SO-DO Kamen Rider Build 2

Kamen Rider is no stranger to early season form spamming. It’s why a lot of comments nowadays are “I’ll come back past the first quarter when they’ve sold all their toys.” Unfortunately for those people, BUILD 2 is still firmly stuck in the ‘To Sell Toys’ phase, as we move as far ahead as episode 7 - that’s almost a new form every week! Are they any good? Or, more specifically, are the toys good? Keep reading to find out!

Can't believe they did my boy Taro Sato dirty like this

SO-DO Kamen Rider Build 1

Kamen Rider Build’s been over a while now, but what a show it was. Full of lovable characters, plots that stand out even among twenty years of continuous Kamen Rider on TV, a near-perfect balance of pathos and comedy, and also a lot of different forms. From the TV screen to the movie theatre to the DVDs, to the arcade machines, there were a tonne of Rider suits made for Kamen Rider Build – some more memorable than others. And, with me being in a nostalgic mood, what better way to have a retrospective of such a great series than to follow through the SO-DO line and see what memories it stirs up?

"I've got the Winning Formula for procrastination!" - Me, writing way more than I need to

What’s that? Why don’t I just watch the show again if I’m so nostalgic? No, no, I’m far too busy for that.

SHODO-X Kamen Rider Ichigo (Sakurajima Version)

I’m a sucker for anything that could be considered “slightly obscure”. For example, I love Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. I’d watched all of 90’s Rider (ignoring the Masked variety) before any Showa. I’m great at Pointless, a fun British show that you should all check out, which is all about getting obscure answers. So, when I went to pick up a representation for the first ever Kamen Rider to display on my growing SHODO shelf, did I go with his first ever suit, that started it all? No. Did I go for the Shin Ichigo suit, which has been a symbol of justice for close to 50 years now? Also no. Did I go for the Powered Ichigo suit from the recent 2016 movie that we’ll never see again? Sadly, that doesn’t have a SHODO yet. It should, though. It’s awesome.

SHODO VS Kamen Rider ZO

The year is 1993. The era is Heisei, not that it matters much to a film that won’t debut for 21 years. Kamen Rider has been absent from Television for 4 years, and the only new project were a series of Direct-to-Video movies. The subject of our review today comes from the second of these, and possibly the most overlooked. Maybe that’s why Bandai threw the guy a bone and gave him and his villain a mass release?

Kamen Rider ZO, the modern-day mauve shirt.

SHODO VS Kamen Rider Super-1

"Hey! Wanna come watch some Showa Rider?"

So here we go, my first blog post / review / I don’t really know what to call these. Half ramblings, half reviews. Ramble-views. And yet, it only seems fitting that I start here. Why? Because the first piece of Kamen Rider merch I ever got was a Kamen Rider Super-1 vinyl at a local convention. It must have been 6 years or so ago now, and I’ll be honest, I don’t remember why I got him specifically. I hadn’t seen Super-1 (I still haven't). I’m not even sure I knew who Super-1 was, beyond it saying on the label. Maybe I just really liked silver. In any case, I got him, and I still have him. He’s a little dusty now, but I wouldn’t trade him away for the world. Even if I eventually watch Super-1 and find out it’s rubbish.