A discussion of the Kamen Rider Ex-Aid toy-line

The newest series in the long-running Kamen Rider franchise debuted this past Sunday, and with it brings the initial release of the toy-line. I haven’t had the pleasure of picking any of the items up myself, but I thought it would be worth a quick mention and a look at what’s available. For now, I’m only going to be talking about the transformation device and peripherals. The DX Gamer Driver is the main release of the year, allowing our heroes to transform and battle. As with any of the DX releases, the belt parts included are meant to fit small Japanese waists, but the official belt extension pieces will help, and failing that even a sturdy piece of string tied to each end. The body of the Driver is presented in a bright green colour, with a window in the front, cartridge slots to one side and a large, pink, swiveling handle on the other. The handle can be swung back and forth to ‘level up’, and the window in the front displays the current form and power-up of the selected Rider. The cartridge slot allows for the insertion of two of this year’s collectible gimmick item, the Gashat. Gashats represent retro game cartridges, and in the show are what allow the Riders to access different forms, weapons and abilities. The word “Gashat” (or so I have been lead to believe) is a stylistic interpretation of the onomatopoeia for the noise made when inserting a game cartridge in to a slot in a console. As the show is gaming themed, and so are the Gashats, each some with a unique title and artwork acting as a caricature of a specific genre of gaming. They’re all wonderfully over the top and exploding with colour, and look fantastic when paired up for display with other items from the line.

Pressing the button on a Gashat will trigger a number of sounds to be played, either the name of the Gashat itself or one of a couple of gaming sound effects. The bottom half of the Gashat holds a few coloured LEDs and a fairly minimalist picture of either a specific form of a Rider or an item from the game featured on the Gashat in a combination of white and transparent plastic. Entering a Gashat in to the Driver will cause a flurry of lights and sounds (as per the norm with Kamen Rider toys). The Gashats are loaded in to the slots sideways, but a mirror in the Driver allows us to view the pictures head-on. The DX Gamer Driver comes packaged with the Mighty Action X Gashat, and will likely be the only way to get your hands on the DX version of said Gashat. The Kimewaza Slot Holder is an add-on for the belt, sold separately. It attaches to the side of your belt and includes storage for two Gashat, and an extra slot which activates further sounds (similar to the Maximum Drive slot on the W Driver). I haven’t managed to actually watch the show yet, so I am unsure of the exact function. Also included is the DX Bakusou Bike Gashat (again, likely to be the only way to acquire the DX version of this toy). Another Gashat, Shakariki Sports is available individually. As per past lines, we can expect to see some Gashats bundled with other items, and some sold on their own in future releases (as the series progresses). I really wasn’t sold on the toy-line, or the series as a whole, when I first heard about it, but the designs and functions of the toys have quickly grown on me and I’m now cautiously optimistic about what the rest of the line will bring. Ghost fell a little flat for me from the second act of the show on-wards, and after I’d collected the 15 main Eyecons, I didn’t really feel the need to continue. Drive, in my opinion, had a fantastic toy-line, and I’m still trying to finish my collection of Shift Cars. Hopefully Ex-Aid will continue to impress and keep itself relevant. My main concern however is a seeming lack of display options for the Gashats. Being so thin, they don’t have a solid base to rest on, so I can only think of propping them up against a vertical surface, but being at the back of a display up against, say, a wall, is hardly ideal, as the collectible gimmick each year is usually the focal point of any display aside from the belt itself. Hopefully someone finds a way to fix this. Also, as a side note, I strongly feel that it’s time for Bandai to look at releasing some more Super Best DX belts. The OOO and W Super Best belts are fantastic packages, including plenty of that year’s collectable gimmick to get any budding KR fan started, and I feel that a Gaim release with a number of Lockseeds and Faceplates (even if pricey), and to a lesser extent Fourze and Wizard releases would be very welcome. We’ll keep you updated on Ex-Aid toy releases, here on CollecTech.

#toys #KamenRider #ExAid