Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series 6" Clone Captain Rex

Release Date: Early 2018

RRP: £20/$20

If there's one collecting rabbit hole I never truly wanted to get down, it's Star Wars figures. Although the franchise will always be dear to me, the sheer volume of characters and variants on offer makes it feel like a pretty overwhelming prospect. Previously I limited myself to a few select characters and have picked up a few S.H. Figuarts, but thanks to a current resurge in interest I finally find myself experiencing Hasbro's Black Series for the first time. This has been their main Star Wars action figure line since 2013, coming in both 3.75" form and a more Marvel Legends-esque 6" variety. As I'm currently going through a rewatch of Star Wars: The Clone Wars I just couldn't say no the Black Series 6" Clone Captain Rex figure – who was released as part of the main line last year after early previews as a 2017 Hascon exclusive. Commanding officer of the 501st Legion (which would later go on to become "Vader's Fist") under Anakin Skywalker, Rex is one of the few clones to escape the effects of Order 66 – continuing life in hiding until joining the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars: Rebels.

Toybox REVIEW: Nendoroid Kamina Review

Release Date: November 2018 

RRP: 4444 yen

Dig the wax out of your ears and listen close! The bad reputation of Team Gurren echoes far and wide in Giha Village. When they talk about its badass leader, that man of indomitable spirit, that paragon of masculinity, they're talking about him - the mighty Nendoroid Kamina! That's right, after nearly ten years since the last Gurren Lagann release Good Smile Company have finally returned to Gainax's beloved mecha series to round off the core trio of main characters - two years after the series has celebrated its tenth anniversary, but close enough. Simon will be joining the line later in 2019, but first it's time to celebrate the release of the man who first inspired him the pierce the heavens and kick logic to the curb. Kamina has finally arrived on the scene, and if he has anything to do with it you'll certainly hear about it. Just who the hell do you think he is?!

SERIES Review: Thunderbolt Fantasy Season 2 - Sword Seekers

 

Thunderbolt Fantasy is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll

In 2016 Gen Urobuchi went one better than just dazzling anime fans with yet another animation work - this time he did it with puppets. Teaming up with Nitroplus, Good Smile Company and Taiwanese company Pili International Urobuchi brought Thunderbolt Fantasy into the world - bringing the intricate art of Taiwanese glove puppetry to a whole new audience worldwide. The popularity of the show led to a one-off special entitled The Sword of Life and Death the following year, and then at the tail end of 2018 it finally returned for a full second season. Taking the subtitle of Sword Seekers, these further 12 episodes continue the story of Shāng Bù Huàn and were released in both Taiwanese Min-Han (in Taiwan) and Japanese (for the rest of the world).

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style

Release Date: November 2018

RRP: 7884 yen

With figure construction and engineering having come leaps and bounds in the ten years the S.H. Figuarts line has been around, it's natural that some Kamen Rider figures are looking a little dated compared to newer releases. While arguably all the pre-Gaim figures could do with some sort of modern update (if they haven't received one already), there are few more sorry cases than that of Kamen Rider Wizard. The original toy was released in 2013 so wasn't even that old compared to some figures, but despite boasting an impressive accessory count was plagued by structural issues (i.e. it constantly fell apart) and off proportions. However five years later and Haruto Soma is finally getting the justice he deserves, with the release of S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style!

Toybox REVIEW: Figure Complex Amazing Yamaguchi Spider-Gwen

Release Date: June 2017

RRP: 5900 yen

Between Infinity War, Venom, the Playstation 4 game and of course Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 was truly the year of Spider-Man. My enjoyment of that last release in particular found me wanting to go back and pick up some of the Spidey figures I've missed over the years, and Figure Complex (aka Revoltech)'s Amazing Yamaguchi Spider-Gwen seemed like the perfect place to start. Parallel universes have always been my absolute favourite sci-fi trope, and from what I've read of the Spider-Gwen comic the writers have done an excellent job of twisting pre-established Marvel characters into something new and exciting. Both the comic and her design itself have proved exceedingly popular, and between her appearances in both Into the Spider-Verse and Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors it seems Spider-Gwen's popularity will just continue to rise.

