First Impressions: Kakuseihunter Omegahorn

Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity may have been a loving tribute to one of their most iconic tokusatsu superhero series, but for the second instalment in Project R.E.D. Toei seem to be trying something new. Channelling the likes of Monster Hunter and Pokémon, Kakuseihunter Omegahorn turns the focus slightly away from transforming superheroes and brings kaiju to the forefront of the series. With characters and elements from Gavan Infinity also carrying over, Atsuhiro Tomioka continues on as head writer for the series - now joined by Hiroyuki Kato and Jun Watanabe as director and action director respectively.

Series REVIEW: Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity

It wasn't all that long ago tokusatsu fans were bidding a fond farewell to Super Sentai, and now the first instalment of its replacement has drawn to a close. Towards the end of 2025 Toei announced that taking the place of Super Sentai would be Project R.E.D. ("Records of Extraordinary Dimensions") - an ambitious new project primarily featuring red-coloured heroes as well as continuity between its instalments (which wouldn't follow a set pattern in the same way Super Sentai did). Then in February 2026 Project R.E.D. officially launched with the premiere of Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity - a reboot and spiritual successor to Space Sheriff Gavan (as well as the Space Sheriff trilogy and wider Metal Heroes franchise), but also explicitly neither a continuation or relaunch of Metal Heroes. Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka (Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger, as well as numerous anime credits) and directed by Hirofumi Fukuzawa (who has worked as action director on every Super Sentai series since Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters) as well as Kamen Rider Geats and Kamen Rider Gotchard), Gavan Infinity ran for a total of 23 episodes - quite the departure from the year-long runs of its predecessor.

Series REVIEW: Space Sheriff Sharivan

Space Sheriff Gavan proved popular enough that not only was a sequel series put into production during its run, Gavan would also lead directly into said series with its protagonist appearing as a guest character beforehand. Thus episode 42 of Gavan introduced the audience to Den Iga, a forest patrolman who was fatally wounded and taken to Planet Bird for recovery. When he returned two episodes later to aid Gavan in his final battle against Makuu, he donned a red combat suit and was revealed as Earth's newest Space Sheriff following his predecessor's promotion. Space Sheriff Sharivan is both the second entry in the Space Sheriff trilogy and wider Metal Heroes franchise, running for a total of 51 episodes between 1983 and 1984. With the same creative team of Gavan behind it, Sharivan aimed to both continue and build upon the new style of superhero show its predecessor had created. 

Special REVIEW: No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Polar Beginning

Super Sentai may be on indefinite hiatus as far as further series are concerned, but that doesn't mean the franchise has completely run out of steam yet. Thanks to platforms like the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club streaming service that's still plenty of opportunities to tell more stories through the likes of mini-series and one-off specials, with more from No.1 Sentai Gozyuger among the first of its offerings in this "post-Sentai" landscape. No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Polar Beginning transports us back to the year 2005 and the first Ring Battle, shedding more light on the past of Mashiro Kumade - the first Gozyu Wolf who would later re-join the battle for the rings as the sixth Gozyuger, Gozyu Polar. Interestingly the one-off special was written by Keiichi Hasagawa (Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Nexus, Kamen Rider Gotchard), rather than series head writer Akiko Inoue.

Movie REVIEW: GARO: Taiga

A big anniversary for a long-running franchise is always a good excuse to look back on and celebrate where it all began, but what about going even further back to before the beginning? This is how the GARO franchise decided to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with the release of GARO: Taiga - a brand-new feature film starring a Taiga Saejima, father to Kouga (and grandfather to Raiga) whose time as the titular Golden Knight had previously only been seen through flashbacks. Series creator Keita Amemiya returned to write the film, as well as co-direct it alongside Masaki Suzumura who handles the action sequences. Shoichiro Kitada takes over as a younger Taiga, with the character having been played by Hiroyuki Watanabe in previous appearances.

Series REVIEW: GARO: Sentinel of the East

As the GARO franchise continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary, fans are lucky enough to have two projects representing its two main continuities. Whilst the Saejima family timeline added a new chapter to its story last year with prequel film GARO: Taiga, 2026's offering instead focuses on Ryuga Dougai - continuing his story from when we last saw him in 2024's Heir to the Steel Armor. Though at only eight episodes (plus a prologue episode which quickly recaps Ryuga's story from the very beginning) GARO: Sentinel of the East is one of the shortest entries in the franchise thus far, it does however reunite Ryuga with Rian - the Makai Priestess who first debuted alongside him in The One Who Shines in the Darkness and continued into Gold Storm, Gold Storm -Sho- and Fang of God. As with the previous series, The Eastern Sentinel was made available worldwide via the official GARO YouTube channel with multi-language (albeit AI generated) subtitles.

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.

