Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Amazons the Movie: The Last Judgement

One of the most interesting Kamen Rider success stories of the past few years has undoubtedly been that of Kamen Rider Amazons - the Amazon Prime exclusive web series that not only spawned a second season, but also went on to have both an edited television run in Japan AND found its way onto international versions of the streaming platform. However everything must eventually come to an end, and this year Toei boldy decided to forgo their usual "Super Hero Taisen" Spring movie in favour of a feature-length finale entitled Kamen Rider Amazons the Movie: The Last Judgement. With the second season's story effectively over, this movie returns the to the core of the series – finally bringing fans the climactic showdown between Haruka Mizusawa/Kamen Rider Amazon Omega and his long time rival Jin Takayama/Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha.

(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!)

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.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha

Even since the original Kamen Rider series way back in 1971, all of the most memorable Rider dynamics are done in pairs. Whether it’s through teamwork, rivalries or even a two-in-one hero like Kamen Rider Double, these dynamics are where the show truly shines. The Amazon Prime-exclusive Kamen Rider Amazons introduced a new pair into the mix, as Kamen Rider Amazon Omega met his match in the form of Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha – a former researcher at Nozama Pharmacy named Jin Takayama who has vowed to exterminate every single Amazon they've created. Since you can’t have one without the other, it didn’t take long for Bandai Tamashii Nations to follow up their Omega figure with S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha – the final mass release Kamen Rider Figuart of 2016.

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.