Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider The Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats Strongest Chemy★Great Gotcha Operation

The annual Winter crossover movie has been such a staple of the Kamen Rider franchise over the last decade or so that it's now moving well beyond the usual Movie War tagline and incorporating it directly into the film's branding. The casts of Kamen Rider Geats and Kamen Rider Gotchard come together in the rather lengthily titled Kamen Rider The Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats Strongest Chemy★Great Gotcha Operation - the 14th entry in this series of team-up films. Though written by Gotchard co-head writer Hiroki Uchida, this was with supervision from Geats head writer Yuya Takahashi so that the film would feel true to both series. Directed by Kyohei Yamaguchi (who has worked on nearly every Kamen Rider series since Gaim), it also features guest voice appearances from voice actress/singer Rie Takahashi as well as VTuber Shirakami Fubuki.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awaking

If there's one important thing for a modern Kamen Rider fan to learn, it's that a series ending is never "the end". As finite as an ending may seem, between subsequent Winter crossover movie, V-Cinext releases and any other spin-off Toei might want to throw out in the not-too-distant future you can guarantee that all your favourite Riders will be back a good few times long after the final episode has aired. Kamen Rider Geats is no exception to this of course, with the stars of the Desire Grand Prix back once more for their first V-Cinext/epilogue outing in Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awaking. Keeping things in-line with the show's continuity series head writer Yuya Takahashi returns once more to provide the story, with the film directed by tokusatsu veteran Koichi Sakamoto.

Special REVIEW: Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Gazer

With quite easily the most Kamen Riders introduced in a single series ever, Kamen Rider Geats certainly isn't going to run out of fodder for spin-off fodder any time soon. The Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club already got a good head start on ancillary material during the show's run, and it looks to be continuing on following its conclusion with the release of Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Gazer. This one-off special is the third major instalment in the Geats Extra series (following on from Kamen Rider PunkJack and Kamen Rider Tycoon meets Kamen Rider Shinobi), chronicling the origins of Niramu/Kamen Rider Gazer as well as acting as a prequel of sorts to the Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awaking V-Cinext release.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Na-Go Beat Form

Release Date: August 2023

RRP: 7480 yen

One of the greatest success stories of Reiwa era Kamen Rider has been the increase in prominence of female Riders, with nearly all of the core women in each story going on to become Riders themselves and even often having their own significant character arcs. Kamen Rider Geats is no different in this regard, introducing Neon Kurama early on in the story and not only quickly making her a Kamen Rider Na-Go, but also one of the four core Riders of the show. Her importance is such that even Bandai Tamashii Nations can't drag their heels on producing a figure of her, quickly releasing S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Na-Go following Geats, Buffa and Tycoon.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Tycoon Ninja Form

Release Date: July 2023

RRP: 8250 yen

While there's certainly going to be a lot of Kamen Rider Geats characters and forms Bandai Tamashii Nations never get around to (and what they are doing they've been able to lump together in glorified accessory sets), but at the very least they've managed to get all the main players from the series into the S.H. Figuarts line in record time. At the beginning of the series we enter the Desire Grand Prix through the eyes of Keiwa Sakurai, who after initially getting caught in a Jyamato attack is invited to take part as a Kamen Rider. Now S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Tycoon Ninja Form can join the DGP going on in collectors' displays as well, joining Geats and Buffa as the next Tamashii We exclusive release from the series.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Geats the Movie: 4 Aces and the Black Fox

The annual Kamen Rider summer movie is always an opportunity to get one last burst of a current Rider (in addition to the main series) before the switchover to a new series happens a few months later, but how about a film that gives your four times the amount of said Kamen Rider? Kamen Rider Geats the Movie: 4 Aces and the Black Fox was released in Japanese cinemas on the 28th July 2023, double-billed with Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger the Movie: Adventure Heaven. The film was written by series head writer Yuya Takashashi, and directed by Shojiro Nakazawa.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Buffa Zombie Form

Release Date: June 2023

RRP: 8250 yen

With easily the most Riders in the entire franchise, if you're looking to have a complete Kamen Rider Geats S.H. Figuarts collection you'd better start saving now because Bandai Tamashii Nations will not be kind to your wallets. And with the initial Kamen Rider Geats releases also showing off a form change gimmick, Bandai have added even more incentive not to stop at just the titular Rider. But of course the important thing is to get all the core characters from the series released first, and after Geats himself what better place to go next than his main rival in the Desire Grand Prix? S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Buffa Zombie Form is the first Tamashii web exclusive release for Kamen Rider Geats - a trend which will almost certainly remain for all the characters going forwards.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Geats

