Release Date: July 2022 RRP: $24.99/£25.99 A new Star Wars project is always exciting news, but when it's something as long-awaited as Obi-Wan Kenobi then the very least you expect is for all the merchandising companies to be prepared. Hasbro haven't been too quick off the mark with a lot of series recently (just look how few Book of Boba Fett figures there are), but when it came to this one they were ready. The release of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ was shortly followed by a release of a number of figures from the series, including Black Series Reva (Third Sister) . One of the Sith Inquisitors commanded by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi, Reva is the primary antagonist of the series and fights Kenobi with her own secret score to settle.

Release Date: December 2022 RRP: 8250 yen Bandai Tamashii Nations are renowned for announcing new S.H. Figuarts at their events and then taking forever to release them (if at all), but the wait for the original line-up of Showa era Kamen Riders in the S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou line has been particularly painful. After seeing V3, Riderman, X and Stronger joining the previously released Ichigou , Nigou and Amazon on that amazing mountain diorama the desire has been great. We may have got Kamen Rider Black in the interim as some Showa representation, but the want still remained. However Bandai ended 2022 with a bang, finally releasing S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider V3 into the wild. That said, why they decided to make such a popular (not to mention iconic) character a Tamashii Web exclusive is anyone's guess. Naturally the initial December run for the figure sold out almost immediately, prompting a swift second run the following month.

Release Date: March 2018, November 2022 (Reissue) RRP: 4500 yen The Super Mini-Pla (now known as Shokugan Modelling Project ) has been an amazing opportunity for Super Sentai fans to get high quality (and more importantly articulated) model kits of classic mecha from across the franchise, but the line does come with one pretty big drawback – availability. If you don't jump on a kit as soon as its announced, there's every chance that it'll sell out and the aftermarket price will immediately skyrocket. This rings particularly true for the Premium Bandai exclusive releases. That said, Bandai made the rather surprising move to reissue some of their back catalogue last year, presumably to tie in with recent Super SHODO releases. This gave me the opportunity to grab the one kit I'd missed out on and have been regretting ever since – Super Mini-Pla Live Boxer . At long last, my Choujuu Sentai Liveman mecha collection is complete!

Release Date: December 2022 RRP: 7150 yen While once a staple for pretty much any Kamen Rider series, it's fair to say that final forms aren't much of a priority for S.H. Figuarts anymore. While we still tend to get them eventually (unless you're Kamen Rider Ghost that is), the gap between the series ended and the final form getting released has been much longer for quite a few years now. Kamen Rider Zero-One is a particularly curious case, because while the end of 2022 saw the final form get Figuarts treatment (for the sake of this review let's ignore any debate around Realizing Hopper) it also wasn't actually Zero-One. The climax of REALxTIME sees Is join the fight alongside Aruto as Kamen Rider Zero-Two , with the Humagear assistant also returning as a fully-fledged Rider in Kamen Rider Jeanne & Kamen Rider Aguilera with Girls Remix . So instead the latest Tamashii web exclusive in the Zero-One range is S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Zero-Two (IS Ver.) , m...

Ultraman Connection has been a godsend for Ultraman fans across the globe. While the series themselves (other than a few exceptions) have been simulcast worldwide for some time now (first on Crunchyroll and now via the Ultraman official YouTube channel ), the cinematic release of their end cap subsequent movies meant fans outside Japan had to wait some time for them. But last year things changed as Ultraman Trigger: Episode Z was made available to rent upon release, and thankfully that continues with the release of  Ultraman Decker Finale: Journey to Beyond ! The final chapter in the Ultraman Decker story, Journey to Beyond is unique in that the story in that it does not feature a crossover with the previous series Ultraman - something that has been a staple of these films throughout the New Generation Hero era.

Release Date: October 2022 RRP: 7150 yen 2022 was a pretty big year for the S.H. Figuarts line as Super Sentai made its long-awaited return with not just one, but THREE releases from currently airing shows. S.H. Figuarts Zenkaizer may have led the way, but with last year mainly belonging to Avataro Sentai Donbrothers it was wonderful to see the Figuarts revival carry on into the 46th Super Sentai series. The Tamashii Nations event got its easy exclusive with Zenkaizer Black, while the main line was also treated to an all-new S.H. Figuarts Don Momotaro . Leader of the Donbrothers and heir of the Don Clan, Don Momotaro is the perfect addition to the line's growing collection of red heroes.

Release Date: November 2022 RRP: 6600 yen Of all the Kamen Rider 50th anniversary projects that were announced, Kamen Rider Black Sun was possibly the one I was most looking forward to. A 10-episode series that was made available on Amazon Prime , it is a remake of 1987's Kamen Rider Black  that reimagines the series in a contemporary political landscape. While it may anywhere near as toy-driven as a mainline Kamen Rider series, there's still plenty of potential when it comes to S.H. Figuarts releases. Kicking things off is the titular hero himself, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Black Sun ! As well as being the first Black Sun  release, it is currently the only one that is a mass-release figure as opposed to a Tamashii web exclusive.