Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Black Sun

Kamen Rider Black Sun is available to stream on Amazon Prime

The celebration of Kamen Rider's 50th anniversary came in several different forms – there was Kamen Rider Revice, the forthcoming Shin Kamen Rider movie as well as the franchise's first proper foray into animation with Fuuto P.I.. But arguably one of the most interesting projects that came out of this milestone was the announcement of Kamen Rider Black Sun – a darker, more adult-orientated reinterpretation of 1987's Kamen Rider Black. Releasing exclusively on Amazon Prime, the 10-episode series follows in the footsteps of Kamen Rider Amazons in not only being another reimagining of a classic Showa era series, but also one of the few pieces of Kamen Rider media readily available worldwide.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Amazons (Season Two)

There are two reasons why a second season of Kamen Rider Amazons was inevitable. Obviously the popularity of the Amazon Prime-exclusive spin-off (which later even received an edited television run) was a factor, but more importantly there was no way that Toei were going name each episode beginning with a different letter of the alphabet and then just stop at 13. So yes, Amazons is back for another 13 episodes of downbeat, colour-filtered gore and savagery – kicking things off with a hefty time skip, new protagonists and a few other surprises as well.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Amazons Season 2

For tokusatsu fans one of the most pleasant surprises of 2016 was Kamen Rider Amazons, the Amazon Prime-exclusive series with an aesthetic loosely derived from 1974’s Kamen Rider Amazon. Offering a grittier, less gimmick-driven Kamen Rider, the series quickly became popular and arguably succeeded in areas attempts such as Kamen Rider The First/Next and Kamen Rider Shin had failed. Now after an eight month break (and subsequent TV-airing) the show has returned for a second 13-episode season, taking place sometime after the conclusion of the first season and introducing an all-new cast. However fans need not worry, as Haruka, Jin and all the other previous characters will also be appearing in due course.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Amazons (Season One)

Given that both Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are in the midst of celebrating big anniversaries, it’s no surprise that Toei have decided to declare 2016 “Super Hero Year”. A name like that also brings with it some big projects to mark the occasion properly, with Kamen Rider especially throwing out some rather nice surprises. First came a grand return for Hiroshi Fujioka, playing a newly updated Takeshi Hongo in the Kamen Rider 1 movie. But following that was an even bigger surprise – initially streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime, Kamen Rider Amazons is an extremely loose reboot of 1974’s Kamen Rider Amazon and another attempt at another adult Kamen Rider production. Previous offerings Kamen Rider Shin, Kamen Rider the First and Kamen Rider the Next may not have fared too well, but could Amazon at last be a success? 

Season one of this series is comprised of 13 episodes, with a further 13 due to follow later this year.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Amazons

2016 is a pretty big year for tokusatsu. Ultraman is celebrating his 50th anniversary, the Kamen Rider franchise its 45th, Super Sentai it's 40th (technically it's 41st, but it likes to go by series rather than year) and Garo continuing its 10th anniversary celebrations from last year. With all this going on it's no surprise that Toei have dubbed 2016 as "Super Hero Year"- using this monicker for what will hopefully be a number of Rider and Sentai projects. Things kicked off with the return of Takeshi Hongo in the Kamen Rider 1 movie, but what followed was perhaps an even bigger surprise than seeing Hiroshi Fujioka reprise the role once more. Kamen Rider Amazons - an Amazon Prime (yes, they went there) exclusive series offering a modern, adult-orientated reimagining of 1974's Kamen Rider Amazon. At 13-episodes long with each running at around 45-minutes, this is quite the new format for Kamen Rider - something that makes this venture all the more exciting.