Toku Year in Review 2024: Gavvarcboom Edition
 

Christmas future is far away, Christmas past is past. Christmas present is also past, so it seems like the ideal time to post this year's review thread.

If you're new to the site, this is a thing I've been doing since the site first started. I have an almost pathological love for dividing and ranking things and this is my own personal outlet for that. I don't know about anyone else, but this year felt pretty solid for tokusatsu to me. I don't know if any of the shows really set everybody on fire, but likewise I don't get the sense that anything was a complete dumpster fire, either. That's my perspective, at least, and I'll freely admit I have watched less than 60 consecutive seconds of Boonboomger

As always, for releases of this year I'm counting any series that aired any episodes during 2024, including:

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger
Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger
Kamen Rider Gotchard
Kamen Rider Gavv
Ultraman Arc
Garo: Heir to Steel Armor
And, of course, Pow... oh, right.

It's okay, I composed a song for this back in March and have been sitting on it all year:

[to the tune of "Power Rangers SPD']
Power Rangers MIA!
Power Rangers on hiatus!
(no no no no)
Power Rangers MIA!
Power Rangers on hiatus!
(no no no no)

And, as always anything else that got less exposure and therefore slipped under my personal radar.

For movies I'm counting anything that came out this year as well as anything that came out last year but wasn't available subbed until this year.

Favorite New Show of 2024

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024

Favorite Rewatch of 2024

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 2024

And, of course, because some things in 2024 were the frankly appalling state of the pre-Decade Kamen Rider suits:

Biggest Disappointment of 2024:

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition:

Finally, to end on a more positive note:

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025

Favorite New Show of 2024
Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024
Kamen Rider Gavv

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024
Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger in Space

Favorite Rewatch of 2024
None

Favorite Male Lead Character
All five male Boonboomgers

Favorite Female Lead Character
Mira Shifuto/Bun Pink

Favorite Male Supporting Character
Byun Diesel
Boondorio Boomderas

Favorite Female Supporting Character
Shirabe Saibu

Favorite Villain
INTERNET KANEGON :lolol

Favorite Returning Past Character
Riki/Kingranger

Favorite Actor
Yasuhisa Furuhara, not just because he came back as Go-on Red, but also because of his wonderful interviews with toku alumni on Youtube

Favorite Actress
Atsuko Hashiyasume

Favorite Writer
Atsuhiro Tomioka

Favorite Director
Koichi Sakamoto, he pulled a genius move casting Shinta Takaiwa as Riki :rock:

Favorite Suit Design
Bun Orange
Gavv Caking

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
Champion Boonboomger Robo

Favorite Fight Scene
Gavv Chocodan and Valen Chocodon gunfight team-up

Favorite Dramatic Scene
Genba's entire personal story arc

Favorite Comedic Scene
Ishido and Zangill being coffee bros :lolol

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
Riki/Kingranger appearing in the King-Ohger in Space trailer

Favorite Song
Saikyo Bakuage Hero

Favorite Piece of Merchandise
Boonboom Changer

Biggest Surprise of 2024
Christmas Gozyuger reveal

Biggest Disappointment of 2024
Not a whole lot, really

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition:
None

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025
Ultraman Omega

My fifth time!

Favorite New Show of 2024: Kamen Rider Gavv

Strong character writing as expected from Komura and shows a clear vision for the spirit of Kamen Rider. I imagine I'll probably have more awards for this show next year.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024: Tokusou Robo Janperson

It's basically Kamen Rider Zero One, except with much better execution. Seriously considers the role that robots could have in human society and the problems faced by both sides, with a good amount of comedy as well.

Favorite Miniseries or Special of 2024: Geats Extra Gazer

Focuses on the more honorable side of Niram and I enjoyed his cute yet tragic backstory with Miiru.

Favorite Rewatch of 2024: Ninja Sentai Kakuranger

Ninjas, duh.

Favorite Movie of 2024: King-Ohger Adventure Heaven

Released in 2023, but due to the wait for subs, many of us likely watched it this year. I was surprised to see a Sentai summer movie be so integrated in the plot and the fight scene with Rhyniol in Haakabaaka was awesome!

Favorite Male Lead Character: Ichinose Houtarou (again)

If I knew he was going to be this good, I would've awarded it to someone else last year, but now it cannot be anybody but him! He's a role model hero who chases his dream with endless determination and he has a virtually infallible intuition for judging whether people are good or evil. When he says he'll do something, then I have no doubt that he'll do it.

Favorite Female Lead Character: Kudo Rinne

The other protagonist of Gotchard is also pretty great and I think she has the best development. She learns resilience in the face of adversity and becomes a good influence on Atropos. In combat, she shows high aptitude in martial arts that she gained from simply reading a book and even counters Golem Gouriki's backbreaker technique on her first try!

Favorite Male Supporting Character: Tsuruhara "Sabi" Sabimaru

I enjoy the softspoken/outspoken dynamic he has with Isaac and it was intriguing to learn more of his backstory in the Kongo Laboratories arc and see him find the courage to fight against his past trauma to protect Kenichi and the technology that will bring hope to the future.

Favorite Female Supporting Character: Edami Kyoka

She's a reliable nurturing mentor to Spanner and a skilled inventor, who also has some cool intellecutal hobbies like chess and the culinary arts. Seems like she'd be pretty fun to hang with.

