure looks great. The armor is solid and holds tight. You can still pose it pretty well, but a small amount of articulation is lost.

Kamen Rider Ouja comes with 2 weapons – Venosnaker, a snake-headed staff, and Sword Vent, a blade that resembles the tip of Venosnaker’s tale.

Venosnaker

Sword Vent

The packaging has some great Engrish on it: “You can attach various figures like weapons, armor and options!”

These toys came out in Japan, but were actually distributed in the United States by Diamond Comics Distributors.