Tokusatsu "Best ofs," 2016 edition: Safari Ghost Orb Supercharge Games Retsuden
 

Not to steal Switchblade's thunder because he usually puts this thread out every year, but it's become something of a tradition that I enjoy so it makes sense to cap the year off with it once again.

It's been a pretty good year for toku this year as Kamen Rider Ghost and Shuriken Sentai Ninninger gave way to Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, Power Rangers Dino Charge gave off its second roar with Dino Supercharge, Garo returned in the form of the anthology series Garo Retsuden and Ultraman stormed the simulcast market once again with Ultraman Orb.

Here are the categories, let's hear your bests of 2016!

Series count as anything that aired in 2016, while movies also count anything that was released in 2015 but weren't available on DVD or fansubbed until now.

Best New Show of 2016:

Best New-to-You Show of 2016:

Best Rewatch of 2016:

Best Movie of 2016:

Best Male Lead Character:

Best Female Lead Character:

Best Male Supporting Character:

Best Female Supporting Character:

Best Actor:

Best Actress:

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016:

Best Villain:

Best Returning Character:

Best Suit Actor:

Best Writer:

Best Director:

Best Producer:

Best Visual Designer:

Best Hero Suit Design:

Best Monster Suit Design:

Best Weapon:

Best Vehicle/Mecha:

Best Fight Scene:

Best Dramatic Scene:

Best Comedic Scene:

Best Song:

Best Piece of Merchandise:

Biggest Surprise of 2016:

And, as always -

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu:

Here we go:

Best New Show of 2016:

Ultraman Orb. It was overall a good year for Toku, we got Amazons, Zyuohger, Orb and if you consider it Toku, Thunderbolt Fantasy. The first couple episodes of Ex-Aid are pretty good as well.

But Orb beats all of them for me, the show was very well done from start to finish.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016:

Kamen Rider Black. I had it on my hard drive for quite a while but finally decided to give it a spin and I was not disappointed, it was really fun. I watched an episode every other day usually and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Best Rewatch of 2016:

Do movies count? Because I finally got a hold of the original Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and watched it again. And I felt like I was a child once more. Such a fun experience.

Best Movie of 2016:

I haven't watched a single (new) Toku movie this year since the subbing groups I favor didn't really release anything aside from the Ghost Crossover movie. I think the Rider 1 movie might be a good choice but again, haven't seen it.

I would’ve loved to watch the Ultraman X movie too but I haven't found that one either :(

Best Male Lead Character:

Kurenai Gai from Orb. The actor is great, and he didn’t had it easy with me since I despise his role in Kamen Rider Den-O, but he does a fantastic job at portraying a well written character. More about that in the "Best Actor" category.

Best Female Lead Character:

Naomi Yumeno, also from Orb. It's always hard for me to pick female characters because Toku isn't really doing a great job of showcasing them IMO (at least the shows I watch) but I liked Naomi. The actress is great, the character could’ve used a little bit more focus that isn't related to her being in trouble, but I give the show props for not shoehorning a weird love story into her character.

Best Male Supporting Character:

Kiriya Kujo from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. I was a bit skeptical about Ex-Aid at first but this guy helped me like the show a lot more. His character is unique and interesting as he brings more to the table than the usual good / bad stereotypes.

It’s a shame that he won’t be around anymore but I think the show can deliver more characters that are as interesting as he was.

Best Female Supporting Character:

Yeah as I said earlier, it's hard picking one here too since most supporting female characters fall into the same category of boring characters. I think I like Nozomi Takai from Amazons the most, even though there wasn’t much to her besides being a badass, but she had her scenes and she was a good badass ;)

Best Actor:

This is rather hard for me since I can't judge acting very well. But I think I'll take Hideo Ishiguro who portrayed Gai in Ultraman Orb. Mostly because as I said he made me forget his role in Den-O (which he didn't play badly either, I just hated the character) and he played the drama and comedy scenes very well. Both was pretty hard since drama is a very difficult thing to portray right IMO, and comedy isn't easy either if you have to play a character that doesn’t really laugh a lot and has to display emotions with his face alone.

Best Actress:

This might surprise you, but I nominate Ruka Matsuda, the actress who plays Asuna Karino / Poppi Popipapotagomuswhateverus on Ex-Aid. Mostly because she can telegraph the ups and downs between her high energy self and the calmed persona very well. She switches so fast but makes it look really convincing. It might help that her comedy isn't based on her character being a complete idiot *cough* Onari *cough*, but she does a great job at portraying Poppi anyways.

I was afraid I would hate her role but I ended up enjoying the crazy idol nurse more than I hoped, and I assume a great part of that is due to the actress doing a fantastic job.

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016:

I don’t have one. Not because there isn’t potential, I just don’t have crushes on actors or fictional characters.