Favorite Villain: Clotho

My favorite Dark Sister. Even though she causes a few problems for the heroes, she fights honestly for her beliefs and love for her sisters, showing a similar quality to Houtarou. Their team-up in Episode 32 was a memorable highlight for sure.

Favorite Returning Past Character: Inui Takumi

Initially shows a more cynical worldweary side of him in Paradise Regained, but by the end he proves he's still the same protector of dreams we all know and love.

Favorite Actor: Hino Yusuke

Shows a lot of detailed body language so far, expressing emotion easily to the viewers without saying a word. When he does speak, which is actually often, this is also full of emotion, like his shirtless argument with Shouma in Episode 12.

Favorite Actress: Matsumoto Reiyo

After watching her uncannily accurate performance as Houtarou in the body-switching Hyper Battle, I think she can clearly portray a contrasting personality which is pretty impressive! I recall hearing that Houtarou is actually closer to Matsumoto's real personality than Rinne! I'm sure she'll go far in her career.

Favorite Writer: Inoue Akiko

She was going to be my answer for this even before I found out she's writing Gozyuger. Her work on Gotchard has been peak in both comedy and drama, which makes me totally excited for her head writer debut in February.

Favorite Suit Design: Kamen Rider Fire Gotchard SteamHopper

Takes the already awesome SteamHopper and adds some little fire accents to make it even more awesome. Turning air resistence to speed has to be one of the most OP superpowers ever.

Favorite Weapon: Byunbyum Controller

Controller, bow, F1 steering wheel, purple, lot of sounds. It's a versatile device with a good design.

Favorite Vehicle: Yaiyai Yarucar

He's adorable, right?

Favorite Mecha: Boonboomger Robo 119

Red lion firetruck Henkei is a solid concept and looks strong in the Gattai with Bundorio as well.

Favorite Fight Scene:

God King-Ohger entering Dugded's dimension and punching him out of the damn universe!

Favorite Dramatic Scene:

Clotho's dying moment with Houtarou before she grasps the hands of her sisters. Successfully made me cry.

Favorite Comedic Scene:

The Zukyumpire episodes of Gotchard. Amazing debut for Inoue that shows her talent for romcom mixed with the typical absurdity of Tokusatsu genre.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment:

Boonboomger Episode 20. How does Morichi write an episode about Mira that excludes Mira from the plot?!

Favorite Song: Sky's the Limit

Favorite Piece of Merchandise: Premium Bandai's DX Alchemis Driver Unit

Less options with PR getting shelved, but I guess Alchemis Driver is cool, right? The sounds are catchy and I like how it uses the alchemy ring in the gimmick.

Biggest Surprise of 2024:

Kakuranger getting a 30th anniversary special, unprecedented for Sentai and not seen since Once and Always.

Biggest Disappointment of 2024:

Everytime that Hando Taiya talks. Screw that guy with his arrogant smug punchable face, his monotonous line delivery like he's about to fall asleep, his lack of clear motivation, his non-sequitar questions phrased in a biased way and his obnoxious "handle" catchphrase!

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025: Gotchard Graduations

Missing In
Missing In
Missing In
Missing In Action!

Aw, you didn't change it to Hat Guy Award like we talked about.

Answered what I could, since I haven't been watching shows as their air lately!


Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024
Torn between Kaiketsu Zubat, which is perhaps the ultimate 70s tokusatsu, and Ultraman Mebius, which whipped me into a frothing at the mouth frenzy... and also got me crying like a baby. Zubat is absurd and funny and tragic and just constant fun. Mebius understood what makes Ultraman special in a way few other shows do, and had such a wonderful cast. Both are great in different ways!


Favorite Rewatch of 2024
I didn't finish it yet, but I've been rewatching Kamen Rider Fourze with a friend who has never seen it before. Always an infectiously joyful experience.


Favorite Suit Design
Even if I'm not watching it, I love those forms from Boonboomger where they just wear a jacket over their normal suit. It's funny... but also very cool.

Favorite Song
Got Boost? has entered my song rotation. I really enjoy the pop elements combined with the moodier segments of the song.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise
I still can't believe we got a Shaider Blu-ray in English!


The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition:
Yuka Motohashi dying. She was such a delight in Carranger, I miss her.

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025
I don't think it will come out next year, but I'm looking forward to getting more info on the next Godzilla film from the Minus One creator!

I very seriously considered it, but ultimately came down on Onari still being objectively the worst character in the history of tokusatsu, if not television in general.

Favorite New Show of 2024
This one goes to Kamen Rider Gavv. There are definitely some aspects of the show that I find very silly, but the tone and pacing of the story give me a real "early '00s" vibe that has been really working for me. If every episode of Ultraman Arc was as good as the best episodes of Arc it would be here instead, but I find that show a little too inconsistent.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024
Feel a little bad about this one, but Mega Monster Battles. I started watching it and was really enjoying it, then got distracted and completely forgot about it. It's especially embarrassing as the main reason I was watching it was for Mayu Gamou and I never even got up to her debut.

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024
I've watched a lot more of these than normal (ie, more than two), but Faiz Paradise Regained is still the easy winner. As a relatively recent Faiz re-appraiser I was really looking forward to this movie and it didn't disappoint. I'd have liked another 15-20 minutes to flesh some things out, but it was a lot of fun and surprisingly more upbeat than I expected.