First Impressions: Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity

The age of Super Sentai is over, and so begins the time of Project R.E.D.! Overall details on Toei's newest tokusatsu franchise are still somewhat vague, but what we do currently know about Project R.E.D. (which is an acronym for Records of Extraordinary Dimensions) is that while it will primarily feature red-coloured heroes (no surprise there), the shows themselves won't necessarily follow a specific pattern. It's first entry, Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity, is already a pretty good example of this. As the title suggests the series is a reboot of 1982's Space Sheriff Gavan, however it is not explicitly a continuation of the series (in the same way the 2012 movie was) nor is it a relaunch of the Metal Heroes franchise. So just what is Gavan Infinity, and why has a reboot of the iconic Space Sheriff been chosen to spearhead a whole new franchise? We'll just have to watch on to find out! 

Series REVIEW: No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger

50 years is one hell of a milestone to celebrate anyway, but when it comes to tokusatsu it's a particularly monumental achievement for Super Sentai. Ever since Himitsu Sentai Gorenger first began on April 5th 1975, the franchise has carried on almost non-stop all the way up until now - spawning 49 different mainline series, 50 different teams and hundreds of brightly coloured heroes. But it seems all good things really must come to an end, and after several years of experimentation amidst declining profitability it was decided that the 50th anniversary series would also be its last - at least for the time being anyway. And thus the longest consecutively running tokusatsu franchise bows out with No.1 Sentai Gozyuger, a series which aims to celebrate five decades of Super Sentai spirit in its own unique way. The series written by Akiko Inoue (daughter of tokusatsu legend Toshiki Inoue) in her debut as head writer, with Ryuta Tasaki (a veteran of Super Sentai, but most recently the main director of Avataro Sentai Donbrothers) as main director and Daigo Matsura as chief producer.

First Impressions: GARO: Sentinel of the East

While it may not seem like new GARO series come around quite as often as they used to, every time a new one is announced it feels all the more special. With the franchise currently celebrating its 20th anniversary there have been a few new projects celebrating its different timelines. The tail end of 2025 saw the release of prequel film GARO: Taiga, taking place in the Saejima family timeline and focusing on Kouga's father and previous Golden Knight Taiga. Meanwhile 2026 kicks off with a new instalment in the alternate Ryuga Dougai universe, GARO: Sentinel of the East (Higashi no Kairo) - the fourth series to feature the character. As with 2024's Heir to Steel Armor, the series will be simulcast worldwide via the official GARO YouTube channel. However like before whilst multi-language subtitles are available, these are machine generated and thus of varying quality.

Special REVIEW: Kamen Rider Eins with Girls Remix

Over the past couple of years the Girls Remix series of Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club specials hasn't just been a brilliant way to bring back the heroines of the Kamen Rider franchise in one multi-series crossover. It's also been building towards something - particularly in its last two instalments Kamen Rider Majade with Girls Remix and Girls Remix in Halloween Party. Now the story reaches its climactic conclusion (for the time being at least) in Kamen Rider Eins with Girls Remix, reuniting many of the cast members from across the previous specials once more alongside representatives from Kamen Rider 555 and Kamen Rider Fourze as well as a few other surprises along the way.

Series REVIEW: Ultraman Omega

As Ultraman rapidly approaches its 60th anniversary, it's interesting to look back and see just how far the franchise has come in recent years in regards to worldwide availability. Not just in terms of the show being simulcast beyond Asia thanks to the ULTRAMAN OFFICIAL YouTube channel, but also the exposure it has through live shows and convention appearances across the globe. 2025 saw the release of Ultraman Omega, once again available globally with a variety of different language subtitles as well as a full English dub (albeit not released simultaneously this time around). The series compositors were Toshizo Nemoto and Junichiro Ashiki (both of whom have worked across the New Generation era), its main director was Masayoshi Takasue (Ultraman R/B, Ultraman Decker), and chief producer Tsugumi Kitaura.

Series REVIEW: Ultraman Taro

Despite Ultraman Ace proving to be fairly popular throughout its run, the show was not without its problems behind the scenes - so much so that some at broadcaster TBS even suggested putting the franchise on hiatus for a year following its completion. However producer Yoji Hashimoto was able to convince them otherwise, and work began on the next instalment as Tsuburaya Productions approached their tenth anniversary. The initial pitch was "Ultra Jack" - a space-based "neo fairy tale" series which would introduce the sixth Ultra Brother and build upon ideas from Ace. While many of the ideas presented would remain in the final version, the trouble was coming up with a name. Jack was a common name in Western fairy tales, but it was also felt to be too similar to "hijacking" - something which was a global issue at the time. So director Kazuho Mitsuda suggested a more Japanese name which conveyed the same idea - and thus Ultraman Taro was born. The series premiered on April 6th 1973, and ran for a total of 53 episodes.

Movie REVIEW: No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Resurrection of Tega Sword

Given the fact that it will also soon be going on indefinite hiatus, one might think that Super Sentai had some extra special planned to celebrate its 50th anniversary. However instead it seems like business as usual for the franchise, with No.1 Sentai Gozyuger's first movie outing the usual Summer release. But if there's one thing you can be certain with about the 50th Super Sentai team, it's that they'll celebrate things in their own unique way regardless. Released alongside Kamen Rider Gavv the Movie: Invaders of the House of Snacks, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Resurrection of Tega Sword was written by series showrunner Akiko Inoue and directed by Ryuta Tasaki.

