Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou Arms

Review by siningy

Teammate and friend to Team Gaim’s Kota Kazuraba, Mitsuzane Kureshima leads a double life as both a Beat Rider and younger brother of Kamen Rider Zangetsu (Takatora Kureshima). Also given a Sengoku Driver from the mysterious Lock Dealer Sid, Mitsuzane becomes Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou (Grape) Arms using the Budou Lockseed.

Ryugen comes in the same box as the other Arms Change figures, with a simple window box and bevel on one edge. Inside the box is Ryugen in pre-Arms form, the Budou Arms, and the Budou Ryuhou. Ryugen’s pre-Arms form uses an ancient Chinese warrior design, continuing Gaim and Baron’s theme of regional armor motifs.

Transformation into Budou form is similar to previous Arms Change releases; simply attach the Budou Arms over the shoulders and fold the parts down. In Budou form, Ryugen keeps the Chinese warrior motif and gains access to the Budou Ryuhou, a multi-barreled pistol resembling a bunch of grapes.

Ryugen shares the same articulation as all the other AC figures but the front skirt impedes the range of movement in the legs. The lack of ball joints in the wrists also makes posing with the Budou Ryuhou a little awkward sometimes. The chest armor also gets in the way of trying to posing Ryugen holding the Budou Ryuhou with both hands.

Like Baron, Ryugen looks pretty terrible in the Orange Arms but looks great with the Banana Arms. Attaching the Budou Arms to Baron also looks pretty bad but Gaim pulls it off pretty well.

Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou Arms is another great addition to the Arms Change line and well worth the original price if you can still find one. While the limited articulation from the front skirt is a little annoying, Ryugen is another constant desktop companion to fiddle with. Unfortunately the popularity of these figures makes finding any of the Arms Change series rather difficult. Prices on eBay and Mandarake have almost doubled.