Baron vs. BLACK, Joker vs. BLACK RX in Kamen Rider War?!

Things are starting to get more interesting for the upcoming Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider War feat. Super Sentai film as one photo has surfaced online, which featured one of the battles in the said film.

As seen in the picture above, it's Baron vs. BLACK and Joker vs. BLACK RX! It's was earlier reported that Renn Kiriyama, best known for his role as Shotaro Hidari aka Kamen Rider W and Kamen Rider Joker will appear in the movie.

The new film will premiere on March 29, 2014.

[Photo via Hobo ODST of HJU]

Kamen Rider BLACK 29 – Attack of the Dummies

SOON.

Gorgom's plan in this episode is to destroy Earth's advancements when it comes to space exploration by having dummies of the original astronaut candidates infiltrate NASA and ruin the launch. To make things interesting, Katsumi ends up discovering this plan! Can Kotaro stop Gorgom's plan?

This episode is kinda creepy; it's creepy in a sense that the dummies are so identical to the originals that it's scary if you put the originals and the dummies side by the side. The resemblance and their personalities are the same that's why it's scary. What if Kotaro is actually fighting the real ones and not the dummies and ends up killing the originals? Thankfully, the originals are kept in some place while the dummies are walking around. As for Gorgom's plan in this episode, it has some potential, but the problem is when it comes to execution. Instead of sending these dummies a day before the launch, they send the dummies days before the launch, giving Kotaro some time to find and destroy them.

This is when Birugenia comes in, he uses this time to lure Kamen Rider out and destroy him! But hey, since this plan obviously worked, let's talk about Katsumi in this episode. Even though she ended up getting kidnapped by Gorgom, it's thanks to her that the plot for the series is starting to advance. I mean, for weeks now, we have no update about Nobuhiko's situation! Her appearance assured us that Nobuhiko is still mutating into Shadow Moon and Katsumi might play a big role once Shadow Moon comes out of his shell... or if they can manage to rescue him before that happens.

As for the rest of the episode, it's basically the attack of the dummies and it's really awesome. It's awesome because Kotaro is not fighting mind controlled humans, but dummies of real humans. It's awesome because Kotaro has every right to kick their asses but their human appearance is preventing him to finish these dummies. It didn't help that these guys can assemble with ease while the Armadillo Mutant is still alive. As for the Armadillo Mutant, he has more personality than your usual MOTW because he wants to do his job without someone interfering him. By interfering him, I mean Birugenia.

At the end, Kotaro managed to defeat the MOTW, the astronauts are now safe and the dummies are now dead. As for Katsumi, she feels that Nobuhiko is still alive and is hopeful that they can save him someday.

Kamen Rider BLACK 28 – Beetle Fever

A new bug craze is sweeping the town and it is said that once these bugs create eggs that are so expensive that everyone wants it! Problem is the female bug is one rare bug, causing people to panic just to find one! Is this bug craze a new Gorgom plot or some fad that will quickly fade to obscurity?

What makes this episode interesting is Birugenia cooperating with the Gorgom High Priests... which is quite a surprise since he thinks them as incompetent slobs. But as it turns out, it is just part of his plan to lure Kamen Rider BLACK out and destroy him. As for the plot itself, it's quite ridiculous, kinda like how most fads are. A lot of people want it, but unlike most fads, it has something to do with creating a lot of money. This is when the plot starts to become more interesting, the actions of the adults in this episode show us human greed, and that people will do anything just to get money.

So when Kotaro discovered that this new bug craze is a Gorgom plot all along, he tries to convince the adults to stop caring about the bugs and care more about fellow humans, only to be shunned by them. Seeing Kotaro becoming the "bad guy" in the eyes of other humans is a sad scene and feels like these humans are not worth saving. But there is one kid that gives Kotaro the motivation to continue on fighting and that's what matters for him. Seeing him bond with the kid of the week is really great and you can feel that he really wants to help this kid, except that his parents has this high standard for their son.

That's why I am kinda saddened that Kotaro later acted that he is losing faith on humanity so that he can lure out Birugenia and the MOTW. I mean, he created one great bond with the kid only for him to destroy it just to defeat the bad guy?! It's like him picking the lesser of two great evils and for a hero; it's a really tough choice. To save the world or destroy his friendship with a kid who has some confidence problems? What's sad is that the issue with the kid and his family is not resolved at the end of the episode. They left it open that I am not sure if the parents are on a trance thanks to the bug or they are just greedy.

