Toybox REVIEW: Sentinel Choukou Senshi Changerion

Release Date: October 2022

RRP: 18,000 yen

Bandai may effectively rule the roost when it comes to tokusatsu toys, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other companies out there leaving that stone unturned – particularly when it comes to things Bandai themselves aren’t releasing. While the likes of Evolution Toys are doing interesting things when it comes to lesser-known heroes from the Showa era, one of the more surprising additions from the last few years was the Sentinel Choukou Senshi Changerion figure. With Sentinel perhaps best known amongst collectors for applying their talents to high-end mecha figures, I don’t think anyone saw an articulated action figure of the titular hero from the 1996 series of the same name. Or maybe even a modern Changéríon toy at all for that matter really.

Toybox REVIEW: JoyToy TMNT Shredder

Release Date: November 2024

RRP: $25.99

Even though JoyToy’s Warhammer 40,000 range has been incredibly expansive, when the company revealed they would also be tackling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1/18 scale fans still probably weren’t prepared for just how many characters they planned to release. Since the release of the main four Turtles the line has successfully dived into the realm of villains and side-characters, naturally starting with their greatest foe – the leader of the Foot Clan himself, the Shredder. JoyToy TMNT Shredder is another interesting release that clearly has design cues from previous iterations of the character, but also a fresh take unique to this toy line.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Option Parts Set

Release Date: February 2025

RRP: 4950 yen

As great as the recent string of One Piece S.H. Figuarts have been, there's been one complaint among them that just seems to persist - why don't any of the standard Luffy figures come with stretchy arm parts? After all, being a rubber man is the future Pirate King's entire gimmick! It seems Bandai Tamashii Nations were prepared for such a complaint though, and as such have released the S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Option Parts Set! This rather extensive accessory pack has been produced with the -Romance Dawn- version of Luffy in mind, but has some parts that are also compatible with the earlier -Raid on Onigashima- version.

Toybox REVIEW: Shokugan Modeling Project Victory Mars

Release Date: October 2024

RRP: 7200 yen

While there are plenty of things to praise Bandai for when it comes to the Shokugan Modeling Project (formerly Super Mini-Pla) line, one thing that should be commended is how thorough it is - particularly when it comes to the Super Sentai range. In the years since it began back in 2017 it's covered a number of different series, and nearly every time it's done the complete mecha line-up. Some things do occasionally fall through the cracks though, and in the last few years it does feel like there's been effort to fix that. First the Kakuranger line finally got its Ninjaman after five years in 2023, and now it's KyuuKyuu Sentai GoGoFive's turn with the release of Shokugan Modeling Project Victory Mars. Last seen with the release of Black Max Victory Robo back at the end of 2020, Victory Mars has been LONG overdue. Comprised of five Mars Machines built for deep space rescue missions, the final mecha in the GoGoFive arsenal was released as a Premium Bandai exclusive.

Toybox REVIEW: THE GATTAI DX Bravern

Release Date: January 2025

RRP: 16,800 yen

Brave Bang Bravern! was quite the surprise hit last year, luring anime fans in with what seemed like a fairly run-of-the-mill real robot show and then instead dropping a love letter to the Super Robot genre full of over the top action and hot-blooded romance between men. That said, with Masami Ōbari involved perhaps it didn't come as a complete surprise to everyone. With the series airing back at the beginning of 2024 the wait for merchandise has felt like an eternity, and nearly a year later Good Smile Company are the first to come out swinging with THE GATTAI DX Bravern - the latest release in their ever-growing high-end mecha line.

Movie REVIEW: Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull

The announcement of a Fuuto PI anime series felt like a huge moment for the Kamen Rider franchise, particularly as its worldwide simulcast would allow the series to have a far wider reach than any others had previously. But although the sequel to 2009's Kamen Rider W certainly delivered in terms of story and spectacle, the 12-episode series barely scratched the surface of the manga it was adapted from. However despite a few years of silence it seems the story of the half-and-half detectives isn't quite over yet, as return once more in Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull. Adapting the "Portrait of S" arc from the manga, the feature film looks back at the origins of Kamen Rider Double as well as Shotaro's mentor Sokichi Narumi. Once again animated by Studio Kai, the film also serves as the 2024 "Winter movie" for the franchise - unexpectedly taking the place of a Gavv and Gotchard crossover.

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Studio Series 86 Springer

Release Date: May 2024

RRP: $54.99/£55.99

So far the Studio Series 86 line has provided us with four great years of Transformers: The Movie figures, but with most of the cast now covered it's definitely beginning to wind down a bit as the franchise moves on to other things. While there's still plenty to look forward to in 2025-26 (the Constructicons especially), pretty much all of the key characters are present and accounted for. For example the release of Studio Series 86 Springer finally saw the main group of Autobots rounded off entirely within the line itself, even though some of the characters had previously appeared in the War for Cybertron trilogy lines. Springer is a retooled version of the War for Cybertron: Siege figure previously released in 2019, somewhat controversially upgraded from a voyager class figure into a retooled leader class release in the same manner as Coronation Starscream. 

Special REVIEW: The Dark Revelation: Lachesis

Kamen Rider Gotchard is a series that certainly isn’t short of backstory. Between the creation of the Chemies, Glion’s relationship with Fuga Kudo and experiments with dark alchemy as well as the formation and students of the Alchemy Academy, it has plenty of potential for spin-off material for long after the series has come to an end. But a good place to start is with fan favourite characters, and when they’re also villains you’ve got the perfect recipe for a Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club special. The Dark Revelation: Lachesis is an exploration into the origins of the youngest of the Three Dark Sisters, receiving a limited theatrical release in Japan before arriving on the streaming platform at the beginning of April 2025.

Anime REVIEW: The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World

The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World is available to stream on Crunchyroll

There has been a steady increase in tokusatsu-inspired/adjacent superhero anime series in recent years, not just thanks to the likes of the Gridman and GARO anime adapations or Fuuto PI, but also manga adaptations like Love After World Domination, Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department and Go! Go! Loser Ranger!. Based on the number of series released each season, the popularity of Isekai-themed anime hasn't waned in the past few years either. So the two coming together in the lengthily titled (this is an Isekai series after all) The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World should pretty much be a match made in heaven. Animated by Satelight (the studio behind Symphogear as well as later instalments of the Macross franchise), the 12-episode series is an adaptation of the manga series of the same name by Koyoshi Nakayoshi - which began publication in 2020 and is currently still ongoing.

Series REVIEW: Choukou Senshi Changéríon

After a successful collaboration with Mechanical Violator Hakaider in 1995, SEGA Enterprises looked to work with Toei once more on a second tokusatsu project. Though the initial plan was to produce a Hakaider TV series, it was soon decided that the project instead would be a wholly original one-off superhero series - Toei's first since Kyodai Ken Byclosser back in 1985. Producer Susamu Yoshikawa and effects company Rainbow Zokei Planning, looking to work with new costume materials, put forth the idea of a transparent hero, and Yasushi Shinohara was brought on as character designer. With a team that included main director Takao Nagaishi (a regular on Super Sentai between Changeman and GoGoFive), action director Kazuo Sagawa and writer Toshiki Inoue (at the time best known among tokusatsu fans for his work on Chojin Sentai Jetman as well as various other Super Sentai series), the result was Choukou Senshi Changéríon ("Super Light Warrior Changéríon" or simply "Changerion"). Starring a young Takashi Hagino (who would famously go on to play Takeshi Asakura/Kamen Rider Ouja in Kamen Rider Ryuki) in the title role, Changerion aired from April to December 1996 - initially proposed for a full 52 episodes before being cut short to 39 due to low ratings.