Friday 31 May 2019

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Kanan Jarrus


Release Date: Early 2016
RRP: £20/$20

If there's one thing the Star Wars franchise has never failed at it's been giving every character, no matter how small or insignificant their role may be, the opportunity to get a toy. And though admittedly Hasbro's Black Series line has been mostly preoccupied with characters from the various films, they haven't shied away from offering collectors something outside of those as well. The cast of Star Wars Rebels being rife for potential in its 6" scale, kicking things off with the Black Series 6" Kanan Jarrus figure. A Jedi Padawan who managed to escape the effects of Order 66, Kanan then joined Hera Syndulla's band of rebels aboard the Ghost – with their team becoming an integral part of the Rebel Alliance's early days.

Thursday 30 May 2019

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ant-Man [Avengers: Endgame]


Release Date: April 2019
RRP: 6264 yen

Bandai Tamashii Nations are usually fairly content with releasing S.H. Figuarts months after a series has started or a character has made their onscreen debut, but for big cinema releases they've increasingly been rolling out figures to coincide with their initial release to capitalise on the hype. The massive hype behind Avengers: Endgame has seen the company pull out possibly their biggest turnaround yet, with not only all the figures being announced the same month as the film's release but also the first selection of them arriving a mere few weeks later. Among these initial releases is S.H. Figuarts Ant-Man, a character who despite being absent for Infinity War plays a key role the conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first ten years.

Tuesday 28 May 2019

Toybox REVIEW: Super Mini-Pla Galaxy Mega & Delta Mega


Release Date: January 2019
RRP: 6912 yen

Having the Super Mini-Pla line revisit the history of Super Sentai and breathe new life into older designs with modern, articulated model kits is one thing. But the fact there's no clear pattern to what's coming next makes these releases all the more exciting. After wowing collectors with Muteki Shogun and Kakure Daishogun at the end of last year, Bandai have decided to jump forward a few years next to 1998 and Denji Sentai Megaranger. Even better is that they've made this a double release, with Super Mini-Pla Galaxy Mega & Delta Mega coming together in one retail-release set – giving buyers the opportunity to own Super Galaxy Mega right off the bat. Power Rangers fans will also know these two as the Astro and Delta Megazords from Power Rangers in Space.

Tuesday 21 May 2019

Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Brain

Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Brain

Like many Japanese shows Kamen Rider has been known to put out some great April Fools' jokes over the years, but no matter how great they'd be as a real thing they usually stay as just that – a joke. However clearly the power of Kamen Rider Drive shouldn't be underestimated, as the 2017 joke has now become reality with the release of Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Brain. Originally "teased" to be coming out in 2035, this two-part Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club exclusive fulfils the Rodimude's comment about eventually becoming a Rider himself at the end of Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Heart as well as technically making him both the last of the Heisei era Kamen Riders and the first Reiwa era Rider.

Thursday 16 May 2019

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER

An end of an era deserves a proper send-off, and after 20 series' worth of memories it's finally time to say goodbye to the Heisei era of Kamen Rider. After hastily jumping the gun titling the previous film Heisei Generations FINAL, Toei have decided to round off the Heisei Generations trilogy of films with the more inspiring sounding Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER. Like the previous films in the series the film serves as a crossover between both the current and preceding Riders, in this case Kamen Rider Zi-O and Kamen Rider Build. However as part of the 20 Kamen Rider Kicks celebration it also includes appearances from all 20 Heisei era Riders, with particular reference to Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Den-O and Kamen Rider W.

(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!)

Tuesday 14 May 2019

Movie REVIEW: Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film

Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film

The Super Sentai summer movie is a funny little event. Though the films are rarely long enough to be the dramatic action pieces Kamen Rider summer movies strive to be, they are an opportunity to break away from the main story and have a little fun with the setting and/or characters. For Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film Toei saw an opportunity to stretch the Arsene Lupin references even further, as the two teams meet 'Herlock Sholmes' – a detective that battled wits with the legendary thief in Maurice Leblanc's original novels. This film was released as part of the usual Super Sentai/Kamen Rider double bill alongside Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One.

Saturday 11 May 2019

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Geiz


Release Date: March 2019 
RRP: 5400 yen

When an evil overlord of time threatens the future, a brave resistance fighter from the year 2068 travels back in time to prevent his rise to power. That might be the reason that Geiz Myokoin travelled back to the year 2018, but it wasn't long before he realised that the Sougo Tokiwa he has encountered in the past couldn't possibly become the Oma Zi-O he knows from the future. Not wanting to slouch on the 20 Kamen Rider Kicks celebration of 20 years (and the end) of Heisei era Kamen Rider, Bandai Tamashii Nations have quickly followed Kamen Rider Zi-O with the release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Geiz. Both the second general retail item from the Zi-O series and the second release from the series overall, Kamen Rider Geiz is an ideal companion piece to the 20th Heisei Kamen Rider.

Thursday 9 May 2019

Miniseries REVIEW: Rider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi

Rider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi

Celebrating 20 series of Heisei era Kamen Rider is one thing, but Kamen Rider Zi-O definitely has some lofty goals when started playing around with the future of the franchise as well. But even though the future Riders of the years 2022, 2040 and 2121 certainly won't be getting series of their very own when the time comes, conceptually they're just too good to simply be relegated to one-off appearances. Clearly Toei felt the same, as Kamen Rider Shinobi returned in a three-part miniseries exclusive to the Toei Tokusatsu Fan ClubRider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi. The miniseries sees Hideya Tawada (Ninninger's Kinji Takigawa/Star Ninger) reprise his role as the titular Kamen Rider, as Lupinranger vs Patranger writer Kaori Kaneko introduces us properly to his own time.

Tuesday 7 May 2019

Toybox REVIEW: Meisho Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader


Release Date: December 2014, November 2016 (Reissue)
RRP: 9504 yen

Though its scope is much more limited and releases much fewer than other Bandai Tamashii Nations toy lines, it didn't take long for the Meisho Movie Realization line to mark itself as one to look out for. There are dozens of companies out there making Star Wars figures, but ones reimagined as if they walked straight out of feudal Japan? It's amazing that it took this long for a toy company to think of it. This line is to Star Wars what Super Imaginative Chogokin is to Kamen Rider, and just like SIC some of the ideas they come up with are nothing short of ingenious. Designed by Takayuki Takeya and sculpted by Junichi Taniguchi, Meisho Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader is the one the one that started it all.

Thursday 2 May 2019

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Build NEW WORLD: Kamen Rider Cross-Z

Kamen Rider Build NEW WORLD: Kamen Rider Cross-Z

Everyone should know by now that the end of Kamen Rider series is never the last we see of its characters. Besides the various crossover movies that will keep bringing back characters for years to come, for the past five years or so each series has consistently received one or more V-cinema sequels focusing on some of the other Riders that appeared. That trend has followed through to Kamen Rider Build, which puts the spotlight on fan-favourite Ryuga Banjou in Kamen Rider Build NEW WORLD: Kamen Rider Cross-Z. The film enjoyed a brief theatrical release at the beginning of 2019 before arriving on Blu-Ray a few months later, with a special edition bundled with Cross-Z's new Muscle Galaxy Fullbottle.