[Layton13]

Favorite New Show of 2021

Easily Zenkaiger. Show's a blast and never lets things get stale. Cast is just lovely and the show is just fun! Probably will end up my second favorite Toku anniversary show after ZI-O. It just hits that right spot.

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2021

Kyoryuger. Very fun show and pallet cleanser after Go-Busters. Lovely cast and Sanjio once again is a master of character work. Man know what makes characters likable and it's in full force in this show. I'm not done yet, but it's shaping up to be a fun ride.

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2021

Probably 10-Gokaiger thanks to the lack of really good other movies or specials I watched. Saber's were pretty solid, but I gotta give it to Gokaiger since this has to be the best use of the Gokaigers as characters as a whole. Which is actually pretty impressive since I never found them that interesting of a team and mostly only shining with another cast to play off of. But here? Nah, they carry the movie on their own and pretty damn well at that! Though, it's kinda amusing how similar it is to Go-Onger 10 Year Grand-Prix, down to the return of a child character from the first few episodes and the evil politician.

Favorite Rewatch of 2021

Don't rewatch much Toku, but I started W, which more or less makes it my only viable pick. Fantastic show still.

Favorite Male Lead Character

Touma. He's a good mix of sparking development in others and grows on his own while staying true to who he is. He also earns every bit of the chosen one mantra the show puts on his shoulders. It's clear why he was chosen, given his unbreakable will and determination, as well as his kindness. The amount of times he drags himself to a battlefield, injured, to save the day is great! That's how you make your characters earn their happy ending! Make them work for it and Touma sure as hell worked for it! He's probably one of my favorite Main Riders.

Favorite Female Lead Character

I guess Magine. She's just a very likable and charming character you just wanna hug every time she is on screen.

Favorite Male Supporting Character

Ren. Love his arc how he finds his inner strength through the show and the fact it's not negated almost instantly by getting stomped, but he gets to kick some major ass which just makes it work so well!

Favorite Female Supporting Character

Mei. Lovely woman with so much life and energy that is infectious. Always tries her best and never gives up!

Favorite Villain

Bahato. While he didn't get much screen time, he used every second to great extend. I especially loved the verbal beatdown Touma gave him in the end. Great capstone

Favorite Returning Past Character

Makoto in the Specter special. It carried on strong from his V-Cinema, which actually made me like this character. And we got to see Sin Specter again, which is just nice!

Favorite Actor

Syuichiro Naito. His growth through Saber was great to follow and he gave it his all and it clearly shows.

Favorite Actress

Asuka Kawazu. She always brought so much energy to her role that she just made me love seeing her.

Favorite Writer

Junko Komura. Woman knows how to write comedy. She made me laugh so much this year, there is no other person I could give this to.

Favorite Director

Kazuya Kamihoriuchi. His work on the Primitive Dragon and Kenzan arcs was just great. man knows how to present drama and I love it! So many great shots!

Favorite Suit Design

Probably Cross Saber. Really found the color scheme appealing and it just looks so cool.

Favorite Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha

The Geartingler. Fun transformation device that just screams fun!

Favorite Fight Scene

The entirety of the Sword of Logos against the 4 Lords of Wise. These fights are brutal and just carry so much emotion and pay of so well! That#s how you cap of a series with such a huge cast!

Favorite Dramatic Scene

The final showdown of Ren and Desast... Just... Wow! So much crammed into one fight and the journey to its inevitable conclusion was a great one! Cheffskiss!

Favorite Comedic Scene

The entirety of the Vacation World Episode. I don't care if it's breaking the rules, it just is the only answer. I have not laughed this much in a long time!

Biggest "WTF did I just watch?" Moment

Vacation World.

Favorite Song

Rewrite the Story.

Favorite Piece of Merchandise

The release of the Yujou Burst Eyecon after so many years! Like, this is so great!

Biggest Surprise of 2021

Just.... Just OOO's announcement... I'm still in disbelieve at that one!

Biggest Disappointment of 2021:

Revice in its entirety has to be the worst first arc of Rider I've seen... The show has been a miserable experience for me, existing in that spot where it wants you to engage with you, but too afraid you'll miss something and shoves it in your face, repeatedly. Most episodes feel rushed, not fully thought through, and with some truly awful scenes only here to move the plot along with atrocious dialog. Added on is the incredibly weak cast, that just can't get any emotional reaction from me and the occasional broken Asop that the show has and... Yeah... No other way to say it for me, it's bad.

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in 2021 Tokusatsu:

Vice. Just, Vice...