The logo for Super Hero Year.
The Super Hero Year (スーパーヒーローイヤー, Sūpā Hīrō Iyā) project is an anniversary project created by Toei in the year 2016 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series
and the 40th Super Sentai season. It comprises a series of movies and other related media, replacing the annual spring Super Hero Taisen films for the year 2016.
The Super Hero Year project starts with its first film, Kamen Rider 1, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series and focusing on the very first Kamen Rider introduced in the series. Notably, it introduces a brand new modernized design of Kamen Rider 1, reminiscent of the designs of the Double Riders in the reboot Kamen Rider film series and the Kamen Rider introduced in last year's spring film, Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3. The film was released on March 26, 2016.
Kamen Rider 1 was followed by a new endeavour for the Kamen Rider Series in the form of Kamen Rider Amazons, a spin-off series seperate from the Sunday morning run on TV Asahi and made in homage to Kamen Rider Amazon. The first such series of its kind, Amazons premiered on Amazon Prime on April 1 and soon proved to be a success as it was commissioned for an edited run on TV later in the year as well as a second season due to be broadcast in 2017. Super Hero Year made its official climax with Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider, released in December of 2016.
Super Hero Year projects[]
(仮面ライダー平成ジェネレーションズ Dr.パックマン対エグゼイド&ゴースト with レジェンドライダー, Kamen Raidā Heisei Jenerēshonzu: Dokutā Pakkuman tai Eguzeido ando Gōsuto wizu Rejendo Raidā)Other[]
- Year 2011 and 2012 were also kind of double Super Hero Year because of Gokaiger (Super Sentai 35th anniversary), OOO (Kamen Rider 1000th episode milestone) and Fourze (Kamen Rider 40th anniversary).
- Kamen Rider 1 was preceeded by Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders' Souls!
, a Youtube-released miniseries showcasing the Kamen Rider Ghost Eyecons, with installments for each of Ghost's six Heisei Kamen Rider Series Phase 2 predecessors releasing each Friday every fortnight up to the day before the premiere of the movie. A concluding DVD special featuring the Kamen Rider 45 Ghost Eyecon, Last Chapter: 1 & Heisei, would be released a month later. - In promotion of Kamen Rider 1, the Super Hero Time following its premiere was titled the Spring Vacation Combining Hero Festival, following the Spring Vacation Combining Specials of the previous two years. Encompassing episode 7 of Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger and episode 24 of Kamen Rider Ghost, it featured characters from both series making guest appearances in the other while fighting Shocker.
- Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger the Movie: The Heart Pounding Circus Panic featured easter eggs paying homage to each of the 39 previous Super Sentai, including cameo appearances from several animal-themed Super Sentai characters.
- The cast of the Super Sentai 35th anniversary series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger reprised their roles in a two-part arc encompassing episodes 28 and 29 of Zyuohger, the latter of which marked the 2000th episode milestone of Super Sentai.
- A miniseries entitled Super Animal War which accompanied the Blu-ray release of Zyuohger commemorated the 40th anniversary of Super Sentai.
