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Well, we got a new Ultraman trademark and our first non-derogatory look at next year's Sentai, so it seems an appropriate time to go ahead and post this year's look back thread.

If you're new to the site, this is a thing I post in late December to allow us all to reflect on the past year and indulge my pedantic love for end-of-year lists. This year felt pretty stable: Rider, Sentai, and Ultraman all kept doing their things with no major deviations or surprises. Power Rangers got a little weirder than normal, but what even is normal for Power Rangers anymore?

As always, for releases of this year I'm counting any series that aired any episodes during 2023, including:

Donbrothers
Kingohger
Kamen Rider Geats
Kamen Rider Gotchard
Ultraman Blazar
Power Rangers Netflix Force
Anything else that got less exposure and therefore slipped under my radar

As always, 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 2023

Favorite New-to-You Show of 2023

Favorite Movie, Miniseries, or Special of 2023

Favorite Rewatch of 2023

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 2023

And, of course, because some things in 2023 were the return of Kyoryuger's sound effects to Super Sentai on a recurring basis:

Biggest Disappointment of 2023:

The Onari Memorial Award for Single Worst Thing in Tokusatsu, 2023 Edition:


Finally, a new category to both end on a more positive note and to reflect the large amount of announcements we have for next year:

Most Anticipated Tokusatsu Project and/or Merch of 2024