Back in May 2014 when Bandai Tamashii Nations released the first of the Kamen Rider Gaim S.H. Figuarts figures, fans wondered just how long it would take them to get through the rather extensive cast. Just look at the similar sized Kamen Rider Ryuki for example, which had the first of its 13 Riders released in August 2011 but wasn’t completed until November 2014 (and still has a few Contract Monsters missing here and there). But although Gaim still has a few movie exclusive Riders, bit-part characters and monsters left untouched or without a release date, the main cast was neatly rounded off at the end of November 2015 with Kamen Rider Knuckle Kurumi Arms. Another Tamashii Web Exclusive , Knuckle returns Gaim to its roots with another standard armoured Rider, following on from the completion of the New Generation Riders with Kamen Rider Sigurd in the previous month.

Some people say that you can never have too much of a good thing. These people have clearly never seen Kamen Rider Gaim Gaiden: Zangetsu & Baron . After the Kamen Rider Gaim series impressed audiences with its cleverly woven (though admittedly Urobuchi-trope ridden) storyline and fantastic characters, these V-cinema side stories came along feeling like a pure money spinner – offering weak stories that raised further questions while shoehorning in new Armoured Riders and Lockseeds derived from already existing suits. However both Bandai and Toei must have clearly got what they wanted out of this, because it wasn’t long before a second Gaim Gaiden was put into production and released – this time focusing on Kamen Rider Duke and Kamen Rider Knuckle . So with zero expectations and extreme trepidation, I ventured back to Zawame City to see if these offerings were much of the same or whether they were able to once again capture what made Kamen Rider Gaim so engaging in...