Power Rangers 2017 Movie First Trailer Impressions

Anyone who's ever spend five minutes on a message board or forum knows that even the littlest disagreement can seemingly tear a fandom apart, but the wait for the 2017 Power Rangers movie trailer took things to a new level. Following a brief teaser trailer way back in October, reveals seemed to only come in via leaks and toy reveals - leading fans to question Lionsgate's marketing strategy when it came to the film or whether they had faith in the movie at all. Fast forward to 19th January 2017 and many of these fears should have hopefully been put to rest, as the first full trailer for the film arrived and left quite the impression.

Toybox REVIEW: Metamoroid Luluco

Given the amount of Nendoroids and Figma released on a monthly basis it’s easy to forget that Good Smile Company actually produce other toy lines other than scale statues. But while releases may be scarce, they rarely fail to be interesting. One of these lines goes by the name of Metamoroid, specialising in small transforming anime figures. The line began with Rin/Wooser from the series Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life as its first and only release, however the end of 2016 saw a follow up in the form of Metamoroid Luluco – the titular character from the Trigger comedy series Space Patrol Luluco. Having previously released a standard school uniform Luluco as part of the Nendoroid line, here GSC mixes things up with a space police uniform figure complete with the ability to transform (much to Luluco’s behest) into “Judgement Gun” mode.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha

Even since the original Kamen Rider series way back in 1971, all of the most memorable Rider dynamics are done in pairs. Whether it’s through teamwork, rivalries or even a two-in-one hero like Kamen Rider Double, these dynamics are where the show truly shines. The Amazon Prime-exclusive Kamen Rider Amazons introduced a new pair into the mix, as Kamen Rider Amazon Omega met his match in the form of Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha – a former researcher at Nozama Pharmacy named Jin Takayama who has vowed to exterminate every single Amazon they've created. Since you can’t have one without the other, it didn’t take long for Bandai Tamashii Nations to follow up their Omega figure with S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha – the final mass release Kamen Rider Figuart of 2016.

Toybox Review: DC Collectibles The New Batman Adventures Mr Freeze

In some respects DC Collectibles’ range of Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures figures are the Batman toys fans have always dreamed of. Articulated and accessory-laden cartoon-accurate depictions of one of the most renowned pieces of Batman media – what’s not to love? However at the same time this line has proved to be an absolute nightmare, with multiple figures subject to delays, quality control problems or both. But thanks to the draw of these characters, fans keep coming back for more. Here we look at one of the earliest releases in the line – fan-favourite Mr Freeze, as he appeared in The New Batman Adventures episode “Cold Comfort”.

First Impressions: Little Witch Academia

When Studio Trigger first burst onto the scene in 2013 they quickly made a name for themselves beyond their impressive team of Gainax veterans. After garnering plenty of attention with their first full-length feature Little Witch Academia (released as part of the Young Animator Training Project for Anime Mirai 2013), it’s 2015 follow-up The Enchanted Parade met it’s Kickstarter goal in a mere five hours. Two years later again and the world of Little Witch Academia is back once again, this time in the form of a full-length series. Creator/director Yoh Yoshinari and writer Michiru Simada are continuing to man the helm, with the show licensed by Netflix and due for streaming alongside the movies in the near future.

First Impressions: Zero: Dragon Blood

Despite last year marking its 10th anniversary, 2016 wasn’t an especially great year for the GARO franchise. The year kicked off with the second half to the woeful Garo: The Crimson Moon anime, and while Garo: Makai Retsuden brought back a wide range of characters (including Kouga himself) the series largely consisted of forgettable side stories with minimal action. However with plenty more confirmed GARO projects still to come, 2017 may prove to be much better. First up for the franchise is Zero: Dragon Blood, a second spin-off starring Rei Suzumura aka Zero the Silver Fanged Knight. Zero previously appeared in the original Garo, Makai Senki and Makai no Hana, as well as his own mini-series Black Blood in 2014.

First Impressions: Fuuka

A brand new year means the start of a brand new anime season, and with few definite shows to pick up this time around I decided to play chance for once. One show I noticed was getting a lot of interest beforehand was Fuuka, a music-themed romance series animated by Diomedéa (Squid Girl, KanColle) based on a manga by Kouji Seo. Not only has the show also been picked up for simulcast on Crunchyroll, but it's also receiving a simuldub courtesy of Funimation. It even sees singer and Macross Frontier voice artist Megumi Nakajima return to perform the end theme! As a sucker for music anime and highschool romances, it seemed like a pretty safe bet to catch my interest.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon Omega

With 2016 being dubbed “Super Hero Year” by Toei it brought along a fair few surprises, and perhaps the biggest of them all was Kamen Rider Amazons. The Amazon Prime exclusive reimagining of 1974’s Kamen Rider Amazon proved to be a huge hit, succeeding where every other gritty adult version of Kamen Rider has failed. The number of Rider projects that year also meant Kamen Rider Ghost was forced to share its release window when it came to S.H. Figuarts, with all-important retail release spots going to both the Amazons cast and the new version of Kamen Rider 1. First to be released by Bandai Tamashii Nations was Kamen Rider Amazon Omega, the third-generation cultivation type Amazon alter-ego of Haruka Mizusawa.

Series REVIEW: Ultraman Orb

2016 inexplicably marked big anniversaries for all of Japan’s still-airing tokusatsu hero franchises, but undoubtedly the most monumental of all was Ultraman’s. Last year the silver giant of light turned 50 years old, and with the franchise having gained new footing in the past few years Tsuburaya Productions did plenty to celebrate. Ultraman X kicked things off in 2015, leading into a movie which also featured appearances from both the original Ultraman and Ultraman Tiga. However the main event was Ultraman Orb – a brand new anniversary series which once again saw worldwide distribution via Crunchyroll simulcasting. Although this main series only ran for a total of 25 episodes, it’s been immediately followed up with an Amazon Prime-exclusive prequel series as well as a movie due for release later in the year.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Garo Raikou Ver.

2016 was the year that GARO made a huge comeback in the world of S.H. Figuarts, with a total of four brand new figures (one of which is a repaint, and five if you include the Seimei FiguartsZERO) released after years of inactivity in favour of the more intricate Makai Kado line. After tackling the Ryuga armour from Yami Wo Terasu Mono/The One Who Shines in the Darkness, Bandai Tamashii Nations then moved on to the GARO anime projects with Leon's initial armour from GARO: The Animation (aka The Carved Seal of Flames). Rounding off the year was Raikou's own unique armour from the second anime series GARO: The Crimson Moon, which saw the traditional golden knight reimagined into ornate samurai armour to fit the show's Heian setting. S.H. Figuarts Garo Raikou Ver. was a Tamashii web exclusive, originally released in November 2016.