First Impressions: Power Rangers Dino Charge

While in terms of exposure the Power Rangers franchise has returned with full force since returning to Saban Brands in 2010, it's popularity with long-term fans hasn't been in the best of conditions. The target demographic seem to be enjoying it (which is arguably the most important thing), but poor direction, acting, watered down Super Sentai plots and a pretty abysmal 20th anniversary series have prevented it from winning its oder fanbase. But with Judd "Chip" Lynn returning for 2015's Power Rangers Dino Charge, hype has been at an all-time high. With Lynn behind Power Rangers in Space and the tail end of RPM - two series that vastly differed from their Sentai counterparts, many hoped that this signalled a return to the originality that was severely lacking from both Samurai and Megaforce.  Nickelodeon have now made the first episode available online ahead of it's television premiere, so at long last we can now see if this is the Power Rangers series we've been waiting for.

Toybox REVIEW: Nendoroid Hana Mutou

Captain Earth probably didn't have quite the impact Bones had hoped that it would, but that doesn't mean it didn't have some pretty great moments. Its beautiful mecha designs were squandered with fleeting action sequences, but in its stead came some really memorable characters that received some nice development. So when my favourite of the Midsummer's Knights - Hana Mutou, was announced for Good Smile Company's Nendoroid line it's fair to say I was pretty excited. "Waifu" isn't a term I like to use often (Gurren Lagann's Nia and Kill la Kill's Satsuki notwithstanding), but the Flare Engine pilot and component of the mysterious Blume spaceship is definitely someone I'll make an exception for...

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Duke Lemon Energy Arms

2014 had a lot of great S.H. Figuarts releases, but it was undoubtedly the year of Kamen Rider Gaim. Not just because it was the current Rider show for most of the year, but also because Bandai Tamashii Nations were able to put out a whopping THIRTEEN different Gaim figures in the space of only eight months. There's still plenty more to go, but the flow of releases has thinned somewhat with only three currently confirmed for 2015. But rather than focus on that, let's take a look at the final Gaim figure released last year - Kamen Rider Duke, aka Professor Ryoma Sengoku - inventor of the series' Drivers and all round mad scientist. Kamen Rider Duke was a Tamashii web exclusive release in December, and the second of the four "main" New Generation Riders to join the Figurarts line.

Toybox REVIEW: DC Collectibles New 52 Huntress & Power Girl Set

It's not an area of discussion that comes up on this blog very often, but I like to consider myself a pretty big Western comics fan. I've got love and time for both Marvel and DC, but if I had to pick a side it'd most likely be with DC Comics - they're the ones with my favourite heroes and the company I regularly buy comics from. With the advent of the New 52 a few years back I've bought a select few titles every month - one of which was World's Finest starring Huntress and Power Girl - the Robin and Supergirl of Earth 2 trapped on a parallel world (which also happens to be the "main" DC universe).

The comic ended its run starring those characters in August 2014, with the title itself facing cancellation in May. Elsewhere, DC Collectibles have produced a rather spiffy two-pack figure set of Huntress and Power Girl which I just couldn't say no to.

First Impressions: Yatterman Night

Besides being a ridiculously fun fighting game, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the Nintendo Wii opened my eyes to a whole load of classic anime franchises from the legendary studio Tatsunoko. And in recent years, a lot of them have had new lives breathed into them with brand new interpretations - in 2008 there was the utterly fantastic Casshern Sins, and then in 2013 came the more mixed Gatchaman Crowds. In 2015, it's Yatterman's turn. Created in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Time Bokan franchise (of which Yatterman was the second instalment of), Yatterman Night (or Yoru no Yatterman as its known in Japan) looks to equally turn the classic 1970s series completely on its head.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Dalek Collector Set #2 (Dalek Invasion of Earth)

In the late 80s through to the 90s and early 00s, Doctor Who toys were produced by a company by the name of Dapol. They drew criticism for some easily avoidable inaccuracies (a six-sided TARDIS console, two-handed Davros and green K-9 - although the latter two were fixed in later rereleases), but released the widest spectrum of Who figures until Character Options took over with the relaunch of the series. One thing Dapol were particularly good at was milking their Dalek mould - in addition to the usual colour schemes they produced red, green, blue and even glittery versions over the years. Imagination certainly wasn't something they were short of.

This short history seems especially appropriate when talking about the second of Character's new range of Toys R Us exclusive 3.75" Dalek Collector sets, as it's the first the company have produced where they show a similar amount of imagination. Admittedly it has a bit more sense to it than Dapol's - taking inspiration from the iconic 1964 story The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but it's still very excited territory for them.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Dalek Collector Set #1 (Children of the Revolution)

Despite a rather mixed reception toward Character Options' no-longer-particularly-new 3.75" scale Doctor Who figures, it's an almost universally agreed fact that the Dalek figures are the best on offer. With the more recent waves having now dived into the realm of classic-era Daleks, its no surprise that a series of two-figure collector's sets were soon put into production and released as Toys R Us exclusives. Some of these proved to be more imaginative than the usual "... of the Daleks" sets released in the older scale, featuring Daleks that haven't even appeared onscreen in the television show! The first of these three sets is based on Children of the Revolution, a Doctor Who Magazine/Panini Books comic strip featuring the Eighth Doctor in world populated by human-factor Daleks that escaped the aftermath of 1967 story The Evil of the Daleks. This is the second time Character have paid homage to the story, the first being the Eighth Doctor/Dalek Alpha set released at the end of 2013.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Luigi

It's time to warm up that second player controller as Luigi joins Mario in the S.H. Figuarts line! After the roaring success of the Mushroom Kingdom's number one plumber it's no surprise that his more cowardly brother is following soon after, proving that Bandai's release of Nintendo's poster child was anything but a one-off thing. The year of Luigi may be well behind us now, but with the genius of Mario Kart 8's "Luigi death stare" still fresh in everyone's minds the lean green plumbing machine certainly won't be going back into his brother's shadow any time soon. Luigi number one!

Toybox REVIEW: 66 Action Kamen Riders Wave 4

Bandai's brilliant 66 Action line has now stretched out into the likes of the No More anti-piracy campaign, Dragon Ball Z and (soon) Ultraman, but it probably wouldn't be where it is today without the success of the Kamen Rider figures it pumped out through the course of 2014. Rounding things off in December last year was wave four of the popular range of 66mm candy toys, adding Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed, Kamen Rider Gaim Kachidoki Arms, Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style and Kamen Rider Faiz to the mix. That's a total of three new Riders to add to the ever growing collection, and yet another form for the lead Rider of 2013-2014.  

First Impressions: The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls

The original Idolm@ster anime was something of a surprise hit with me. Lured in only by screen caps I'd seen of the series without any prior knowledge of it or the video game series it was based off, I ended up falling in love with it's great characters and story of aiming for the top. So when a spinoff series named The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls (again, based off of the game of the same name) was announced for the Winder 2015 anime season, it certainly piqued my interest. Once again animated by A-1 Pictures, this series is set apart from the original and focuses on a brand new set of girls and their journey to become Japan's newest idol troupe.