Movie REVIEW: Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger vs King-Ohger

Although it seems like this may be it for Super Sentai (for some time at least) following the announcement of Project R.E.D., there's no denying that the last few years have been a particularly interesting time for franchise. This period of experimentation yielded some rather unique shows, as well as arguably making Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger stand out all the more when it adopted a more "back to basics" approach. But what happens when they cross over with one of the most unique Super Sentai shows in terms of setting and format? Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger vs King-Ohger is 30th entry in the long-running series of VS films, written by Boonboomger head writer Atsuhiro Tomioka and directed by Hiroyuki Kato.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider Gavv the Movie: Invaders of the House of Snacks

Parallel worlds are a staple of Kamen Rider movies. From the “completely unrelated to the main series” movies of the early Heisei era to the newer “main character from the series travels to an alternate world” take, it’s an effective way to tell raise the stakes and tell a self-contained story without being confined by the parameters of the main story. With the format working well for last year’s Kamen Rider Gotchard: The Future Daybreak, it isn’t all that surprising to see Kamen Rider Gavv’s movie offering to do a similar thing – swapping the alternate timeline setting for a more straightforward parallel world. Kamen Rider Gavv the Movie: Invaders of the House of Snacks was written by Junko Komura, directed by Teruaki Sugihara and released in cinemas alongside No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Resurrection of Tega Sword. It’s also notable for being the only Gavv movie release, with Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull previously taking the spot of the usual Winter team-up film.

Movie REVIEW: Ultraman Arc the Movie: The Clash of Light and Evil

As the Ultraman franchise continues to grow in global recognition, it's 2024 entry Ultraman Arc is perhaps the most accessible it has ever been to an international audience - not only was it simulcast on YouTube alongside its initial airing on Japanese television, but it also had a variety of dubs available immediately on release as well. This isn't the only thing that makes Arc unique amongst its contemporaries either, with its subsequent movie outing also bucking the trend when it comes to what fans have come to expect from such things. Rather than act as an epilogue to the series, Ultraman Arc the Movie: The Clash of Light and Evil instead mixes things up by taking place during the main story (specifically episodes 21 and 22). However despite that, the film was not released in Japan until a month after its conclusion - making it best viewed with the whole series in mind.

First Impressions: Kamen Rider Zeztz

With Tsuburaya Productions having simulcast Ultraman on YouTube for several years now, Toei have been sorely lagging behind with their tokusatsu offerings. The US is being well-served by various releases of older series on blu-ray as well as a handful of shows on streaming, but when it comes to the newest shows fans have still had to resort to more clandestine means. Until 2025 that is, as Toei finally bring the latest Kamen Rider series to a (somewhat) worldwide audience with Kamen Rider Zeztz! The seventh series to debut in the Reiwa era will have its episodes released on the TokuSHOUTsu YouTube channel with English subs, live-streaming on a continuous loop for the following five days. Franchise veteran Yuya Takahashi (Ex-Aid, Zero-One, Geats) returns once more to write the series, with Kazuya Kamihoriuchi directing this first episode - "Case 1: Start".

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Gavv

Of all the weird and wonderful bits of Kamen Rider merchandise out there, one piece that's easily considered the stuff of legend are the Kamen Rider Gummi. Ask anyone who's been following the franchise for the two decades, and they'll fondly recall the adverts of the child who can't get enough of them, crying out his catchphrase of "juicy!" With how much of a tradition they became over the years, it's amazing that it took until 2024 for an actual series to adopt them as its motif. While not strictly about the franchise's particular brand of gummies, sweets, confectionary and all things sugary take centre stage in Kamen Rider Gavv - the sixth main line Rider series of the Reiwa era and 35th overall. Junko Komura (best known for her work on Super Sentai series Zyuohger, Lupinranger vs Patranger and Zenkaiger) led the series as its main writer, Teruaki Sugihara as main director, Hiroshi Butsuda as SFX director and Satoshi Fujita as Action Director. The series ran for a total of 50 episodes, and is notable for being one of the few series since 2010 to not to have a crossover with its predecessor as a Winter movie release.

Toybox REVIEW: Hero Action Figure Zone Fighter (Ver. 2)

Release Date: June 2025

RRP: 12, 980 yen

For Showa era tokusatsu fans, Evolution Toys' Hero Action Figure line has been a godsend for getting classic characters untouched by other companies - from Toei legends like Inazuman and Zubat, Tsuburaya greats like Mirrorman or Redman and even lesser known heroes such as Iron King. There is however one rather significant downside - the figures themselves aren't too great, especially when compared to some of their nearest competition. However just like the company's name the line continues to evolve, with many of their original releases now coming around again with improved "version 2" releases. Among this roster is Hero Action Figures Zone Fighter (Ver. 2) - the titular hero from the 1973 series of the same name (also known in Japan as Meteor Man Zone) and good friend to the King of Monsters himself, Godzilla. Have there been enough improvements to finally make HAF a credible rival to the likes of S.H. Figuarts?