Poor Gokai Silver.  I’ve had this figure for months now.  When he wasn’t being forgotten in a heap of post-picture taking figures, he was being pushed aside for a more pressing review.  But no more!  Today is his day to shine (and that pun was intended)!

Ikari Gai is the only Earthling on the Super Sentai Gokaiger team.  He gained his abilities after saving a little girl from an oncoming truck. While in a coma from the accident, he was visited in a dream by Abare Killer, Time Fire, and Dragon Ranger.  The three heroes saw Gai as a worthy successor and granted him the ability to become Gokai Silver and access their Great Powers.  When Gai woke from his coma, he was completely healed and now possessed the Gokai Silver key and Mobirates.

Gai probably has one of the more interesting “powers” of any Ranger.  He can use his imagination to influence and combine Ranger Keys.  This allows him to tap into and create all new powers, ultimately leading to his Gold Mode anchor armor, which is the combined power of all fifteen sixth-hero Rangers.

Gai was originally dismissed by Captain Marvelous, but eventually proved himself with his excellent fighting skills and ability to cook a good meal.  Also, being a Sentai fan boy, Gai contains an encyclopedic knowledge of all previous Ranger teams, which comes in very handy in the Gokai’s search for keys and powers.

Although the sculpt on this figure seems similar to the other male Gokai figures, it actually differs much more than I expected.  It’s one of those instances where the smaller details of the uniform are much more noticeable on the figure than on the television.  The biggest difference is his helmet, which is much smoother and lacks the pirate-hat look of the other members.  It also displays an anchor symbol instead of the Gokai’s Jolly Roger.  The other large difference is Gai’s upper chest.  His jacket design lacks the multiple gold flares on the sides.  His collar is also folded down, where as the other Gokaigers have their’s flared out.

The smaller differences that really surprised me were the cuffs of his sleeves and boots.  Instead of the pointed flare that the other members share, Silver’s are simply rounded.  It’s not a huge difference, but it really does help set him apart from the others.

The painting on this figure is pretty excellent.  The silver and gold areas of his costume have a fantastic metallic shine to them and they work perfectly with the matte black of his shirt and pants.  The silver on Gai’s helmet is the same color as his uniform, but the black is glossy and really gives it a sturdy look.  There’s also little to no slop with the white paint that outlines his symbol, which is always nice.  One of the more interesting areas is his visor, which has a paint that changes color depending on the angle and light source.  A very cool touch.  Continue to page 2…