Anime REVIEW: SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll

As completely different mediums the worlds of tokusatsu and animation rarely properly collide, but whenever they have in the past it's usually turned out to be something special. Whether it's the anime adaptation of Shotaro Ishinomori's original Kikaider manga, the recent expansion of the GARO mythos, the wonderfully weird Kamen Rider SD or even the various Ultraman animated attempts you're usually in for an interesting ride. 2018 saw Tsuburaya Productions announce a number of new animated projects, including an adaptation of the ongoing Ultraman manga due for release on Netflix later this year. But much bigger news was their plans with studio Trigger, as they prepared to bring back the Hyper Agent himself - Denkou Chojin Gridman. Directed by Akira Amemiya and written by tokusatsu veteran Keiichi Hasegawa (head writer on Ultraman Dyna and Ultraman Nexus, among many other works), SSSS.Gridman breathed new life in the 1993 hero as well as introducing him to a brand new audience.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Zero

Release Date: November 2018

RRP: 9990 yen

While S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Garo may have taken a whole four years to go from its initial Tamashii Nation event reveal to becoming a reality, Bandai Tamashii Nations were much quicker at following it up with another high quality GARO release. Why settle for just the Golden Knight when you can have the Silver Fanged Knight too? Rei Suzumura has arrived as the second non-Kamen Rider release for Figuarts' premium offshoot - S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Zero. Coming seven years after the release of the original Zero Figuart, this new edition follows in its footsteps as a Tamashii web exclusive. It's also one of the pricier standard sized Figuarts on the market too, originally selling for the same 9990 yen price tag as Garo himself.

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who 2018 New Year's Day Special - Resolution

2018's series of Doctor Who has been all about breaking traditions. We've had a female Doctor, no returning monsters for the entire season and now it seems even the annual Christmas episode is no more. At least for the now anyway, as this year it was replaced by a special New Year's Day episode instead. Given that it's already been announced that the next full series won't be landing until 2020, Resolution could quite possibly be the only Doctor Who for the year so it had quite a lot to live up to. Written by show runner Chris Chibnall and directed by Wayne Yip, Resolution also welcomes the return of a familiar old foe.

Favourite Toys of 2018

It's that time of the year again! Before we usher in 2019 it's time to look back at all the purchases I've made this year and pick out my ten favourites. This year's offerings are a little different that before in that it also features I few things I haven't reviewed on the site (either because I just never got around to it or it's a relatively recent release and it's on the backlog), but like before I've tried to make it as varied as possible so it isn't just a list of ten Figuarts. It's also worth noting that these are my favourite toys of 2018, so not necessarily the best ones I've bought. So while there may be ones that didn't make the cut I've perhaps rated higher, they don't necessarily have as much emotional significance to me as the ones I've listed here.

While most of my purchases for the year have arrived and been inspected to see if they'd make the list (including the ones I haven't put up reviews for yet), there are a few that are exempt either because they haven't arrived yet or (in the case of model kits) I haven't got around to building them yet. These are:
- Super Mini-Pla Kakure Daishogun
- Super Mini-Pla Gridman & Assist Weapons
- S.H. Figuarts Gudon
- NECA Bride of Chucky Ultimate Chucky & Tiffany 2-Pack

But enough of that, on with the list!

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Dan Kuroto Shin ~A New Joy & Anger~

Release Date: November 2018

RRP: 7344 yen

Sometimes Bandai Tamashii Nations' S.H. Figuarts release patterns can be fairly predictable, but by now collectors are fairly used to them throwing a curveball and just come up with a release that you'd never see coming. Recognising that Kuroto Dan/Kamen Rider Genm was by far and large the most popular thing (all thanks to Tetsuya Iwanga's larger than life performance) about Kamen Rider Ex-Aid was one thing, but I don't think anyone was ready for just how much love Bandai were going to give him. Web exclusive figures, event exclusive figures, numerous "display only" figures that may or may not be stuck in development hell and even repaints that came out months before the suit they were originally based on. But even more surprising than that is not just one, but  TWO figures of the man himself in his civilian guise - both of which almost instantly sold out their initial Tamashii web exclusive runs and were quickly set up for a second shipment at the beginning of 2018. Fans of the games master and one true god were given the choice between the black jacketed  S.H. Figuarts Shin Dan Kuroto ~A New Sorrow & Fun~, or the grey jacketed S.H. Figuarts Dan Kuroto Shin ~A New Joy & Anger~ - each with their own unique head sculpts and accessories.