Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Dark Kiva

Release Date: August 2021

RRP: 8800 yen

Given that the same can be said of the original release all the way back in 2010, it shouldn't be all that surprising that S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Dark Kiva is a retail release. But then again, when far more prominent characters like Kamen Rider Ixa are web exclusive releases, you tend to expect the obligatory "Dark Rider" character with less screen time to get similar treatment. But as far as dark Riders go Dark Kiva is one of the most important ones of all, and Bandai Tamashii Nations have recognised this with another retail release from Kamen Rider Kiva. A powerful armour worn by the lord of all Fangires, much like IXA Dark Kiva had numerous users over the course of the series - first the Fangire lord King, followed by Otoya Kurenai and then later Taiga Noburi.

Custom Figure: 'The Curse of Fatal Death' Grey Dalek

Arguably my biggest custom Dalek project of 2021 has been to produce the numerous variants that appeared in the 1999 Comic Relief Special The Curse of Fatal Death – one of my all-time favourite pieces of Doctor Who fiction despite its non-canonicity. This year I've managed to make the Supreme Dalek, silver Dalek and a "variant" version of the light grey Dalek drone, and now I'm back at it again with another custom Curse of Fatal Death grey Dalek. Whereas I labelled the previous one a "variant" due to the design having elements uncommon to the grey/black Daleks of the show, this one falls a bit more in line with how they looked by the time of Remembrance of the Daleks – albeit with a few slight modifications.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising

Release Date: July 2021

RRP: 7480 yen

As a celebration of Ultraman Zero's 10th anniversary and an endcap of sorts to the "New Generation Heroes" line of shows, it's unsurprising that Ultraman Z brought back a lot of familiar faces – many of whom got either a much-needed overhaul or even a whole new look. And being a show about an Ultra who longs to become Zero's student, of course Zero's original student had to make an appearance. With his Geed Riser damaged, Riku Asakura arrives on Haruki's version of Earth and transforms via a Z Riser – combining the powers of the Ginga, X and Orb Ultra Medals to create a brand new form. Now Bandai Tamashii Nations present S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising, the third Tamashii web exclusive figure to be released in their Ultraman Z range of figures.

Movie REVIEW: Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider Vulcan & Valkyrie

Earlier in the year Kamen Rider Zero-One dropped what was perhaps the biggest cliffhanger since Diend turned his gun on Decade (or the Rider War began depending on which version of Decade you're watching), as Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai destroyed the bodies of its four Humagear hosts and set out on a new path of destruction. Now several months after the release of Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai the conclusion of the story is finally here, as the A.I.M.S. Riders take to the stage in Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider Vulcan & Valkyrie. Although the Kamen Rider Genms -The Presidents- special is technically set afterward, for the time being it's also fair to say this acts as the main end to the Zero-One story. Like the previous film, it was written by the show's head writer Yuya Takahashi and directed by secondary writer Masaya Kakehi. 

(WARNING: Spoiler discussion will be particularly heavy in this review)

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who History of the Daleks #7 Set

Release Date: September 2021

RRP: £19.99

The fact Character Options have been releasing their new History of the Daleks sets in chronological order has made it quite easy for Doctor Who fans to predict just what'll be in each set, but it does come with a worry of repetition. After all the Daleks have only changed so much over the years, with the late 60s stories in particular showing minimal differences between them. However Character have recognised this as well, and for the most recent wave of B&M Store exclusive releases they're mixing things up a bit. Rather than near-identical Daleks from both The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks on shelves at the same time, we're jumping from 1966 with set #5 all the way to 1972 with the History of the Daleks #7 set. Number six will follow in due course, but for now we're looking back on Day of the Daleks - a significant story for a number of reasons. Not only is it the Daleks' return to the show since their "final end" in Evil, but also their first face-off against the Third Doctor AND their first appearance on the show in colour. 

