BANDAI official KAMEN RIDER toy information site

Hello everyone. I'm Suzuki Yamato from Taito, also known as Funasen, the CSM developer! Please listen!

"THE Gaim Festival" starts today!
The content of the special page has been released, and Product Information for "CSM Project Ark" has also been made public!



There is so much information that I'm not sure how much I can cover in today's blog, but I would like to focus on the overall overview and general outline of the product.

First of all, here's the information.
The first episode of "Kamen Rider Gaim KAMEN RIDER Gridon vs. KAMEN RIDER Bravo" has also started streaming on the "Toei special effects Fan Club"!





Finally, the long-awaited wish came true and a spin-off featuring these two was born! They also made a brief appearance in Saber! Become a member and check it out!
Nowadays, spin-off V-cinemas have become commonplace, but Gaim was the very first. I'm incredibly happy that it's continuing like this.


Now, "CSM Project Arc" is a project that will periodically release products such as the "CSM SENGOKU DRIVER" for Gaim, which includes various optional parts, as a starter set, and "CSM Lockseed ●● Sets," which are sets of multiple Lockseeds with different concepts. ... And maybe there will be other items from time to time? ?

The special page's content includes an entrance to "Helheim Forest."
If you enter there and grab a fruit, various Lockseeds will appear, some of which are planned to be commercialized in the future, so please come and have fun in this forest.
To be clear, at least for now, all of the Lockseeds that appear when you click on this forest page have already been decided to be commercialized!
As expected, they won't sell all at once, so we will release them as concept sets over the medium to long term, so we appreciate your support.
There are Lockseeds that don't appear (such as Fresh) that can still be commercialized, so we would appreciate your continued support for this project.
I can't harvest energy either, but that's not yet possible...

The berries found in Helheim Forest occasionally undergo incredibly mundane changes, such as transforming into coupons to be used at PREMIUM BANDAI, so it's fun to wander around the forest until you find one.



Here's an introduction to the first part of the project.

<CSM SENGOKU DRIVER >



The new SENGOKU DRIVER and Lockseed have been redesigned with new details based on the "Suit Prop"!
If you compare it with a special-effect photo book, you will see subtle differences.
The original DX version had a good shape, and the actor's props were based on the DX version, but this time it was redesigned and made into a new mold to match the suit version. (This has been the case for most figures other than Ixa.)
The reason why I used a suit prop is because when I thought about displaying the Lockseed in its deployed state, the only time it appears in that state in the movie is when it is in its suit after transformation (leaving aside the moment when it is turned off during transformation).
The suit prop beautifully reproduces the appearance that was originally desired in the design.
(The Lockseed holder and other things not included in this product are only included with the transformed suit props.)
However, the size itself is the same as the DX version, and the shape of the part where the Lockseed is inserted is also the same standard.
However, due to the difference in the target age, the publisher can only say that "We do not guarantee compatibility." Please be forewarned. (Please guess if you are OOO DRIVER.)
By the way, the faceplates are not compatible at all (the reason will be explained later).

The design has been renewed, but the first thing that catches your eye is the change in the cutting blade! There is no longer a dividing line, and it is now made of metal.
Of course, I can't say for sure whether the prop was metal or not, but because the motif was a "sword," I felt that the material should be metal, and created it to satisfy the sensory desire for material things.
It also helps that the Amazon's Driver diecast has received very good reviews.
Although it is die-cast, instead of the zinc die-cast that has been commonly used in CSMs up to now, the lighter aluminum die-cast is used, which helps to prevent wear and tear caused by the rotating parts.

Since the DX version is intended for children aged 3 and above, the tip is made of soft plastic.
This resulted in a dividing line appearing on the sword, but this is gone in the CSM version, and it has become one beautiful metal blade.

And this sword is painted silver!
At first, we were worried that the paint would get rubbed off because it's a part that cuts the Lockseed, but after applying a solid coating and conducting several thousand operational tests to measure durability, we were told it was OK to paint it, and we were able to reproduce the same beautiful color as the prop.
As with the Gaia Memory button painting for DOUBLE DRIVER ver.1.5, there is often a trade-off between the durability of the toy and the appearance of the prop, but we managed to achieve both and it turned out fine. I'm really glad...

