Anime REVIEW: Dragon Ball DAIMA

Dragon Ball DAIMA is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix

On March 1st 2024 the world was shook by the passing of Akira Toriyama, a manga legend best known for the Dragon Ball series and Dr. Slump but also as an iconic character designer who worked on video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. His death came just months away from the release of Dragon Ball DAIMA - a brand new instalment in the franchise that was written by Toriyama himself. It's a much sadder world without him, but this is one final gift from the man himself. Unlike previous Dragon Ball series, DAIMA tells a single story rather than multiple arcs, and at a mere 20 episodes is the shortest by some margin. The series ran from October 11th 2024 to February 28th 2025 - rather fittingly concluding the day before the first anniversary of Toriyama's passing.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Spider-Man Unlimited

Release Date: February 2025

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

To its credit, the Marvel Legends line does a pretty great job of releasing a wide range of characters. But if there's one thing Hasbro love it's variants, and between both Iron Man and Spider-Man alone they certainly aren't in short supply. But every so often a costume variant will come out that's particularly special, and for many collectors Marvel Legends Spider-Man Unlimited is one such example. Based on the costume from the 1999 series of the same name, Spider-Man Unlimited sees Spidey don a nanotech-enhanced suit as he travels to the parallel Counter-Earth - battling the forces of the High Evolutionary as well as the combined strength of Venom and Carnage.

Series REVIEW: Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 4

Thunderbolt Fantasy is available to stream on Crunchyroll

With the long-awaited arrival of Thunderbolt Fantasy's fourth season, it's also a sad reminder that all good things eventually come to an end. After four seasons and two movies spanning across nearly ten years, the latest instalment in the epic fantasy puppet saga from writer Gen Urobuchi, Nitroplus, Good Smile Company and Taiwanese puppet production company Pili International Media signals that end is near. Despite originally being billed for five series, Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 4 will now be its last -with the story then finally concluded with a third film released in Japan at the end of February 2025. But for now, it's time to revel in another 12 episodes of the adventures of Shāng Bù Huàn, picking up after the events of 2021's third season.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gavv Poppingummy Form

Release Date: January 2025

RRP: 4950 yen

Things are looking a little sweeter for Kamen Rider S.H. Figuarts this year as Kamen Rider Gavv takes over the main series slot, with a number of exciting releases already planned for 2025. As usual though the range always needs to start at the very beginning, and as a January release S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gavv Poppingummy Form is the perfect way to kick off a whole new year of S.H. Figuarts releases. After a brief hiatus with Kamen Rider Gotchard, Gavv Poppingummy also sees Bandai Tamashii Nations return to their tried and tested strategy of a lower price for the titular Rider - luring in new fans and longtime collectors alike with this cheaper figure with the hopes that they'll stick around for the rest of the cast.

First Impressions: No.1 Sentai Gozyuger

Although both Kamen Rider and Ultraman may have celebrated their 50th anniversaries a few years ago, in terms of overall achievement neither are quite as impressive as Super Sentai finally reaching that milestone. Of the three, it is the only franchise to have run consistently without any significant breaks since the premiere of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger on April 5th 1975. While previously Super Sentai has celebrated its anniversaries by series number rather than year (Gorenger's run having spanned across two years), 2025 will now see that change. Despite being the 49th instalment in the franchise, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger slots in rather nicely as the 50th Super Sentai team thanks to the two-team gimmick of Lupinranger vs Patranger. The series is written by Akiko Inoue (daughter of tokusatsu legend Toshiki Inoue) in her Sentai debut, with veteran Ryuta Tasaki on board as the main director.

Series REVIEW: Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger

As it rapidly approaches its 50th anniversary, the Super Sentai franchise has gotten a little more experimental in recent years. However both its longevity and success can at least be partly attributed to that instantly recognisable Sentai formula, and after the grandiose narrative of the VFX-laden Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger something a little more familiar definitely feels appropriate. Once more returning to the ever-popular car/vehicle theme, Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger is the 48th entry in the franchise - the team name being a play on the Japanese onomatopoeia "bunbun", the sound an engine makes when revving. Making his Super Sentai debut is screenwriter Atsuhiro Tomioka, who served as head writer on the series alongside Shojiro Nakazawa, Jun Watanabe and Hiroshi Butsuda as director, action director and SFX director respectively.

 

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who History of the Daleks #19 Set

Release Date: December 2024

RRP: £21.99

Nearly five years on from when they first debuted and the History of the Daleks range is still trucking on, and in the last few releases has finally stepped out of the classic era of Doctor Who and entered the modern era. Sadly the numbering is a bit all over the place now though, with last year's poorly-named History of the Daleks #16/#17 covering both Dalek and jumping ahead to Doomsday (while set #18 went all the way back to Resurrection of the Daleks). The finale of series one and the Ninth Doctor era hasn't been forgotten though, with Character Options circling back to The Parting of the Ways with History of the Daleks #19. This B&M Stores exclusive two-pack was released as part of the final assortment for 2024, containing both an Imperial Guard Dalek and a standard bronze Dalek.

Toybox REVIEW: JoyToy TMNT Donatello

Release Date: October 2024

RRP: $23.99

Originally founded in 2015, Chinese company JoyToy have been making for themselves across the globe in the last few years with their very impressive (and continually growing) selection of Warhammer 40,000 figures. In 2024 they began to expand their repertoire with another big-name franchise that it seems every toy company wants a piece of these days – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Naturally JoyToy TMNT Donatello was one of the first figures to be released in the range alongside his brothers, but in the months since the line has continued to expand to feature villains, supporting characters and plenty more to come!

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Sabo -Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff-

Release Date: January 2025

RRP: 7700 yen

As the One Piece S.H. Figuarts line steadily grows, its success can be seen in the way it's spread across both new releases that correspond with more recent events in the manga/anime and gone all the way back to celebrate its beginnings for the show's 25th anniversary. Not to mention the fact that Bandai Tamashii Nations are taking their sweet time releasing all the Straw Hats, which hopefully suggests long-term plans rather them never getting there before the line fizzles out. In the meantime though there's still plenty to offer in regards to the supporting characters, with S.H. Figuarts Sabo -Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff- the latest to join the range – somewhat surprisingly as a retail release figure.

Anime REVIEW: Shinkalion: Change the World

Not to stop a winning combination whilst the going is good, TakaraTomy's Shinkalion franchise returned in 2024 for its third outing following a two-year break. However rather further the story that started out 2018-19's Shinkansen Robo Henkei Shinkalion and continued on into its 2021-22 sequel Shinkansen Robo Henkei Shinkalion Z, this time around it's a whole new continuity. Running for a total of 39 episodes (plus  three specials/recap episodes), Shinkalion: Change the World also brought along a number of other changes - dropping the "Shinkansen Robo Henkei" branding as well as Production I.G. and Signal.MD taking over animation duties from OLM. The series was also available to watch worldwide via the official Shinkalion YouTube channel, albeit without subtitles and most episodes only being made available their original week of airing.