DX Henshin Belt Garren Rouser

Alright, alright, alright..... Bandai loves to rake money from us poor collectors. Why? Rider System No. 01 in the show, a.k.a. Garren Belt system has an exact outer design with Rider System No. 02 Blade Blay Buckle. Why did I still buy it? Well, to complete one set of course. Now, for the verdicts.

i) The Belt system is exactly identical to the show and identical to the Blay Buckle.

ii) The Belt provided is white/gray-ish instead of Blade's Red (matching Garren's Belt inb the show)

iii) The system works exactly like the show. You have the batteries in, On-Off Buttons and then you work it out by first turning it ON. The Green light at the top left will blink once. Don't forget to place the Change Category Ace Diamond Card in as well (though, the belt system still works without the card - this shows that the system ain't so smart). Two other cards included are Garren and Smash (Burning Smash in Katakana). Then connect the two halves of the belt together and wallah, you have Garren's Henshin Preparation Sound. Pull the trigger on the right and you get the Card Tray turning upside down and revealing a Golden Diamond Emblem on a Green Rectangle, while playing Garren's Henshin sound. Nothing else can be played with this system.

Final Verdict: I'd give a similar ratings on total for this, ie: 3.5/5 but for the value for money, I'd only give 2.8/ for one reason, Garren's belt is exactly the same price as the Blay Buckle and from the show's perspective, Garren gives me the impression of a 'beaten-up' rider instead of Blade as a "Beat-Em-Up" Rider. All in all, very good for collection and display.

DX Henshin Belt Blay Buckle Review

Oh my, the DX Henshin Belt series again......I never got one until the HK English Version-ed Instruction Manuals' Versions came cheap locally, but finally I got all 4 DX Henshin Belts from the Blade Series. The first in line is the Blay Buckle. At first I thought how amazing a 4000 yen piece in Japan could be. Not so attractive as it imitates the whole belt function in the show (except the part where you really henshin). However, there are points that are of worthy note to those who intend to buy one:
i) DX Belts DO NOT fit adult waists.....Even though the buckles and stuffs seem to look 1/1 scale just like in the show, the belt can only fit waists of around 70 cm MAX.

ii) The DX Blay Buckle comes with 3 cards, the Category Ace Change Card, the Rider Blade card and the Lightning Card. Only the Change card is required to display or fully play with the belt.

iii) The fuction is just like the show. Place in the batteries and turn the switch on. A small beep sound and the red light on the top left corner of the belt will light up for a second. Connect the other half of the buckle (comes with a red PVC belt strap which is too short and a weird square holster with a spade design) and the sound effects of Blade's preparation to henshin is heard with the red light again lighting up for a period. Pull the trigger on the right and the belt turns the card tray upside down to show the Golden Spade shape on a Red rectangle. The sound "Turn Up!" is heard followed by the effects of Henshin for Blade.

iv) Besides that, no other functions are available for this belt and that's why it is cheaper compared to the Rouzers that are priced at around 5000 to 6000 yen in Japan.

Final Verdict: A good display piece as the buckle's size is seemingly accurate. If you are a great mod-er, you can actually extend the belt's length while retaining the original belt (since you need the holes to hold the 2 Rouzers that are coming with it. I'd give this piece 3.5/5 stars for total while 3/5 stars for value (if you're buying it at full price while I am not).