Best Villain:

Jugglus Juggler from Ultraman Orb. A very well done villain / anti-hero, and I can't really elaborate why without writing a whole block of spoilers so I'll just say that his character is great and the actor plays it well.

Best Returning Character:

Probably Hongo Takeshi. Again, haven't seen the movie, but it’s great that he came back for it. If I would be more into Sentai I'd probably nominate the Gokaigers.

Best Suit Actor:

Mister Kamen Rider, Seiji Takaiwa. He's the only choice that makes sense for me, he is and continues to be the man.

Best Writer:

I have no idea who wrote it, but the person behind Ultraman Orb takes it.

Best Director:

Same, the Orb guy.

Best Producer:

Orb, Orb, Orb.

Best Visual Designer:

I think that one goes to whoever designed the Amazons suits. The hero suits are cool and they capture the essence of the classic Amazon well and the enemy Amazon suits are gorgeous as well.

Best Hero Suit Design:

I like Ex-Aid’s design and as I said a minute ago Amazons has great hero suits, but I think Orb takes it again.

Best Monster Suit Design:

Sick of me yelling "Orb" yet? Well too bad, it's the Orochi suits from Orb. Both forms. Huge praise to whoever experienced true hell while wearing these monstrosities.

Best Weapon:

The Gashacon Bugvisor. Cool weapon, cool sounds, also a transformation belt. Thumbs up.

Best Vehicle/Mecha:

I guess Lazer Level 2? Yeah. The only mecha I've seen were the Zyuohger ones and those are not that great. Best one out of those is probably Tousai Zyuoh.

Best Fight Scene:

There were a lot of great fights to see this year, so I feel bad for deciding on one, but it’s a close call between Orb's first fight in his Thunder Breaster form against Maga-Orochi and Ex-Aid's first fight against Boss Salty. Orb's fight had pure, raw energy and destruction with great effects, Ex-Aid was full of fun and some great shots.

I think Orb takes it but again, close call. Amazons had awesome stuff (Omega against the ants), so did Zyuohger (Battle royal with the Gokaigers, first Zyuoh Whale finisher) and Thunderbolt Fantasy (Shāng Bù HuÃ*n doesn't need a sword) and much, much more.

But as a Kaiju fan, Orb impressed me the most.

Best Dramatic Scene:

Kiriya Kujo dies, Ex-Aid. No use explaining that one, you know why.

Best Comedic Scene:

You haven't stopped reading because of my endless praises for Orb? Good, because here's more: Orb had a lot of great comedy. But my favorite has to be Naomi trying to pass Gai as her fiancé to her mom. Lots of fun was to be had here, especially since Juggler of all people decided to drop in as well :lol

Best Song:

Lots of great music this year too. Armor Zone is awesome, Orb no Inori is so nostalgic and cool, Excite is pure fun, Thunderbolt Fantasy had some really good stuff too.

I think I like Excite the most, it's a fun song I can listen to all the time. Can’t wait to buy the full version in a few weeks.

Best Piece of Merchandise:

I said Shinkocchou Seihou Double was the best in Den-O’s gallery, right? Well I lied. I personally love the SHF Lord Baron the most. I wanted this figure in my live ever since I first saw the suit, I was hyped when it was first shown off during Tamashii Nations 2014 and I had to restrain myself from going full hype when it was again shown at Tamashii Nations 2015, this time with a price tag attached to it.

I expected a lot of this figure, and once I got in hand I experienced perfection. The figure is exactly what I wanted it to be in every single way. I still catch myself moving my head from side to side in front of my cabinet watching the light running over the glossy black lines all over this guy.

It may not be the best figure overall, but I love it to death.

Biggest Surprise of 2016:

It's not Orb! Because I expected Orb to be good :p

It's not Ex-Aid either, even though I was really skeptical about it before I watched it.

It's Thunderbolt Fantasy for me because I never saw anything like it before, even though puppet action shows existed long before it. But I was blown away by what I saw, and that definitely qualifies as the biggest surprise for me.

And, as always -

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu:

Sorry Fish Sandwich, you know its coming, it's Kamen Rider Ghost. The whole package. The less I say about it, the better.

Anyways, to close I want to give a personal award out for Zyuohger. It didn't really win anything for me this year, but it is a solid and fun show that made me enjoy watching some Sentai when I previously didn't. Thanks Zyuohger!

Best New Show of 2016: Personally for me it was Thunderbolt Fantasy, but if you want something a little more familiar its Ultraman Orb without a doubt.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Ultraman, Orb has been a blast but seeing the original has really helped turn me into a growing Ultra Series fan.

Best Rewatch of 2016: I haven't really done much in the way of rewatches but I did catch a few of the remastered Garo episodes, so that I guess?