Favorite Rewatch of 2024
So I'm sure some of you are thinking "Switchblade, there has to some diminishing returns with Hibiki, right? You can't possibly still enjoy it as much after seeing it so many times?" Wrong. Kamen Rider Hibiki, fifth time through. Still. Holds. Up.

Favorite Male Lead Character
Trickier one because I'm not absolutely blown away by any of the options. I'm going to cheat and go with Ryuga from Garo because it was kind of fun to see a more respected, elder statesman Ryuga given where the character stated. It's a huge pity that Rian wasn't back, too, but at least we didn't have to deal with another return of Jinga.

Favorite Female Lead Character
King-Ohger aired a few episodes this year so this prize automatically goes to Rita. Next.

Favorite Male Supporting Character
This absolutely does not go to Shu from Ultraman Arc, who I feel the show is constantly trying to ram down my throat. I'm going with Hanto, aka Kamen Rider Valens. Very fun character, even if some elements of his story feel a little predicatable/cliche.

Favorite Female Supporting Character
Rin from Ultraman Arc. By far my favorite of Arc's small cast of characters. Several of my favorite episodes or moments tend to center around her.

Favorite Villain
I've said it several times already over the last year, but I want a Clotho V-Cinema. Just give me 60-75 minutes of her yelling and punching things and I will be very happy. Runner-up goes to Geryon, who was actually a terrible villain but who had possibly the most hilariously stupid master plan in the entire history of Kamen Rider.

Favorite Returning Past Character
This one is a little tougher and I'm going to have to call it a tie. I always love seeing Takumi again and the bonus murder mystery webseries had some fantastic Takkun moments. But we also got some new Dekaranger this year and that means more Umeko and I can't just not vote for the best team leader in Sentai history.

Favorite Actor
On Nakano, who played Souma in Garo Heir to Steel Armor. I'm not sure I would call his performance "good," but I found his perpetual pouting to be really, really funny.

Favorite Actress
Going with Itono Okita, who played Atropos on Gotchard. Child actors are, as a rule, generally pretty goddamn terrible. That is something that absolutely transcends nationality and language. The fact that Okita was able to pull off playing her role so well is really impressive.

Favorite Writer
Tako Nakano was behind what ended up being probably my single favorite episode of tokusatsu for this entire year, The Dream Bird episode of Ultraman Arc. He also wrote the return of Zangill, which gives him bonus points he didn't even need.

Favorite Director
Naoyuki Uchida, for the exact same episode of Arc I just mentioned. You will see The Dream Bird mentioned again on this list.

Favorite Suit Design
Not a single character, but I'm going with the Hagane armor from Garo. I was really disappointed when we first saw the generic Makai Knight armors back in Makai Senki, but this show managed to revisit the concept and make a suit that looks really cool and feels like it has its own flavor, even as the Makai version of basic Stormtrooper armor.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
The Arc Eye Sword from... I mean, the word "Arc" is right there in the name. Major props to Tsubaraya for continuing the trend from Blazar and giving Ultraman a weapon that's actually scaled to be held by an adult. Add in the Ultraseven homage on top of that and this thing is a winner.

Favorite Fight Scene
There have been some amazing fights in Gavv, I do not want to let this pass without giving that show some props. There was only one fight scene this year, though, that made me go onto Discord and tell friends who don't even watch tokusatsu "holy shit, you guys have to see this!" and that was Ultraman Arc and Givas vs. King of Mons from the aforementioned Dream Bird episode.

Favorite Dramatic Scene AND Favorite Comedic Scene
I'm overlapping this because both are going to the tragic betrayal and death of Hopper-1 from Gotchard. It's a moment that hit surprisingly hard and was very emotional... if you could get past the fact that we were seeing someone get emotionally shredded by the "death" of a plastic grasshopper. There's a level of suspension of disbelief you have to put into watching all of these shows and Hopper-1 really rode the line between "I believe this is a character" and "that's literally just a prop that Houtaro's actor is shaking around" tighter than anything I've seen since Ginga.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
So there's this moment in the "this feels like a movie that was recut into three episodes" Kamen Rider Legend storyline on Gotchard where some dude just shows up out of nowhere with a belt that shreds Ganbaride cards. He burns through a couple of Rider powers and then immediately fucks off. He is never properly introduced, interacts with none of the regular cast, and never fucking appears again. I still have no idea what the hell was going on with that and yes, I know it's a reference to Outsiders but I haven't watched Outsiders and this whole scene was complete gibberish to me.

Favorite Song
The ending theme to Heir to Steel Armor. It has a name that is a fairly long string of Japanese words that I am not going to try to copy down because I will just get it wrong. You can always count on a new Garo show to bring out at least one absolute banger.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise
I got stuff this year that wasn't just blu-ray boxsets! This absolutely goes to the Lucky Cat Megazord, an incredibly fun toy that has been living on my desk for over six months now and will not be leaving any time soon.

Biggest Surprise of 2024
Obi surviving to the end of the series in Heir to Steel Armor. That guy was waving multiple death flags even before taking into account his actor used to be Kamen Rider Ghost. I was absolutely convinced he would be tragically buying it at some point during the series but nope! Made it to the end without even being seriously injured.

