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!)

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Crow Amazon

Release Date: October 2018

RRP: 7020 yen

When Kamen Rider Amazons began its second season back in April 2017, it didn't take very long at all for Bandai Tamashii Nations to jump on the merchandise train. But while Kamen Rider Amazon Neo and new editions of returning Amazons Alpha and Omega were released fairly swiftly, there was one character sorely missing from the S.H. Figuarts line. What good is a monster boy without his zombie monster girlfriend? Fast forward to October 2018 and the S.H. Figuarts Crow Amazon is finally upon us, rounding off what is arguably the "core" Amazons cast of the two seasons. A Sigma-type Amazon created from the revived body of Iyu Hoshino and used as 4C's killing machine, the Crow Amazon was released by Bandai as a Tamashii web exclusive.

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

Release Date: October 2017
RRP: 5940 yen

The hunt continues as Bandai Tamashii Nations move forward with Kamen Rider Amazons’ second season! As well as capping off the core (Amazon) cast from the first season in October, season two kicked off with the release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Neo. An Amazon whose life was steeped in tragedy, Chihiro simply wanted to control his insatiable hunger and live as peacefully as possible. His life changed when he met Iyu and joined the 4C Amazon hunting squad, however these turn of events eventually revealed him as both the son of Jin Takayama/Amazon Alpha, the source of a whole new breed of Amazons and as such, purely by victim of circumstance, humanity’s greatest threat.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Mole Amazon

Release Date: October 2017

RRP: 7020 yen

Although Bandai Tamashii Nations are now moving onto releases from the second season of Kamen Rider Amazons, there was still one last character needed to round off the first season cast in a satisfying manner. Despite not bearing the title of Kamen Rider, Mamoru was both a hero and highlight of the show and gets the recognition he deserves with the release of the Tamashii web exclusive S.H. Figuarts Mole Amazon. A homage to the original Kamen Rider Amazon’s enemy-turned-ally from the original 1974 series, this new Mole Amazon was a valued member of the Nozama Peston Service before leaving to help protect the last surviving Amazons in the show’s second season.

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

Release Date: July 2017

RRP: 6696 yen

The second season of Kamen Rider Amazons may have come and gone, but the S.H. Figuarts line still has a few characters from the first season up its sleeve before kicking off season two with Kamen Rider Amazon Neo in October. The first of these two Tamashii web exclusive releases is S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Sigma, which will be followed by Mamoru/Mole Amazon also in October. Amazon Sigma is the resurrected Peston Service member Jun Maehara, his corpse reanimated with Amazon Cells to become Nozama’s ultimate Amazon killing machine.

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.

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.

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

With 2016 being dubbed “Super Hero Year” by Toei it brought along a fair few surprises, and perhaps the biggest of them all was Kamen Rider Amazons. The Amazon Prime exclusive reimagining of 1974’s Kamen Rider Amazon proved to be a huge hit, succeeding where every other gritty adult version of Kamen Rider has failed. The number of Rider projects that year also meant Kamen Rider Ghost was forced to share its release window when it came to S.H. Figuarts, with all-important retail release spots going to both the Amazons cast and the new version of Kamen Rider 1. First to be released by Bandai Tamashii Nations was Kamen Rider Amazon Omega, the third-generation cultivation type Amazon alter-ego of Haruka Mizusawa.

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.