Best Movie of 2016: Kamen Rider 1

Best Male Lead Character: Gai Kurenai/Ultraman Orb

Best Female Lead Character: Naomi Yumeno from Ultraman Orb. She went from mildly annoying me in the first few episodes to becoming a really great character.

Best Male Supporting Character: Kiriya Kujo/Kamen Rider Lazer. It goes to show what a good character you have when they can leave such a lasting impression.

Best Female Supporting Character: Do puppets count? If so I'll have to go with XÃ*ng HÃ*i from Thunderbolt Fantasy.

Best Actor: Since Masahiro Inoue didn't really do much this year, I'll have to give it to Hideo Ishiguro for his performance as Gai in Ultraman Orb.

Best Actress: Haruka Tateishi, who plays Amu/Zyuoh Tiger. She's cute, jolly and does a good job of showing that there's more behind the character than just that overly cheerly exterior.

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Miki Nanri as always :lol

Best Villain: Jugglus Juggler undoubtedly. Just generally superb in every way.

Best Returning Character: Takeshi Hongo seems like the obvious choice, but I'm actually going with Kouga Saejima just because it was so good to finally see him on screen again.

Best Suit Actor: Yugo Fuji as Kamen Rider Amazon Omega. I really enjoyed the blend of human and animal ferocity he gave it.

Best Writer: Takao Nakano, Ultraman Orb

Best Director: Kiyotaka Taguchi, Yuichi Abe and Ryūichi Ichino, all for their work on Ultraman Orb

Best Producer: Whoever did Ultraman Orb

Best Visual Designer: Whoever was behind Kamen Rider Amazons. They did a really good job of updating the Amazon aesthetic while keeping a few little homages behind for people to catch.

Best Hero Suit Design: Ultraman Orb Thunder Breaster

Best Monster Suit Design: Zaigorg, Ultraman X the Movie

Best Weapon: The Beta Spark Sword/Arrow, Ultraman X the Movie

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Wild Tousai King, Zyuden Sentai Zyuohger

Best Fight Scene: Proabably all the stuff from the Gokaiger crossover episode in Zyuohger. I especially enjoyed the Red Hawk/Zyuoh Eagle aerial fight sequence.

Best Dramatic Scene: Kiriya's death scene, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

Best Comedic Scene: That whole restaurant scene with Gai and Jugglus in Ultraman Orb

Best Song: Orb No Inori

Best Piece of Merchandise: S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Decade

Biggest Surprise of 2016: Kouga returning in Garo Retsuden

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Kamen Rider Ghost probably. Ninninger was just as bad but at least that most happened in 2015.

Oh boy, this is a lot of stuff to get through. My criteria here is probably going to be a mix between personal feelings and what I consider to "objectively" deserve the title the most. Also, I just plain skipped out on some of the categories because nothing came to me.

Best New Show of 2016:
Ultraman Orb. It rocks.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016:
I guess Carranger? I've still got like two dozen episodes to go but it's been a total blast. It's the most watchable show I've seen in forever. That is to say, I've enjoyed the other shows I've been watching this year (though there's not much Toku backlog stuff in there), but I haven't had the urge to just sit down and pound out like three episodes the way I have with Carranger. My pace on it has slowed down significantly since I watched half the show in a like a week, but it's only because I'm making it a point to finish up another show I started watching well before Carranger and still haven't finished.

Best Rewatch of 2016:
So, I'm torn here, because I actually rewatched Toku shows in whole for the first time this year, but I don't think I can choose between the two I did.

Rewatching Kamen Rider Gaim helped me (sort of) make peace with it, but watching Ninninger again was a million times more fun for me, so...

Best Movie of 2016:
Kamen Rider 1. This is sort of by default, but I really did think it was a solid movie. There's still a lot of those Rider spring movie quirks, but I was generally pretty impressed by its desire to actually tell a story, and as a Ghost fan, it fit perfectly with that show in a way that really justifies his presence beyond just being the guy from that year's show.

I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it, but I think it was probably the best spring movie yet, and I get the feeling if I ever sit down and watch it again, my opinion would only improve.

Best Male Lead Character:
Gai from Orb, though he's sort of simultaneously a lead and a supporting character. I probably don't need to explain why he's great, but he hits the crucial notes of:

- Being a fleshed out, well rounded character
- Being just plain fun
- Having a great actor behind him (foreshadowing?)

Best Actor:
Yes, it was foreshadowing. Hideo Ishiguro did a fantastic job throughout Orb, hitting all the various emotions and tones his role called for pretty much perfectly.

Though he's also an experienced actor, giving him a leg up on a lot of other Toku leads, so I'll also give an honorable mention to Shun Nishime in Ghost. Like most things about Ghost, I'm sure people disagree, but I was consistently impressed by his ability to be subtle when the show let him be, though of course it took him a few episodes to get to that point.

