Grimm Ghost & Sanzo Ghost GC-10 (Ghost Change)

This set of Parka Ghosts are the main two used by the villainous Kamen Rider Necrom. The Grimm Damashii is based on the Brothers Grimm who collected the dark folk tales of Europe and whose name(s) are synomyous with fairy tales. Then we have the Sanzo Damashii representing the monk who inspired the Chinese classic "Journey to the West."

Necrom didn't get as many other forms as the heroic Rider but that's not too surprising. I always love the ridiculousness of the Parka Ghosts but they tend to be less cool in my mind than the electric neon of the base forms.
(Grimm Damashii)(Sanzo Damashii)

Kamen Rider Necrom GC-09 (Ghost Change)

Kamen Rider Necrom is the villainous rider in Kamen Rider Ghost. He continues the awesomeness of the black and neon colour schemes of the base forms of the riders and he's got green accents which might be my favourite. The white of the body does help differentiate him from Ghost and Specter but doesn't excite me as much.

Necrom is Prince Alain of the Gamma and he is competing with Ghost to collect the legendary damashii. His armour has an eyedropper/microscope theme that takes the whole "eye-con" shtick to another level. I love it.

Alain is a beautiful bad-boy in the vein of Kamen Rider Zangetsu from Gaim and his green and black poncho is a thing I would totally wear but probably wouldn't pull off as well. 

Goemon Ghost & Ryoma Ghost Set GC-08 (Ghost Change)

The next set in the Ghost Change line brings us the Goemon Damashii and Ryoma Damashii which were the first Parka Ghosts used by Kamen Rider Ghost's powered up "Toucon Boost" form.

These two are figures from Japanese history and as such I'm certainly no expert on them. Ryoma was a samurai who was influential in ending the Tokugawa Shogunate and this ghost's design would look at home in the pages of Usagi Yojimbo if an anthropomorphic animal were wearing it.

Goemon was a ninja thief who was the Robin Hood of Japan and a main character in many Kabuki plays. I love the radiant neon yellow of this ghost and the giant metallic bow on his back. Very cool.

(Goemon Ghost)(Ryoma Ghost)

Kamen Rider Ghost Toucon Boost Damashii GC-07 (Ghost Change)

Kamen Rider Ghost's first major power-up form "Toucon Boost" is a fiery, flashy suit and this figure provides the first attempt by the Ghost Change line to make the hood able to be pulled back.

Quite often the power up forms for Kamen Riders, especially the later Heisei riders, are overly busy and not as cool as the main suit but the Toucon Boost actually looks pretty good. The red body suit makes it clash with the other parka ghosts more but it still works.

Beethoven Ghost & Benkei Ghost GC-06 (Ghost Change)

Another Unlikely Duo!

Here we have the Benkei and Beethoven Ghost set for Kamen Rider Ghost. I was certainly surprised (but intrigued) when Ludwig van Beethoven was included as one of the historical figures to lend his "powers" to Kamen Rider Ghost. Perhaps less shocking is that this form didn't get used as much as some of the other more combat oriented ones. 

Benkei was a warrior monk who became part of Japanese folklore for his strength and devotion to honour. These two forms share a bit more of a monochromatic colour scheme. I'm not sure if that was intentional in pairing them up or if it was more related to the order in which they appeared on the show. But it was a mildly interesting factoid that jumped out of my brain. 

(Beethoven Ghost)(Benkei Ghost)

Tutankhamun Ghost & Nobunaga Ghost GC-05 (Ghost Change)

These two ghosts were mainly used by Kamen Rider Specter. Tutankhamun was the famous boy-pharaoh of Egypt whose tomb was uncovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Nobunaga was a Japanese historical figure in the 16th century who like rifles.

These "Parka Ghosts" continue the trend of making history bright, colourful, and butt-kicking. I'll cop to my total ignorance of Nobunaga prior to watching Kamen Rider Ghost but King Tut is maybe the most famous Egyptian Pharaoh. Tut's sleeveless look is as great for articulation as Nobunaga's sleeves are for hindering it.

(Nobunaga Ghost)(Tutankhamun Ghost)

Robin Hood Ghost & Billy the Kid Ghost GC-04 (Ghost Change)

The next entry in the Ghost Change series contains the Robin Hood Ghost and Billy the Kid Ghost. These eyecons were typically used by Kamen Rider Ghost.

An interesting mix of an actual historical figure and a fictional character, these two ghosts are an unlikely pair. Yes both were outlaws but Robin Hood was a more virtuous thief whereas Billy the Kid was a vicious gunfighter. 

The Robin Hood damashii looks pretty much how you'd envision the ghost of the leader of the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest but Billy the Kid looks about as authentic as Marty McFly in Back to the Future III. It's a ridiculous approximation of a cowboy and I find it hilarious.

(Robin Hood)(Billy the Kid)

Kamen Rider Specter GC 03 (Ghost Change)

Kamen Rider Specter is the secondary rider from Kamen Rider Ghost.

Makoto Fukami is an antagonist to Kamen Rider Ghost at first but then they team up to rescue his sister Kanon who's been turned into an Eyecon. Makoto is a fairly typical secondary rider in that he's more hot-headed and gruff than the main hero. 

Specter has more a demon/devil vibe going on with the two horns and the bright blue of his base form looks just as good as Ghost's neon orange.  Not sure who decided that "Tron" and "historical ghosts" should go together in the show's aesthetics but I'm totally on board. 

The Ghost Change series was a pretty affordable way to get all the wonderful Kamen Rider Ghost designs and even though the figures are not in the deluxe/collector bracket they're pretty fun and the articulation is still miles ahead of what figures were like when I was a kid. I think the Ghost Change series is the only Kamen Rider toyline that I managed (or even wanted) to collect completely so stay tuned for many more entries over the coming months.

Musashi Ghost & Edison Ghost Set GC 02 (Ghost Change)

Kamen Rider Ghost was a fun show. Not my favourite plot-wise but it had some of my favourite Kamen Rider designs in a long time. Kamen Rider Ghost had to collect the "Eye-cons" containing the spirits of famous people from history in order to wish himself back to life.

I loved the ridiculous hoodie aesthetic of the various ghosts and the Ghost Change series of figures released a handful of bodies and then these two-packs of ghosts.

Here we get famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi and American inventor Thomas Edison. Musashi makes perfect sense and while I love the light bulb/electricity design the Edison Damashii just doesn't read "Edison" to me. But I come from a different cultural tradition and am probably a bit more familiar with Edison that the average Japanese 8-year-old who is learning for the first time that this white dude invented the light bulb. I mean a more "Edison-y" design would not have been as cool so I get it. This one is super fun.

The clear plastic stands so you can display the ghosts without bodies.

(Mushashi Ghost)(Edison Ghost)