[Kiwami]

Here we go:

Best New Show of 2016:

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

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

Best New-to-You Show of 2016:

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

Best Rewatch of 2016:

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

Best Movie of 2016:

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

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

Best Male Lead Character:

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

Best Female Lead Character:

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

Best Male Supporting Character:

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

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

Best Female Supporting Character:

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

Best Actor:

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

Best Actress:

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

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

Biggest Toku Crush of 2016:

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

Best Villain:

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

Best Returning Character:

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

Best Suit Actor:

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

Best Writer:

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

Best Director:

Same, the Orb guy.

Best Producer:

Orb, Orb, Orb.

Best Visual Designer:

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

Best Hero Suit Design:

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

Best Monster Suit Design:

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

Best Weapon:

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

Best Vehicle/Mecha:

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

Best Fight Scene:

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

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

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

Best Dramatic Scene:

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

Best Comedic Scene:

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

Best Song:

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

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

Best Piece of Merchandise:

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

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

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

Biggest Surprise of 2016:

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

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

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

And, as always -

Single Worst Thing in 2016 Tokusatsu:

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

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