Biggest Disappointment of 2024
There were a few things I was thinking of putting here, but the Ultrasmen Arc and Blazar crossover completely blew everything else out of the water. Blazar was as fun as ever, but the fact that they didn't bring a single cast member back and just stuck Arc's regulars into SKARD uniforms was both incredibly lazy and a total smack in the face to last year's show.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition:
Everything about Kamen Rider Legend. He is such a bafflingly awful character: annoying personality, terrible catchphrase, weird behavior, powers that really highlight how badly the old suits have fallen into disrepair. I cannot stand this guy and it was such a colossal waste to spend three whole episodes of Gotchard trying to hype him up as the next big thing. I am extremely unexcited about the rumors that he'll be pulling the same shit on Gavv next year.

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025
Next year is the 20th anniversary of my beloved Kamen Rider Hibiki and I'm sure that Toei and Bandai have already come up with a number of ways to do absolutely nothing to celebrate it in any way, shape, or form. That'll be fun. I'm going to instead toss out a provisional vote for Lucky Cat's Dragonzord figure, even though I have to acknowledge that it's literally just a vague tease so far and they have several other classic robot toys that they've announced and never actually produced. Will it happen? Maybe. Is it more likely to happen than a CSM Anything Hibiki-related? Yes.

Yeah, that's true. I was hoping she would overcome it, but alas. Cancer sucks.

I respect these answers. :thumb: Nice to see a fellow Clotho fan. If I'd known I could award more than once, I would've also mentioned Umeko. Best Heisei Pink, IMO.

Ah, Janperson. The show that introduced us to Yasuko Kobayashi before she went on to pen Gingaman. This show sure was ahead of its time, and I agree when you say it was pretty much Zero-One done better. Plus, it had some notable alumni of the genre, Green Two and Yellow Turbo from Bioman and Turboranger, respectively (they were the two human cops), and Mr. Perfect Cyborg himself, Kamen Rider ZX. I also remember Masashi Mikami who was Bouken Blue and later the former Kamen Rider Blades in Kamen Rider Saber saying to the effect of how he grew up on this show as a kid back when they had the Boukenger press conference.:rock:
As for Yarucar, yes, adorable.


SUPER COFFEE BROS! :lolol

As for Hibiki merch, in case you missed it, the CSM Onsa Ongaku did get revealed recently during Bandai's roleplay toy event, NARIKIRI WORLD, along with the CSM Ongekigo stuff.

https://hobby.dengeki.com/event/2443941/

And thank you for doing this again. :rock:


Understandable, both are fantastic shows. Zubat especially since it answers the question of what if Miyauchi was Chuck Norris as an acoustic guitar-strumming toku hero. :lolol
As for Ms. Motohashi, it genuinely saddens me we won't be seeing her again, I really hoped that we'd get a Carranger reunion special that includes her after seeing what Kakuranger did. Regardless, may she rest in peace.

That is considerably more than I ever expected to see and slightly worrisome as I am normally not a roleplay collector. Hopefully they'll have Yuichi Nakamura do the commercial and I can give myself an excuse to not buy any of it out of protest.

I take this responsibility far too seriously and get irrationally pissy if anyone else tries to do it.

Wasn't sure if I could fill everything out, but I somehow managed to do it. Yay!

Favorite New Show of 2024

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger: Probably the most epic and fantastical we've seen a Sentai yet. There's a grand sense of scale and aside from technical hiccups, I think they manage to sell their epic narrative pretty nicely. It also has some fantastic anniversary related content within the series, somehow feeling like a true sequel to Kyoryuger than Donbrothers did to Zenkaiger.

Kamen Rider Gotchard: What? I'm not going to pick between my faves are you crazy? Gotchard's a comfy show with a pretty fluid system thanks to how the main plot is structured. It allows for a lot of fun character moments, and while there are flaws I'll always admit to, I still really enjoyed it.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024

Madan Senki Ryukendo: Wasn't sure what to expect with this one but I ended up enjoying my time greatly with it. Has one of my all time favorite Toku Episodes, and definitely is one of my favorites of the non-Toei/Tsupro Toku. It's a shame Takara Tomy only made three Henshin Hero styled Toku Shows, but that said I'm excited to eventually get to the Rescue Series.

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024

Kamen Rider Gotchard The Future Daybreak: The minute the full trailer for this released I knew I was going to love it. It's been a while since I've outright loved a solo Rider flick, and this one definitely hits a lot of fun emotional beats. Plus it continues to show how magical girl-coded Gotchard is which something I'll always try and pedal!

Favorite Rewatch of 2024

Dogengers ~Nice Buddy~: I did rewatch Kamen Rider W, and while that was fulfilling... well, I ended up having too much of a wonderful time to not mention Dogengers in some way. It's just a really fun Local Hero Tokusatsu with a lot of heart and some wonderful comedy.

Favorite Male Lead Character

Houtaro Ichinose (Kamen Rider Gotchard): Yeah I've got to go with my boy on this one. Dude's so full of whimsy and excitement and so many times so many people wanted to beat him down but he kept going, he kept pushing. He's going to achieve his Gotcha no matter how long it takes and you're not going to stop him.

