Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Gavv: Guilty Parfait

Whilst one could argue that Kamen Rider Gavv ended on a fairly satisfying note, there were still plenty of plot threads left open to be explored in future instalments. Something that's been mandatory for Kamen Rider for well over a decade now, as there needs to be something to cover in the obligatory V-Cinext epilogue movie. As also tends to be the standard for these films, Kamen Rider Gavv: Guilty Parfait shines the spotlight on the series' secondary and only (heroic) human Rider - Hanto Karakida, aka Kamen Rider Valen. The one-hour film was written by Gavv's main writer Junko Komura, and directed by Takayuki Shibasaki.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Gotchard: Graduations

Do Kamen Rider series really ever end, or do they simply enter a new chapter of their lives? Such a thing could definitely be said about Kamen Rider Gotchard's V-Cinext movie, which sees the cast graduate from their highschool days and takes their first steps into adulthood. Despite Toei opting to skip over the usual Winter crossover movie for Kamen Rider Gavv's tenure, Gotchard still receives its epilogue with Kamen Rider Gotchard: Graduations. Written by Gotchard Hyper Battle DVD writer Takahito Oonishi (with supervision from series co-head writer Hiroki Uchida) and directed by Kyohei Yamaguchi, the story picks up around six months after the events of the series.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained

Milestone anniversaries are something that rarely go uncelebrated in the Kamen Rider franchise, and when it's a series as popular as Kamen Rider 555 of course something big was going to happen for its 20th birthday. Though a series that has continued to endure in parallel universe, crossover and/or spin-off material, there is one thing that it has constantly been denied - a proper resolution. All this could change however with the release of Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained, a V-Cinext reunion film penned by original writer Toshiki Inoue (fresh off his work on Avataro Sentai Donbrothers) and directed by Ryuta Tasaki (who has worked on nearly every Kamen Rider series since Agito). The film's production was initially announced on the 5th May 2023, which was dubbed "Faiz Day" in celebration of the 20th anniversary.

Movie REVIEW: Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs Kyoryuger

In 2013 Super Sentai revisited dinosaurs for a third time, and the result remains one of the most popular instalments in the franchise to this day. Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger was a massive hit, to the point where South Korea even produced its own non-canon spin-off/sequel (which was in turn dubbed in Japan). As such there was no way its tenth anniversary was going to go uncelebrated, and in true Kyoryuger style a reunion movie simply wasn't going to be enough. Instead Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger hosted a two-part crossover, where the stories of the two series were intertwined in a way rarely seen in Super Sentai. Again that wasn't enough though, and so their story continues into Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs Kyoryuger. The film was released in early 2024 as a special King-Ohger VS Series double-bill alongside Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs Donbrothers.

Movie REVIEW: Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs Donbrothers

Just after Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger threw out all expectations of what to expect from a Super Sentai series, it seems to be doing similar things with its epilogue content as well. Not just content with having one entry added into the long running VS Series of films, 2024 saw a King-Ohger double bill spectacular as they crossover over with TWO previous teams of heroes. Given their previous in-series crossover, the close story links made between the two series and Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger's 10th anniversary celebrations a proper King-Ohger vs Kyoryuger film felt inevitable, but it just wouldn't be the same without some mayhem from King-Ohger's predecessor as well. So to that end we also have Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs Donbrothers - bringing together the casts of both King-Ohger and Avataro Sentai Donbrothers for an adventure that will surely be anything but conventional.

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.

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 Saber: Trio of Deep Sin

When it comes to Kamen Rider, there's no such thing as a happy ending. No matter how cleanly the series itself may have ended, you can almost guarantee that the battle isn't over yet – and in some cases, the threat the Riders face in their V-cinema/V-Cinext film might just be the worst of them all. Now the story of Kamen Rider Saber continues in Kamen Rider Saber: Trio of Deep Sin, with head writer Takuro Fukuda returning to pen the film after largely leaving the latter half of the series to other writers. In what's one of many departures this V-Cinext release takes, the story focus on protagonist Touma Kamiyama as well as supporting Riders Rintaro Shindo and Kento Fukamiya.