Malunis Spamhole

One of the things I mentioned before was that SO-DO likes to top itself. We'll be seeing what I mean with this wave. Just give me a moment to go over some more obligatory things first.

First, the star of RIDE 3: Zi-O in FourzeArmor! This takes up almost half the wave, as the armor is split into two slots, with a third slot for the body that goes with it.

When talking about Ex-AidArmor, I mentioned that Bandai's candy toy blog called out Ex-AidArmor as its chunkiest figure due to the big hammer arms - FourzeArmor immediately topped that, especially since it required two slots in the wave. It feels like a good chunky figure, to the point I'm impressed it's one of those 4" figures.

The suit involves removing the shin armor from Zi-O to attach these rocket parts, a chest piece and a back piece with shoulder armor already attached, and rockets are put over the forearms in the same way that Ex-AidArmor's hammers work. Like those, these attach very securely. Lastly, there are slits on the back of the thighs that armor attaches to, which was a clever bit of foresight on their part.

The gimmick with FourzeArmor is that it has a rocket mode, essentially making Zi-O into a Transformer. There's some parts-forming involved there - they include a plate with the Ziku-Driver on it, and you're meant to attach the shin rockets to it along with the rockets on the forearms, then close the shoulder armor over the head. A display stand is included with every form, so you can make use of that for your flight/finisher poses.

If you hadn't noticed, FourzeArmor uses the normal Zi-O body instead of the armored suit, so they included that here - rather than simply JUST re-releasing the exact same set from RIDE 1, they actually included a variation here. While he comes with the usual hand count, the left open hand is replaced by a pointing hand to replicate Zi-O's iconic pose that he's never used in the show, where his index finger and thumb mimic clock hands. It's a cool little detail to include, making clever use of their new swappable hands.

Now then, let's get to the super cool thing they did for this wave. Let's look at Zi-O in... RyukiArmor?!

If you payed close attention to the toy releases, you may have noticed some forms that only appear on DX RideWatch packaging, which I like to call packaging exclusives - Bandai seems to have had forms made for every lead Rider, regardless of whether they get used in the show or not. SO-DO has decided it needs to make every single one into a toy.

RyukiArmor looks pretty nice, making use of the dragon-themed card reader as shoulder armor, along with a helmet design in which the visor is hidden behind vents like Ryuki's helmet. It's everything you could want out of RyukiArmor, apart from the lack of Ryuki weaponry.

That said, the armor does provide... something! RyukiArmor comes with Zi-O's Zikan Girade in its sword mode - specifically, a variation with a RideWatch inserted, for replicating finishers. 

It's an uncolored piece, so you can use your imagination on which one is inserted, and it's kind of cool they went through that effort. It fills the void since these packaging exclusives technically do not have weapons associated with them.

But wait, there's more! Also included with RIDE 3 is Zi-O in Den-OArmor, another packaging exclusive form!

It looks a bit same-y since it and RyukiArmor share their use of red with silver, but that doesn't take away from how nice it looks. Between the chest/thigh details and the Den-O visor poking from behind Zi-O's crest, it really does a good job of resembling Den-O. And the Den-Liner train as shoulder is a stylish look.

Much like RyukiArmor, Den-OArmor comes with Zi-O's Zikan Girade in its gun mode, also with a RideWatch inserted. Yes, this is a theme.

And finally, we end with Geiz in GenmArmor - since Genm is a recolor of Ex-Aid, it actually makes a lot of sense to make a form for it, especially with how popular he is. While I noted some inaccuracies with Ex-AidArmor's shoulder armor, GenmArmor actually uses the right color for the top part, and the handles are actually supposed to be the same color as the base. 

That said, a personal nitpick is the fact that the thigh armor stickers seem a tad pale, but that may just be on my copy.

GenmArmor doesn't have any weapons really, but included with it is Geiz's Zikan Zax in its bow mode, with a RideWatch inserted. That means, yes, we only have one variation left to go... what a clever way to make you buy the next wave.

I gotta say, this is an interesting wave! FourzeArmor is chunky in a good way, GenmArmor looks sexy, and the inclusion of packaging exclusives is literally exactly the kind of oddness that attracts me. I accept your challenge, SO-DO.