Die-casting is also used in other places, including the "lock-on arm" that secures the Lockseed. (This is zinc die-casting.)
In the DX version, this part opens up, but this is a consideration in designing the toy, as it is assumed that children of the target age, 3 years old, will try to remove the Lockseed by forcibly pulling on the hook part on the Lockseed without opening it (not handling it properly), and since this time it is made of die-cast, this part does not open.
The actor's prop also has a parting line, just like the DX toy, but the suit prop does not, so it is a one-piece mold that fits the suit. (It would be fundamentally strange for it to open and come off even though it is locked.)


The Lockseed has also been given a new design!



The protrusion on the top left when viewed from the front is a screw retainer protrusion from the toy. Naturally, it does not exist on the transformed suit prop.
So, in order to reproduce this, we reviewed the fitting structure of the front and rear parts and changed the position of the screws so that this protrusion would not stick out.
And what catches your eye is the smooth design on the back!
The warnings about the battery have disappeared! Well, not exactly disappeared, they are there when you open the battery cover.
It is a manufacturing rule that button battery products must have the markings placed in a visible location, but in this case, because the target age was 15 years and over, we made an exception and got permission to move it to where you can see the battery cover.
The battery cover is also wide, allowing for ample space behind it for engraving.
Another change in appearance is that the clear parts in the DX version have been changed to metallic molded parts.
The actor's prop, which was based on the DX version, also had metallic paint applied to it where it was previously clear.
If I were to paint this part, I thought it would be difficult since the sword is also painted and the painted surfaces will come into contact with each other, so it is currently molded in a metallic color.
(We will continue to test the paint, but please keep your expectations low.)
Of course, the glow-in-the-dark sticker surface remains clear, so it actually glows.
(The multi-view image on the reservation page shows a fairly deep orange color, but that is an early prototype and the actual color will be a lighter, brighter metallic orange.)

And the biggest feature is the addition of detection to determine whether the lid is open or closed!​



A switch has been added to the bottom of the Lockseed that is pressed when the lid (Cast Pad) is fully open, making it possible to play the "transformation cancellation sound" by closing the lid after transforming!
By placing this switch on the bottom, there was no longer any space in the internal structure to place a power switch, so this time there is no power switch at all.
Some people may find the power switch valuable, but please understand that it is a trade-off with play functionality.
What's more, the lack of a power switch results in an appearance that doesn't look like a toy, even when viewed from all sides.
It's fine for items with a hidden back, like belts, to have a power switch there, but having a power switch on a collectible item like this makes it harder to lose the sense of a realistic product, so in a way I think it's a good thing.


Now, so far I've mainly been talking about the appearance, but the sound this time is incredible!

First of all, the Lockseed is equipped with a variety of modes in order to reproduce the main sequence of transformation sounds.
The Lockseed comes with four modes: "Present World Mode", which makes a cracking sound when unlocked;​ ​"Helheim Mode", which recreates the sound of the Arms that are generated above your head when transforming within Helheim; "Zimber Shortened Mode" (not included this time) which recreates the shortened transformation that takes place during the Zimber transformation; and "Inves Game Mode", which is not related to transformation but is specialized for another use known as the Inves Game!
You can switch between modes by pressing and holding the button on the back. We'll go into more detail about these modes in a future blog.

The transformation sounds have been updated to include sounds that were added to the film, such as "the sound of arms falling from the sky" and "the sound of arms unfolding and fruit juice splashing everywhere"!
The audio composition makes it sound more realistic.
We also plan to incorporate the sounds of special moves that are featured in the film.


And SENGOKU DRIVER itself.
Super luxurious! SENGOKU DRIVER is born with the voice acting of 15 cast members!