Favorite Female Lead Character

Rinne Kudoh (Kamen Rider Majade): Honestly a great co-star to Houtaro, with the two having real nice chemistry with each other. She's very subtle in her emotions and how she presents herself, and her story with Atropos was honestly a delight to see unfold. She's also pretty badass as Majade and her synergy with Gotchard on the field was always a delight to see.

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Shu Ishido (Ultraman Arc): It's been fascinating following Shu's character throughout the show, it's a lot of subtle shifts and changes, but it's incredible seeing the effect SKIP ends up having on him. He's also got some funny quirks what with his coffee, and yet that becomes extremely endearing, especially when it ties into the Blazar arc's start. I'd also like to give special mention to the dub voice actor, especially during episode 23 where he acted his heart out.

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Tamami Ichinose (Kamen Rider Gotchard): Just a mom who loves her son and tries to give him the best advice she can. She only shows up so often, but I always adored whatever scenes she had with Houtaro. That's especially true during the endgame, where she gets a really nice moment with Houtaro before the final fight with Glion.

Favorite Villain

Jack Moon (Ryukendo): I'm sorry, I know we've had a lot of villains this year but it had to be from the series I just discovered. The man is a demonic swordsman who wants to live and die by the sword, and aside from a few hiccups (that thankfully get rectified), he creates a wonderful rivalry with our titular hero which ends in a fantastic way.

Special shout outs to the Sanseaters though, love those Team Rocket-esque goofballs just oh so much.

Favorite Returning Past Character

Right Suzuki (Boonboomger): It's not the biggest cameo, and he could only be out of suit for a short scene, but it was still incredible to see him again. Akira was also a big highlight though when it came to cast interaction.

Favorite Actor

Taisei Sakai as Gira Husty: This man has his expressions down pat, and he really flexed that for those more subtle scenes in King-Ohger too. Also I just genuinely enjoyed the character he portrayed too.

Favorite Actress

Kanon Miyahara as Clotho: Not only can she act, but she can fight out of costume damn well too! She gets a lot of out of suit stunts in during Gotchard, and they even designed a power-up for her to use since she could actually keep toe to toe with the other stunt workers. I also recently saw Final Stage so getting to see that she got to go ham on there too was really cool.

Favorite Writer(s)

Keiichi Hasegawa, Hiroki Uchida, & Akiko Inoue: Yeah I'm just picking all of them because upon looking at each of their episode lists for Gotchard... they honestly wrote a lot of the ones I enjoyed! I may have some quibbles with Gotchard, but I cannot deny that these three put in some good work.

Favorite Director

Kazuya Kamihoriuchi: This man directed some good King-Ohger Episodes, especially the three final episodes which were a suspenseful epic end to the series itself.

Favorite Suit Design

The Hagane Armor: Talk about a glow-up that basically turned my entire view on the non-titled Knights around in an instant. Prior to this the armor was CG and was fairly basic, so much that it carried over to its other appearances in the franchise. So it getting the proper suit treatment with just enough detail but not enough to make it overcrowded? Honestly really great.

Favorite Weapon

Gavvgablade: Gavv has a unique arsenal, and a standard sword that can also send a scrimblo out on a tiny bike to maybe potentially help turn the tide of battle? Now that's pretty great.

Favorite Vehicle

Bundorio Bunderas: He can transform into a trailer, he counts! Especially because I need the favorite mecha spot free... Anyway, I'm always a fan of making your giant robot an actual character (see Zenkaiger) so Bundorio was always going to be a winner for me. He brings a level of fun to the atmosphere, has some neat backstory, and gets to take charge in the action once we hit the climax of the episode. Overall he's a pretty great transforming companion to have by your side.

Favorite Mecha

Givas: Listen after his debut episodes and reappearance he had to go here specifically. He's got beams, a grapple claw, and the way he booms out "GIVASSS" is great. But the story surrounding him was what shot Givas up on my list as one of my favorite mecha of all time.

Favorite Fight Scene

Ultraman Arc vs. Trigelos: It's been a while since we've had a Kaiju specifically bred and modified to kill an Ultra. Digelos was created to likely try and kill Rution after Monogelos' failure, but it failed because it went up against Ultraman Arc. So after a long time of allowing Arc to grow and basically peak... we bring in Trigelos. What we get is a fight scene in which Arc is barely keeping pace with the newly bred Kaiju, especially when it starts countering his armors and manages to gain the upper hand. It's an intense fight in which its ending feels more agonizing due to how long we'll be waiting on 24 to drop thanks to the holiday season.

Favorite Dramatic Scene

Gotchard vs. Hopper Malgam: If there's one reason I'm excited about Gozyuger, it's seeing if Akiko Inoue will pull out a gut punch like this again. The acting, the atmosphere, the way the rug's pulled out from under the viewer after they think things might end up alright. It's such an insane scene to end on, especially followed by one of my favorite Final Form Episode Previews of all time.

Favorite Comedic Scene

Blazar Punches Gento: It's a sudden beat, but it works because it's so sudden. Gento's just staring at the Blazar Stone and suddenly his alien buddy takes control of his fist and punches him in the face so he can get an actual nap in.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

The Preview for Arc Episode 22 "The Man in the White Mask": As someone who actually partakes in episode previews, this is one of the ones that make me glad I do. It's an insane departure from the usual ones, it having this eerie and odd tone as we're treated to snippets from an equally as eerie and wild episode in Ultras history.