With that in mind, what do you need to buy to display every single armor at least once? Going forward, I'll differentiate between the Armor Changing variations of Zi-O and Geiz, and the "Normal" versions that are used for their default forms. Because as you may have guessed, FourzeArmor won't be the only time they do this.

Armor Change Zi-O in BuildArmor (Body provided by RIDE 1) 

Armor Change Zi-O in Ex-AidArmor (Body provided by RIDE 2) 

Armor Change Geiz in GhostArmor (Body provided by RIDE 1) 

Armor Change Geiz in FaizArmor (Body provided by RIDE 2) 

Armor Change Geiz in DriveArmor (Extra body required) 

Normal Zi-O in FourzeArmor (Body provided by RIDE 3) 

Armor Change Zi-O in RyukiArmor (Body provided by RIDE 3) 

Armor Change Zi-O in Den-OArmor (Extra body required) 

Armor Change Geiz in GenmArmor (Body provided by RIDE 3)

I talked about what SO-DO's history was before, so I won't do that here. RIDE 1 was a good introduction to the armor changing gimmick, and RIDE 2 is where you get a deep dive into this world...

Ex-AidArmor, the second of Zi-O's own arsenal! It's a wonderful design, and here's a bit of trivia about it: The candy toy blog mentioned that previously, Simulation Gamer from Ex-Aid was the chunkiest form SO-DO tackled, but this tops it.

Ex-Aid's chest design is replicated here with a sticker, and it's put to good use as all the details of the health bar are on display. The Gashat shoulders may lack a little desired accuracy, however, as the top part is white instead of that light metallic blue, and the handle is unpainted. Regardless, it's a small detail.

And of course, those huge hammer arms are wonderful. Assuming your figures aren't super loose, the figure is capable of holding those up pretty well. They split into a top and bottom half, with a peg going into the bottom of the fist on the bottom half. It makes for a nice secure fit. In fact, in my case I had to sand down the peg a little to make it easier to remove.

Much like BuildArmor, a chest and helmet piece are included so that Geiz can wear Ex-AidArmor, as is your want. And thankfully, the pink hair on both helmets is painted on, because that’d be a paint to put stickers onto. 

GhostArmor is also in RIDE 2, giving you Geiz's first armor and the first one ever seen in the show. It's a good look, making use of Ghost Eyecons as shoulder armor. Much like the last couple of armors, they include a chest piece and helmet for both Zi-O and Geiz. Weirdly, they made Ghost's horn a separate piece, and only made one. But if you intend to display both Riders in this armor, you'd probably have a duplicate anyway.

It's worth noting, as of writing this, GhostArmor is the last form in SO-DO that was designed with Zi-O and Geiz parts. Beyond this point, it's either forms intended for Geiz or forms intended for Zi-O. So if you're going above Plus Ultra with your collecting and displaying every single variation, your quest ends with this wave. Be thankful.

Included with GhostArmor is Geiz's Zikan Zax in its ax mode, which is a clever way to both provide a weapon with an otherwise weaponless form, and also provide variations in general. This is something you'll see more of in coming waves.

Next up is... FaizArmor, a Geiz-exclusive! Which is a bit early, but for reasons that will become clear once we get to RIDE 3. FaizArmor is a beautiful set, obviously making use of stickers for a lot of its detailing.

The gimmick of the armor is to provide Geiz with a variety of weapons, and it delivers - included is the FaizPhone X made for this show, along with the Faiz Shot which is a knuckle duster weapon. The latter uses a peg on one side, so it looks more accurate when used in the left hand.

Lastly, which is technically just a regular part of this form's design, the Faiz Pointer on the shin is included - it's essentially an alternate shin piece that you swap in place of Geiz's usual shin armor, meaning this is specifically tailored for Geiz's armor suit.

As forms go, FaizArmor is pretty slick, and I like how it was executed here.

Last in the wave is DriveArmor, another form only made for Geiz. If you're a fan of Drive, this form has everything you could want, from the white stripes to the tire shoulders and Shift Car armor on the forearms. It's a fun look.

Let's talk about those Shift Cars! In an attempt to put armor on the forearms, without covering up the RideWatch Holders on the side, SO-DO created a pair of fists that have this L shaped plate with the Shift Cars on them, so it's essentially an alternate pair of hands specifically made for DriveArmor. It's a clever idea, though it means you don't get open hands. Perhaps if they make a Zi-O variant of the form, they can do that.

