BANDAI official KAMEN RIDER toy information site

Hello everyone. I'm Funasen, the CSM developer.

Pre-orders for the "CSM Amazons Driver ver. Alpha" will begin today at 11am!
Before reading the blog, please first check the contents of the reservation page at the link below.


Today's blog is long, so I'd like to start with what I want to say.
In my previous blog I wrote that "daily production volume will be 1/4 of normal," but this does not mean that we will be limiting production numbers themselves.
Please note that we will produce all items reserved during the order period.

The reservation deadline is Monday, August 31st.
The reservation acceptance period is about one month, which is shorter than the normal CSM period, but this is a measure to extend the mass production period that begins after the deadline.
We will start mass production of just the driver body for which we have the molds from September.



Now, let me explain about the product.

① Dirty painting
First and foremost, regarding the most important point, the weathered paint, a 360° view is provided on the reservation page, so please check there to see the overall look of the weathered paint.
*We also plan to add some dirt to the belt.

In order to express the dirt on Takayama Jin's belt, the entire piece is given a dirty paint treatment using a method that can be mass-produced in a factory.
There are props for actors and props for suits, but I think the dirtiness of the props is closer to that of the suits.
The dirt paint is applied to each item by hand, not by machine, so there will be individual differences between products.
Please understand this as a specification before purchasing.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, the dirt paint on this product is not a perfect reproduction of the dirt on the prop in the movie.
The paint on props (especially actor props) tends to have large areas of silver paint on the corners, but the paint on this product has a more polished appearance with finer lines throughout.
The large silver marks seen on the props can look artificial and obviously painted with a brush, unless they are painted very delicately.
It is impossible to achieve such precision in the painting process at a factory, so we use a painting method that is possible to create the effect.

The large silver painted areas on the prop are clearly painted, so you can tell they are dirty even when viewed from a distance in the footage.
It is likely that the painting was done with consideration given to how it would look in a film.
On the other hand, toys are actually in front of you and can be viewed from a close distance in 360 degrees. Taking into account the difference in the environment, we aim to improve the reality when viewed with the naked eye by eliminating solid paint as much as possible, which can come across as unnatural.
It is common with figures that, when a life-size figure is scanned as is and then reduced to 10cm size, the balance ends up looking strange for some reason. However, by making appropriate adjustments to the 10cm size, it can actually look like the balance is the same as the life-size figure.
We believe that by applying the appropriate processing for the appropriate scene and purpose, it is possible to make figures and NARIKIRI TOYS appear more realistic.


And this is often misunderstood, so I want to clarify it here: CSM does not strive to perfectly replicate the prop. Rather, it is first and foremost a toy that properly functions, and within that, we create the appearance to match the prop as closely as possible.
As with the above example of painting, the button placement, obi structure, and other aspects are also created with clear priorities in mind (sometimes subject to the constraints of the mold pull direction).
We make the most appropriate choice depending on the item and location.


② Audio specifications
Next, regarding the audio specifications of this product, since this product is advertised as being exclusively for "Takayama Jin," it does not include the transformation sounds, sound effects, or character voices for Omega and Sigma.
Instead, the number of voice lines for Jin has been significantly increased through new recordings by Masashi Taniguchi, meaning that you can now enjoy approximately 120 different lines.
Additionally, by deleting all of the audio related to Omega Sigma, we were able to free up IC capacity, which allowed us to add more background music in addition to the lines mentioned above.

"Suit" could be considered a Sigma song, but we included it this time because it is played during the battle scene with Alpha.
I think it would work well in situations where two people play together, such as using the previous product as Sigma and this product.
As for ver. Alpha, I'd like you to enjoy the game while imagining that you're fighting Sigma.

We had Taniguchi-san record additional audio.
Some of the lines have been re-recorded from previous products.
Enjoy this soulful and realistic scream!
We also took photographs and videos during the audio recording, so please check them out at the link below.




3. Surprise accessories
In my last blog post I mentioned a "little surprise" and was referring to some accessories!

Surprise #1
"Amazon Blade"!

