Series REVIEW: GARO: Sentinel of the East

As the GARO franchise continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary, fans are lucky enough to have two projects representing its two main continuities. Whilst the Saejima family timeline added a new chapter to its story last year with prequel film GARO: Taiga, 2026's offering instead focuses on Ryuga Dougai - continuing his story from when we last saw him in 2024's Heir to the Steel Armor. Though at only eight episodes (plus a prologue episode which quickly recaps Ryuga's story from the very beginning) GARO: Sentinel of the East is one of the shortest entries in the franchise thus far, it does however reunite Ryuga with Rian - the Makai Priestess who first debuted alongside him in The One Who Shines in the Darkness and continued into Gold Storm, Gold Storm -Sho- and Fang of God. As with the previous series, The Eastern Sentinel was made available worldwide via the official GARO YouTube channel with multi-language (albeit AI generated) subtitles.

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Studio Series Thundercracker

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: $42.99/£34.99

The Seekers are arguably the Transformers' franchise greatest cash cow, and with the ability to repaint/retool the same mould into a dozen different characters rarely does a line go by where they aren't included. Since its debut back in 2020 the War for Cybertron: Earthrise version as been the standard for mainline Transformers, sneaking its way into multiple lines since - including the Studio Series with the Coronation Starscream set. But now a new challenger has finally entered the ring, with Hasbro unveiling an all-new seeker mould with Studio Series Thundercracker. Based on his (brief) appearance in Transformers: The Movie and the preceding seasons of the Generation One cartoon, this is the first of what will certainly be many more Seeker releases in this mould. Is he good enough to justify potentially buying them all over again?

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Rekiness

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: 13,750 yen

Thankfully the fact that most Ultraman series feature a solo hero have never stopped Bandai Tamashii Nations when it comes to character choices for the S.H. Figuarts line - with plenty of alien and kaiju figures to go alongside them. That said, with the Ultra Series placing much more emphasis on legacy characters many of these tend to come from the classic shows, leaving the New Generation era far more underserved outside the Ultras' various forms. With Ultraman Omega featuring kaiju battling alongside the hero himself though, there was no way the line couldn't include at least one of them. S.H. Figuarts Rekiness is the second figure to be released from Omega, and another general retail release.

Anime REVIEW: Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider

Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider is available on Crunchyroll

With the release of Fuuto PI back in 2022 there was the fleeting hope that it may result in more Kamen Rider anime series, but while an adaptation of Kamen Rider Spirits is still nowhere to be found in the meantime Liden Films (Cells at Work! CODE BLACK, Tokyo Revengers, Goblin Slayer II) have come along with the next best thing. Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider is a 24-episode adaptation of Yokusaru Shibata's ongoing manga series of the same name, made in cooperation with both Toei and Ishimori Productions - giving it official recognition as a spin-off (of sorts) of the wider franchise. With its release also coinciding with the main show taking its first steps in wider streaming on YouTube, newcomers who discover Kamen Rider through this show also might want to consider checking out current series Kamen Rider Zeztz as their first steps into the wider world of this iconic franchise.

Toybox REVIEW: Chogokin Metal Gear Rex

Release Date: February 2026

RRP: 36,300 yen

Despite Metal Gear Solid being arguably one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, when it comes to figures and merchandising there's a lot of untapped potential. The majority of characters haven't had toys since the games originally released, and when it comes to the Metal Gears themselves the only real options are large/expensive figures like the ThreeA releases (which are even more expensive on the aftermarket) or Kotobukiya's impressive (but requiring a lot of extra work to look screen-accurate) model kits. As such it came as a bit of a surprise when Bandai Tamashii Nations announced their Chogokin Metal Gear Rex seemingly out of nowhere, bringing a new offering of the iconic war machine from the 1998 game to the table. At 36,300 yen (roughly $220/£171) it's still not exactly a cheap option, but as a Chogokin release their Rex should promise a high quality release with plenty of diecast metal. Is this truly the weapon that will lead us into the 21st century?

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Age of the Primes Blast Off

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: $27.99/£24.99

2026 is shaping up to be the year of Bruticus as the “big bad battling” Combaticon combiner bursts his way into the Transformers Age of the Primes line. Collectors were treated with a nice little tease of what’s to come last year with Vortex, but now it’s time for the rest of his teammates to gradually join him over the course of the years. Helping to kick things off is Age of the Primes Blast Off, a Deluxe Class figure who joins Brawl as part of the line’s first assortment of 2026 releases.

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Studio Series 86 Decepticon Frenzy (Red)

Release Date: August 2023

RRP: $11.99/£13.99

Given it's strict focus on the cast of Transformers: The Movie there isn't a lot of opportunity for remoulds/repaints in the Studio Series 86 line, but what few there are Hasbro certainly aren't going to pass up on. And perhaps the most obvious of these was Studio Series 86 Decepticon Frenzy (Red) - Soundwave's second humanoid cassette minion who is of course identical to his brother Rumble. And like Rumble, Frenzy joined the line as one of the handful of smaller Core Class releases.

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Age of the Primes Brawl

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: $42.99/£34.99

The release of Transformers Age of the Primes Vortex midway through 2025 was a pleasant surprise, albeit a little bit odd given than none of his fellow Combaticons were anywhere to be seen around this time. But with the range continuing on through 2026 it was only a matter of time, and now Bruticus is truly beginning to take shape as Age of the Primes Brawl joins him. Released alongside Blast Off, Brawl is the first of the two Voyager Class components that make up the Combaticon combiner – something which has been stated by the designers to be required by the leg pieces to enhance stability.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Harley Quinn Suicide Squad ISEKAI Ver.

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: 10,000 yen

There are many collectors (myself included) who would count Kaiyodo’s Revoltech line among their first foray into Japanese collector-grade action figures, and whilst many competitors have appeared in the years since it began the line has continued strong – its flagship Amazing Yamaguchi (named after sculptor Katsuhisa Yamaguchi) range covering the likes of Marvel and DC comics, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Evangelion and more. As such a figure like Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Harley Quinn Suicide Squad ISEKAI Ver. feels like an obvious choice for the line, but the series getting so little merchandise elsewhere it feels like quite a pleasant surprise. As the name suggests, this version of Harley is based on her appearance in the Suicide Squad ISEKAI anime series – where Task Force X are transported to a fantasy realm of magic and monsters.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Gavv: Guilty Parfait

Whilst one could argue that Kamen Rider Gavv ended on a fairly satisfying note, there were still plenty of plot threads left open to be explored in future instalments. Something that's been mandatory for Kamen Rider for well over a decade now, as there needs to be something to cover in the obligatory V-Cinext epilogue movie. As also tends to be the standard for these films, Kamen Rider Gavv: Guilty Parfait shines the spotlight on the series' secondary and only (heroic) human Rider - Hanto Karakida, aka Kamen Rider Valen. The one-hour film was written by Gavv's main writer Junko Komura, and directed by Takayuki Shibasaki.