Thanks to the cooperation of so many people, we have completed this belt, which can be considered the culmination of our efforts!
The volume was so incredible that I'm sure it was difficult for everyone to record.
Sano-san's performance was particularly passionate. There were many lines that had to be shouted, so we split the recording into two days.
In addition to the four main characters, Sano, Kobayashi, Takasugi, and Kubota, we have Matsuda Ryo and Yoshida Metal, who play the leading roles in this Gaim Gaiden, as well as Matsuda Gaku and Shiramata Atsushi...so far, these are what you might call the main cast of SENGOKU DRIVER drivers, but this time we also heard from other guest riders.
We did not include all transformers, but selected riders based on their importance to the story.
Although the "Woman of the Beginning" played by Shida is not a Rider, by listening to her words you can have fun role NARIKIRI and feeling like you are Kouta, Kaito, or Mitsumi.
This time, Aoki and Kataoka will be recorded from an archive, but we received permission from their respective agencies to record them.
And the Demon Snake... were you surprised? I had the opportunity to record it together with Otsuka Houchu-san when he was doing the preview narration for Gaim Gaiden.
We will talk about the Demon Snake at a later date. Please also search for it in the Helheim Forest content.
But looking back at it now, it's amazing to see that the wearer of SENGOKU DRIVER has surpassed Ryuki.

Originally, SENGOKU DRIVER only had a limited number of audio options, but we decided to make up for this by including a wealth of cast voices and background music.
In addition, we have recorded more lines from the cast than V BUCKLE, and by installing an IC with the largest capacity ever, exceeding that of the CSM KIVAT BELT, we have been able to record while maintaining a certain level of sound quality.

Speaking of cast voices, they are typically included in the Lockseeds at the end of the game, but this time we decided to focus on SENGOKU DRIVER itself.
The reason for this is that once inside the Lockseed, there is no button to press after transformation and the sound cannot be played.
That's why we recorded it on the main unit and turned the silver parts on the four corners of the belt into buttons, so you can play audio without it looking out of place.

The voice recognition is done on the faceplate.
The DX version's faceplate had two detection switches to distinguish between four types of standby sounds, but this time it has five detection switches, making it possible to distinguish between more than 20 types of plates.
(Therefore, if a DX version plate were to be inserted, a bug would occur where the transformation standby sound or lines of a character different from the image would be played, so the plate is designed to be completely incompatible and cannot be attached.)

I believe you can get a sense of the cast members' thoughts in the interview pages and videos, so be sure to check them out!







Even more background music! This time, we have included a total of 8 songs!
Gaim's background music often featured catchy shouts like "Huh ha ha ha."
"Start Gaim" is a BGM that is particularly symbolic of Gaim, so it was a must-have, but the one I wanted most this time was "Ranbu Escalation"!
I believe that the final battle between Kouta and Kaito, which begins in episode 45, is one of the most famous battle scenes in the history of Heisei Rider, and the epitome of emotion.
In order to recreate that scene, Ranbu Escalation will also include a version from episode 45 in addition to the regular version!
Get SENGOKU DRIVER with your friends and try playing Episode 45. It's sure to be a blast!
By the way, I plan to add more BGM if there is free IC capacity. Since the program is still in progress, I cannot say for sure whether it will be possible to add more, but please wait with low expectations.


<CSM SENGOKU DRIVER Project Arc Edition>



This is an item that makes the words "CSM Project Ark" more real.
This product is made up of only the components that would likely be given if a mass-produced SENGOKU DRIVER were actually handed out.

The packaging will also feature the Yggdrasil Corporation mark abundantly, giving it a Project Ark feel.
We want to create a product that feels as if it really existed in the show!

While it does have an aspect of being an immersive fan item, another objective was to create an item with a smaller set content that would be easy to purchase for people who wanted to "display multiple Contents' belts side by side" or for core fans of specific characters who thought, "Not Gaim, but Zangetsu! I just want a belt for Zangetsu!"​
If you buy this and the subsequent Lockseed set, you can create that rider's belt.

By the way, the "Kurokage Trooper Faceplate" that comes with this is different from the plain faceplate for Knuckles that was in the DX version, and plays the same transformation standby sound as Kurokage.
This plate will also be included in the Lockseed set to be released in the future, so don't worry, there's no need to buy it just for this plate.


Only 1 billion units of this product will be produced, so make sure to pre-order early!
Sorry to the remaining 6 billion people. Please survive.


...This has become a rather long blog. That's all for today.
I will introduce more details about the "Lockseed Charmon Set" in my blog on Monday after the second episode of Gaim Gaiden is released.

Well, reservations will be accepted from 1pm! We look forward to seeing you!
This is a product that has been carefully prepared and scheduled, so the first batch quantity is more than double the amount of previous CSM first batches.
So I don't think it will disappear anytime soon... Thank you.

The next update will be next week on Monday, November 2nd.
See you next time!