Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Brain

Like many Japanese shows Kamen Rider has been known to put out some great April Fools' jokes over the years, but no matter how great they'd be as a real thing they usually stay as just that – a joke. However clearly the power of Kamen Rider Drive shouldn't be underestimated, as the 2017 joke has now become reality with the release of Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Brain. Originally "teased" to be coming out in 2035, this two-part Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club exclusive fulfils the Rodimude's comment about eventually becoming a Rider himself at the end of Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Heart as well as technically making him both the last of the Heisei era Kamen Riders and the first Reiwa era Rider.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders

Kamen Rider is a franchise where the weird and wonderful is commonplace, but when Toei revealed that Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Kamen Rider Ghost would be facing off against Pac-Man in their annual crossover movie it was clear this was going to be something really special. Ex-Aid is a video game-themed series after all, so they’d be fools to make use of their links to Bandai Namco properties! Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders is a 45th anniversary Kamen Rider project, dropping the usual “Movie Wars” title but falling under the same banner as those films. As well as reuniting Ex-Aid and Ghost following the latter’s final episode, the film also features Kamen Riders Drive, Wizard and Gaim to celebrate the last five years of Kamen Rider history.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Mach/Kamen Rider Heart

When a Kamen Rider series draws to a conclusion, rarely is it truly the end. Not only does that Rider make a return alongside the current one in next year’s Movie Wars release, but in recent years the additional Riders have shared the spotlight in their own V-cinema releases. This trend initially kicked off with Kamen Rider W’s Accel and Eternal movies but has recently been revived with Kamen Riders Gaim, Drive and Ghost. In terms of Drive movies Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Chaser, may have been a side story taking place during the course of the film but the second – Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Mach/Kamen Rider Heart acts as a true epilogue to the show, bringing back Gou Shijima/Kamen Rider Mach and the Roidmude Heart for one last outing.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive: Super Movie Wars Genesis

Just as the latest Kamen Rider is beginning to find his footing, his predecessor returns for one last goodbye as part of a Movie Wars crossover which has been a franchise staple for the past seven years. This time it's the turn of Kamen Rider Ghost, reuniting once more with Kamen Rider Drive in the time-travelling Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive: Super Movie Wars Genesis. Other than boasting a "super" along with the typically lengthy title, Movie Wars Genesis throws one big format change into the works - making it a particularly notable entry in this popular series of crossovers.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Chaser

With the success of both the Kamen Rider W Returns movies and the more recent Kamen Rider Gaim: Gaiden releases, Toei seem to have confirmed to both themselves that direct to DVD/Blu-ray V-cinema releases starring the shows' secondary and tertiary Riders are both popular and profitable. Just as current series Kamen Rider Ghost has jumped on this early with its The Legend of Hero Alain blu-ray bonus miniseries, previous show Kamen Rider Drive is refuses to stay down with a number of feature-length V-cinema entries. The first of these is Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Chaser, naturally starring Chase - the prototype Roidmude whose appeared as both Proto-Drive and Mashin Chaser before joining Drive as Kamen Rider Chaser.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Chaser

The sometimes unpredictable nature of S.H. Figuarts’ release pattern can be both a blessing and curse. On the one hand it means you can enjoy new releases from a series months after it has finished its run, but on the other it can also mean long waits for important characters or forms – with the chance of it being a Tamashii web exclusive getting ever higher. Kamen Rider Drive’s Kamen Rider Chaser is the perfect example of this – only releasing in January 2016 despite becoming quite the main form of the Roidmude Chase (aka Mashin Chaser and Proto Drive) in the final third of the show. The added cost a Tamashii web exclusive usually brings is likely a negative to a lot of people, but at the same time it usually ensures everyone has a fair chance of grabbing one while the preorder window is open. But enough rambling, it’s time to take a look at the newest hero to join in Drive’s fight against the Roidmudes!

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future

The Kamen Rider summer films have always been quite an interesting series. While most of the pre-Kamen Rider Decade films looked at their respective series in alternate universe scenarios, the arrival of Kamen Rider W brought along a closer connection between series and movie. More recently last two films, Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land and Kamen Rider Gaim: Great Soccer Battle! Golden Fruits Cup! have gelled the two together by taking the series' Rider and then throwing them into an alternate universe for most of the action. Kamen Rider Drive however decided to take a different route for its movie, drawing inspiration from a different beloved sci-fi trope - time travel! So strap yourselves in, because its time for Shinnosuke Tomari and co to find themselves with a Surprise Future.

Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider 4

Let’s be honest – there are a lot of problems with Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3. But perhaps one the strangest ones is the fact that the film ends on a huge unresolved plot point – namely the death of Gou Shijima/Kamen Rider Mach. After a pretty explosive death scene that’s overlooked by most of the characters fighting in the battle against Shocker, the story then concludes with Shinnosuke and Kiriko mournfully getting on with their lives without him. This wasn’t just lazy writing though, as these events then tie into Kamen Rider 4 – an internet mini series released in accompaniment.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Drive

Give a Kamen Rider cosmically powered switches or transforming fruit armour and only a few people will bat an eyelid. Give him a car instead of a bike however and suddenly the world has been turned upside down. Although not the first Kamen Rider show to give their lead character four wheels instead of two (that would be Kamen Rider Black RX), Kamen Rider Drive is the first series to make it exclusively that Rider’s mode of transportation. With the series having just come to an end in Japan, it’s time to take a look back at the past year of Kamen Rider before things start afresh again with Kamen Rider Ghost in a few days’ time.

