Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Live Bat Genome/Jackal Genome

Release Date: February 2023

RRP: 8250 yen

With S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Evil having been quickly rushed out the door for the Kamen Rider Revice range, it's been a surprisingly long wait for what many would consider to the the series' "true" secondary Rider. But nearly a year after S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Revi and Kamen Rider Vice hit shelves, the Igarashi siblings are finally complete with the release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Live Bat Genome/Jackal Genome as a Tamashii web exclusive.

Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Juuga VS Kamen Rider Orteca

On top of it being the 50th anniversary series, the sheer number of Riders that appear in Kamen Rider Revice made it clear that there was plenty of spin-off potential to be mined from it. While more obvious candidates got their shot at the spotlight either during the actual run of the series or in the more prestigious V-Cinema release, there's always the post-series Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club exclusives to think of as well. Of course, these are also an opportunity to add even more Riders to the mix as well. Kamen Rider Juuga VS Kamen Rider Orteca just happens to do both - putting series mainstay and Kamen Rider fanboy George Karizaki in the spotlight as he fights off against former Deadmans member Orteca as he finally takes on his own Rider form.

Movie REVIEW: Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons

One of the great advantages of the Kamen Rider V-Cinext (formerly V-Cinema) epilogue movies is the opportunity to focus on the extended cast of a series - characters that might not have had quite the development they deserved in the show itself but still have plenty to offer. When it comes to Kamen Rider Revice, there's quite an extensive roster of Riders and that could be said for plenty of them. But for the first of Revice's V-Cinext releases the spotlight is cast on what are perhaps the two most obvious candidates. As its name suggests, Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons focuses on Hiromi Kadota and Daiji Igarashi, along with the latter's demon Kagero. Timeline-wise the film takes place after the events of Kamen Rider Geats x Revice: Movie Battle Royale, was written by Nobuhiro Mouri (who served as a secondary writer on Revice, among many other shows) and directed by Koichi Sakamoto.

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.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Jeanne Cobra Genome & Lovekov Kujaku Genome

Release Date: August 2022

RRP: 6930 yen

The Kamen Rider Revice S.H. Figuarts range continues its string of Tamashii Web exclusives, and was naturally going to be the case most of the time for this series it's keeping it in the family. In just a few short years the Reiwa era of the franchise has become notable for raising the prominence and profile of female Kamen Riders, with Sakura Igarashi taking it to even further heights following her debut as Kamen Rider Jeanne. Given her popularity it's no surprise Bandai Tamashii Nations skipped over Kamen Rider Live (who debuted a few episodes earlier in the series) for the time being in order to release S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Jeanne Cobra Genome & Lovekov Kujaku Genome, further adding to the growing collection of female Riders that's amassed in the last few years.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Demons Spider Genome

Release Date: July 2022

RRP: 7700 yen

While Kamen Rider Revice may have been a series that pushed the story of family first and foremost, it wasn't just the Igarashi family that captured fans' hearts. Fenix commander Hiromi Kadota quickly established himself as a firm fan-favourite in the series, fighting as the first Kamen Rider Demons using the Vail-possessed Demons Driver. After going missing and presumed dead, he would eventually return to the fight against Giff leading Weekend's Demons Army. His popularity pretty much ensured the quick release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Demons Spider Genome, who joins the line as the fourth release in the Revice range and its second Tamashii web exclusive.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Revice the Movie: Battle Familia

As the end of a Kamen Rider series approaches, the time of the summer movie is upon us. With more and more of these films featuring events that tie directly into the main series, the show becomes a careful balance of having to still be understood on its own terms whilst also making the movie feel like a vital part of the story. Double-billed with the Avataro Sentai Donbrothers movie, Kamen Rider Revice the Movie: Battle Familia takes the Igarashi siblings on a side story following the defeat of Giff and in the lead up to Karizaki's debut as Kamen Rider Juuga. The Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club special Birth of Chimera was also produced as an introduction to the film's story and characters.

Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Jeanne & Kamen Rider Aguilera with Girls Remix

If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that the Kamen Rider franchise shouldn't just be considered the "boys' toys franchise" that it once was. Over the years the writers behind each series have made an increasing effort to bring the women of the franchise to the forefront, with lead female Kamen Riders particularly becoming more prominent in the last few years as things moved into the Reiwa era. With this fact being particularly true in Kamen Rider Revice and its focus on Sakura Igarashi/Kamen Rider Jeannne and Hana/Kamen Rider Aguilera, the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club has brought together (nearly) all of the heroines of the past few years in its latest three-part miniseries - Kamen Rider Jeanne & Kamen Rider Aguilera with Girls Remix.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Revice

On April 3rd 1971 Toei launched a brand new tokusatsu superhero series from manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, and a legend was born. Fast forward 50 years later and the Kamen Rider franchise is still running strong, celebrating this momentous anniversary with the third instalment in its Reiwa Era run (and 32nd series overall) – Kamen Rider Revice. Introducing a two-Rider duo that together make up the titular hero, the series was written by franchise newcomer Hanta Kinoshita. Though the series commemorates 50 years of Kamen Rider, Revice is very much its own show and not an "anniversary special" in the same vein as Decade or Zi-O.