The Amazon Blade parts that came with the "DX Amazons Driver" have been re-included with this product. (Newly sculpted for CSM.)
Neither Season 1 nor 2 was used at all, so we were quite nervous when DX was released.
It finally made an appearance in the movie, but who would have thought that Alpha would use it (though it was Omega's belt that was pulled from it).
Because of this, we had a lot of trouble deciding what weapons to include in the last CSM, and, taking into account the total cost, we decided to include only "Amazon-sized" weapons.
When we decided to release the alpha version this time, the toy's specifications of being able to detach the grip remained unchanged, so we decided to include a place to attach it to, as we felt that play would be more fulfilling if there was a place to attach it.
Since only the grip is the dirty paint version, the color balance may be slightly off when combined, but if you already have the previous product, it may be a good idea to combine it with that grip.

By the way, in the manga "KAMEN RIDER Amazons Gaiden: Hotaru no Hi," which was recently completed with the 5th volume, it is properly used by Amazon Omega!



I remember being very happy because this was published before the movie was released, at a time when it had not been used in the film.
"Hotaru no Hi" not only reveals what happened between season 1 and season 2, but also reveals storylines and settings that give a great sense of depth to the world of Amazons, so it's a must-read for all Amazons fans!
It's very interesting!

Surprise #2
"Militant Amazons Register"!!

This is the transformation item of KAMEN RIDER Amazon Neo Alpha, who appeared in the movie "The Last Judgement."
The name of this product is "ver. Alpha", which means it also includes "Neo Alpha".
It's a simple gimmick in which the transformation sound is activated by pulling down the beak-shaped lever in the center, and this completes the commercialization of the transformation items for all riders that appear in "KAMEN RIDER Amazons."

Neo Alpha only has a bracelet as a transformation item, but he also wears the "Neo Amazons Driver" (although strictly speaking the silver part is a little greenish in color).
The already released "HENSHIN BELT Neo Amazons Driver" is not a CSM brand, but it is designed to be displayed alongside CSM in terms of size and belt structure, so if you already have it, we hope you will play with it together with the Militant Amazons Register.



Furthermore, this cash register is quite thin and the internal structure is very tight, so we were unable to fit a dialogue button in.
Please note that Hidenosuke Mido's lines are not included.
It may seem like a contradiction has arisen right away, despite the fact that earlier in the blog I said that "function as a toy is the top priority", but in the case of this bracelet specifically, the impact of the appearance being compromised in order to make it functional was too great to ignore, so I prioritized appearance.
This is what is meant by "making the most appropriate choice."

Surprise #3
"Alpha Core Parts (bloodshot ver.)"!!!

This is a red, illuminated part for Alpha that was not included in the previous product, but the LED installation position and illumination direction are the same as the previous product.
The Alpha's congestion looks best when the LED comes from around the eyebrows, but this is not the case, so the illumination appears different from the Omega congestion parts, the previous product.
The structural reasons for this are also explained in the blog at the time.
https://toy.bandai.co.jp/series/rider/topics/detail/921/?t=blog
We had heard many people say that it would have been nice to have Alpha's eyes reddened, and although the direction in which the LED shines is different from the shape of the eyes, the red eye mold does glow, so it creates a nice effect, so we decided to include it this time.

At the time I wrote on my blog that "it can be reproduced by using a special belt", but if you move the LED to the top, it cannot be removed, and since there is an interchangeable belt between "Alpha normal" and "Alpha bloodshot", even if it is specifically for Alpha, I have now realised that this cannot be done.
The correct answer was that it is possible if it is specifically for congestion.



Finally, about the price.
In my previous blog I advertised this as a "corporate effort price," and when comparing Contents with the previous product, including the fact that two core parts have been removed, the price has now come to 24,200 yen, a 3,300 yen decrease from the previous product price.
The price difference is almost entirely due to the parts, and does not reflect most of the cost of the dirt paint.
The aim of lowering the price this time is to encourage more people to purchase the product.
Normally the cost of painting the dirt would be quite high, but we thought that some people who had previously purchased the product might find it a little difficult to pick up this new product as it is a different version.
However, I thought that people might be suspicious if I just said, "It's cheap!" so I also explained my intentions.
Thank you for considering purchasing!


And finally, starting today, the CSM general page has been revamped!
For future information on past products, please see here.


That's all for today's blog.
The next session will be next Monday, August 3rd.

Next week's blog will be about new KAMEN RIDER products, whose production announcement will be made tomorrow, July 29th.

Well then!!