[AkibaSilver]

Best New Show of 2018
I mean, SSSS Gridman is easily the best, and I've not even finished yet, but if we're doing purely live-action stuff... it's gotta go to Zi-O. Having only made it four episodes into R/B, Kamen Rider grabs me with the cameos and fun references, and is starting to kick into gear in its own right. Just like Ex-Aid all over again.

Best New-to-You Show of 2018
I barely have time for new stuff, let alone old stuff, but I watched one episode of Kamen Rider X, and it was some good stuff. Episode 2 coming soon, believe me.

Honorable mention to Kamen Rider SD for being a hilarious anime short, but as a single episode short doesn't really qualify here, oh well~

Best Rewatch of 2018
See note above.

Best Movie of 2018
Heisei Generations Final. Space Squad 2 and the Another Endings were both contenders, but this one takes the cake. From being a vital piece of my boy Banjou's character arc, to the return of Ankh, with the Build and Ex-Aid casts both reminding me why I loved them in the first place. Both Heisei Generations movies so far have been good, and Forever had better keep that going.

Best Male Lead Character
Sento Kiryu, no contest. Considering our other real options are Lucky (no), Kairi (god no), Keichirou (a close-ish second), Sougo (nah) and this guy, he wins easy, which is unfair, because Sento is a brilliant protagonist. Egotistical but flawed, loving but teasing, warrior but devoted to peace, he's a big part of what makes Build so great.

Best Female Lead Character
Tsukasa for being competent and that one episode where she correctly figured out the Lupins identities. A small shout-out to Poppy, because she *was* the star of Another Ending Part II.

Best Male Supporting Character
Banjou was basically our hero for those two episodes of , so he gets the vote. I love my trash son turned selfless hero, and he's one of my favourite rider characters period, for embodying precisely what a Rider should be.

*For a more minor character, given Banjou's basically semi-lead, I'd go with Xiou Longbao / RyuCommander. Absolute unit of a commander.

Best Female Supporting Character
Sawa Tokigawa, from Build again. While she never quite contributes much to the plot like Misora and her bangle, I love her character and how she does integrate into the Buid Team, and also how much comedy they can get out of her planting trackers onto Sento and Gentoku.

Best Villain
Brad Stark/EVOLTO!! Always with a back-up plan, always playing every side, only beaten by a lot of sacrifice, everyone on his one side betraying him, and Sento refusing to give up, and yet he's still a charismatic, fun to watch character.

Best Returning Past Character
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Tenkuuji Takeru. He was a welcome surprise in the Heisei Generations Final movie, and his role in the recent Zi-O plot was really well done. Plus, he just seems like a really nice guy, and seperate to the mess that is Kamen Rider Ghost: The Show, Takeru is adorable.

*Honourable mentions to Kuroto Dan, who would be here if Another Ending wasn't this year, preventing me from putting him here, and Ryoutaro Nogami. Purely because Den-O.

Best Actor
Atsuhiro Inukai. From the boastful but kind Sento Kiryu, to the arrogant but troubed Takumi Katsuragi, to EVOLTO!!!, to whatever the hell Taro Sato is, the man can pull it off. See all of his acting in the Hazard Trigger arc, basically.

Best Actress
*Big Shrug* None of the female actresses get to do all that much to show off how well they can act, annoyingly. Kaho Takada wins for pure range and abiity to sell that range.

Toku Crush of 2018
*Big Shrug*
Norio Wakamoto's Voice? Some of those Driver noises are pretty good.

Best Writer
Shogo Muto. When the worst the writing in Build ever got was *still good, but a little slow*, that's a pretty damn good job for a whole year's worth of work.

Best Director
Basically anyone who worked on Build. Special props to whoever did Rogue's death scene.

Best Suit Design
Most of the Build suits could make this list, but the winner is Great Cross-Z. Yea, I know it's just Basic Cross-Z but with a fancy new colour scheme, but it's a very swishy new colour scheme. Special mention to Genm Maximum Gamer, for proving Genm is the greatest meme ever and Toei will profit off whatever it can.

Best Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha
That little Drill Trigger Machine. Reminds me of The Mole from Thunderbirds. Other than that, all the LuPat Mecha sucks, and none of the Ninja Steel or Build stuff shouts to me.

Best Fight Scene
Honestly, it's a two way tie between the final fights of Grease and Rogue. I gues Grease's did make me cry, but I ultimately prefer Rogue's. Not that it matters, both are amazing.

Lesser kudos to the Gaim Armor fight scene in Zi-O, because of both "Hey cool Gaim" and also the cool stuff they did with the two Sougo's. Nowhere near as good or emotionally impacting as either above, but Zi-O's gotta win something.

Best Dramatic Scene
Kazumin and Sento at Aoba's grave, episode 21. Enough said really.
*Non-Build award for the end of Heisei Generations, feat Ankh and Eiji, assuming that counts as OOO and not Build.*

Best Comedic Scene
Kazumin going for """Misora's""" towel at the Build Summer party. Only for it to be ya boi Gentoku's all along.

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment
I was going to give this to the scene where Jim and Hilltop cosplay, but then I read upwards, was reminded of the Genderbend LuPat episode, and so the winner is that.

Best Song
The Heisei Generations Forever mix because Just Live More is in it.
I mean, it's actually the full version of Over Quartzer, but I do like the top one.

Best Piece of Merchandise
All of SO-DO. I really didn't need dragging down a RabbitTank Hole this hard. From stuff I don't own, it looks to be SS Amazon.

Biggest Surprise of 2018
How much Toei are wiling to screw the Patrangers out of screentime?
Ignoring that, all the returning actors for Zi-O. I never thought I'd see characters like Kouta, Nitoh, or Eiji again, and even if their roles are small, it's still nice to see. See also - Dimensions in Danger, because Power Rangers needs to go somewhere.

Biggest Disappointment of 2018
LuPat, hands down. It pains me to say it, but I think it's really wasted its potential, and 45 episodes in, I still find little about it to like. Is it the worst Sentai I've ever seen? Not quite, but it's a close second right now, and if this ending misses, it'll join Ninninger in the "Pit of stuff I hate".

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in 2018 Tokusatsu
Noel. I hate his smugness, I hate how he's given so much importance by the plot, and I can't stand how his design is much better than it has any right to be.