Favorite Song(s)

Any Back-On Song in Gotchard: Back-On put out some bangers this year, especially after deciding they wanted to bring FLOW on to add to everything. The remixed CHEMYxSTORY, did THE SKY'S THE LIMIT with Beverly, The Future Daybreak with FLOW again, all great bangers.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

Gotchardriver: Thanks to a friend I managed to get my hands on it for my birthday, and having bought a bunch of blind packs before, I ended up having a lot of fun with my Gotchardriver. There's something so satisfying about slotting in cards, pulling and pushing the levers. The sounds are loud and great. Honestly a really great toy.

Biggest Surprise of 2024

His name is Glion, not Geryon: Legitimately did not expect this and it still hits me to this day. But yeah, turns out in an interview that Hasegawa mentioned his name's derived from Greek Mythology too. But it's not Geryon, yeah no, the name is derived from the sculptor Pygmalion. Honestly real neat fun fact that still hits me.

Edit: Honorable Mention Because I Somehow Forgot...

Venommariner's suit being still intact, legit was not expecting that suit to make another appearance:

http://i0.wp.com/thetokusource.com/w...50%2C500&ssl=1

Biggest Disappointment of 2024

Generated Images in Kamen Rider Outsiders: I can excuse a lot of things about Outsiders if I'm being honest. The idea of companies using generated imagery to try and cut corners though? Nah, I don't like that. Especially when said images come when talking about societal and environmental problems, of which, AI Generated Slop and the like are one of the bigger issues when it comes to killing our environment nowadays.

The Onari Wildcard Segment in which I hijack what this really is for my own rambling 2024 Edition:

I ended up also watching Kuuga this year, and it was pretty good, but fairly overrated. I still enjoyed my time with it though. When it comes to what little shows I have left in terms of early Heisei, Ryuki's next on the chopping block as that got uploaded to Tokushoutsu's Youtube recently in full. It makes me curious if we'll get a new announcement from them or Team Rider anytime soon, but we'll see.

Speaking of hopes, what with Fuuto PI's revival via Portrait of Skull, I do hope we end up getting that released over here at some point. And I do hope that we'll eventually continue on to Season 2.

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025

I'm not really anticipating anything, but it's probably going to Gozyuger. If only because between that and Ultraman Omega, we know just a bit more about Gozyuger at the moment. The suits look cool, the premise is interesting, and Akiko Inoue is writing for it. It seems like it might end up being a fun time.

Kenichi Suzumura probably is likely to cover it next year, because I think they had him do youtube videos for toku merch for a while before. If they do though, I hope they get Mr. Eiki himself, Kazuya Nakai, as a guest. :rock:

Favorite New-to-You Show: Tokusou Robo Janperson

This show really took me by surprise especially coming out from watching Jiban which, while it's a very decent show, I find it somewhat lacking and could've done a lot better in some areas and in between jumping into the that series and finishing up on Kamen Rider Drive, I was in the mood for watching a Toku show that features a robot as the lead hero and since I have already seen Metalder twice and I seriously didn't feel like going back to watching the original Android Kikaider series at the time, I also wanted to head to what is effectively new territory to me and it helps that I happen need to watch more of the Metal Heroes at that point. I really went into Janperson with very low expectations especially considering the titular character wasn't the main focus, at least at first. Thankfully, I quickly grew accustomed to the would-be status quo after the first few episodes and then at a very certain point in the show, I ended up getting far more than I thought I was getting and in that point onward especially once the show finally reveals Janperson's backstory as part of a multi-part arc as well as getting into him as a character, I kept watching and really getting more and more into it. This show really struck a chord with me and I legitimately didn't expect to love it as much as I do. It is also through this series plus Kamen Rider Gaim, Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Geed, both of which I also watched for the first time this year as well as aforementioned Kamen Rider Drive is where I am truly starting to recognize my personal tastes when it comes to Tokusatsu and it is through this, among other things, is why this series is now not only my second favorite Metal Heroes series but also one of top 10/20 favorite Toku series of all time. Anyway, Tokusou Robo Janperson is a damn good show that everyone should check out at least once.

Favorite Rewatch of 2024: Mirai Sentai Time Ranger with Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger as very close second

Favorite New Show of 2024

Gavv for sure. Overall the best Rider show in a good while, as in everything feels high quality: Characters, story, music, action – it’s a really good mix that just makes me happy watching.

Favorite Suit Design

Has to be "Kamen Rider Gavv Pringles Arms". I applaud Gavv’ creativity when it comes to suit design in general, but I love Zaku Zaku Chips the most.

Love the look, love to munch on potato chips, love the swords and how they function. A complete winner of a side form for sure.

Zaku Zaku!

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

I had no expectations for it but I ended up really liking Gavv’ ride. It’s a CGI monstrosity but a fun one. And it turns into a gatling gun for the lollypop T-45 power armor which is neat.

Favorite Song

Gavv has excellent background music, one of the reasons it got me hooked, "The Last Judgment" is my favorite, it’s really good.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

I got way too much so I’m picking one that comes to mind first: I resisted the urge to go full-on DX shopping spree for Gavv stuff but I did get that Punching Gummy set, and I adore that little minion, he’s cute and fun to just pick up and play with for a short while.

Biggest Surprise of 2024

I never heard about "Wingman" before so learning about it was a surprise. I didn’t end up liking it much though.