Best Villain:
Juggler from Orb, and I don't even think anybody else comes close. Dude is so good I sometimes forget his name is completely ridiculous.

Best Returning Character:
Kamen Rider 1. I don't have any real attachment to the character but the movie made me feel like I really ought to, and I think that's a great sign for how well done it was.

Best Suit Actor:
Seiji Takaiwa, duh.

Best Hero Suit Design:
Oh man, this one is hard to narrow down if only because I like what we got this year so much. Orb's forms were all great. Amazons' suits were great. Ghost's suits continued to great. I like the Zyuohger suits. Ex-Aid finally gave me a full on pink lead Rider, and in general it's suits grew on me really quick. Even Bulky!Rider 1 was awesome.

I guess I'll just go with Mugen Damashii. It's sparkly~

Best Monster Suit Design:
Probably something from Orb? Nothing jumps out at me here, but it's really rare for monster suits to impress me that much.

Best Weapon:
The Orbcalibur, hands down. That kind of sword in the stone fantasy stuff is right up my alley, for one, but between being an awesome sword, incorporating the harmonica music that had been Gai's thing from episode 1, having nifty special attacks, and giving him a stylish new form, it's totally got this category on lockdown.

Other weapons had awesome designs or functions too, but the Orbcalibur has a ton of plot significance to it that really pushes it over the edge for me. It doesn't feel like just another toy the show is shilling.

Best Vehicle/Mecha:
I'd say Lazer, but that seems dehumanizing and also he's becoming just another lifeless bike for at least a bit, thus ruining the whole gimmick. If they get a new person/inexplicably bring Kiriya back the award can retroactively go to him.

Best Fight Scene:
Again, probably something from Orb, though here my problem is less lack of enthusiasm and more being unable to choose. It's probably down to one of Thunder Breaster's early fights or the finale.

Best Dramatic Scene:
I think I'm going to go with the scene from the end of Orb episode 15 in the hospital. Mostly for how much emotion Gai conveys. That was probably the moment where it really sunk in for me how great Orb is.

I mean, I guess Kiriya's death in Ex-Aid was well done and all (even if I don't know where that rain came from so suddenly), but it didn't really do much for me emotionally, whereas that one little scene in Orb really felt like a big moment, despite not involving the death of a main character. It probably helps that Orb is willing to not have music play for an entire scene, something Toei's shows have trouble with now. The silence adds a lot to the atmosphere.

Best Comedic Scene:
That conversation between Gai and Juggler in episode 11. Just perfect.

Best Song:
Orb no Inori is awesome, but Shine your ORB is sweet (in both senses of the word). I'd probably give the edge to the latter, but just barely.

I'm all about Toku themes being relevant to the show and Orb's ending theme is basically Gai's entire arc in the form of a song, while the opening is mostly "Ultraman Orb is the s***", which is great in its own way.

EXCITE is great as a hype inducing opening, but the full song is strangely less punchy than the TV version. Even if that weren't the case, it wouldn't be close to Orb's music, though.

Biggest Surprise of 2016:
Can you tell I like Orb a lot? Because up until halfway through I couldn't. I loved X and despite immediately pegging Orb as being better in a lot of ways it didn't do nearly as much for me. It wasn't a show I looked forward to watching every week.

And then it started blowing my mind.

It's not even just the kind of thing where it got better as it went along (although it did), I feel like I wasn't appreciating the early episodes enough in retrospect. Orb was a show that basically just killed it on every level the whole way through, and that's reflected in my choices for these awards.

It continues to surprise me just how much I do like the show now. I didn't even think I'd give it all these categories until I started writing them and suddenly it couldn't be anything else.

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu:

Um... Uh........

...

I got nothing.

--

I'm really flattered that anytime you bring up Ghost, my name immediately follows. :lol

It's okay, Kiwami, I forgive you. :p

Thunder stolen. :mad:

I was almost going to post this yesterday, but decided to wait since I think I usually do it on the 31st.

Eh, what the hell, it's my tradition so I'mma do it anyway (especially since I wanted to add a couple things this year). :p





By most measures, 2016 has generally been a total garbage fire of a year: seemingly dozens of beloved celebrities dying, lots of societal unrest and upheaval, Kamen Rider Ghost. But there have been some bright spots, so let's go ahead and take a look back at the high points of tokusatsu from the worst year in recent memory.

As always, for releases of this year I'm counting any series that aired any episodes during 2016, including:

Ninninger
Zyuohger
Power Rangers Super Dino Charge
Kamen Rider Amazons
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Garo: Makai Retsuden
Ultraman Orb

(Technically Kamen Rider Ghost also counts, but come on, it's a "best of" list)

And again, for movies I'm counting anything that came out this year as well as anything that came out last year but wasn't available as a dvd/fansub until this year. If you want to include stuff that hasn't been available for viewing outside of Japan yet but you're pretty sure is going to be really, really awesome, go ahead.