Movie REVIEW: Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3

Back in 2009 when Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker was released a giant Kamen Rider crossover was a pretty big deal. The film itself wasn’t the best, but it was the largest gathering of the franchise’s heroes yet and that certainly held its weight in spectacle. But since then these crossovers have become commonplace, even briefly roping in the Super Sentai and Metal Heroes franchises for Super Hero Taisen and Super Hero Taisen Z. A few of these offerings have still managed to hold their own in terms of spectacle, but more often than not these films have suffered greatly from the law of diminishing returns. After last year’s Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai, Toei are continuing on the Kamen Rider focus with Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3. The draw this time however is perhaps not the mass assembling of Riders, but the first onscreen appearance of a lost piece of Kamen Rider history.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach

Kamen Rider Drive may have broken the mould by being the first on-screen Rider to forgo a bike in favour of a car, but that doesn’t mean all the Riders in the series have followed suite. After Mashin Chaser’s twisted-metal biker appearance proved the perfect foil to Drive Type Speed’s sleek sports car finish, the show’s secondary Rider has gone a bit Evel Knieval – which shouldn’t be surprise given the powers were created over in America. Go Shijima aka Kamen Rider Mach (or MA-HA if you’d prefer) joins the S.H. Figuarts line as the third mass release figure from the series, neatly completing the main trinity of characters before Tamashii Nations push forward with the various alternate forms still to come.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Mashin Chaser

While Kamen Rider is probably the luckiest franchise when it comes to getting its villain characters as part of the S.H. Figuarts line, the amount that have received mass release is quite minimal. Thankfully if you're a Rider or Rider-esque character it means you probably have a good chance of getting that treatment, and given his prominence in the show it should be no surprise to anyone to find that Mashin Chaser is the next character/form from Kamen Rider Drive to join the line. The Roidmude Shinigami/Grim Reaper, Mashin Chaser serves as a rival to Drive until his true origins are revealed - leading on to what is perhaps one of the most engaging elements of the series so far. But for now let's just enjoy Chase in this monstrous form, ready to wheel up at a moment's notice and cause a rather elaborate road block for our hero.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie Wars Full Throttle

The ending of a Kamen Rider series is often a sad thing, and although the following is usually enough to soften its passing there's always at least one thing to look forward to - the annual Movie Wars team up. This time Kamen Rider Gaim returns for its last hurrah alongside the currently airing Kamen Rider Drive for the predictably long-winded title Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie Wars Full Throttle. As usual the film is split up into three sections - individual Gaim and Drive components before the two come together for a crossover that incorporates elements from both's individual stories.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed

Sengoku-era fruit armour is so last year, now it's all about the cars. Although Kamen Rider Drive has turned heads by having its lead character drive a car instead of riding of motorcycle, the addition of two extra wheels hasn't diverged it too far from the heart and spirit of any other Kamen Rider show. The show itself may have started way back in October, only now are Bandai Tamashii Nations kicking things off in their S.H. Figuarts toy line. And what better place to start than at the beginning, with the base form of the titular Rider - Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed. Much like Kamen Rider Gaim before it the next few releases in the line will be of some of the other Riders/Rider-esque characters that appear in the show before things move onto the Drive's various forms, but for now let's check out what is likely to be most people's priority figure from this year's addition to the Kamen Rider family.

Toybox REVIEW: 66 Action Kamen Riders Wave 5

It's a brand new year for the 66 Action range of candy toys from Bandai, and with the line going from strength to strength with each passing release I can't wait to see what 2015 brings. Despite humble beginnings as simple a range of cheap, poseable Kamen Rider figures it's now extended into a number of other franchises as well as growing a sizeable fanbase. January saw the launch of the 66 Action Ultraman line, and now the Riders return for an impressive fifth wave. This time the selection includes Kamen Rider Drive's Mashin Chaser, Kamen Rider OOO Tajador Combo, Kamen Rider Ryuki and Kamen Rider Black.

Toybox REVIEW: 66 Action Kamen Riders Wave 4

Bandai's brilliant 66 Action line has now stretched out into the likes of the No More anti-piracy campaign, Dragon Ball Z and (soon) Ultraman, but it probably wouldn't be where it is today without the success of the Kamen Rider figures it pumped out through the course of 2014. Rounding things off in December last year was wave four of the popular range of 66mm candy toys, adding Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed, Kamen Rider Gaim Kachidoki Arms, Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style and Kamen Rider Faiz to the mix. That's a total of three new Riders to add to the ever growing collection, and yet another form for the lead Rider of 2013-2014.  

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Drive

Motorbikes are so 1971, 2014 is all about cars! That's right, Kamen Rider Gaim is over and its time for a new Rider that does things a little bit differently. 2014-15's Rider goes by the name of Kamen Rider Drive, swapping out the franchise's signature motorcycle completely in favour of a car (yes Kamen Rider Black RX had a car, but he still had a bike at the same time). The 16th Heisei era Kamen Rider series and 25th overall sees Rider veterans Riku Sanjo and Ryuta Tasaki return as lead writer and director respectively - something they last did on 2009-10's Kamen Rider W.