Speaking of Zi-O, included with DriveArmor is Zi-O's Zikan Girade in its gun mode, which completes the set of weapons for the two main heroes!

And that, right there, is a nice wave of new armors. I mentioned before that I wanted to be able to display each armor, so if you want to do that as well, let's go over what you need.

Zi-O in BuildArmor (Body provided by RIDE 1) 

Zi-O in Ex-AidArmor (Body provided by RIDE 2) 

Geiz in GhostArmor (Body provided by RIDE 1) 

Geiz in FaizArmor (Body provided by RIDE 2) 

Geiz in DriveArmor (Extra body required)

In a nutshell, this is from Kamen Rider's current 4" action figure line. They've had these for years, each sporting its own name. But as of Ex-Aid in 2016, they made a more uniform attempt at a figure line called SO-DO. Surprisingly, there's a decent amount to talk about with the line.

It was pretty solid as is when Ex-Aid started, but at some point, they experimented in more articulation in a one-off re-release set of Riders. Then, with Kamen Rider Build, they kept that articulation as the standard. During Build, they did a one-off re-release set of Riders with swappable hands, which has now become the standard for the current SO-DO line for Kamen Rider Zi-O.

Oh, another thing that became the standard for Zi-O? While Build did this once in a while, Zi-O has always sold each wave as an optional “Here’s the entire wave” boxset for people who wanna just buy it that way instead of piecemeal. 

SO-DO is, in a lot of ways, a line that pushes itself to its limits constantly. Let's see how it manages that.

The SO-DO stuff largely is based around the idea of splitting a figure into two different releases. In the case of Zi-O, there is the Cross Armor Set which features the torso/head and accessories, then there's the Action Body Set which features the body and alternate hands.

The Cross Armor Set is cleverly designed so that some of the armor can be placed onto the display stand, which I guess is for those who don’t have a body yet. And for those wondering, there is a placeholder head included with Action Body Sets, which are detailed from the front but have nothing but have no back - I painted mine to treat them as mid-transformation helmets.

Much of the play style of this line revolves around the figures being built like this. For example, there are slits on the back of Zi-O's thighs, the front of the shin armor is designed to be removable, and there's pegholes on the back as well as waist - the latter being used for a display stand.

It may seem odd at first glance, having a figure split into two slots in the wave, but I think it's clever. Think about it - you're getting a figure that has the budget of two figures, essentially. And since they rely on stickers in place of paint in most cases, you have to imagine that's also shifting the budget towards quality figures.

Oh, and I should mention the display stand again. It comes with a balljoint stick that pegs into the waist the figure, and it’s a nice solid little stand. There’s also a peg on it to go into the foot for a more secure statue-esque display. And of course, they include a sticker to display the name of the Rider or the form they’re using. Unless otherwise stated, EVERY Rider and form comes with a display stand. 

Let's just go ahead and get into the actual contents of the wave, shall we?

Kamen Rider Zi-O, fittingly, is in RIDE 1, along with the secondary hero, Kamen Rider Geiz. Since they're so similar, it makes sense to tackle them together.

When it comes to articulation, SO-DO does not disappoint. From top to bottom you have: Balljoint neck, universal shoulders, bicep swivel, elbow bend, wrist swivel, waist swivel, balljoint hips, thigh swivel, knee bend, and balljoint feet. At worst, there may be some limit to the elbows and knees, but that's still a wealth of movement to get out of something this small. The shoulder armor is on a loose hinge, meaning you get clearance for outward movement regardless of how absurd the armor is. Lastly, the Ziku-Driver on the belt is also removable, which means it can rotate for transformation replications.

The detailing is also excellent. While there are a fair amount of stickers involved, this is actually useful for getting across details too small for paint, such as the time displayed on their belts or (as we'll get into with some later waves) chest detailing. That's not to say ALL of the color is stickers, as they do provide some paint on things like the kneepads and silver forearm straps.

And as someone who generally dislikes stickers, many of these actually do stay on tightly and sink into the molded detailing really well. You kind of forget stickers are involved until you look at them up close.

The only real nitpick I have with these is Geiz's colors, as he features red hands instead of his usual black with yellow. It's easy to ignore.

I did mention accessories are involved, yeah? Zi-O comes with the Zikan Girade in its sword mode, while Geiz has the Zikan Zax in its bow mode. Many of the weapons in SO-DO replace any form of hilt with just a short peg to fit into their fists, which means some weapons may lose their silhouette a bit, but most of the time I don't really notice it.