Best New Show of 2016

Best New-to-You Show of 2016

Best Rewatch of 2016

Best Movie of 2016

Best Male Lead Character

Best Female Lead Character

Best Male Supporting Character

Best Female Supporting Character

Best Actor

Best Actress

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016

Best Villain

Best Returning Character

Best Suit Actor

Best Writer

Best Director

Best Producer

Best Visual Designer

Best Hero Suit Design

Best Monster Suit Design

Best Weapon

Best Vehicle/Mecha

Best Fight Scene

Best Dramatic Scene

Best Comedic Scene

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

Best Song

Best Piece of Merchandise

Biggest Surprise of 2016

And, because not everything in 2016 was as delightfully welcome as a Gai Kurenai harmonica entrance:

Biggest Disappointment of 2016:

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Onari

SECOND Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu

I'm sorry, I'll hold out for you next year :( :lol

I'm a little pissy because I think I'm coming down with something today. But don't worry, unless I completely disappear off the site I will keep doing this. I love traditions and I have OCD-levels of obsession with lists.

You know, I've been getting so used to Ex-Aid I forgot I'm kind of in the wrong neighborhood around here. :lol

Same (especially on the list part), which is why I was eagerly awaiting your post until I ended up doing it myself this morning :lol

What can I say, you left quite the impression when it comes to Ghost :lol

You're not in the wrong neighborhood, you belong here. But you are that one neighbor where we try to avoid talking about certain topics ;)

Anyway, my list:

Best New Show of 2016: Ultraman Orb. For the second year running Tsubaraya has been knocking it out of the park with their new Ultra shows and I honestly feel that Orb is even better than X.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Kaiketsu Zubat. Haven't actually finished it (I've been having more trouble lately finding time to squeeze in tokusatsu - or a lot of things, really, I'm still only halfway through Luke Cage), but it is goddamn magnificent and a big part of why I love Orb's protagonist so much (see below).

Best Rewatch of 2016: Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. It counts. Kinda.

Best Movie of 2016: Actually haven't seen many of this year's films, but I did like the Kamen Rider Chase movie.

Best Male Lead Character: Gai from Ultraman Orb. Obviously inspired by Ultraseven and Zubat, but still a really interesting and engaging character. Very charismatic and likable with a rich backstory. I'm really excited that we'll be getting more of him with the Orb Origin series next year.

Best Female Lead Character: Naomi from Orb. She's basically Garo's Kaoru for the most part and I loved Kaoru. Naomi is fun, she's amusing, and she's also capable of good emotional depth.

Best Male Supporting Character: This was another year where I kind of fell out of watching the current Super Sentai. I liked the show, but I fell behind and just never found the will to catch up. That said, the most disappointing part of that for me is that I've missed out on the continuing mopey misadventures of Misao/Zyuoh The World. That guy never failed to crack me up.

Best Female Supporting Character: Asuna/Poppy Pippypeterpiperpickedapeckofpickledpeppers. I cannot remember her full name to save my life, but this is how you do comic relief, Kamen Rider. Occasionally annoying, often very confusing, but also capable of being a serious contributor to the story. Very fun character.

Best Actor: Hideo Ishiguro. Do you see this face I'm making? Does this expression say that I take back most of what I said about his acting abilities coming out of Den-O? I think that's what this expression says.

Best Actress: Yasue Sato was in a thing this year, so yeah.

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: I watched the Ginga S movie, so Yukari Taki is still eligible.

Best Villain: Jugglus Juggler from Ultraman Orb. A very interesting and complex villain, occasional creepy troll, and presumably a guy that drinks a lot of Faygo.

Best Returning Character: This is a really tough call for me. On the one hand, the Gokaigers returned to Super Sentai and Captain Marvelous, in particular, was especially fun to see again. On the other hand, we got to see Kouga return to Garo, after the actor had previously implied he was done with the role. I'm probably going to go with Marvelous, though, because he had more screen time while Kouga was more of a cameo appearance.

Best Suit Actor: Hideyoshi Iwata (Ultraman Orb)

Best Writer: Yuya Takahashi (Ex-Aid)

Best Visual Designer: Whoever did the monsters for Orb.

Best Hero Suit Design: Honestly not a banner year for hero costumes between Ghost not knowing how color theory works, Zyuohger's animal onesies, and whatever the hell Ex-Aid is. Amazons had some great suits, though, as did Orb. It came down to Orb Thunder Breaster vs. Amazon Alpha for me, and I think I'm going to go with Alpha because I'm a sucker for metallic red.

Best Monster Suit Design: Galactron from Ultraman Orb.

Best Weapon: Amazon Omega's cool scythes.