Biggest Disappointment of 2024:

Ultraman Arc sadly. When it’s good it’s really good, but overall the show is the definition of a disappointment to me. The characters are unappealing to me, the story is boring and the overall cast and world feel so small and repetitive. The camera work and effects are excellent, but it cannot shine on its own.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition

Most of this year as far as Kamen Rider is concerned was Gotchard, so its Gotchard. Because Gotchard sucks ass. Terrible show, some of the worst time I spend watching Toku. It’s just bad.

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025

The new Sentai season because Boonboomger needs to end, it puts me to sleep. I really don’t care for it anymore; to be honest I haven’t in months.

Did not expect a good number of people who posted so far to watch Janperson this year. :rock:
I know that Metal Heroes aren't all the craze these days, but they seriously need to do a How Many Years After for that show.

Favorite New Show of 2024
https://media1.tenor.com/m/o-SdptOaS...traman-arc.gif
Ultraman Arc. Takanori Tsujimoto is my favorite New Gen Director, so finally giving a chance to be a main director for an entry has been a dream come true.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024
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Ressha Sentai Toqger. Watching just in time for the Boonboomger crossover, this show had been hyped for me by the Sentai fanbase, and honestly, it does live up to the hype. Especially thanks to the villains. This is one of the best groups the franchise ever had, IMO.

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024
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The Future Daybreak. From the moment I saw that teaser trailer, I knew this movie was going to be something special. And it was building upon things from Gotchard tv show, such as the full reveal of Daybreak timeline, to little bits such as the ultimate fate of the 3 sisters, SPanner trauma with Angelead MAlgalm to even a great use of fanservice with Tsukasa cameoing.

Favorite Male Lead Character
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Shouma Stomach is character who embodies the best of what it means to be a Kamen Rider. Forced to suffer but is still kind, an unwavering sense of justice and wants to believe in people. But also isn't a naive kid who lets people roll over him. His continued happiness and success is what I'm most rooting for in next year's Gavv.

Favorite Female Lead Character
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Shifto Mira. The moment we first met her she was our POV into Boonboomger world. And she embodies it perfectly. Her never give-up and never say never attitude allowed her to take her own wheel. Plus the variety of her faces. It's like the second coming of Kito Haruka.

Favorite Male Supporting Character
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Ishido Shu. The straight-laced but secretly even crazier guy to the SKiP crew, his relationship with Yuma is the highlight of this show and will be remembered fondly by the fans.

Favorite Female Supporting Character
https://imgur.com/dcre9RK
Sachika Amane the beating heart of Gavv without her the show would so much less warmer and more sterile. Plus her outfits just slays ok.

Favorite Villain
https://d34gglw95p9zsk.cloudfront.ne...jpg?1733201254
The man in the white mask. Seriously creepy dude in my favorite episode of Arc.

Favorite Returning Past Character
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Go-On Red just more of Yasuhisa Furuhara loving Super Sentai to which I will always be grateful for.

Favorite Actor
https://media1.tenor.com/m/KuYixA3XC...r-gotchard.gif

DAIGO just killing it as an older more jaded Hotaro. He brought his A-Game both as the voice and face of Future Hotaro. Plus his (ChemyXStory) alongside Junsei Motojima was easily the highlight of the summer movie.

Favorite Actress
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b9f1625f...f75e7fd5a.gifv
Hashiyasume Atsuko because the character she plays is literally me. Because I too simp for Bundorio Bunderas.

Favorite Writer
Keiichi Hasegawa. Never doubted my man and I'm so glad he brought that classic Rider vibes back into the Reiwa Era.

Plus his approval of episode 21 of Arc which homages his movie Gaia Battle In Hyperspace which as a Gaia fan is the most validating feeling you can get.

Favorite Director
Hiroaki Yuasa a new director for Tsuburaya his episodes have been phenomenal. From the gut-wrenching & emotional drama scenes that you would find in the best soap opera, this is a guy to look out for in the future.

Favorite Suit Design

https://media1.tenor.com/m/lD-jGnmrs...oonboomger.gif
I want those Champion Jackets so badly man.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
Bundorio Bunderas

Voiced by the legendary Rica Matsumoto, sings the ED, and is the central piece that holds the Boonboomger's together.

Favorite Fight Scene
Arc & Givas vs King Of Mons. They did the iconic Kaiju justice.

Favorite Dramatic Scene

Siita Stomach breakdown in episode 16 was seriously uncomfortable, wonderfully acted, and had superb cinematography.

Favorite Comedic Scene
https://scontent-ord5-2.cdninstagram..._nc_sid=10d13b
The entire Arc episode with Internet Kanegon.


Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
Itasha sudden musical number in episode 42

Favorite Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYVE4-V5z8E

Favorite Piece of Merchandise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYmTMKQnkeA

Biggest Surprise of 2024
The return of Zangill & the Blazar crossover being a 4 parter spread across the entire month of November.

Biggest Disappointment of 2024:
The violin rendition of Blazar's second preview theme used in episode 12 not being in the Extra OST basically confirms this song will forever be unreleased.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2024 Edition:

The use of generative A.I in Outsiders episode 6. Especially with Ecole, the whole thing about humanity wasting Earth's resources and using that as imagery to illustrate his point is the most tone-deaf thing Toei could've done. I can only pray and hope this is a one-time unfortunate occurrence and not a sign of generative A.I bleeding into other Toei Tokusatsu works.