Special REVIEW: Kamen Rider Revice Movie Spin-Off Delivered Drama: Birth of Chimera

One of the obvious problems with summer Kamen Rider movies introducing new characters (most of whom are Riders themselves) is that they rarely have time to develop them in a meaningful way. But with the arrival of streaming services such as the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club, there's an opportunity to give them a bigger spotlight through prequel specials that can add a little more context to things. For example, just ahead of the release of Kamen Rider Revice: Battle Familia, the service launched (the rather lengthy titled) Kamen Rider Revice Movie Spin-Off Delivered Drama: Birth of Chimera – introducing fans to the characters that will be driving the plot of the film.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Vice Rex Genome

Release Date: February 2022

RRP: 4950 yen

When a new series of Kamen Rider S.H. Figuarts kicks off with a cheaper release, it doesn't take long for a fully priced one to come just to bring collectors crashing back down to reality. However the positive is that these are far more "complete" releases, and with a better number of accessories more indicative of what Bandai Tamashii Nations has to offer with the line. 50th anniversary series Kamen Rider Revice showcases a duo of lead Riders, and with Kamen Rider Revi taking that cheaper slot his demonic partner is left to take that more typical price point. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Vice Rex Genome however was released alongside Revi rather than the following month, giving collectors the opportunity to pick the duo up at the same time.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Revi Rex Genome

Release Date: February 2022
RRP: 3850 yen

50 years strong and no signs of slowing down, the legacy of the Kamen Rider franchise continues with Kamen Rider Revice! While admittedly it took a few months from the series' premiere back in September 2021 Bandai Tamashii Nations finally launched the Revice range in February 2022, kicking things off with a double team of Kamen Riders Revi and Vice! While a double-pack of the human/demon pair might have seemed the most logical release, Bandai have largely kept things to their usual pattern – with S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Revi Rex Genome arriving as a more affordable release whilst Vice comes at a more typical price point for the line.

Miniseries REVIEW: Revice Legacy: Kamen Rider Vail

With more avenues to expand its story the Kamen Rider franchise has moved much further into the realms of supplementary material in recent years, with much of it landing exclusively on the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club streaming service. Following on from Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery the service released its second special from the 50th anniversary celebration series – Revice Legacy: Kamen Rider Vail, a five-part miniseries taking the story of Kamen Rider Revice back over two decades before it all began.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations

First came Heisei Generations, followed by Heisei Generations FINAL and Heisei Generations FOREVER. From there we moved into Reiwa: The First Generation, and now the Kamen Rider franchise is moving…beyond. After a year off, the winter Kamen Rider crossover movie returned at the end of 2021 in conjunction with the franchise's 50th anniversary celebrations. Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations sees the casts of Kamen Rider Revice and Kamen Rider Saber reunite once more (with the Saber gang having previously met Revi and Vice at the end of their own series) in a time-travelling adventure that looks at both the past and future of the Kamen Riders.

Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery

As the series that marks the 50th anniversary of the Kamen Rider franchise, it was almost a certainty that Kamen Rider Revice was going to have plenty of supplementary material. Long gone are the days where everything you'd ever need to know about a tokusatsu series is solely contained in the main show itself, with numerous movies, blu-ray specials and streaming service miniseries utilised to fill in the gaps. Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery is a five-episode miniseries produced for Japan's TELASA streaming service, which has been the home to a number of Kamen Rider specials since 2017. Written by Hiroki Uchida and directed by Koichiro Hayama, it notably features the return of Ryu Terui/Kamen Rider Accel from Kamen Rider W as well as a few other surprises from across the franchise.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Revice: The Movie

Sometimes the various traditions that Toei have set out for the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises can seem so set in stone that it feels like there's little room for innovation, but every so often something exciting and different does manage to slip in and become the new norm. One such example is the recent string of teaser films that have been produced - attached to various movie offerings and airing just ahead of the full show release. Mashin Sentai Kiramager was the first series to get one with its Episode ZERO in 2020, with Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger following with Red Battle! All Sentai Rally! this year. However this year also saw Kamen Rider Revice get in on the action with Kamen Rider Revice: The Movie  - a 25 minute mini-movie attached to giant crossover anniversary film Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Revice

Well we've made it, 50 years of Kamen Rider. Such a momentous anniversary doesn't go uncelebrated, and while both both it and Super Sentai commemorated their respective milestones earlier in the year with crossover movie Super Hero Senki, now that Kamen Rider Saber has reached its conclusion it's time for the main anniversary series to begin its run. Kamen Rider Revice is the third Kamen Rider series to debut in the Reiwa era, and the 32nd in the franchise overall. Its head writer is Hanta Kinoshita, a novelist and manga writer making his tokusatsu debut with the series. Other key production staff members include producers Chihiro Inoue, Kei Mizutani and Taku Mochizuki, directors Takayuki Shibasaki, Jun Watanabe and Hiroshi Butsuda, with music by Kotaro Nakagawa.