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Kamen Rider Lazer. :p

Best Fight Scene: Orb Thunder Breaster vs. Galactron. Both for how brutal of a fight it was and for how intensely dramatic it was. I was sure that Orb would come to his senses to avoid hurting Naomi. I was wrong.

Best Dramatic Scene: Oh god , Mamoru, don't eat that. No no no no no no no. :eek:

Best Comedic Scene The multiple spit take scene from the Chaser movie. Belt-san spitting in Gou's face put it right over the top. :lol

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment: The Poppy/Ex-Aid/Brave Jingle Bells scene from the most recent episode of Ex-Aid. That is totally a thing that happened.

Best Song Orb has some good music and I really like Ex-Aid's opening theme, but this year is all about Armour fuckin' Zone.

Best Piece of Merchandise: Shodo Vs. wave 3. I have a small Kamen Rider Black and Shadow Moon standing in front of my TV and it is awesome. Still bummed that Stronger was shortpacked, though.

Biggest Surprise of 2016: Garo getting licensed for a US release. The real show, not the shitty cartoon.

And, because not everything in 2016 was as delightfully welcome as a Gai Kurenai harmonica entrance:

Biggest Disappointment of 2016: Garo Makai Retsuden. It still had its moments, but I went into the show expecting some great, visually stunning standalone episodes like we got in Makai no Hana. Instead we got a whole bunch of throwaway low budget stuff like the episode where Rian bums around an apartment with some dude for 20 minutes and Mayuri talking to a chef. There were some cool episodes, but most of the series felt like wasted potential.

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Onari: Damn straight.

SECOND Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Tempted to say "Also Onari" or "Kamen Rider Ghost as a whole," but I'll be generous and specifically narrow it down to the episodes where Akari becomes an idol. Congratulations, Ghost, you managed to be the first Kamen Rider series where I fastforwarded through scenes on the first viewing. Well fucking done.

As always, my list is gonna be pretty barren, not knowing (Or paying attention much) about the likes of writers and producers. Anyway, let's morphing.

Best New Show of 2016: Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: This one is a little difficult, as I didn't ride the Toku trains very much this year...I guess, by default, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman

Best Rewatch of 2016: Ninja Sentai Kakuranger (Didn't rewatch it entirely, but I checked out, like, 9 episodes on YT and joined in on the stream on Shout's website :lol)

Best Movie of 2016: Shin Godzilla (Didn't get to see it, but I'm drooling at the teeth to)

Best Male Lead Character: Misao Mondou/Zyuoh The World

Best Female Lead Character: Sela/Zyuoh Shark

Best Male Supporting Character: Yuuta (Technically cheating, but he was new to me)

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Sela, again.

Best Villain: Bunglay

Best Returning Character: Gai Ikari. Seeing him beg at the ToQger's feet was great

Best Hero Suit Design: Zyuoh Whale. My god that's a beautiful suit.

Best Monster Suit Design: Once again cheating, but Budo from Gingaman

Best Weapon: EagRiser

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Wild Tousai King

Best Fight Scene: The airport fight in Civil War

Best Dramatic Scene: Yamato's breakdown after seeing his friends die

Best Comedic Scene: ALL OF GHOST AMIRITE

Best Song: The English version of Gingaman's theme.

Best Piece of Merchandise: Legacy Ninja Megazord. I don't even have it and I love it

Biggest Surprise of 2016: Zyuohger being good

And, as always -

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Ghost

My list would have probably been a lot more varied if I watched Ghost and Amazons, and started Ex-Aid, but it is what it is.

Best New Show of 2016: Kamen Rider Ex Aid

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Kamen Rider OOO

Best Rewatch of 2016: Kamen Rider Drive

Best Movie of 2016: Kamen Rider Chaser Saga

Best Male Lead Character: Kamen Rider Chaser

Best Female Lead Character: Asuna from KR Ex-Aid

Best Male Supporting Character: Taiga/KR Snipe from Ex Aid

Best Female Supporting Character: NA

Best Actor: Taiko Katono

Best Actress: Rio Uchida

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Asuna Karino

Best Villain: KR Genm

Best Returning Character: Shinnosuke Tomari/KR Drive

Best Suit Actor: Yasuhiko Imai (Suit actor for KR Chaser/Mashin Chaser)

Best Writer: Riku Sanjo

Best Director: Directors for Ex-Aid as a whole

Best Producer: NA

Best Visual Designer: NA

Best Hero Suit Design: Kamen Rider Ex Aid

Best Monster Suit Design: None

Best Weapon: Break Gunner with Core Rhino

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Rider Chaser

Best Fight Scene: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, Brave, Snipe, and Lazer as lvl 5 vs Graphhite

Best Dramatic Scene: Chase removing angel feather and henshins back to KAmen Rider Chaser

Best Comedic Scene: Christmas scenes from Ex-Aid holiday episode

Best Song: Ex-Cite

Best Piece of Merchandise:
Figuarts Kamen Rider Snipe
Biggest Surprise of 2016: Powers Rangers Movie Trailer



Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu NA

Put some spoilers over that last point please, that episode is barely a week old.