As the Kamen Rider franchise continues to confidently move forward into the Reiwa era, there are certain commonalities between the most recent shows that could now be considered as franchise staples. As well as the more obvious prominence of one or more female Rider, the number of Kamen Riders in general per show seems to have increased exponentially - with the most recently completed series boasting the largest number of all. Kamen Rider Geats is the 37th show in the overall franchise, following on from Kamen Rider Revice as the fourth entry in the Reiwa era. Written by Kamen Rider veteran Yuya Takahashi (of Ex-Aid and Zero-One fame), Geats draws inspiration from the current popularity of survival games - from the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends to Kaiji and even Squid Game, to create an all-new spin on the "Kamen Rider Battle Royale" - a concept first introduced in Kamen Rider Ryuki all the way back in 2002.

Special REVIEW: Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Tycoon Meets Kamen Rider Shinobi

He may be a year and half late, but finally the real Kamen Rider of 2022 has returned. In a parallel universe somewhere, Rider fans have been enjoying the adventures of Kamen Rider Shinobi for some time now and his series is reaching its endgame. Over in this universe however, we've been left in the lurch after first meeting him in Kamen Rider Zi-O and then an all too brief introduction to his story in Rider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi. It's been a long wait, but now he finally returns in Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Tycoon Meets Kamen Rider Shinobi! The second of the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club's Kamen Rider Geats spin-offs unites our current ninja-themed Rider meet the alternate world hero, along with other ninja Riders from across the franchise.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Geats MagnumBoost Form

Release Date: March 2023

RRP: 4400 yen

Let the curtain rise on another Desire Grand Prix! It's that time again where S.H. Figuarts unveil a whole new series of Kamen Rider releases, and with a series as big as Kamen Rider Geats Bandai Tamashii Nations certainly aren't going to run out ideas any time soon. But the best place to start is always at the very beginning, and the release of a new titular Rider also brings about another Bandai tradition – the cheaper entry point figure. This year it's the turn of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Geats MagnumBoost Form, giving fans an all-round version of Ace Ukiyo to kick things off sporting his two most commonly used Raise Buckles.

Special REVIEW: Geats Extra: Kamen Rider PunkJack

Kamen Rider Geats is a series with a lot different Riders (and given there's still a few months of it left, potentially more to come), so when it comes to the various spin-offs Kamen Rider fans are treated to it makes sense to get a head start on covering the essentials. The first of the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club's Geats-centric specials is Geats Extra: Kamen Rider PunkJack, which aims to fill in some additional information about the Desire Grand Prix as well as add some additional context behind the Rider's return in episode 35. The special consists of one 27-minute episode, and was announced alongside the forthcoming Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Tycoon meets Kamen Rider Shinobi.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Geats x Revice: Movie Battle Royale

In 2016 the traditional Winter Kamen Rider crossover film between the current and previous series dropped the "Movie War" tagline it had used religiously since 2010, moving into a new format with the more succinct "Generations" tagline. Now in 2022 it's mixing things up once again with a semi-return to that classic title, bringing it forth into the Reiwa era with Kamen Rider Geats x Revice: Movie Battle Royale. In addition to bringing together the casts of Kamen Rider Geats and Kamen Rider Revice, Movie Battle Royale celebrates the 20th anniversary of Kamen Rider Ryuki – bringing some familiar faces from that series into the mix as well. The film was written by both Yuya Takahashi and Hanta Kinoshita (the head writers for Geats and Revice respectively), and was directed by Takayuki Shibasaki.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Geats

With the 50th anniversary series over and done with its time to look to the future of Kamen Rider once again, as the franchise launches its fourth entry in the Reiwa era and 33rd series overall. Its name – Kamen Rider Geats. Returning once again to pen the series is Yuya Takahashi, who previously worked as the head-writer on both Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Kamen Rider Zero-One. So without further ado, let's dive into the first episode and see just what this much-anticipated instalment in the long-running franchise has to offer.

"This game – The winner in the end is me!"