Hello everyone. This is Funasen, the CSM representative.

Just a moment ago, the opening ceremony of the NARIKIRI TOYS event "NARIKIRI WORLD" was held.
among them
KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN / Kotaro Minami played by Hidetoshi Nishijima
"KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN" Director: Kazuya Shiraishi
took to the stage to hold a presentation on the "CSM HENSHIN BELT Century King Sun Driver."

With this, PREMIUM BANDAI pre-order page has just opened!
Pre-orders will start tomorrow, Friday, October 28th at 12 noon, but starting today you can check the product specifications.
Please see here first.



As this is a new KAMEN RIDER aimed at adults, it includes things that can't be done in the regular Sunday morning episodes, but the toys also include high-calorie gimmicks that can't be done in KAMEN RIDER!
This is the first HENSHIN BELT toy in history! HENSHIN BELT with an automatic transformation gimmick!
So, you can see it in action in the promotional video. Check it out here.

The release of the product is in just a few hours, so we will be introducing the gimmick in advance, so today's blog will focus on the "gimmick" and "object itself" of this belt.

●Automatic transformation
At the CSM event "THE HENSHIN" held in 2019, we exhibited a concept model called "HENSHIN BELT of the Future."
One of them was a "HENSHIN BELT automatically transforms and spews smoke."
When planning for "KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN" began, we wanted to create a belt that would stand on its own, rather than a concept like the Sunday Morning edition where items are swapped out throughout the year, and we started designing and developing the belt inspired by this concept model.
Also, since we were developing this belt as a CSM brand belt for adults from the start, we had many meetings with the people creating the product and proceeded with the development in order to incorporate complex gimmicks that could only be implemented on such an occasion.
This time, the design concept is that the transformation is completed by "closing" the belt, rather than opening it.
This was the idea of Shinji Higuchi, who was in charge of the concept visuals for this work. (BANDAI 's thinking is that it will open up in a general direction.)
The movement of the open parts closing towards the centre of the belt represents the convergence of energy into the central light-emitting part.
I remember we were all impressed that it was a clever idea that also took into consideration the size of the belt during combat.

​It also has a built-in sensor, so when you take a transformation pose, your hand movements will graze the sensor and a sound will play in accordance with your movement.
Like CSM ALTERING, the movement of waving your hand over and then releasing it is effectively incorporated into the performance, and the sound matches the movements in the play perfectly.
Please check the distribution work for the complete details of the transformation pose.
*The sensor distance that Nishijima reacts to in the promotional video is a temporary value set during filming, and will actually be set to the sensitivity of aligning his hand movements during the transformation pose in the movie.

●Full illumination
There are 16 LEDs placed throughout the inside, so the entire belt glows from a surface, emitting a level of light never before seen in HENSHIN BELT before.
Due to the automatic transformation gimmick, the inside of the belt is already packed with numerous motors, gears, and moving parts, but on top of that, it is illuminated all over, making the inside of the belt even more clogged.
The image below shows the glowing surface area with the moving parts removed.



(Additional information) In the movie, HENSHIN BELT worn by BLACK SUN has the gaps between the moving parts painted metallic red, but this is to represent the red light that leaks out through the paint; before transformation and on the toy, the parts are black.
Please pay attention to the pre-transformation belt scene after it is released.

● Impressive paintwork

The entire belt is painted with a dirty look to give it a worn texture that evokes the history of the Battle of Black Sun.
Using the mass production techniques cultivated in the production of "Amazons Driver ver. Alpha," we will once again attempt the dirty painting process in the same factory.
Since our painters apply a dirty paint to each piece individually, no two products are alike.

Includes dialogue by Hidetoshi Nishijima!



It even includes audio of Nishijima's lines! I'm extremely grateful to be able to include this in my belt.
As with previous CSMs, the game includes a gimmick that allows you to play the dialogue by pressing the dialogue button, or by starting the game in "dialogue mode" at startup, which will activate the sound of the transformation in time with Nishijima's cry of "Hen...mi!"
We also had the opportunity to interview Nishijima-san about the product, and the video and text will be uploaded tomorrow or later. Please look forward to that too!


And finally, starting at midnight, all 10 episodes of "KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN" will be available to stream on Prime Video!



Tomorrow is a weekday, so even if you are able to watch it, you will probably only be able to watch one or two episodes, but this weekend I hope you will enjoy the main KAMEN RIDER BLACK SUN series and then take another look at the belt.
I also saw all 10 episodes at a preview screening, and they were so exciting and entertaining that I couldn't contain myself and watched them all the way to the end!


And tomorrow, from 10/28 (Friday) to 10/30 (Sunday), the NARIKIRI TOYS exhibition event "NARIKIRI WORLD (NARIKIRI WORLD)" will be held at "Gallary AaMo" in Tokyo Dome City, where the actual CSM HENSHIN BELT Century King Mr./Ms. Driver will be on display!
Plus, that belt too!



The BLACK SUN belt will be the main attraction at the booth, but we also have a variety of other character NARIKIRI items on display, so please come and check it out.

That's all for today's blog, and I'll update again tomorrow.
Information on the Century King Sun Driver will also be released tomorrow...!
The exhibition event starts tomorrow, so if you live in the Kanto area, please come and join us! Tomorrow is a weekday, so please come on weekends too.

See you next time!