As for the fights, it's really great. The fight with the MOTW is really creative and showed us that the MOTW can create more than just bugs that can create golden eggs. What's great about this is that they actually made new footage for the Road Sector scenes, now featuring the gold dust attached in Kamen Rider's body. After Kamen Rider defeated the MOTW, it's time to face Birugenia! His duel with Birugenia is seriously unexpected. I mean, I expect that Birugenia will just leave after Kamen Rider defeated the MOTW, but nope, he fought the hero and it was one heck of a duel. My only wish is for it to be longer because I want more Birugenia vs. BLACK! At the end, the day is safe but the fate those who got into the bug craze is still unknown.

Kamen Rider BLACK 27 – Explosions & Saving a Kid

This is touching.

Because of the MOTW's cocoons, electricity and anything that has something to do with friction is absorbed, triggering an explosion and that includes Kamen Rider BLACK's transformation energy. With a boy's life being in danger thanks to the cocoons absorbing electricity, can our hero save him now that he has some transformation problems?

This is one intense episode, what makes this episode really intense aside that there is a life on a line and that Kotaro can't transform or else things explode is that there is a time limit in this one. He only has one hour to save the kid and it didn't help that he promised the kid that Kamen Rider has his back! But before we can go to the intense parts, I'll first talk some interesting stuff not related to the main plot. First is that I start to notice that the mouth movement doesn't match with what the Gorgom High Priests are saying.

Next is I just love that Birugenia pointed out the obvious, the High Priests suck when it comes to making plans and I agree with the guy. If there are times that the plan works, there is a point where Kamen Rider foils them and ends up saving the day. Birugenia's snarky attitude towards the High Priests is one of the reasons why I like this guy. He knows that he is stuck with a bunch of idiots and thinks that he can do a better job than them... and he is right about it, well sometimes that is since he also has a fair share of failures thanks to Kamen Rider.

Now to the intense part, aside from the explosions every time Kotaro runs his motorcycle on those cocoons is that I just love that Kotaro thinks twice with some of his actions. I mean, he is not anymore saving the world in general, but he is saving the world, and the kid in the operating room he is about to have his operation. If he fails, he will carry this guilt that he didn't save the kid that he promised that he will save. It is also those times that we saw Kotaro becoming creative when it comes to facing the situation. Instead of transforming on ground, he transformed in midair to fight the MOTW.

The fight is impressive as usual and defeated the MOTW in the process. At the end, the kid's operation is successful and we learn that his dream is to become a Kamen Rider. Well good luck on that one kid, we don't know if you will be kidnapped by some evil organization or pick up some belt in the woods or make a contract with a being to gain some Rider powers.

S.H. FiguArts Road Sector Official Images

Bandai Tamashii Nations opened pre-orders for the S.H. FiguArts Road Sector! This figure represents Kamen Rider BLACK's second motorcycle.


The motorcycle has a length of 190mm and comes with a transparent stand, replacement grip and a part for Road Sector's Attack Shield. This Tamashii Web Exclusive figure costs 5,400 yen and is set for an April 2014 release.

Kamen Rider BLACK 26 – The Possession of a Girl Named Mami

This episode is creepy. Seriously creepy.

A girl named Mami who sucks when it comes to sports but is determined to be good at it suddenly becomes strong and even beat the boys! Because of this sudden change, Kotaro suspects that this is a Gorgom plot... and he is right.

What's with Kamen Rider and creepy kids? I mean seriously, the Mami's facial reactions during the time she is under control of the MOTW is really scaring it. It didn't help that the one talking is not her, but the MOTW. It's scary and it felt like it came straight from The Exorcist. But to be fair with the girl, her father is kinda pressuring him to be better than the boys and making a deal with a Mutant shows that she is desperate to make her father proud.

Thanks to the Mutant's influence, she starts to act like she is superior than other, especially to adults. Seeing her bully adults is one unsettling sight. I mean seriously, it doesn't look right, especially the part wherein she bullies the guy in the ice cream parlor to give them free ice cream. Thankfully, Kotaro arrives just in time to try and stop her. This is when the episode gets a bit more creepy, and in some parts, scary. The way they shot the scene where Kotaro is looking for the girl is really scary, it helps that music and the way the girl cries adds up the horror vibe of the scene.

