Hello everyone. This is Funasen.

The new KAMEN RIDER, Saber, was announced the other day!
The excitement at this time of year is probably the most fun time of the year, but for us as the product senders, it is also a very exciting time as we can finally unveil what we have been preparing for over six months.

Did you see the production presentation last week?
If you haven't seen it yet, it's available on YouTube below, so be sure to check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVE5EW1Ix8

This year, this blog will be supporting Oka-san as Daishinji!


Well, in today's blog, the main items announced are:
"HENSHIN BELT DX SEIKEN SWORDRIVER"!!
We will introduce you to the following:

The quickest way to find out about the basic gameplay is to check out the product page by clicking on the banner below.


There is also a video, so please check it out.

First, we will announce the cast for Belt.
The system voices were all handled by voice actor Akio Otsuka!
(It's obvious now.)

This year's transformation item is a "book," and it is an item that plays the sound of a book being read aloud.
From the perspective of what kind of voice has overwhelming persuasive power as a narrator of a book, we had no choice but to ask Mr. Otsuka! And so he participated.
A distinctive feature of Riders, whose items are books, is that narration is also incorporated into the transformation sounds.
Therefore, out of all the transformation sounds so far, this one is classified as being quite long, but Otsuka's voice delivers this lengthy "narration" in a cool, heroic, and pleasant-to-listen-to way, making it something you'll want to listen to over and over again.

And...this time, in addition to Mr. Otsuka, we have another person providing a voice.
The voice that plays after "Rekka Battou!", "Boo-rey-eve-dragon!", the title song of the book, is sung by singer Eizo Sakamoto!!
Sakamoto-san, who is well known as an Animetal and early JAM project member, provided the vocal parts.
The transformation sound is structured as "Book title song" followed by "Narration", and the core song of the transformation sound features Sakamoto's powerful shouts, giving off the strength of heavy metal.

For "Ridewatch," Rikiya Koyama was the main system voice, but Yohei Onishi was in charge of the transformation sound for "Kamen Rider Zi-Oh." Just like that, this time we will be working with the two of us to provide the voices for not only the Sword Driver, but various other items, so please look forward to it.


Now, let's get back to the main topic of toys and talk about SEIKEN SWORDRIVER.



He unsheathes his sword and transforms.
And that sword will be the Rider's main weapon, a new item not seen on the main Rider belts until now.

KAMEN RIDER Vulcan Valkyrie was an item that combined a belt and a weapon, and this year we are proud to present a legitimate evolved version of this toy.


This year's item, the Wonder Ride Book, not only makes sounds on its own, but also has a unique built-in tag that can be read by the sword side of SEIKEN SWORDRIVER without contact to activate the sounds of transformations and special moves.
While there is a sense of wonder in the non-contact aspect, there is also the straightforward fun of being able to physically "unsheathe the sword" and play with it in a powerful way.

The Saw Driver has three built-in positions for reading "contactless tags."​



The Wonder Ride Books are inserted into three places on the belt, and the belt will read which of the three books is inserted based on which of the three places mentioned above.
The transformation sound changes depending on how the books are combined, so this is a fun belt to collect lots of books and find new combinations!

When the sword is drawn, the book unfolds, revealing pages that cannot be opened by itself.
When you collect and open several of them, the pictures in the three books connect together, creating a "matching picture" mechanism that's also a lot of fun.


Of the three tag reading parts, the tip of the sword is used to activate special moves by reading the book.
Special move... Yes,
This time, the number of special moves that can be performed with just this belt is the largest in the history of Rider Belts!

1. A special move that can be activated by leading a book to the tip of SEIKEN SWORDRIVER (can be stacked multiple times)
② A special sword move that can be performed by returning the sword to the belt, pressing the trigger once, and then pulling it out.
3) Return the sword to the belt and press the trigger twice to perform the Rider Kick special move.
④ After transforming, the page push special move is activated by pushing in the page of the unfolded book.
5. A special draw technique that can be activated by setting the sword in a holder (Sold separately) and pulling it out.

There is so much to enjoy!
There were so many special moves that needed to be explained that it was not possible to fit warning labels on the back of the product packaging, and the entire surface had to be devoted to explanations.
For more information, please check the page linked at the beginning of the blog.

Furthermore, SEIKEN SWORDRIVER can be transformed into the belt of multiple KAMEN RIDER by changing the hilt of the sword.
The red parts are KAMEN RIDER SABER 's "Flame Sword Rekka", and the blue parts are KAMEN RIDER Blaze's "Water Force Sword Ryusui".
And as for KAMEN RIDER Espada... that hasn't been announced yet, so we'll save that for another time.

As you change swords, the system voice phrases as well as attack and special move sounds change, making this a very fun game to play.
This tsuba part also has a built-in "contactless tag," which can be read by the reader at the tip of the sword and then attached to switch to another sword.
(Even if you change parts without scanning them, it will not be recognized as changed.)


Anyway, I can say with confidence that this SEIKEN SWORDRIVER is incredibly well made, so please look forward to its release on Saturday, September 5th!
And for those of you who can't wait until September 5th, the "Application for the advance lottery sale of SEIKEN SWORDRIVER" has begun today!


A similar attempt was made with HIDEN ZERO-ONE DRIVER last year, but this is your chance to get one early during August.
What's more, this time the set not only includes the promotional item "Hiden's Secret Story Wonder Ride Book," which will be distributed in stores as an early purchase bonus, but also the "DX Peter Fantasista Wonder Ride Book," which will be released separately.
This set allows you to experience it in advance, including the fun of playing with the pieces, so you have no choice but to apply!

We look forward to hearing from you. That's all for today's blog.
The next session will be next Tuesday, August 11th.

Well then!