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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Lavender Ranger and Henshin0 at Power Morphicon

So some of you may know that I will be attending the Power Morphicon. Henshin0 will also be there, since he frequents cons and lives in California, he already knows Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy. And unlike FuryDiamond of Ranger Crew and Samuraicast.com, I won't have any few swag to give out. Mostly because I don't have any. So if you are attending, say hi, I'll be wearing purple (natch). Well I have one white Super Sentai shirt with all the Red Ranger helmets. Anyhoo, this is my first Power Morphicon, I hope my first of many.

I have my digital and video camera ready. I am nervous and excited. Also unlike FuryDiamond, I might be able to blog from the hotel but I'll try. Anyway, by Monday, I'll have pictures and video up. And maybe sum up my experience by the end of the week or so. I am sure Henshin0 will share his experience as well. There are plenty of surprises and secrets I am not able to divulge at the moment but hope I will able to after the event is over and done with! I know you guys will be attentive of my blog. Peace and love!

Poll Results: Season for Movie/What kind of Movie/Favorite Fan Website


Click on the Ranger Fan websites you have been to more than once: 
Samuraicast
  85 (42%)
 
Ranger Central
  146 (72%)
 
Grnrngr.com
  64 (31%)
 
Rovang PR Unpatched
  28 (13%)
 
Linear Ranger.com
  82 (40%)
 
PR On-Air Central
  31 (15%)
 
Sean Akizuki Blog
  29 (14%)
 
PR Planet
  29 (14%)
 
Retro Force Fan
  11 (5%)
 
Morphin Legacy
  57 (28%)
 
Toku Insider
  33 (16%)
 
No Pink Spandex
  53 (26%)
 
Henshin Justice
  91 (45%)
 
Henshin Head
  21 (10%)

What season warranted a movie that didn't have one?
Zeo
  81 (32%)
 
In Space
  111 (44%)
 
Lost Galaxy
  55 (22%)
 
Lightspeed
  37 (14%)
 
Time Force
  110 (44%)
 
Wild Force
  47 (19%)
 
Ninja Storm
  44 (17%)
 
Dino Thunder
  59 (23%)
 
SPD
  67 (27%)
 
Mystic Force
  47 (19%)
 
Operation
  34 (13%)
 
Jungle Fury
  52 (21%)
 
RPM
  89 (36%)
 
Samurai
  62 (25%)

What sort of Power Rangers movie would you like to see?
Same as the first
  51 (19%)
 
Reunion All-Stars
  131 (50%)
 
Remake of MMPR
  63 (24%)
 
Like Dark Knight
  76 (29%)
 
Like Super Sentai
  131 (50%)
 
Other
  70 (26%)

Monday, August 13, 2012

Exclusives at Power Morphicon (Visit RangerCrew Blog)

My pal FuryDiamond has plenty of new news about Power Morphicon at his blog RangerCrew blog. For you guys that don't know, he also runs Samuraicast.com
http://blog.samuraicast.com/bandai-at-power-morphicon/
Basically just like they did at Comic-Con, Bandai America had exclusive Samurai Rangers set, they will have Comic Con exclusive of Shark Attack Red Ranger and a Mooger (from Clash of the Red Rangers). 

http://blog.samuraicast.com/shout-factory-at-power-morphicon/
Shout Factory will be selling Mighty Morphin Power Rangers box set and Volume One DVD of VR Troopers. 

Papercutz also gave them the exclusive news so credit goes to them. They will have a few free things: 500 free mini comics in each bag for the attendees and 100 mini-posters with any purchase.
http://blog.samuraicast.com/papercutz-at-power-morphicon-2012/

For more stuff, check out RangerCrew Blog!

Power Rangers Animal Explanations

I've thought of doing this for a while...

 Zordon says...
Jason - Tyrannosaurus, bold and powerful

Billy - Triceratops, patient and wise

Kimberly - Pterodactyl, graceful and smart

Trini - Sabertooth Tiger, fearless and agile.

Zack - Mastodon, clever and brave.


 
When they get the Thunderzords, Zordon says...

Jason - Dragon, fierce and true

Billy - Unicorn, mythological powers and wisdom

Kimberly - Firebird, powerful and agile

Trini - Griffin, Swift and Accurate

Zack - Lion, courage and strength


 
When the trio joins, Zordon says...

Rocky - Dragon, strength and knowledge

Aisha - Griffinr, spirited and clever

Adam - Lion, watchful and intelligent 


Dulcea says:

Bear - Aisha, fierce and unstoppable.

Ape - Rocky, smart and strong.

Wolf - Billy, cunning and swift. 

Crane - Kimberly, agile, light as a feather.

Frog - Adam, like the one you kiss to get a handsome prince. 

Falcon - Tommy, winged lord of the skies.

Ninjor says... 
(he talks about the zords)
Rocky - Mighty Ape, Wisdom and Strength; Rocky says "Mighty and Strong"

Aisha - Fierce Bear, Might and Cunning; "Cunning and Fierce" Aisha says

Billy -  Silent Wolf, Stealth and Accuracy; Billy says "Silent and sure."