This is when the fun begins, after Kotaro found Mami and walked with her for a few minutes, she suddenly leaps and attacks Kotaro. The evil laugh and the way she smiled feels like it really came straight from The Exorcist. I know I am repeating myself with the comparison, but that's how the scene feels like, one horror film compressed in 24 minutes including the opening and ending credits! Heck, there are times in the episode that I forgot that I am watching Kamen Rider BLACK and feels like I am watching "Kotaro's Adventure to the Unknown"!

Even if the Mutant now controls Mami's body, there are times that she fights back, and boy, she knows how to fight back. Heck, if I am interpreting the scene correctly, she used her super strength to open some wires so that she can electrocute herself so that she can release the Mutant! Now that the Mutant is now out of the girl's body, it is time for Kamen Rider to defeat him. The fight scene is as always, it's really good. One thing I can't help but notice is that this is longer than your average final fight scene in the series as the fight scene almost finished playing the full version of the opening theme.

At the end, the Mutant is defeated, the girl is safe and more importantly, Mami's father learn one important lesson about pressuring her girl to overexert herself in doing things.

Latest S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider BLACK & Battle Hopper Renewal Photos

Bandai Tamashii Nations released new photos for the S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider BLACK Renewal Ver.. This figure is set to be released this October 26th.

First is the comparison photos between the original S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider BLACK, which was originally released back in May 2009. The photos featured the key differences between the two figures, such as the body shape and show accuracy of the figure.

Next are shots of the S.H. FiguArts Battle Hopper Renewal Ver. and unlike the original version, it's not a Tamashii Web Exclusive figure.

Lastly, Bandai Tamshii Nations also gave us a fans our first look on a renewal version of S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider BLACK RX.

S.H. FiguArts Kamen Rider BLACK Renewal Ver. is more show accurate version of the original figure, which stands 150mm tall. This new figure is best paired with the more show accurate version of the S.H. FiguArts Battle Hopper, which is 160mm in length.

Kamen Rider BLACK 25 – Bike Wars

EPIC. BIKE. FIGHT.

To beat Kamen Rider BLACK's Road Sector, Gorgom is developing a new motorcycle... and it seems that they suck in making it. This is when Birugenia comes in and decides to kidnap someone who can help them make this new killer motorcycle.

This episode is good, seriously good and it feels like a way for the producers to tell us about that they are sorry for the lack of Birugenia in the previous episode. Anyway, the test sequence for the first Gorgom bike is something that I didn't expect. I mean, they actually created a robot just to test the bike's speed and power? They can just use their mutants for that. I am pretty sure that they have one monster that can resist such kind of explosion and the like.

This is when Birugenia comes in and decides to help them, by having the man who was once under the wing of the man who created the Road Sector create the new bike. It made a lot of sense; add the fact that he already won awards just by making bikes. Because of this, he attempts to kidnap the man but lucky enough, Kamen Rider arrived just in time to save the day. But this will not stop Birugenia from making another attempt to kidnap the bike mechanic! The second attempt was successful and now, he is forced to work for Gorgom as his family was also kidnapped by them!

The new bike looks really great and I just love that they added the not simplified version of the Gorgom logo in the side. Now that the mechanic's job is done, it's expected that he will be later executed by Gorgom but before it can happen, he already asked help from the one who owns the Road Sector thanks to a communicator that can link up with Road Sector's computer. Kotaro picks up the signal and saves the family and defeat the MOTW.

As for Birugenia, after testing the new bike, it's time for him to face our hero! The bike fight between the two is really stunning. It's a nice mix between your regular side by side ramming, shooting attacks and my personal favorite, racing. It's one awesome scene and the way it ended it is one of the best ways to end a battle. Sadly, Birugenia managed to escape but what the heck, the bike fight is awesome and I wish that they will do more of these later in the series! At the end, the family thanked Kamen Rider BLACK for saving them. What's cute is that the kid did a drawing of BLACK riding Road Sector! Now I wonder if Battle Hopper will be jealous with that drawing.