Release Date: December 2019 RRP: 6480 yen Getting a  Kamen Rider Zangetsu stage play five years after Kamen Rider Gaim's final V-cinema release was surprise enough, but for it to also debut a brand new form that received an official S.H. Figuarts release just goes to show that Kamen Rider  really wasn't messing around in 2019. Kamen Rider Zangetsu -Gaim Gaiden- saw Yuki Kubota reprise his role as Takatora Kureshima , as he stumbles into an underground city deep below Zawame City . The play also sees Takatora receive a new Lockseed and unlock a brand new form - a form that also makes a brief but very welcome cameo in Kamen Rider Zi-O the Movie: Over Quartzer . ather unsurprisingly  S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms  was a Tamashii web exclusive  release, its arrival at the very end of the decade a sign that just when you think you have them worked out Bandai Tamashii Nations can still be full of surprises. 

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.

If there's one thing that both Toei and Bandai like doing it's making money. So if a particular series has proven especially popular and/or profitable, you can bet that the two will milk it for everything that it's worth. In terms of Kamen Rider shows you only have to look at the slew of Kamen Rider Den-O movies or the Kamen Rider W Returns Accel and Eternal movies to realise that. And now it seems fair to say that Kamen Rider Gaim officially falls under that category too. Though the series didn't break the overall ratings decline that has plagued both Kamen Rider and Super Sentai for many years now (although many will argue that those don't amount to all that much anymore), the series struck a chord with the older fanbase and this combined with good merchandise sales was enough for a Kamen Rider Gaim Gaiden V-cinema project to go ahead. This straight to DVD release is split into two side stories, with the first focusing on Kamen Rider Zangetsu and the second on...

It's safe to say that the S.H. Figuarts figures of Kamen Rider Gaim and Kamen Rider Baron blew many fans away, making anticipation even higher as Bandai begin journeying through the multitude of Riders the show has. Coming as release number three is the least seen of the four "core" Riders of the show - Kamen Rider Zangetsu aka Takatora Kureshima . With Takatora upgrading to the Zangetsu Shin version of the suit fairy early on this original version hasn't made a whole load of appearances in comparison to Gaim, Baron and Ryugen. However the timing of this mass-release Figuart couldn't have been much better, as the original Zangetsu suit made a grand return in what has been one of Gaim 's best episodes so far.

  Wave one of the  66 Action Kamen Rider  candy toys have hands down been my favourite release of 2014 so far. While S.H. Figuarts are doing some amazing things with their releases at the moment, it was amazing to find a brand new line that had so much personality. And thankfully Bandai must have felt the same, because before the first wave was even released they had already officially unveiled a second. Showing up for wave two are Kamen Rider Zangetsu (Melon Arms), Kamen Rider Double (Cyclone Joker), Kamen Rider Den-O (Sword Form) and Kamen Rider Kabuto (Rider Form) . Adding a little bit of mystery into the mix, this wave also includes a bonus secret release in the form of Dark Kabuto .

Part four of my look into the first releases of Kamen Rider Gaim 's highly popular Arms Change line is the final figure I'll be covering and moves things away from the "Beat Rider" characters of the story. This time it's the mysterious white armoured Rider Kamen Rider Zangetsu , whose real identity is Yggdrasil Corporation project overseer Takatora Kureshima. As the man behind the project issuing Beat Riders with Sengoku Drivers it seems at first he is a villain, but as the story is progressing its emerging that there may be more to him than was once thought.