And when it comes to swappable hands, they have what is essentially the standard for this line: Fists which are used for holding items, and open hands. For now, Zi-O can't pull off THAT pose...

Then we have the main gimmick of Zi-O, the Rider Armors! RIDE 1 comes with BuildArmor, along with Armor Changing Kamen Rider Zi-O and Armor Changing Kamen Rider Geiz.

Many of the initial Rider Armors in the show are essentially Zi-O and Geiz in these generic colored armored suits with unique shoulders/chest/helmets/thigh armor, and SO-DO decided the best way to make use of these forms was to make the armor suit its own figure rather than make a suit of armor that pegs onto Zi-O and Geiz. The Ziku-Driver doesn’t display a year this time, because they kept in mind that you might try different armors on these figures. 

As said before, the standard fists and open hands are included with either figure. Weirdly, Geiz's fists are grey like much of the suit, when it makes sense for them to be black like the open hands. Much like the Action Body Sets for Zi-O and Geiz, these Armor Changing figures come with a placeholder head, but this one is a little bit different: It’s a blank face with no molded detailing, meaning it is essentially a mid-transformation head. 

BuildArmor looks very nice here, using stickers to get across some nice metallic red and blue, and thankfully uses paint for the Rabbit and Tank eye pieces poking out from behind the visor. While this will not be the case for most of these forms, BuildArmor comes with an alternate head and chest piece (due to the collar being a different color) for Geiz, meaning you can display it on either Rider in this wave. And of course, BuildArmor's drill weapon is included as a thing that pegs on top of the fist.

Also of note about the general engineering of SO-DO... I find it interesting that, for things like the thigh armor and shin armor, they made the pegs different sizes, so it keeps you from putting anything on the wrong side. The shoulder armor is an exception, but so far they've all been symmetrical designs, so it doesn't matter which one goes where.

Right away, SO-DO charmed me. This is essentially a toyline that’s had 2 years of improvement, and it shows. This is also a good introduction wave for fans of Zi-O, because it gives you a good sample of what the armor changing gimmick will be like going forward. At worst, you walk away with the two main heroes, and those are nice self-contained figures. 

If you ARE interested in more, hoo boy... one of the ways SO-DO constantly tops itself is the amount of things it's willing to make figures of... stay tuned.

Let me also toss in an extra thing! Are you a completionist? 

If you want every form displayed once: 

Zi-O in BuildArmor (Body provided by RIDE 1) 

Expectation: Bothered by his defeat to Zi-O, Geiz complains vaguely about how bad of a person Sogo is. His uncle overhears and provides some background, saying that Sogo is a good kid, and a bit too dim to really hurt anyone. Geiz don’t want to accept it, but he’s been given enough evidence so far... maybe this is another step in his growth as an ally. 

Reality: Geiz complains pretty bluntly with the uncle in the room, then storms out without explanation and the uncle doesn’t question a thing. At least the Nobunaga stuff as neat as a followup to the last episode. And it may be possible they’re setting up some interesting stuff for Geiz by having him hate Zi-O even more, so... fine I guess? 

Expectation: The real reason Sogo joined King Kuroto Dan was to get some intel on how he became Another OOO, because the show has shown us that Sogo is both clever and pacifistic. 

Reality: Sogo just... wanted to know the signs so he doesn’t become evil, I guess. I mean, it’s a little more plain but I kind of see what they were going for? Bit of an extreme way to go about it and probably ill-advised. 

Expectation: While getting info on Kuroto, Sogo also finds out that the original Kamen Rider OOO (Eiji Hino) is being held prisoner. He meets with the amnesic legend, and when Geiz is defeating another copy of Another OOO in the past, Eiji comes to his senses and finds this politician suit very ill-fitting of his chosen vagabond lifestyle. Typical “These RideWatches belong to you” business after that. 

Reality: They... kind of just say Eiji became a politician, and don’t make it clear if that is/isn’t a result of the amnesia, because his reasons mirror lessons he learned in his own show. As always, this show makes it very unclear what the rules are with the amnesia stuff. And he presents Sogo with two new RideWatches in the most rushed sequence possible, no explanation or buildup, just “Also these belong to you”.