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Anakin Skywalker (The Clone Wars)

Release Date: May 2021

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

In commemoration of Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary Hasbro have been touching some of the more forgotten (at least in the eyes of Disney and its revised canon) elements of the Star Wars franchise, but that doesn't mean they don't have the energy for a little more Star Wars: The Clone Wars love. Hot on the heels of special book-style releases revisiting various parts of the "Legends" canon, these Target-exclusive (or via the fan channel outside the US) Black Series figures are a real celebration of the seven-season series that did so much to expand on the Clone Wars and the prequel era as a whole. And one of the characters it did the most of all for was Anakin Skywalker, helping to flesh out his time as a Jedi Knight in the lead up to his eventual fall to the dark side. With his costume as it appeared in the animated series still unrepresented, this is the perfect time to welcome this particular Black Series Anakin Skywalker into the line.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Clone Wars)

Release Date: May 2021

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

In recent years Hasbro have done an excellent job in expanding the selection of Star Wars properties represented in the Black Series – not just limiting it to the films, but also the various television productions, video games, novels, comics and more. With Star Wars: The Clone Wars being such a big part of the franchise's TV offerings it's gotten some fairly good representation, but there are still a lot of key characters (or variants) missing. To celebrate Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary Hasbro put out a special wave of Clone Wars-inspired figures, which was the perfect opportunity to fill in some of those gaps. We've seen numerous figures based on his appearances in the films themselves and even one based on his Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars microseries costume, but finally Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives in his familiar Star Wars: The Clone Wars guise.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Ultraman Tiga Multi Type

Release Date: July 2021

RRP: 6600 yen

The Shinkocchou Seihou range has been the crowning glory of the S.H. Figuarts line for some time now, but when it comes to the various franchises it covers its scope is severely limited. Whereas Bandai Tamashii Nations have extended into the likes of tokusatsu, anime, movie and video game properties with the mainline, Shinkocchou Seihou has remained strictly Kamen Rider for the most part with a couple of GARO releases also thrown in for good measure. That all changes in 2021 though, with the 25th anniversary of Ultraman Tiga providing just the excuse Bandai needed to expand the line into the Ultra Series. S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Ultraman Tiga Multi Type is the first of what will hopefully be many more Ultraman Seihous, and their first version of this phenomenally popular Ultraman since the renewal version Ultra-Act way back in 2014. Although a standard S.H. Figuarts Tiga was teased at events as far back as 2017, obviously those plans have changed as Shinkocchou Seihou's "true bone carving" method ushers in a new age of Ultraman figures.

Anime REVIEW: Digimon Adventure:

The Digimon franchise has existed in many different forms over the years but when it comes to sheer popularity, most struggle to compete with the original Digimon Adventure. After being dragged out for six-part film series Digimon Adventure Tri. from 2015-2018 to celebrate the franchise's 15th anniversary and then for further sequel Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna in 2020, it seemed like Toei had exhausted everything they could do with the original Chosen Children - other than reboot the whole thing that is. Digimon Adventure: (also commonly known as Digimon Adventure (2020) to avoid confusion) began in April 2020 - bringing back the cast of the original series in an all-new story. The series ran for a total of 67 episodes, though a significant hiatus was taken after episode three due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Custom Figure: 2015 Skaro Dalek (1965 Variant)

New History of the Daleks releases means a whole new set of custom Dalek projects lined up, the first of which is the perfect compliment to an earlier project from last year. We're still quite a way off from these B&M exclusive sets from reaching the modern era (let alone the Twelfth Doctor), so unless Character Options have any more surprise releases from the story up their sleeves Daleks from The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar won't be appearing any time soon. But with 60s Daleks back on the market, this is the perfect opportunity to make another of these 2015 Skaro Daleks – this time based on the later 60s design seen in both The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks. Much like its brethren based on the original 1963 casing, these Daleks were seen inhabiting the Daleks' home planet of Skaro after the Doctor (with Clara and Missy in tow) was summoned to meet the dying Davros.