Actually watched a bunch of stuff this time...lots of Kamen Rider of course, as well as Sentai and Ultraman for the first time, even Thunderbolt Fantasy. Fun year.

Best New Show of 2016: I'm gonna go with Amazons for this. There were a bunch of strong shows this year, but Amazons is just great.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: I know I'm one of very few in this respect, but I really love Wizard, and it's probably my favorite of the old shows I watched this year.

Best Rewatch of 2016: I didn't really rewatch anything this year....but like, I've seen every episode of Ex-Aid at least twice now, so that's...been fun.

Best Movie of 2016: Honestly none of the movies I can recall seeing for this year have been very impressive. I guess maybe...Surprise Drive. Subs just barely qualify for 2016. It was better than the other junk I watched, though I don't think it's that good either.

Best Male Lead Character: Misao Mondo is a national treasure. Not sure he really qualifies as a lead but...probably.

Best Female Lead Character: Naomi was a good character.

Best Male Supporting Character: Bike boy.

Best Female Supporting Character: Poppi, I suppose.

Best Villain: The Amazons, maybe. They're like...each other's villain?

Best Returning Character: Obviously I haven't seen this one, but I am really really looking forward to seeing Haruto in Generations. Nothing else really did much for me.

Best Suit Actor: Whoever did the Amazons did a good job. But of course Mr. Kamen Rider has also been killing it as Ex-Aid.

Best Writer: Urobuchi did very well on Thunderbolt Fantasy. The twist was simple but it worked well, the whole show was well structured. Probably not the only one worth noting but he's the only I can really name offhand.

Best Visual Designer: Gonna throw Thunderbolt Fantasy another bone here, that was one visually impressive show.

Best Hero Suit Design: I don't care for Orb or Zyuohger's designs much overall, so it's mostly between Rider in this category...there's a lot of great suits all around, and I'm tempted to go with Alpha (questionable hero that he is) or maybe Double Action. But, I think I'm gonna go with Necrom. All things aside, I always was a big fan of (most of) Ghost's designs, and Necrom's is one of the best.

Best Monster Suit Design: So, I know he's not a kaijin which is what this is about, but Dan Kuroto is a pretty monstrous guy, and Zombie Gamer a pretty awesome suit.If not bending the rules, maybe Galactron or something.

Best Weapon: Gashacon Bugvisor.

Best Vehicle/Mecha: reezaa

Best Fight Scene/Best Dramatic Scene: Gonna go two-for-one for this one. Orb vs. Galactron was a really strong scene.

Best Comedic Scene: Others have mentioned it, but it really doesn't get better than that one restaurant scene from episode 11 of Orb. Absolutely hilarious.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment: Kamen Rider Chaser. You know the scene. Maybe. There were...a lot of weird ones in this one.

Best Song: Probably Excite.

Best Piece of Merchandise: I didn't get much this year, so....the Gashats are nice, you know? They're nice.

Biggest Surprise of 2016: Zyuohger being really good. It's my first real Sentai (all I was exposed to before was stuff in crossovers) and I wasn't a fan of its designs going in, so I'm glad it proved a strong show regardless.

Biggest Disappointment of 2016: Maybe Kamen Rider 1. It's definitely the best of the spring movies I've seen, but I don't see that as much of an accomplishment. And like...yeah, it has its moments, but overall I didn't find it that good. I was hoping I would.

Could say the same about the Drive Sagas. They...weren't as good as I would have hoped.

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Onari: Well, I'm not gonna go against the facts.

SECOND Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: reezaa :(

Best New Show of 2016: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. From the 90s color palette to the gimmicks and the plot, they really are going all out and I am looking forward to how this show concludes this 2017.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Kamen Rider Amazons

Best Rewatch of 2016: That super sentai from the 90s where they got baked into a pizza we know as Carranger.

Best Movie of 2016: Zyuohger's movie was surprisingly fun, probably the most I had in years looking at Super Sentai movies alone.

Best Male Lead Character: Yamato Kazakiri aka Zyuoh Eagle/Zyuoh Gorilla/Zyuoh Whale from Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger

Best Female Lead Character: Naomi Yumeno from Ultraman Orb

Best Male Supporting Character: ONARI. ONARI. ONARI. ALL YOU HATERS CAN SAY WHATEVER BUT ONARI. ONARI. ONARI.

Best Female Supporting Character: Ruka Matsuda as Poppi PipoPapo/Asuna

Best Actor: Hayato Onozuka as Kiriya Kujo/Kamen Rider Lazer from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid's performance still lingers in my head and probably will for the rest of 2017 until someone else tops that.

Best Actress: Ruka Matsuda as Poppi PipoPapo/Asuna. Not easy going from one dynamic to the other so kudos to that.

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Amu/Zyuoh Tiger

Best Villain: Bangray was by far the most memorable, just plain ruthless.

Best Returning Character: Kamen Rider 1

Best Suit Actor: Hirokazu Iwakami as Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha

Best Writer: Koumura Junko for episodes 28 and 29 of Zyuohger

Best Director: Kyohei Yamaguchi for episode 12 of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

Best Producer: Shirakura AND Takebe for Kamen Rider Amazons. Say what you will about their past mistakes but you gotta give credit where credit is due.

Best Visual Designer: PLEX as always.

Best Hero Suit Design: Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha. The right balance of throwback and modernization. Plus it pulls off that dark cherry red color really well.

Best Monster Suit Design: Ginis. Reminds me of the 80s Sentai bosses.

Best Weapon: Gashacon Breaker

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Tousai Zyuoh

Best Fight Scene: Zyuohger and Gokaiger fighting side-by-side against the Deathgaliens

Best Dramatic Scene: Kiriya/Lazer's last words and unfortunate death

Best Comedic Scene: Whenever Misao/Zyuoh TheWorld is depressed or ignored

Best Song: EXCITE by Daichi Miura for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

Best Piece of Merchandise: Bandai candy toys in general just get better and better each year

Biggest Surprise of 2016: Kyuranger

And, as always -

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: No sentai figuarts
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Best New Show of 2016: Zyuohger what an amazing well written Sentai. After two years of disappointment with Nin and Toq it felt great to have a good Sentai again. What I love so much about it was it did different things that Sentai had not done before. It was so much fun seeing other power up in the form of visor ups I love this so much. Also the villains were very interesting with there blood game.

Best New-to-You Show of 2016: Kamen Rider Amazons I never saw the showa one so this one was fun to watch.

Best Rewatch of 2016: It my first time watching it Seki Ninja Sen Jiraiya. It does not have eng subs but I love watching it a really cool ninja show.

Best Movie of 2016: Kamen Rider ZO this movie had so much in it for a short amount of time. I like how deep the plot of the movie was between the father and grandfather. The little boy also made the me fell a bit sad for him for what had happen to the father in the end over all my favorite showa rider movie.

Best Male Lead Character: Zyuoh Egale Yamato one of the best red Sentai in a long time. He calm, laid back, and strong just how a leader should be in Super Sentai. He was a big part of Zyuohger that made me enjoy the show the most.

Best Female Lead Character: Amu Zyuoh Tiger she was very cute I like most of her acting.

Best Male Supporting Character: ZYUOH THE WORLDO MISAO

Best Female Supporting Character: The clown nurse from ex-aid I guess.

Best Actor: Yamato Zyuoh Egale

Best Actress: Zyuoh Tiger Amu

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016: Amu

Best Villain: Genis from Zyuohger he was different from other main Sentai villains. Atfer all he did make Zyuoh the World so I feel that was pretty cool of him.

Best Returning Character: Gokaiger returning in Zyuohger it was epic to see them again in the show. I glad they came back because it made me realize how much I miss them.

Best Suit Actor: Zyuoh Whale

Best Writer: Person who wrote Zyuohger.

Best Director: Person who work on Zyuohger.

Best Producer: People who work on Zyuohger.

Best Visual Designer: People who work on Zyuohger.

Best Hero Suit Design: Zyuoh The World I love this suit so much. It had three animals on it and the colors of black, silver and gold which made the suit badass looking. I love the look of the helmet the most it was very very impressive design that blew me away.

Best Monster Suit Design: Genis it look like two people were in the suit at the same time lol.

Best Weapon: Whale gun.

Best Vehicle/Mecha: Cube Whale

Best Fight Scene: Zyuoher vs Kubar when Misao came to help the team out from bed wow. That entire Mecha battle was on fire it had so much going on between all of them.

Best Dramatic Scene: Amazon Alpha vs Sigma Jin almost died in that battle it was chaotic.

Best Comedic Scene: don't know

Best Song: ex-aid opening

Best Piece of Merchandise: S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Ryuki Survive & Dragrenzer. This was my first Kamen Rider bike that I ever got in figuarts. I love this bike so much it can open up into a dragon it can stand up on it own that's a monster as well. Wow that what was going through my head when I took this figuart out of the box. The metallic red paint with silver gives this bike a beautiful shine when it on display. This is my favorite figuart of 2016 and my most impressive one out of my collection.

Biggest Surprise of 2016: The new Sentai that will start in 2017. Toei is taking a big risk with this team staring off with nine rangers at once. I wonder if there be enough focus episodes for all of them hmm?


Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu: Ghost the show the figuart everything. All round show that went to trash.