[Shin Henshin]

I know it's already the new year, but I wanted a shot at a few of these:

Favorite New Show of 2022: DonBrothers. I love the route Geats is going right now and all the questions I have, but not only did DonBro get the same thing out of me, I also love how non-Sentai it feels. The focus on more character interaction and drama while the usual monster of the week and giant mecha fights essentially take a backseat to everything is extremely fresh and made me fall in love with the cast more than I expected as a result. It's an angle not a lot of toku fans probably like, but I extremely respect it.

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2022: Kamen Rider Black Sun. I didn't expect to adore it as much as I did. Are the metaphors a bit heavy-handed? Yes. But the fact that it doesn't shy away from telling the audience "This is how heinous the world and its people can be" and "Even heroes aren't completely free from making selfish or dubious decisions" impressed me. It's not like something like The Boys where all your main characters are certain levels of scumbag. It instead shows that, yes, some of these people are good people and want to do the right thing, but the circumstances literally keep them from doing so. It's heavy, it's uncomfortable, it's skin-crawling, it's depressing, but it can also be hopeful in some areas. One of the best pieces of KR media out there.

Favorite Male Lead Character: Vice. I love Vice so much. His character growth throughout Revice has been a marvel to witness, going from what everyone expected to be basically Kamen Rider Deadpool to a character that always tried to put on a smile and crack some jokes but deep down was one of the most caring and hurting individuals in the show. Dealing with how his contract with Ikki is slowly eating away at his relationship with his family. Dealing with his status as a demon and the risk that can bring if he lost control of himself. Being willing to sacrifice his existence just to ensure Ikki could return to a life he deserved. Vice is a character I hope we keep seeing come back ala Momotaros

Favorite Female Lead Character: Haruka Kito. Oni Sister is hilarious. Her status as a plagiarist mangaka and how that went from something she wanted to disprove to just who she was now, her constant straight-manning of every scenario she finds herself in, her dense personality and selfish attitude, Haruka's just a ton of fun as a main character and ties the DonBrothers together in a unique way.

Favorite Villain: The Nouto. If you can even consider them villains at this point, but it feels like Sentai took a page out of the book of some past Rider series and gave us a trio of villains that go through just as much character growth and development as the main cast that they now feel like rivals more than anything. I feel they're gonna go down as some of the best Sentai antagonists since probably...what...Enter and Escape? The Deboss Army? Zett and the Shadow Line? Wiseru? The Yodonheim Empire? They're definitely up there.

Favorite Suit Design: Kamen Rider Black Sun. And this is due to my bias towards stuff like Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue. I love the organic designs of Black Sun and Shadow Moon as well as the designs of the kaijin. Animalistic, predatory, scary in a lot of cases, but so lovingly-crafted and detailed and brought to life with such great practicality that they look like living things.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha: Terraphaser. The sleek design. The development connections to King Joe Storage Custom. The Decker-esque ability to use cards for attacks. The creepy evil laugh it makes when it comes online. I just love it.

Favorite Fight Scene: Terraphaser vs Decker at the end of Decker episode 22. Such a raw, knock-down, drag-out battle. I already loved the dynamic between Agams and Kanata and how their ideals and drives clash, but this fight solidified how much I loved it. Neither side backing down even when their attacks are causing the Earth to raise around them in a growing crater. So good.

Biggest Surprise of 2022: The Kamen Rider Veil mini-series. I didn't expect such a serious, emotional and violent series to spawn from something like Revice but I'm glad it did. Watching it before Veil really became a threat only elevated the events of the main series and also made me feel for Ikki's parents, as well as made the final clash between Veil and Genta feel so much more impactful as a result.