Tokusatsu Year in Review 2020: Gems Versus Sabers Z edition
 

Time yet again for my annual tradition of 80% copy/pasting a look back on the previous year and the shows, characters, and moments that stood out to us. It was, broadly speaking, not a great year for pretty much anything, but that doesn't mean that we couldn't have fun watching Japanese stunt actors in costumes choreographically whaling on each other (when production wasn't shut down due to Covid-19).

As always, for releases of this year I'm counting any series that aired any episodes during 2020, including:

Ryusoulger
Kiramager
Kamen Rider Zero-One
Kamen Rider Saber
Ultraman Z
Garo Versus Road
I assume something Power Rangers, probably.

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.

Favorite New Show of 2020

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

Favorite Rewatch of 2020

Favorite Movie of 2020

Favorite Male Lead Character

Favorite Female Lead Character

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Favorite Villain

Favorite Returning Past Character

Favorite Actor

Favorite Actress

Favorite Writer

Favorite Director

Favorite Suit Design

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

Favorite Fight Scene

Favorite Dramatic Scene

Favorite Comedic Scene

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

Favorite Song

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

Biggest Surprise of 2020

And, because some things in 2020 were an incredibly drawn-out and repetitive arc about two companies challenging each other to increasingly silly competitions to determine the fate of a hostile takeover bid where one side was blatantly cheating but the other side never called them out on it and instead focused on hugging berserk robots while screaming their name in the hopes that maybe, maybe it would get them to calm down this time even though it failed every single time in the past... you know, as a general example:

Biggest Disappointment of 2020:

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in 2020 Tokusatsu:

Favorite New Show of 2020: Chant my name!!

https://i.imgur.com/kemn6AS.jpeg

Ultraman Z!!!

This was... magical, for me. Easily jumped the ranks as my second favourite Ultra show already between its superb, lovable cast and its dynamic action -- but something I especially have to draw attention to is the simulcast. A bold and amazing choice on Tsupro's part that not only made it much more accessible (and with fantastic subs to boot!) but also made it such an experience watching along with other people! I often end up working weekends so I didn't truly get to experience this as much as I could what with it airing at 1:30AM for my time zone, but when I did get to tune in it was just a bunch of fun with friends and acquaintances alike. There's no category for it so aside from just 'favourite new show', let me just say this is my favourite thing of Toku in 2020. Not gonna be forgetting this one any time soon.



Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020: Standing here doing nothing won't get my anywhere!!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...90/unknown.png

Geeeeed!!

Or, perhaps... just Ultraman as a whole, as represented by my favourite?

I've seen a lot of people say they've been experiencing time ~weirdly~ during 2020 due to lockdown, and while I can't entirely relate due to being an essential worker and hence having a schedule that way; I definitely get that feeling when I remember that wait I only started watching Ultraman this year?! Not only have I by now seen everything from the Zero movie onwards as well as about a third of Tiga, but I've already gotten so many favourites and so many feelings and thoughts about this franchise and, man, I'm disappointed in myself for not checking it out earlier! Standing at the top for me is Geed, which is fitting as I feel its strongest points lie in perhaps working like a very standard Ultra show; which I think is the best possible way to stand in contrast to the evil dad set-up. It's a rare case for me where before I started the show I thought it'd be my favourite, and when I finished... yeah, it was indeed my favourite! Just for very different reasons than I thought I'd have. Awesome, awesome show; in an awesome, awesome franchise.



Favorite Rewatch of 2020: Taka! Tora! Batta! Kaigan!!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...28/unknown.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...16/unknown.png

It might seem weird to be cheating on this when Kamen Rider OOO is my favourite Toku show ever, and Kamen Rider Ghost is something I'm much more middle-of-the-road about. But we're not talking about shows, we're talking about rewatches, so when it comes to that? I've been having a blast with both.

First of all it's the first time I've ever really rewatched more than a couple episodes of a toku show; the first time I've actually sat down and started watching an entire season all over again -- so both of them are very special to me right off the bat for that, but with both of them it's interesting just how much more I've been noticing. I've been getting a much clearer idea of Takeru's character; noticing little hints dropped in early on that inform us about Eiji; subtle thematics going on with the Musashi Damashii; Gotou's story unfolding; a deeper respect for what Ghost was doing and a re-inforcing of everything I loved about OOO. I might like one a lot more than the other, but I'd never drop either in a million years.



Favorite Movie of 2020: Majesty Time!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...iz-Majesty.png

Is Geiz Majesty the best V-Cinema of all time?

Granted, it's not like there's a lot of competition here -- one of the things I'm saying in its favour is that it's competent and has a clear, solid arc for our main character that's dedicated to the new setting; and can you really say that of like, New World bringing back Evolt or Gaim Gaiden doing... doing whatever the hell Gaim Gaiden did? But I digress, this was just a great movie. It gets points immediately for finally patching a hole in the W tribute with an in-series actor, and I like how those returning actors actually inform the journey of Geiz -- the roles he and Tsukuyomi were placed into in Zi-O's new timeline seemed very generic and by the books in the series finale (in a way that was fine and fitting), but here it's hard to not get invested. You seriously just want to see this kid get on with his life and do what he wants without all these Kamen Riders bursting in and demanding his power or whatever! It's a solid movie and for that, yeah, this is something I didn't expect to like but gave me a great time.



Favorite Character: I'll turn ZAIA to scrap!!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...LRWsAEC22D.png

Zero-One really just made Fuwa one of my favourite Rider characters ever, huh?

Do I really have to say much for him when every single scene he's in demonstrates why? He's so good he practically became the main rider for a while; his journey from his hatred of Humagears to instead becoming perhaps their greatest ally and going rogue against ZAIA instead is beautiful; he's an intense character whose forceful personality is just so strong it inspired his actor to adlib a lot of lines and actions that he felt were in-character... this guy's gonna stick with me for a while. Zero-One is a series that frustrated me every chance it got, but Fuwa's so good he done all the legwork in making me enjoy this show.



Favorite Villain: This is where I should smile, right?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen..._RWEAcPlTn.png

She's just so cool, yeah??

Like Yodonna kinda came out of nowhere and took over the show, and I'm not complaining! Kiramager is a fun show and she is a very fun villain. It's not like Garza and Crunchula were having a hard time entertaining me (they're so, so good), but you throw Yodonna in there and you've got a perfect dynamic. She raises the stakes, she's constantly coming up with great plans, she actually gets along pretty well with one of the other villains; what's not to love?



Favorite Returning Past Character: Besides, I'm a suspicious alien

https://i.imgur.com/e0gurvF.jpeg

I can't believe he's still angry about that fucking tree.

Could it have been anyone else? Juggler is one of those characters who is just... completely impossible to pin down and a joy to watch. The fact his actor came back for the show had me and a lot of friends freaking out for a few weeks of Z trying to figure out whether or not it was Juggler of if all his actions were an elaborate joke about the shared actor; and then the episode preview for 4 showed his head popping up behind Haruki out of nowhere and I screamed, and yeah, that's kind of what his character is. It's great having seen him grow into a real leader as well yet lose nothing about what makes him a joy to watch, and I dearly hope this isn't the last we've seen of him!



Favorite Suit Design: Gathering Round!!!

https://i.imgur.com/FXUH28w.jpeg

Maybe no surprise with how much I like Fuwa, but fuck I love Rampage Gatling.

It's the perfect example of a suit I hated from the scans but then absolutely adored the moment I saw it in motion. It's just an outright beauty of a design with a clean, 'refined' Shooting Wolf on one side and then a chaotic tangle of broken robo-animal skeletons on the other; a perfect representation of Fuwa which is then topped off with the 'feathers' of each animal around one of his eyes just because it's cool. Oh, and then the gimmick item gives his Shotriser a completely new visual identity; because this form wants to tick off all my favourite points! Love this thing!



Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha: Maybe it's too soon for humans to have this technology...

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...402/latest.png

It seriously, seriously doesn't get much better than this! Maybe the biggest thing on a wishlist of "Things I'd want a mech-using Ultraman Military team to do", yeah; taking King friggin' Joe and modifying it to somehow be even cooler wins points for me! It's always cool to see the normal humans get to be on the level of our rubber-suited heroes, and that's exactly what this cool as hell mech allows Yoko to do. Perhaps the most I've ever been tempted to pick up a DX toy!



Favorite Song: One To Two, Zero Two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1XO-gA6QIU

Yeah, so, uh, just in case you haven't heard any songs from the Zero-One movie; they're all amazing! This one especially that perfectly mixes the main themes of Zero-One and Zero-Two is nothing short of perfection. Zero-One in general had one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in Toku, and I'm glad to be repping it here!

Favorite New Show of 2020:
Ultraman Z, since it’s the only one that’s been pretty consistent throughout.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020
It’s a tossup between Timeranger and Metalder.

Favorite Rewatch of 2020
Since I haven’t finished my Kiva rewatch (one more episode), I’m gonna say Go-Onger

Favorite Movie of 2020
Im not exactly spoilt for choice. Next Time: Geiz, obviously.

Favorite Male Lead Character
That honour goes to Aruto, mostly for the final arc showing just how terrifying our hero can become as a big bad.

Favorite Female Lead Character
Yoko, mostly for her hilarious, yet badass personality.

Favorite Male Supporting Character
Shiguru, mostly because they dropped the ball hard with most of Zero-Ones supporting male cast and Saber’s are basically all in the “ok” box

Favorite Female Supporting Character
It would be Sayo, but she’s not really done a lot. But none of the rest strike me as really good, so she wins by default.

Favorite Villain
Eras, mostly for the sheer fact she’s the rare Tokusatsu villain that has a reasonable motive for their villainy, instead of some vague desire for power or destruction. Plus, the only other eligible candidates are minor villains or generic as all hell.

Favorite Returning Past Character
Juggles Juggler

Favorite Actor
Ryo Aoki, mostly for how he manages to sell Kento’s reactions to his changing situation.

Favorite Actress
Noa Tsurushima, once again, this time for being able to play two characters at once and make me tell they’re separate characters.

Favorite Writer
I’m gonna throw in a wild card and say Tete Inoue. I love how he manages to merge being utterly ridiculous with serious drama.

Favorite Director
Takayuki Shibisaki. He’s a guy that loves to show his chops with special effects and Saber’s first two episodes are no exception to that.

Favorite Suit Design
Blades King Lion. I just honk the lack of any varied colours helps it look more striking.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
King Express. That thing is criminally underused.

Favorite Fight Scene
Difficult to say. I’ll go with Buster eliminating that Megid in one hit after his first transformation.

Favorite Dramatic Scene
Ark-One’s reveal.

Favorite Comedic Scene
Shiguru and Jurus’ manzai routine to restore Hakobu’s feelings.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
Slash changing personalities with his Bremen form.

Favorite Song
Kamen Rider Saber. It’s nice to have a rider song that actually feels like it was made for its home show rather than being some J-pop bait they tacked onto the soundtrack for some minor similarity in the lyrics.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise
The Seiken Swordriver, mostly for all the features it’s shown within a few months of release

Biggest Surprise of 2020
The Gekiranger cameo in Kiramager episode 27

Biggest Disappointment of 2020
Go Kiramager. After a 7 year streak of solid super modes with equally solid debuts, they go and do everything I hate to see in a Sentai power-up,

I’m not doing the last one, since it’s the same as the disappointment category.

Not aware of this tradition since I wasn't here last Christmas but I'll give it my best shot!

Favorite New Show of 2020

Kamen Rider Saber

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

Choudenshi Bioman

Favorite Rewatch of 2020

Kamen Rider Faiz

Favorite Movie of 2020

Dinosaur Panic
Technically, this is 2019 but I watched it in 2020.

Favorite Male Lead Character

Koh

Favorite Female Lead Character

Hayami Sena

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Fuwa Isamu

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Mabusheena

Favorite Villain

Wiserue

Favorite Returning Past Character

The Denliner Imagins

Favorite Actor

Okada Ryuutarou

Favorite Actress

Shinjo Yume

Favorite Writer

Kaneko Kaori

Favorite Suit Design

Kamen Rider Kenzan

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

Shiny Breaker
Ride Gatriker
Grateful Phoenix

Favorite Fight Scene

Saber and Blades VS Ant and Grasshopper Megids

Favorite Dramatic Scene

Isamu's epic speech as he pries open the Rampage Gatling Progrise Key

Favorite Comedic Scene

Juru sucks at lying

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

The dinosaur crossover of BM

Favorite Song

ALMIGHTY

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

Hasbro's DX Beast X Megazord
The proportions are so much more accurate than Bandai's clunky brick.

Biggest Surprise of 2020

Memory of Heroez
Mine is ordered and on its way even as we speak.

Biggest Disappointment of 2020

The 5 week hiatus caused by you-know-what

Can't really contribute much since since my overall interest in toku is starting to dwindle a bit, I'm actually pretty far behind on Saber, Kiramager and Ultraman Z, but I'll give it a shot.

Favourite Show 2020
Kiramager

Favourite Male Supporting Character
Fuwa, liked him way more than the main character, which I've said many times, did not like.

Favourite Dramatic Scene
You're probably not gonna like this, but Gai reuniting with Thouser

Favourite Comedic Scene
Garza getting carried away rocking out

Biggest Disappointment of 2020
Okay here we go. A lot of people might not like what I have to say...but Zero One. The reason for the disappointment comes from the producer behind Zero One, which was also involved with Ex-Aid and Build, which are my most favourite KR shows, and hell, Zero One had Ex-Aid's writer on board, so I was expecting a new favourite show. Unfortunately, I found the show...decentish. Maybe it's my fault for having high expectations on this show. It's like I'm a teacher and the producer was a student. Did really well on his first two tests, second was better than the first, only to not do as well on the 3rd test, even worse than the first test. Then the teacher would be in his face like "what the hell, you should've done better than this"
I could go on, but I don't want to drag this out. But yeah, Zero One was a letdown.

(I would like to imagine this in my head with the theme tune to ITV's National Television Awards circa 1996-2008!)

Favorite New Show of 2020

Mashin Sentai Kirameiger

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

Choujuu Sentai Liveman (I put Megaranger because it was last thing at night here then I remembered that was this year too, d'oh!)

Favorite Rewatch of 2020

Mirai Sentai Timeranger(Rare for me to rewatch stuff and it’s been soon after originally finishing it as I’ve started a new thing of rewatching certain toku from 10,20,30 years ago etc!)

Favorite Movie of 2020

I’m terrible at keeping up with this stuff so Kamen Rider Zi-O Over Quartzer will have to be the closest! :lolol

Favorite Male Lead Character

Devon Daniels/Beast Morphers Red(This year hasn’t been too good for male characters that I can think of!)

Favorite Female Lead Character

Sena Hayami/KirameiGreen

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Takamichi/KirameiSilver

Favorite Female Supporting Character

(Depends what counts as supporting seeing as she is still essentially one of the main riders lol) Yua Yaiba/Kamen Rider Valkyrie

Favorite Villain

Yodonna

Favorite Returning Past Character

Jason Lee Scott in PRBM(I think he was in 2020, could have had a more full morph sequence though! Controversial opinion:I always preferred Jason to Tommy so make of that what you will!)

Favorite Actor

(Begrudgingly) Fumiya Takahashi as Hiden Aruto/Kamen Rider Zero-One (Although I don’t like the character I have to give him credit for playing that character development towards the end!)

Favorite Actress

Yume Shinjo as Sena Hayami/KirameiGreen (I just really want female greens to catch on and she is an awesome character!)

I’m afraid I am not too knowledgeable about favourite writers or directors even now! I know I like a lot Yasuko Kobayashi’s done and that’s basically it!

Favorite Suit Design

I suppose Kamen Rider Valkyrie or Vulcan if I had to choose, I’m not too great at having opinions on details like that though!

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

Mashin Zabyun has a nice helmet!

Favorite Fight Scene

KirameiSilver’s debut and first fight.

Favorite Dramatic Scene

In Beast Morphers when Doctor K actually gave Nate an awesome lecture!

Favorite Comedic Scene

Though maybe not the spirit of things, possibly Yua punching Amatsu Gai, I think I had wanted to do it a lot by then!

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

(I can’t actually think of one this year, sorry! Sometimes it’s just hard to remember everything!)

Favorite Song

Yohei Onishi-Mashin Sentai Kirameiger(There are other good songs in the show but it's cool enough and does it's job)

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

(I tend not to buy any in general these days, sorry!)

Biggest Surprise of 2020

Actually coming round to Zero-One more by the end of the show and getting to tolerate Aruto more, I didn’t mind him when he was being serious, giving speeches etc, it was just mainly his voice that annoyed me and weirdly I ended up missing Zero-One when Saber was slightly too boring which I didn’t expect!

Biggest Disappointment of 2020:

I suppose unfortunately I can only give it to Saber. I just wasn’t in the mood to put up with that guy at the start (Tassel) after I eventually found I didn’t care much about the actual riders as well! Again I’m not saying I’ll never finish it but I just thought given this weird year we’ve had I just found it to be a lot of time for not much reward right at this moment.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in 2020 Tokusatsu:

I think just that period when there were no regular episodes of Kirameiger on air which was unavoidable was a bit depressing, it’s not like it’s a perfect show, it still has it’s weaker elements but it’s strong compared to Ryusoul and LuPat in my opinion. I still don’t like the villains other Yodonna though and I’ve always hated the design of the Crystalians, I just don’t see how they’re meant to be cute IMO!

Okay, first of all, I just want to thank Kurona for her post, first of all because it was just super passionate and fun to read, but also because it made me realize I can simplify my own list a bit and still be happy with it, which is a huge relief in a year where I have regularly been swamped by writing about tokusatsu on this forum. Mind you, that's just about the best problem in the world to have, so let's go to it!

Favorite New Show of 2020
Without a doubt, it's Machine Sentai Kiramager. I had a feeling from very early on in its run I'd be saying this, and in all the time in-between, it's only lived up to that faith. Kiramager is brisk and exciting. Kiramager is hilarious and crazy. Kiramager is heartwarming and uplifting. Kiramager is an almost perfect Sentai show for Sentai fans, and an almost perfect entry point for those who aren't. Kiramager has consistently been one of the highlights of any given week for me, and it's a show I suspect I'll consistently be speaking highly of and recommending at any given opportunity in the future.

It's not exactly my favorite Sentai, but it's definitely the one I'd most want to share with people. If you haven't watched it yet, do yourself a favor and give Kiramager a shot; it'll make your day shine that much brighter.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020
Akumaizer 3, with equally little doubt. It's one of those shows I've always been meaning to get around to, and in a lot of ways it managed to surpass my realistic expectations of what a 70's toku show is like, with a lot more character-focused drama early on than I would've guessed. And even when it's not doing that, it's always loads of fun. Just an all around solid hero tokusatsu with an absolutely golden premise.

Favorite Rewatch of 2020
It's Kamen Rider Kuuga. I honestly wanted to make that bit from my post last year about this spot going to LuPat again true, but not only did I not find the time to give it a third go-around (I did watch some random episodes here or there however), I'd have to be out of my mind to give it to anything else this year. I made a whole huge thread about it, somehow found the energy to see it through to the end, got a lot of positive responses from other people on the site in the process, and, as much as all that extra sentimental value matters to getting to rediscover an old favorite again, there's also a simple truth to why it gets the award from me this year that I can sum up in two words – it's Kuuga.

Favorite Movie of 2020
While Kamen Rider Zi-O was airing, I constantly made a big deal out of how its two main writers had a notably different approach to the show. Kento Shimoyama tended to focus on finding the down-to-earth character drama within the mad universe, often to great results; while Nobuhiro Mouri seemed to prefer writing exciting adventures that reveled in the madness of the universe first and foremost, often to great results.

Both of them did the pretty much the opposite for their respective Zi-O movies, and in both cases, it was to great results. I rewatched both of them very recently specifically to see if I could narrow it down to one pick for this list, but I very quickly realized I was really just watching them both again to watch them both again, so both Over Quartzer and Geiz, Majesty (which is officially written with a comma?) get the award from me.

Shimoyama is a great writer, and Over Quartzer is straight up genius. Probably not an opinion I'll get much sympathy for, but I don't know how else to put it. It's super esoteric at points, and requires you not take things too literally, but the meta-fictional narrative it has makes for a thrilling and genuinely touching tribute to the inconsistent, wildly uneven tapestry that is Heisei Rider. It was love on first viewing for me, and after three times watching it in one year, I think it's safe to say it's launched itself right up there with other personal favorite summer movies of mine like Paradise Lost and True Ending.

Geiz, Majesty is just a film about a normal high school kid finding his path in life, and I respect the heck out of it for how hard it commits to its small scale. You don't even see Geiz transform once until two thirds of the way into the runtime, and that shows a faith in the story it was telling. Very well-placed faith, as far as I'm concerned, too. Mouri's script does a wonderful job digging into the emotions of Geiz himself, and the result is a straightforward film that's very genuine and relatable. If you hate Over Quartzer, I think there's a good chance you'd conversely love this one, but lucky for me, I'm more than okay with just saying they're both amazing.

(Also, it's not quite winning best song, but for the record, Brand New Day is still super catchy.)

Favorite Character
Kamen Rider Zero-One turned out to be a rather uneven show, but one thing that never changed for even a second was how much I loved its main protagonist, Aruto Hiden. He's an absolutely wonderful hero to start off a "new" era of Rider, with a strong emotional range and a personality that embodies the concept of heart that was one of the show's main themes.

Something I look for in a lead character is some kind of strong drive or belief they hold dear, and Aruto had that in spades. Like any great main Rider in a multi-Rider show, no matter what squabbles went down with everyone else, Aruto was always there to leap towards his dream of a world where humans and AI alike could be free to smile and grow together. And maybe some days that wasn't always so easy for him, but it's the struggle that makes for interesting drama. I think with Fuwa's runaway popularity, this is another lonely opinion for me, but Aruto was a fantastic lead who smoothly combined aspects of some of my favorite Rider leads ever (seriously, any main Rider who fights for smiles is an instant winner for me) into a brand new favorite. It sounds obvious, but Zero-One was one of the best parts of Zero-One, and that's how it oughta be.

Favorite Villain
Horobi was also one of the best parts of Zero-One. First of all, Switchblade hasn't done a "best suit actor" category in years, so let me mention here that Takaiwa's performance as his Kamen Rider form is nothing short of consistently great, showing once again how much he excels at subtlety.

Horobi's actual character ended up proving interesting to me far beyond the novelty of his suit actor though, and that's why he's in this spot. He was far from a spectacularly complex antagonist, but I thought the show's writing did a solid job shading the traits he had in ways that always made him interesting to watch, helped by Shuuya Sunagawa's performance, which also had it's own little subtleties that helped draw me into the character.

Favorite Actors
Fumiya Takahashi and Noa Tsurushima, Zero-One's power duo of Aruto and Izu, respectively. I think both of them had equally demanding roles, and both of them stepped up to the plate big time. Takahashi has great charisma, and the confidence required to mug like nobody's business as a failed comedian turned CEO turned Rider, while also nailing the more serious moments. Tsurushima, meanwhile, had to find the humanity in a character where she also needed to not be too human, and made that work so naturally it's hard to see anything but Izu on the screen. And then she had to play another character on top of that by the end of the year. So that's two great actors, and three killer performances total. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Favorite Writer
Ayumi Shimo! I have utterly fallen in love with her writing over the course of Kiramager, and could not be more psyched to have her as part of Toei's stable of toku writers. Whatever they want to put her on, it's probably going to be better off for it. At the very least, her scripts for Kiramager are always, always of the highest caliber, with super strong emotional cores to build real investment from the audience, and all the wacky gags and fun action grows out of that naturally. I have legitimately clapped after watching some of the episodes she's written, because they just leave me that satisfied.

Favorite Director
Teruaki Sugihara, currently my favorite director working for Toei, even above Kazuya Kamihoriuchi, and that was cemented by his fantastic work on Zero-One both this year and the last. His extreme emphasis on frenetic yet clean motion gels with me something fierce, and has resulted in some of the flashiest, coolest action sequeneces Rider has ever been graced with.

Favorite Suit Design
I still stand by saying I love Zi-O Trinity. However! I will admit that I spent a lot of 2020 realizing what a horrible sin I had committed by not naming Rising Hopper as the best suit design for 2019. Part of me is convinced I'm the entire reason that form got the treatment it did for so much of Zero-One's run. So allow to me atone, even a little, by saying Zero-Two is every bit as great, and pretty much guaranteed to go down as one of the best final forms in Rider history the same way Rising Hopper is for base forms. The restraint it had to not overcomplicate the shapes or silhouette, and indeed, even simplify them in spots, shows a perfected understanding of Zero-One's design aesthetic and why it's so excellent. Zero-Two represents a sort of pinnacle for the show's suits, exactly as it should.

That being said, I learned my lesson about not giving a sweet base form for the main Rider the credit its due, and am also horribly indecisive, so Zero-Two is merely tied with Kamen Rider Saber Brave Dragon, which I've quickly come to appreciate for all the exact opposite reasons.

The thing I love about Rising Hopper is that it's a very easy design to draw correctly, and can be scaled to any level of detail. The actual suit has fairly complicated texturing on the black parts, and little touches like the red lines, but all that was also designed to be ignored in favor of the simple and striking yellow armor on a black body. There's nothing too complicated about the layout, and that makes it easy to reproduce.

Brave Dragon is maddeningly complex in terms of details, but what I realized that made me love it is how it's a design that's easy to draw incorrectly, and still have it be instantly recognizable. The broad strokes of it are easily remembered and very specific. The red/white/black colors being split into thirds down the body; the dragon head on the right shoulder; the cross shape of the eyes; or the blade poking out of the head; they're all great points of focus. The whole reason I'm using this drawing criteria is because I always put Rider base forms in terms of "can a kid draw them?", and Saber nails that in a surprising way. Some small child's crayon drawing of Brave Dragon will be likely be missing a ton of details, and not have the shapes anywhere near correct, but you'll see one or more of those broad strokes and instantly know what you're looking at all the same. It's a busy suit that remembers to have strong iconography, and that makes all the difference.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
Hey, just in case you weren't all tired enough of my weird picks yet, have I mentioned the Progrise Hopper Blade from Zero-One is my favorite gadget in tokusatsu this year? Yeah, the weird cheese wedge thing! Pretty crazy, I know, but this is all subjective, and a lot of this has less to do with the design (which I do like, mind you), and more to do with how it was implemented in the narrative of the show. A good story can do wonders to build attachment to a piece of merch. It's why these shows aren't literally just advertisements in the first place, and the Hopper Blade really reminded me of that with how much weight I suddenly felt seeing it after its initial debut. It's not just some random new sword; it's a physical symbol of the mutual faith Aruto and the HumaGears have in each other, and that's exactly the kind of cheese that makes me love this genre so much.

Favorite Fight Scene
Metal Cluster Hopper's showdown with Ark-Zero from episode 37 of Zero-One. It's only like a minute or two, but every last aspect of it gives me chills, man. Aruto's heroic declaration that he won't run away from an opponent he knows has him outclassed; the debut of the amazing BGM that's technically Zero-Two's theme giving weight to that determination; the insanely tight fight choreography where each little move actually has meaning and affects the flow of the overall battle; it's such a good moment, and in a story arc I'm not even that hot on!

I'll especially give props to the choreography, which it should be said was so good in Zero-One that any number of scenes from it could easily take the cake here. Zero-One marks Jun Watanabe's first outing as a full-on action director for Kamen Rider, and I'm assuming he's the guy who made all the difference, because Zero-One was leaps and bounds more exciting in terms of raw choreography than the few years of Rider preceeding it.

Favorite Dramatic Scene
I thought about it a lot and couldn't think of any one particular thing that made me go "yes! I've gotta talk about that!", but there were definitely plenty of great, impactful moments. While what I came up with isn't necessarily better than any other, I definitely want to make sure Ultraman Z is somewhere in this post, so I'll give it to the moment in episode 11 of that show where Haruki finds an egg laid by Red King and realizes the implications that holds; utterly brilliant twist, and it marked the point where Z started finding a very strong thematic core that it carried all the way to its excellent finale.

Favorite Comedic Scene
The recreation of the "you should know how to use it" bit from Zi-O's premiere in Geiz, Majesty. Had me close to literally rolling on the floor. I knew as soon as I saw it nothing else would even give it competition the rest of the year, and guess what? Nothing did!

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
For better and for worse, darn near the entirety of episode 38 of Zero-One, and all the revelations it gave us about Thouser... and Thouser, for that matter.

Favorite Song
This is another double bill, because I knew right from Zero-One's announcement press conference that whatever that jammin' song playing was would deserve this award, and sure enough, we finally got the soundtrack this year, and "Omae wo Tomerareru no wa Tada Hitori, Ore Da! ~Find a new life" is in fact a major jam! The full version is short but sweet, and I'm honestly not super fond of the borderline gibberish lyrics (I'm sure Shouko Fujibayashi would've come up with something nice if you had just asked, guys! You know, like you did for REALxEYEZ?), which maybe docks it a few points... but the fact that even in spite of that I still have no doubt about its place here tells you just how amazing it really is. It's the definitive motif for the show; an absurdly energetic composition by Gou Sakabe that befits the optimistic hero starting a new era.

I also know ALMIGHTY~Kamen no Yakusoku is on that same level for me, and with lyrics that make sense to boot. As someone who got into Rider with OOO, I have a soft spot for ska as a genre, and Almighty epitomizes why, being in this beautiful balance between getting you pumped and also being super chill and relaxing. I know a lot of jokes have been made about Saber's opening and ending feeling like they're in the wrong order, but truth be told, I think that's all down to how well Almighty could work in either context. It's a very flexible song, and I'm always excited to hear it once a week... and then all the other times that week, too.

Favorite New Show of 2020

ULTRAMAN Z - Major props to Tsuburaya for putting the entire series on YT with English subs. I loved it from start to finish

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

KABUTO (?) I'm cheating because I'm about a dozen or so episodes in and I'm really digging what I'm seeing. Other shows I watched were Kuuga, Agito, Blade, Hibiki

Honorable mention to Kuuga. Not necessarily my favorite season, but I very much respect all the care, effort, and spirit that went into that show. For better or worse, no other season of Rider is like Kuuga IMO

Favorite Movie of 2020

LuPat VS Ryuosoulger - I really enjoyed both seasons and I loved the character work that went into the LuPat cast after their series wrapped up

Honorable Mention - Geiz Majesty. Same as previous entry, loved what they did to the characters post series proper

Favorite Male Lead Character

Juru/KiramaiRed - Embodies that a great leader isn't necessarily one that is the best at everything, but one that can bring out the best in everyone

Favorite Female Lead Character

Yoko (from Ultraman Z) - Headstrong and fearless, Yoko was a breath of fresh air from your typical Toku female character.

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Fuwa - Fantastic character arc. My favorite moment is during the Rampage Vulcan debut with Fuwa's decleration to find a true purpose in life. Badass

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Is(Izu) - Fun character. Was really surprised how expressive Noa Tsurushima could be and her chemistry with Aruto was such a delight

Honorable Mention : Yuka from Ultraman Z

Favorite Returning Past Character

Riku Asakura in Ultraman Z - I've never seen Ultraman Geed, but I'm putting Riku in this category for giving us this amazing sequence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvV5RnPDZ7w

Favorite Writer

Naruhisa Arakawa, Head writer of Kiramager - Some of the funniest, most clever, just flat out joyous episodes of Sentai I've ever seen

Favorite Director

Kiyotaka Taguchi (Ultraman Z and Kiramager EP 32-33) Outstanding. Do yourself a favor and watch both. Please comeback for Zenkaiger

Favorite Suit Design

Zero-One - Absolutely nailed the tech aesthetic. Of course you got your main three, but the Raiders were absolutely amazing designs, and I still really like Zero-Two

Favorite Mecha

SEVENGER - The little robot that could. There's something so endearing about this absurd and silly looking design, but it flat out works and ends up being the heart of STORAGE, if not the entire show itself

Favorite Song

Find a New Life Instrumental Ver. - If this doesn't make you want to jump in the air and drop kick an evil robot, I don't know what will

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elW1khAWD58

Vulcan & Valkyrie's Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_zM_oVcXZA

Connect the Truth (Ultraman Z 1st ED)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnUviGirmbM

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

I'm more of a figure collector than DX belts/items so
SHF SS Kamen Rider OOO Tajador Combo & SHF Zero-One Rising Hopper

Biggest Surprise of 2020

ULTRAMAN ZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEDDDDD

My first ever Ultraman season was such a blast. Loved it even with all the past references. Some of the best action and directing I've seen in any Toku

Biggest Disappointment of 2020:

Don't want to rag on Saber too much, it had a rough start but I feel the show is finally getting its footing. I'm generally not too harsh on Toku shows but this was one where I definitely noticed its flaws, mostly in its overly zealous pacing and world building.

I don't want to end the post on a down note. So I'll give a giant shout out to everyone on this forum for sharing and discussing all things toku. After a couple months in the beginning of the year as a lurker I'm glad I took the plunge and started joining in. You guys are awesome

I have not really been keeping up with any Toku consistently (largely due to missing the Zero One premiere last year, as well as Saber losing my attention. Thinking about picking up some Sentai in 2021.

Favorite New Show of 2020

Zero One is neat. Certainly more steady than Saber. It really shines with the dynamics, in my opinion…

Oh yeah, I’m only at episode 14.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

There’s really only one thing I can stick here. Drive was fun. Was it good? I-- eh. You know, I just liked watching it. Never said I had good taste.

Favorite Rewatch of 2020

Early Build. There’s a speech Banjo gives that goes somewhere in my top ten speeches. It’s made to Nabeshima, with his daughter and wife in the room. It goes something along the lines of “I don’t care if you remember me, but remember your family dammit!”

I love this line. It even comes before either of his ‘I’m a hero’ moments, but it shows perfectly how those seeds are being planted.

Favorite Movie of 2020

N/A

Favorite Male Lead Character

Aruto. He’s just so lively, I smile watching him… even if he also makes me cringe a lot too.

Favorite Female Lead Character

There is no Aruto without his Izu. They’re adorable, that is all.

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Kamen Rider Buster. Limited screentime? Sure, but I still like him. His entire motif is just ‘bulky’ and I think it’s great.

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Mei. Well, the only other option was Yaiba. I’ve said it a lot, but if the writers would pick a side with her, she’d become way more tolerable.

Favorite Villain

Jin. Mainly for the “What is a dad” scene from early Zero One

Favorite Suit Design

Shining Hopper? It’s basically just Rising Hopper, but flashier and better. Gives me Rabbit/Rabbit vibes.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

PRESS!

Breaking Mammoth just tickles my over-the-top-CGI-mech-fight bone so well.

Favorite Fight Scene

Shining Hopper’s true debut fight.

Favorite Dramatic Scene

The “What is a dad” scene. Jin suddenly doubting everything Horobi had taught him, and going so far as to try and save the very person he was about to harm made me want to cry.

Favorite Comedic Scene

The “A.I” scene from Zero One

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

Saber and his Dragon-Needle-Peter finisher. No contest.

Favorite Song

Rising Sun, curse you unused insert songs.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

SS Tajador, since I doubt the Build re-release counts.

Biggest Surprise of 2020

Liking Aruto more than Fuwa.


Biggest Disappointment of 2020

I would say Jin’s development being just poofed by the Forceriser, but I dunno what happens in Zero One.

Yeah, it's a thing I've been doing every year since the site launched.

Yeah, I took that one out because I felt it was the kind of relatively obscure thing that very few people looked up beyond who the current main Kamen Rider is.

So, before I get into my own answers just let me give you a quick preview. I have not stopped and pondered all of these categories before I answer them, but I'm pretty sure that the answer to most is going to be either "Ultraman Z" or "Character/Actor/Thing from Ultraman Z."

Favorite New Show of 2020: Example #1. Absolutely Ultraman Z, no contest. Very fun show with great characters, great action, amazing cinematography, and fun stories. I can't say it's my favorite Ultra series because, if nothing else, Max exists, but it's a really excellent one.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020: Ultraman Taiga, a show I pretty much just skipped last year. I didn't get that into the first episode and the lack of an official option made it just obnoxious enough to get hold of that I skipped it. I'm glad I went back, though, as it was another very good modern Ultra series from Tsubaraya. It was very confusing for me to start watching this at the same time that Z started airing, though, especially with the shows' heroes being named Hiroyuki and Haruki.

Favorite Rewatch of 2020: Something I never thought I'd say, but it's Kamen Rider Faiz. I never planned to watch that show again, but following along with Die's thread made me not only revisit but also re-evaluate this show. It went from being one of my least favorite Rider shows to... well, not. It's still not in my top five or ten, but I appreciate it a lot more than I did.

Favorite Movie of 2020: Garo: Moonbow Traveler. Last year I lamented the absence of a Garo project and hoped for something new. More on that monkey's paw wish later, but we also got this really delightful film that brought back the cast of Makai no Hana and sprinkled in some characters from the original series, too. It felt a lot like two separate movies joined together at the waist, but it was still a lot of fun on top of also being delightfully weird in spots.

Favorite Male Lead Character: Haruki from Ultraman Z. A bit of a generic hot-blooded tokusatsu protagonist in places, but he had some good depth and I loved the mid-series arc where he began to doubt his actions in fighting monsters.

Favorite Female Lead Character: Yoko from Ultraman Z. Just nudging out Izu by a hair. Yoko was so much fun as Z's hotshot ace pilot and I loved her dynamic with the other characters.

Favorite Male Supporting Character: I have to go with Fuwa again. Zero-One made some decisions that I didn't agree with this year, but Fuwa never stopped being fantastic.

Favorite Female Supporting Character: Easily Yuka from Ultraman Z. Having a resident science character isn't new. Having a resident genki girl isn't new. Having the resident science character by the peppy, upbeat female character who also really loves dissecting monsters, though? That made for one of my favorite characters of the whole year.

Favorite Villain: This is a tough one for me, mostly because I found a lot of them pretty lackluster, especially since I watched Taiga and got to see Tregear in all his glory. I guess I'll go with Z's Celebro, if only because his plot of tricking humanity into building a super weapon he could steal and use to blow up the planet was really clever.

Favorite Returning Past Character: Another easy one here. We got to see Kouga Saejima again. The only thing that could have dislodged him is if Kaoru had a) been in more than one scene and b) had lines.

Favorite Actor: Takaya Aoyagi absolutely killed it in his return as Jugglus Juggler. I absolutely loved his performance.

Favorite Actress: Repeat for Noa Tsurushima as Izu. She did such an amazing job of bringing life to that character.

Favorite Writer: The late Kota Fukihara for Ultraman Z. Excellent show and a pity that he didn't get to see it reach the air.

Favorite Director: Absolutely, 1000% Kiyotaka Taguchi. One of the best parts of Ultraman Z was the visuals and Taguchi pulled off so many amazing tricks with the action scenes to make them incredibly dynamic and exciting.

Favorite Suit Design: Zero-One pulled out some fantastic suits near the end with the various different Ark Rider costumes, but I have to give it to Kamen Rider Zero-Two. Simple, nearly insignificant upgrade? Sure, but it's a really striking suit and the minor touches of red just pop right off that thing.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha: I'm sorry, but I think a little bit less about anyone who doesn't instantly give this to Sevenger.

Favorite Fight Scene: Maybe more of a rampage scene, but there's a shot in episode 5 of Ultraman Z where a model car flips up into the air and the camera rides inside of it the entire time. It was amazing and the first real sign that we were into something really special with this show's direction.

Favorite Dramatic Scene: Look, I acknowledge it was dumb, but Gai's reunion with his robot puppy on Zero-One hit some very specific personal buttons for me. I can't fairly give it to anything else.

Favorite Comedic Scene: Haruki's first transformation into Z. I loved how much it leaned into some classic tokusatsu tropes with the whole series of "well of course he wouldn't know how to do this" moments.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment: There are a number of things from Saber that I could nominate here, but I have to give it to Garo Versus Road. The whole entire series. It wasn't a show that I would call "conventionally good" or "unconventionally good" or "good," but man did it constantly make me wonder "just what the hell is this thing?"

Favorite Song: Chant My Name!, the opening theme for Ultraman Z. Oh man, was that a great song.

Biggest Surprise of 2020: I did not react favorably to finding out that Takuro Fukuda was getting another series after the shitshow that was Ghost (sorry, not sorry, to Kurona and Fish). That being said, while I think Saber has some definite issues with its story and pacing, it is definitely turning out to be a lot better and more engaging than I'd feared it would be.

Biggest Disappointment of 2020: I was really excited for Kiramager when I found out that Naruhisa Arakawa - one of my favorite tokusatsu writers and the head writer on my two favorite Sentai series - was going to be this show's head writer. I stuck through the show up to the Covid-19 shutdown and man, did I just not get into it. It's not bad, but it just feels like every other modern Sentai. Less annoying in some ways, more annoying in others. I may give it another shot, seeing the praise it's getting in this thread, but for now it's just another sign that Sentai isn't a show that really does much for me anymore.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in 2020 Tokusatsu: "So Kamen Rider Saber is getting an ending theme, huh? That's cool, some of my favorite Kamen Rider songs are ending themes: Shounen Yo; Long, Long Ago 20th Century; Someone Loves You. Let's see what Saber can bring to the game. Are they... are they dancing? Like fricking Sentai ending credits? No. No. Absolutely not."

And finally, just for fun, The Two Hot Takes from 2019 That Aged the Most Poorly: "This ZAIA CEO looks like he could be a promising villain" and "I'm sure that Yua will got lots of character development in the back half of Zero-One."

Favorite New Show of 2020

Ultraman Z - it fired on all cylinders and got so much right, not the least of which was streaming to bigger audiences on Youtube.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

Dogengers - just full of charm. Fans who are nostalgic for "old toku" (read: not Showa toku) owe it to themselves to give this show a go. The show is not beholden to selling any toys or merch so its just a nice straightforward premise.

Favorite Rewatch of 2020

Kamen Rider Decade - something about 2020 being the end of a decade made me feel like I should rewatch the series. I think it holds up rather well, though I can see how at the time it premiered, there was a lot to be dissatisfied about.

Favorite Movie of 2020

Geiz Majesty - I've always secretly liked Geiz even if his character-archtype is a little played out in Kamen Rider. The soft reset of the movie gives it a fun high school drama vibe, plus I'm always partial to movies featuring secondary riders.

Favorite Male Lead Character

Aruto Hiden - It's great that he's a comedian. And his funny antics translate well even while in suit. I think he'll be fun and dynamic when appearing in any crossovers.

Favorite Female Lead Character

Yoko Nakashima - She has quite the journey in Z. I loved that she was a no-nonsense badass that just got things done.

Favorite Male Supporting Character

So far it must be Rintaro Shindo, Kamen Rider Blades. Though I don't like his name, his character is the right amount of predictable and complimentary as a secondary rider.

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Lot's of good ones to pick for this but I will have to go with Yuka Ohta. Her enthusiasm is perfect, and she is actually responsible for being the comedic anchor throughout most of Ultraman Z.

Favorite Villain

Thouser - You love to hate the guy.

Favorite Returning Past Character

Juggus Juggler - boy did I really feel like not only was he the toku-veteran of the Ultraman Z cast, his status as a top tier actor gave natural credence to him being the leader of STORAGE. He just reeks of confidence and affability.

Favorite Actor

I have to give this one to Atomu Mizuishi/Kiramei blue. Portraying an actor portraying a super hero portraying an actor is amazing. He does a lot of small details that I think really... shine in the Sentai format.

Favorite Actress

Rima Matsuda - She displayed a wide range of emotions throughout Ultraman Z, and they all felt grounded even in a sometimes larger than life character. Matsuda has done some serious dramatic acting in prior roles and it really shows when you see how different she is among her parts.

Noa Tsurushima - It remains to be seen if she did too good of a job as Izu. I hope it doesn't typecast her into that kind of role.

Favorite Suit Design

Zero One Zero One Zero One - The return of the grasshopper motif. The ultraviolent color. It's so beautiful and fits the universe it belongs in so well. I cannot say enough about this suit design and the general aesthetic of Zero One in general. Fantastic!

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

Mashin Zabyun would've been a given due to my affection for train-themes, but then out of nowhere we get Sevenger with his rocket propelled fist and optional driller hand. He drills right into my heart.

Favorite Fight Scene

This is probably the hardest question for me to answer. Some of the top fight scenes would be:
Zero-One vs Ichi-gata in Reiwa The First Generation
The ground and robot combo fight scene in Ep. 33 Kiramager
Ultraman Z Ep 22
#1 is probably debut of Rampage Vulcan

Favorite Dramatic Scene

Final episode of Ultraman Z - it has just about everything I look for in toku.

Favorite Comedic Scene

The first Kiramei Blue feature episode where he learns that he doesn't always need to pretend to be cool. The whole episode is a funny buildup to the ending where the other Kiramagers tease him for doing a Youtube live-blogging style reveal of the lesson he learned.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

I know Sentai has a history of ridiculous robot action but there's one robot fight where, if I recall correctly, one robot attaches to the back of the other and they just do a spin attack. Its so ridiculous even the characters in the show say "How does this even work?"

Favorite Song

This one
https://open.spotify.com/track/76De3...ToqtYuJLeOlrGg
It was used so well in the "Aruto explains something profound to others" moments.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

I just love that the Zero-One merchandise got away with using text-to-speech for the Henshins and it just works. I put it right up there with the absolutely classic Henshin sounds of the Faiz gear. Hmmm maybe these tech-based riders are on to something...

Biggest Surprise of 2020

Ark One reveal.

Biggest Disappointment of 2020:

Zero-One Covid filler episodes. Zero-One will always be remembered as the Toku show that Covid hit the hardest. We're left wondering what it could've been and endless speculation spurred on by tidbits from production crew. Also Yua's development :(


On a more positive note:

I will say the music from 2020 Tokusatsu has been really great. It's rare for me to enjoy the majority of songs from all the tentpole franchise. Ultraman's OP and Connect the Truth are phenomenal. Kiramager's OP fits really well with the show and I for one am happy to see another good end credits theme and dance. We had the Geiz Majesty song, many many excellent tracks from Zero-One and I might be alone here but I adore the adore the Saber songs. Some of the Saber songs feel out of place, but I think when all is said and done, they will be remembered fondly.

Aight lemme just make mind a bit simple.

Favorite New Show of 2020

ZERO-ONE!

For all of its flaws in the writing and how some of its characters being handled, I've never been this positive and already missing the cast since Drive! With Build being close. The return to the bug motif and the amazing suits, it was perfection. This is also one of the few shows that got me to want to keep in touch on to what the cast's next performances be, with Fumiya Takahashi being a psycopath in some school drama.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...KR-01-logo.png


Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020

Ultraman Z! I've had my tabs on Ultraman for a while but could never get into it since I wasn't a fan of "big weird alien hero", until now! I haven't watched Ultraman since Zero and this was a blast to watch. It was also very comfy of it being like the regular saturday morning good vs evil cartoon show.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yuaE-QNMYh0/maxresdefault.jpg

Favorite Rewatch of 2020: Carnival Phantasm and SSSS Gridman


Didn't do much rewatching this year aside from the my tradition of watching Carnival Phantasm on Christmas and also rewatching SSSS Gridman cuz of Dreamsword's thread.

Favorite Movie of 2020

It could have been Fate/Stay Night Heaven's feel III, but it got delayed cuz of the 'rona. So, it's Reiwa The First Generation! I love me some ZI-O, I love Zero-One and so this was a perfect casual watching, BUT, I was surprised that there was some actual emotionally-grabbing scenes in this movie and RealxTime also alludes to a possibility of more toku films just having more emotional bits rather than "ye action and crossovers! Woohoo!". Really enjoyed this movie.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YPbRbdB2...32200448_o.jpg

Favorite Male Lead Character: Hiden Aruto/Fumiya Takahashi

Love this guy! I wasn't sold on him at first cuz of his weird voice during Q1, but Fumiya's performance improved DRASTICALLY over the year! I've heard that he was absolutely stunning in RealxTime so I am SO excited for that one!

Favorite Female Lead Character: Yoko Nakashima

I'm a mecha fan, as simple as that. Bit annoyed that Yoko only a got a few wins in Z, but in the simple merit that she's a mecha pilot is enough for me. Rima Matsuda's performance as Cerebro was awesome, though!

Favorite Male Supporting Character: AMATSU GAI! KAMEN RIDER THOUSER!

This was 1000%, super obvious! How I became to love him was a very funny story. I came back from reading Nagatoro and a thought came up on my mind. "Man, I kinda want me a smug and rude Kamen Rider." AND THEN BOOM! The Golden Soldier is born! I didn't care that anyone said that Amatsu Gai is this, that, whatever! I fucking love him AND his actor who was the perfect candidate: Nachi Sakuragi!

https://www.shfiguarts.com/content/a...0050843725.jpg

Favorite Female Supporting Character: Yaiba Yua

Pretty simple. I love me some female riders and it was always exciting to see Yua transform and do those crazy stunts.

Favorite Villain: Horobi or Amatsu Gai

It's tied to between them. Pretty satisfied with how Horobi was handled in the show, apart from being stuck in a chair for most of Q2 and was glad he survived the end of the show. He has the best Forceriser suit too! I already stated Amatsu Gai.

Favorite Returning Past Character/s: ZI-O cast (especially Sougo) in Geiz Majesty and Reiwa TFG.

I love ZI-O and it's always fun to see Sougo and friends just doing stuff.

Favorite Actor: Nachi Sakuragi and Keisuke Watanabe

I don't wanna let this be overtaken by Gai again, so I'm putting Keisuke Watanabe! Amazing actor as two versions of Woz. His IWAEs never get old, and I'm glad his acting career took off after ZI-O!

Favorite Actress: Angela Mei and Noa Tsurushima

In that order.

What a surprise! Barely in Saber for now, but I'm sure she'll show up more often in this quarter. The moment I saw her on-screen making those evil smiles, I KNOW she was gonna be an instant favorite. She'll be a Thouser 2.0 for me if she transforms!

Noa also belongs in here since she did well as both Izu and Azu(especially). She did great and it was so heartwarming to see that pic of Fumiya and Noa hugging while Fumiya was crying. I think it was also in Ura-Rider where Noa admits to Fumiya that he was the one she was most grateful for in all of 2020. Cute.

https://i.redd.it/ylulc9qiwaq51.jpg

Favorite Writer: Kota Fukihara

Sad that he had to go. But the episodes he directed were very good!

Favorite Director: Sakamoto Koichi[/B]

He directed the best episodes in Saber IMO and I wish he would do more episodes more often.


Favorite Suit Design: Rampage Vulcan

It would've been 02 and Shining Hopper, but let my man Fuwa in on here! Rampage Vulcan is a gorgeous suit that's just popping with color. A shame it was technically a kitbash suit, I wish the right side was more new, but it was still amazing to watch. And a refresher for the secondary to get the "all powers" upgrade.


Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha: Thousand Jacker, AIMs Van, and Sevenger!

Pretty obvious for Thousand Jacker, with it being also a very good "all powers" sword. AIMs Van is here cuz I love me some military-esque vehicles, and Sevenger since that is just the most adorable anti-monster super weapon!

Favorite Fight Scene: Ark-One vs Ark Horobi

It had this weird and similar "Kuuga vs Daguva Zeba" vibe for me. Not sure if everyone felt the same. I love the UBW-esque fight they had and the two just brutally going at it each other with every ounce of emotion clashing!

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XTVCHqoVDkk/hqdefault.jpg

Favorite Dramatic Scene: 001 vs Type-1

Already stated why, it was a surprise for me that the fight had some level of emotional heart in it! Couple it with two great suits and an amazing soundtrack, it was quite the scene to watch! I still listen to the OST sometimes.

Favorite Comedic Scene: Any "ARUTO JAAA NAITO!" moment

Just the sheer amount of faces Fumiya can make gets a snicker for me everytime it happens.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment: Saber's Dragon-Hedgehog-Peter finisher or Kingexcalibur's Saber Saber

Buff Tinker Bell and a Saber Saber? It was quite interesting to watch/

Favorite Song: Kamen Rider Saber ED and Thousand Destruction

I love the jazz in Saber's ED and Thousand Destruction just sounds so powerful!

Favorite Piece of Merchandise: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Zero-One

He's, uh, in an unfortunate situation right now, but he stayed in my desktop since February! This would've been taken for sure by SHF Thouser, but he hasn't arrived yet.

Biggest Surprise of 2020: finding myself buying P-Bandai SHFs

Aside from the 'rona, 2020 was the first year for me buying up some premium bandai stuff. I never thought I'd do that, but when you want something, you gotta have it.

Biggest Disappointment of 2020: S.H. Figuarts Zero-One's broken horn

Nothing disappointed me too hard. But when my Zero-One fell and the horns snapped off, I felt my heart sank. It happened at the tail end of 2020, too! What miserable turnoff. I bought the entry grade and waiting for it arrive, so I can replace the mask, maybe.

I was just glad that Yua at least didn't die! :lol

Favorite New Show of 2020:

Ultraman Z, hands down. It was just a fun ride the whole way through, and it was refreshing to watch Ultraman weekly again after skipping Ultra due to R/B and Taiga not getting simulsub releases. The action was incredible, it had a really great cast, and it was just fun all around. Plus it fulfilled one of the things I had hoped for with Ultra, which is giant robots fighting alongside the Ultra. It lead to some unique scenes and just in general it had some of my favorite reintroduction's to prior Kaiju, Bullton being one of them. Hands down my favorite show this year.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2020:

So this is a bit hard since I barely watched "new to me" shows but I can give a definitive answer or rather two, Garo: Vanishing Line & Ultraman Ginga(Just Ginga, have yet to start Ginga S). Now one is an anime yes but it's also based on the Live Action series so it technically counts!

Vanishing Line is a real nice look at a more modern/high tech version of Garo that we don't get to really see. Since while most Garo takes place in the modern world, the technology doesn't heavily mix with the Makai Order. At least until we got stuff like Versus Road. So it makes things a lot more interesting, plus I just love Sword and Luke probably has one of my favorite character arcs in Garo as well. So I now ask, WHEN IS MY VANISHING LINE MOVIE?!

Ginga meanwhile was a show I was really absolutely curious about because I had to wonder what it even was given it's reputation. Now I had actually watched it back when it aired and Overtime I think subbed it via a streamer who was watching episodes weekly with an audience. That was the most experience I had with it and I remember not gelling with it. But with multiple Ultra's under my belt I chose to tackle it again and it is easily in my Top 4 New Gen shows alongside Z, Geed and X. What it lacks in budget it manages to make up in heart. Also both the Opening and Ending theme on the Blu-Ray release are just great to listen to.

I make that distinction since Ginga no Uta is technically a second OP used for later broadcasts and releases. The original OP is also cool though.

Favorite Movie of 2020:

Garo Moonbow Traveler, so one of the many themes of this list is going to be catharsis. And oh man, having watched the entirety of Garo last year (Minus Crimson Moon and Vanishing Line) was an amazing experience. And it turned out to work in my favor since Moonbow Traveler was just around the corner. Of course we'd have to wait for a Blu-Ray and then people to sub-wait what do you mean the movie has actual English Subs? WHAT?!

The minute I found that out I torrented it and watched it as I was in for a magical ride. The first half is very much a whimsical Garo experience in regards to the setting it takes place in, and it manages to capture that nice feel alongside a building mystery.

Then suddenly for our second act we're thrown fully into the main portion and final confrontation of the movie. I'll get more to my thoughts on Kouga, hint, hint, but seeing a Grandfather, Father and Son reunion against an old foe was honestly great. And it just knew, freaking knew how to tug at the heartstrings. It definitely felt like a big send-off to the Saejima Universe and also, I appreciate how the ending has basically given Fanfiction Writers the ability to do wacky dimension crossover stuff given what Raiga and Mayuri come across at the end. A concept I want to eventually possibly dable in.

Favorite Male Lead Character:

I have to give this to my boy Haruki Natsukawa, he's a very loud and energetic character. He gives off very big shonen/mecha protagonist vibes and was just a good fit as the host to Ultraman Z. When I was worried he wouldn't go anywhere meaningful I was quickly shut up by a good chunk of the early middle of the show once we got into his past more alongside his dilemma with the kaiju. Just seeing him grow and try his hardest and now seeing where he ended up, it just makes me happy to have been with him on this journey.

Favorite Female Lead Character:

I've got to give this to Izu, and I know blasphemous, I have Haruki instead of Aruto? When Aruto and Izu should be a pair? Not to say that I don't like Aruto, but Haruki edged him out just by a bit. Izu though, an absolute joy to witness alongside her later development. Her banter with Aruto and just the back and forth she had was really what sold me on her.

Favorite Male Supporting Character:

Captain Hebikura aka Jugglus Juggler, while he was a great returning character, he honestly shined when he wasn't really being the sneaky Juggler we know, but as Captain Hebikura. While the dude has some old habits, which admittedly, are just him trying to lie to himself, he's really grown since his time in Orb. So seeing him take a commanding role in the series, and show genuine concern for his subordinates was honestly great. The real highlight was him and Haruki having their chat in the final episode, both their secrets are known to each other and they're just having a casual conversation as they get ready for the final battle.

Favorite Female Supporting Character:

This is going to surprise some people since I'm sure not a lot of people are keen on her from what I see. Yua Yaiba from Zero-One. While admittedly she got heavily shafted once we started the Job Competition, I honestly enjoyed what we got from her arc and what was given to her. Her arc is very straightforward, bare and simple, but it honestly works and I love her shift.

Could it have been done better and in a more smooth way? Yeah, but I'm still sticking with this choice.

Favorite Villain:

So this is going to be another bit of a shocker, and a return to Garo, and no it's not from Moonbow Traveler. It's the duo of Shosetsu Hagiri and Azami Kado from Versus Road. There's just something so incredibly tragic about a twisted Makai Order forcing Knights into a death game and then being killed due to the surviving Knights distaste for what had happened.

With vengeance fueled by someone who is just pure darkness like Azami, they make a pretty good duo that do some pretty messed up things to a hundred humans, possibly even more. But what's satisfying is that in both of their cases, they end up losing. Despite Hagiri's yelling about how Veil is true power, he ends up losing, not by sword but by fist. And Azami is completely lost on Kuon's final speech, not understanding where he's coming from and being frustrated that she can't understand him.

Favorite Returning Past Character:

Continuing with Garo, absolutely, without a question. Kouga Saejima's return in Moonbow Traveler, there's just something great about seeing him again in this movie. Especially once he makes his true appearance in the flesh.

One thing noted is that Kouga does show up in Makai Retsudan but the theme he has is Theme of Makai Senki, the second series' first OP. But once we see him make his full appearance here, we get Theme of Garo from the first series. Just hearing it start up gave me chills and seeing him truly in action again was honestly great.

Favorite Actor:

I gotta give this to my boy Ryutaro Okada who played Isamu Fuwa in Zero-One. He's a real good actor and honestly what made me love him wasn't just his performance as Fuwa, but his Youtube channel where he just jokes around, does funny things with the other actors, and wears a gorilla mask when handling roleplay toys. Honestly a fun dude all around.

Favorite Actress:

Noa Tsurushima is on here because of her just spectacular performance as Izu in particular. I loved Azu, and seeing her get to emote. But just seeing Noa as Izu who has to constantly be shown as mostly stoic, keeping a straight face, and genuinely robotic, is honestly impressive. It makes the moment in Episode 40 when she breaks down even better because of her performance up until that point.

Favorite Suit Design:

Kamen Rider Zero-Two! It's never over. There's just something very nice and aesthetically pleasing of Zero-Two, it's a natural evolution of Rising Hopper, and it's sleek and minimalist look with the added silver and red honestly make it amazing.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha:

It would be blasphemous to not put Sevenger on here, because if you told me I would be in love with this adorable gigantic mecha a year ago I would have just said "Who's Sevenger?" and be blissfully ignorant. I love Sevenger so much to the point I want that Sevenger headband that they had in that one episode, SELL ME THAT MERCH TSUPRO!

Favorite Fight Scene:

This is a hard one, so I'm picking four:

Ultraman Z, Geed, and Zero vs. Celebro: It's a really nice energetic fight set to Ultra Spiral which is an absolute banger of a theme, and we get to see Z and Zero cycle through their various forms, combining forces and it's just great.

The Saejima Family vs. Ouga: There is no fancy Final Hour Power Up, no big new form, it's just Son, Father, and Grandfather sharing armor and kicking ass via their own fighting styles to defeat what is possibly one of the strongest Makai Armor's in the franchise. It's an absolute blast to see them all working together, tagging each other in, and the final slash scene.

The first of my Zero-One picks, Rampage Vulcan's Debut: So there's been a lot of catharsis going on in this list of things I just loved to see in regards to returning characters and etc. But Rampage Vulcan is honestly one of the strongest Secondary Rider final form debuts I've seen in a while. It has energy, it has Vulcan using multiple of the new gimmicks functions, and just seeing all the combined powers before getting a really cool final attack at the end was a treat. Also it was the start of the "Gai gets his shit wrecked" set of episodes too.

My second Zero-One Pick, Ark-One vs. Horobi and Magia Army: Speaking of very, very overpowered forms. Ark-One is a monster of a form and the episode surrounding Ark-One's hunt of Horobi is absolutely great. Just seeing Ark-One littered with explosions, still moving forward, despite being grabbed he just keeps on trucking. Nothing is stopping this behemoth, and he's just disabling every single Magai with just his hands.

And just seeing Horobi, who up to this point has managed to hold his own quite well because, robot/AI, just get absolutely wrecked by Ark-One is scary and amazing to see. Also props to the scene where Ark-One is just walking towards Horobi slowly and charging up Conclusion End while Horobi tried to counter with his own kick only to get it shut down.

Favorite Dramatic Scene:

I have to give it up for Aruto vs Horobi in their final battle, the emotions in that scene, both people who are in pain because of the losses each other caused. Both of them coming to the realization that this can't be kept up, and that they need to end this cycle of violence in a different way, it was honestly just great.

Favorite Comedic Scene:

Can I just pick the entirety of Ultraman Z Episode 13? Yeah I'm going to pick the entirety of Ultraman Z Episode 13. It's a good bit of levity with some serious moments, but the real fun and funny parts come from Haruki trying to hide Kanegon from both Hebikura and Yuka, one of which is screwing with Haruki and the other Haruki fears is going to dissect his new alien buddy.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment:

Saber's first big Wonder Combo finish via Dragon, Hedgehog, Peter Fan, I mean honestly if you know what I'm talking about, I shouldn't really have to go into detail. That was something I did not see coming and just kept yelling at the screen while cheering loudly because holy hell that was amazing but confusing!

Favorite Song:

Listen I have to give it up to Chant My Name Z, Masaki Endoh killed it this year with the song and it's nice to see that he got to sing for Ultraman. As for my second favorite song... something that only got revealed about a week ago actually, the ending theme for Saber's Winter Special that double billed with Zero-One RealxTime, Taju Rokou:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJabK39lXmI

It's got a nice mix of funk and jazz that I really appreciate alongside the energy it brings. Really fun song.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise:

I'm going to say Zero-One Driver with the Zero-Two Unit, I had managed to snag that two pack and eventually got it. Honestly the Zero-One Driver is fun and I just love the way they were like "Behold, we have turned it into a new Driver via a Faceplate swap" they did with the Zero-Two Unit, and subsequently have done for everything else too.

Biggest Surprise of 2020:

Ultraman Z's Youtube run being a Simulcast Sub release only 30 minutes after it airs in Japan. That honestly made my night and I was just yelling with joy as I shilled people to watch Ultraman Z weekly.

I was just reminded of the "Time-out" Saber scene and maybe that is my top WTF moment of 2020.

Biggest Surprise of 2020

I got cancer.

Biggest Disappointment of 2020

I'm slowly dying of cancer. At least some people will be happy.

Sorry, SengalBoy.

Hey man, I believe in resurrection. I just hope maybe the next one will be better and richer for you.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eeqk18TWAAI2CTw.jpg

I'm not a judging man, but those people who'd be 'happy' seem like complete jerks. I pray that you recover.