Finally, to end on a more positive note:

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025
No.1 Sentai Gozyuger
We don't really know much about Ultraman Omega and also Akiko Inoue is the main writer and I liked her Gotchard episodes so this should be exciting for me.

Hey-ho, everyone! Been a while, been busy with projects and job hunting, so I suppose this works for some of the stuff I missed out on.

Favorite New Show of 2024
TIE: Kamen Rider Gavv and Ultraman Arc. Why are they tied? Because as much as I enjoy both, I can't exactly put one over the other. Maybe it's because Arc is so close to ending and Gavv has sort of found its footing, I can't really pick one here.

[B]Favorite New-to-You Show of 2024]/B]
Entaku Kishi Avalon. An Indie Tokusatsu show on YouTube starring a British knight in Japan. I'll admit, I've seen better, but I thought it was enjoyable. Short as it was.

[B]Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2024[?B]
Fes Godzilla 5: Kaiju Daikessen. These shorts are always a joy, and this one had something truly special in it (which I won't spoil for those that didn't see it, but you may or may not have seen it advertised by now). Sadly, I didn't see anything else noteworthy to add to this... Except for an honorable mention to Ultraman: Rising! A movie that surprised me and was a fun Birthday Present!

Favorite Rewatch of 2024
This year was a year of rewatches for me, as there were plenty I chose to put on while I was working, from Rider and Ultraman. If I had to pick, it might be Ultraman Orb. Revisiting the first Ultraman Show I watched as it came out and noticing things that make me appreciate it all the more!

Favorite Male Lead Character
Because I can get away with this, and frankly because I don't know how much I can put the new kids in this position, it goes to TYRANT KING GIRA! As much as Shouma and Yuma are precious cinnamon rolls, I just don't know if I'd give them the top spot at present.

Favorite Female Lead Character
Kudoh Rinne. I know people are going to have a problem with this pick, but honestly, I liked Rinne. Could she have been better? Absolutely. But I also think aside from the other Alchemist Students, she was definitely more memorable than characters like Spanner and Kyoka. Plus, Majade is a great Rider Design.

Favorite Male Supporting Character
Akuse Jou. The best boy of the BoonBoomgers. Sakito and Ichido (from Arc) are probably close picks for this category.

Favorite Female Supporting Character
Rin Natsume from Ultraman Arc. Her exclusive episode was one of the best. The only reason she's in the Support section is because other than a few standouts, I don't feel like she's the best this year had to offer.

Favorite Villain
The Hashilien San-Seaters. The Team Rocket of BoonBoomger. Honorable mention to Mad Rex who is a very close second.

Favorite Returning Past Character
Earth Garon. What? Shouldn't a giant robot Kaiju with an A.I. Brain count as a character?

Favorite Writer
Whoever's in charge of Gavv, they're doing a great job so far!

Favorite Suit Design
This was initially going to go to Mad Rex from BoonBoomger, but then Kamen Rider Gavv Caking form (and the Christmas Cake form) came along. And so, the Cake Monster wins this round! The Hagane Armor and Legend are some honorable mentions.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
Kamen Rider Valen's weapon (I love the sound effects) or Givas (self-explanatory).

Favorite Fight Scene
Ultraman Arc's debut fight. The camera footage fight was a neat way to showcase it and definitely sticks out to me. Heck, the imagination in Arc's fights could put any of them into this list.

Favorite Dramatic Scene
Hanto finding his boss after getting pressed and broken. I'm sure I could put any other scenes, but I feel like this one deserves the spot as my favorite.

Favorite Comedic Scene The Kanegon Fight in Ultraman Arc. Got a good laugh out of me.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment The Christmas Episode of BoonBoomger. You know what I'm talking about. Heck, even if it's not a particular scene, from the musical number to Santa Claus, this is probably one of my favorite Christmas Episodes now.

Favorite Song Bakuage Sentai BoonBoomger's Theme Song. Masaaki Endoh. Need I say more? BUT! There's also Garo: Hagane no Tsugumono's Ending song absolutely could steal the top spot. So, it's a tie. And Masaaki Endoh is involved in both.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise I got SH Figuarts Zenkaiser. This now sits alongside my Hakaiju-Oh Model. Boy, I love this show.

Biggest Surprise of 2024
I discovered Tokushoutsu on Youtube, which allowed me to watch a bunch of Tokusatsu shows. Can't really think of anything that really surprised me this year to make this list.

Biggest Disappointment of 2024
Kamen Rider Gotchard. Now, don't get me wrong, I still had fun with this show, BUT I feel like overall, it was a mess. It had a lot of good, and a lot of confusing decisions. The last-minute Final Forms, the oddly placed Legend arc (Again, I like Legend, but I'd rather have him be his own thing, because he just felt kind of unnecessary here), and the messy finale, I can't exactly say I loved this show or not, despite my positives.

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2025
Takashi Yamazaki's next Godzilla Project. Will it be a sequel or something new? I welcome both! And more Godzilla is a win for me regardless.

Another satisfied customer. :rock:

You should check out his youtube channel. His interviews with toku alumni are fun and some of them have English subs.

Shirabe FTW. :rock:

That's Nana Mizuki for ya. :rock: