Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Amazon

Release Date: September 2018

RRP: 7020 yen

Ever since Kamen Rider Kabuto was released back in 2014, the S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou line has been providing collectors the best of the best when it comes to Kamen Rider Figuarts. However for the most part the line has been extremely Heisei era-centric, with it only expanding into the Showa era last year with the release of Kamen Rider 1. But this year has seen a fair few expansions in the line, not only branching outside of Kamen Rider with Golden Knight Garo but also continuing to delve into the Showa era with both Rider 2 and S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Amazon! A character not only being beloved for being rather unique among his fellow Riders, Kamen Rider Amazon is still particularly relevant even now thanks to the recent Kamen Rider Amazons series. That makes him the perfect choice for the premium Bandai Tamashii Nations treatment.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Amazons the Movie: The Last Judgement

One of the most interesting Kamen Rider success stories of the past few years has undoubtedly been that of Kamen Rider Amazons - the Amazon Prime exclusive web series that not only spawned a second season, but also went on to have both an edited television run in Japan AND found its way onto international versions of the streaming platform. However everything must eventually come to an end, and this year Toei boldy decided to forgo their usual "Super Hero Taisen" Spring movie in favour of a feature-length finale entitled Kamen Rider Amazons the Movie: The Last Judgement. With the second season's story effectively over, this movie returns the to the core of the series – finally bringing fans the climactic showdown between Haruka Mizusawa/Kamen Rider Amazon Omega and his long time rival Jin Takayama/Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha.

(This post is also part of a cross-promotion with Tokunation.com - please visit the site and discuss your thoughts on the movie at the dedicated discussion thread there!)

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x10 - The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

It's been an interesting ten weeks, but the end of Doctor Who series 11 has finally arrived. Over the past two and half months we've been properly introduced to a brand new Doctor, new companions, a new show runner and had new writers take us across journeys through time and space. But all things eventually come to an end, and with the announcement that there won't be another full series until 2020 there's even more riding on both this and the upcoming New Years' Day special. It all ends this year with The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, written by show runner Chris Chibnall and directed by Jamie Childs.

Movie REVIEW: Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad

Despite being a tentpole piece of Toei's tokusatsu line up during the 80s and 90s, the Metal Heroes franchise doesn’t quite have the presence it once did in comparison to the likes of Super Sentai or Kamen Rider. That began to change a few years ago following a few movies and cameo appearances from Space Sheriffs, and then last year Gavan rose to the occasion once again as he teamed up with the Dekarangers in Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger. The end of that film's tease about recruiting further heroes to the team didn't turn out to be an empty promise either, and the story now continues into a second film – Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs Space Squad. As well as seeing the 41st Super Sentai team into the fold, this film also prominently brings back the new generation Space Sheriff Shaider as well as characters from the seventh Metal Heroes series Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ultraman X & Gomora Armour Set

Release Date: October 2018

RRP: 7560 yen

Ultraman Ginga may have been the last "current" Ultraman figure in the Ultra-Act line before it slowly faded away, but it would be another three years before the S.H. Figuarts line picked up the slack and continued covering the more recent shows with Ultraman Orb. And though Bandai Tamashii Nations have continued this through Ultraman Geed and Ultraman R/B, there's been one titular Ultra hero missing for some time now. However the wait is finally over, as Ultraman X finally makes its high-end figure debut with the S.H. Figuarts Ultraman X & Gomora Armour set. Nicely timed just before the impending release of Ultraman Rosso and Blu, fans can finally own a full New Generations Ultra line up in some shape or form and come one step to it closer solely in Figuarts form.

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x09 - It Takes You Away

The shorter episode count certainly hasn't helped matters, but it barely feels like any time has passed at all and we've already reached the penultimate episode of Doctor Who series 11. This is a series that's already been particularly big on locations, so it's no surprise to see it jet off to another area that (for the most part anyway) isn't Cardiff before the finale. This time the Doctor is going Nordic in It Takes You Away, the ninth episode in the series written by Ed Hime and directed by Jamie Childs. This is Hime's first foray in the world of Doctor Who, continuing this series' trend of primarily new writers and directors.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Crow Amazon

Release Date: October 2018

RRP: 7020 yen

When Kamen Rider Amazons began its second season back in April 2017, it didn't take very long at all for Bandai Tamashii Nations to jump on the merchandise train. But while Kamen Rider Amazon Neo and new editions of returning Amazons Alpha and Omega were released fairly swiftly, there was one character sorely missing from the S.H. Figuarts line. What good is a monster boy without his zombie monster girlfriend? Fast forward to October 2018 and the S.H. Figuarts Crow Amazon is finally upon us, rounding off what is arguably the "core" Amazons cast of the two seasons. A Sigma-type Amazon created from the revived body of Iyu Hoshino and used as 4C's killing machine, the Crow Amazon was released by Bandai as a Tamashii web exclusive.

Toybox REVIEW: Super Mini-Pla Golion (Voltron)

Release Date: August 2018

RRP: 5292 yen

When Bandai first announced their Super Mini-pla model kit line, it didn't take much for fans to start speculating which anime and tokusatsu mecha could and should be a part of it. And after finally making it's long awaited debut in the high-end Soul of Chogokin line, this was definitely the next logical stop for one of the 80s most recognisable super robots - Golion, or as he's better known around the rest of the world, Voltron.  Released in Japan under its original Beast King Golion branding, Super Mini-Pla Golion was also brought over to the West by Bluefin and marketed under the more familiar Voltron banner.

Toybox REVIEW: RIOBOT Iron Giant

Release Date: September 2018

RRP: 15000 yen

Each year this site hosts a lot of different toy reviews (mostly from the same handful of lines, but I digress), but every so often something comes around that's really special. Despite receiving critical acclaim upon its release way back in 1998 and achieving cult status since, The Iron Giant is a film that's never really received much in the way of high end toys. However recent years have sought to change that, and with the film and character recently coming back into the public eye because of its 20th anniversary and cameo appearance in Ready Player One high-end mecha manufacturers Sentinel are finally adding the star to their lavish Riobot line. Now Riobot isn't a line known for it's low prices so this is one that'll also set you back a fair bit, but at half the size and half the price of Mondo's Iron Giant it's definitely one fans have been waiting on for a long time.

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 11x08 - The Witchfinders

When it was first announced that Jodie Whittaker had been cast as the 13th Doctor, it opened up all kinds of story potential for Doctor Who. Suddenly historical tales could have a whole new spin on them, and there were plenty of ideas available that just wouldn't have worked had the Doctor continued to be a man. The first thing that immediately came to my mind was "what if the Doctor travelled back to there 17th century and was tried as witch"? And by the looks of it I wasn't the only one to think that, because that's exactly what's going on in series 11's eighth episode, The Witchfinders. This one was written by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Sallie Aprahamian, and inadvertently released early when Amazon Prime accidentally uploaded it to their service instead of previous episode Kerblam!. Guess that's what happens when you try to critique the mighty Amazon...