Kimberly - Shining Crane, Grace and Beauty; "Agile and Graceful" says Kim.

Adam - Wise Frog, Silent courage; "Courageous in Spirit" Adam says.

Tommy - Mighty Falcon, Justice and Strength; Tommy says "Just and Able"

 
In the pilot, Zordon says...
Jason, you shall have the power of the tyrannosaurus - bold and mighty.

Zachary, the power of the mastodon - clever and brave.

 Kimberly, your power comes from the pterodactyl - cunning and quick.

Billy, you draw from the triceratops - patient and smart. 

 Trini, your power comes from the sabertoothed tiger - fierce and agile.


Word Use
Cunning - used for Billy in the movie, Aisha's bear in season 3, and Kimberly in the pilot
Smart - used for Billy in the pilot and Rocky in the movie.
Agile - used for Trini in the first season episode (and pilot) and Kimberly in the movie.
Might/Mighty - used for Rocky and Aisha in season 3 and Jason in the pilot.
Fierce - Used for Trini in the pilot and Aisha in the movie.
Wise/Wisdom - 'Wise' was used for Billy in the first ep and 'Wisdom' for Rocky's ape in season 3.
Strength - Used for Rocky in season 2, the movie and season 3. Also for the Lion for Zack in season 2.
Smart - Used for Kimberly in season 1, Billy in the pilot and Rocky in the movie.
Cunning - Used for Kim in the pilot, Billy in the movie.
Fierce - used for Trini in the pilot and Aisha in Season 3.
Swift - Used for the Griffin Trini in season 2 and Billy in the movie.

Settle the Debate: The Chicken or the Egg? Voltron or Power Rangers?



This has been an ongoing debate between non-Power Ranger fans and Power Ranger fans. Even with PR fans themselves! For those who did not grew up in the 1980's, Voltron was a show that aired in the United States and some other countries from 1984-1985 on syndication and then on cable in the 1990's. It even spun off spin-offs but I will discuss those later. Since Americans knew of Voltron in the 1980's and then saw Power Rangers in 1993, they went through the natural conclusion that they were similar and hence the creators of Power Rangers were inspired by Voltron and hence 'rip-off.'

SIMILARITIES
 (Fan drawing above by Andrew Leta)
Big Robos
The original Voltron robo (known as GoLion in Japan) was made of five different colored lion-like robots (Red, Black, Green, Blue and Yellow) to form one big robot. The original Megazord (Daizyujin in Japan) was made of five robots modeled after pre-historic beasts. Both big robos wielded swords. So it can be seen why they are similar.

 Color Uniforms
The original pilots of 'Voltron' wore the colors (or similar) to their lions. Keith wore red and piloted the Black Lion, Lance wore blue and piloted the Red Lion, small Pidge piloted Green Lion in his green uniform, Sven wore black and piloted Blue Lion, Hunk wore orange and piloted the Yellow Lion. Princess Alura later takes over for Sven and piloted the Blue Lion in a pink uniform. The Power Rangers always have colored uniforms and always piloted zords of their same color (while most Pink Rangers had white zords with some sort of pink trim). 



CLARIFICATIONS
Beast King GoLion
The original Voltron series was created by Peter Keefe in 1984 using material he had licensed from the Japanese cartoons Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. The producers had no means of translating the Japanese series into English, so they surmised the plots and created all-new dialogue, editing out the more violent scenes, and remixing the audio into a stereo format. Beast King GoLion was made by Toei Animation from 1981-1982. 

Goranger and Super Sentai
Super Sentai as we PR fans know started in 1975 with Himitsu Sentai Goranger. For those who do not know, 'Sentai' is Japanese for Team. The creator of Power Rangers, Haim Saban, much like Peter Keefe wanted to use the Japanese series and adapt it for US audiences. Unlike animation, that can be re-dubbed in English and excused as American, live-action had to be done in the fashion we now know as Power Rangers. Filming American actors and using some of the fighting footage, 'localizing' the series. Saban had been trying to adapt Super Sentai for years. For one, Bioman (1984) -- which never got developed and Jetman (1991) but ultimately settled with Zyuranger (1992). With a pilot to Fox Kids, they were finally able to launch the franchise.

Since I have your attention, I'll go through the different incarnations of Voltrons because they are just a few:
Armored Fleet Dairugger XV 
Armored Fleet Dairugger XV aired from 1982-1983 and was chosen to be the second season of Voltron. with the storyline considerably changed. In this iteration of Voltron, the Galaxy Alliance's home planets have become overcrowded, and a fleet of explorers has been sent to search for new planets to colonize. My best friend Cyn doesn't consider this as Voltron, she says the lion one is the only Voltron. Understandably the Go-Lion part was more popular. Lightspeed Electroid Albegas was planned for the third season but because the lion was more popular, they aborted the idea even though toys were still released under the name Voltron.

Voltron: The Fleet of Doom
Voltron: The Fleet of Doom was a television special involving both Vehicle Force Voltron and Lion Force working together to defeat King Zarkon, who aligns with Viceroy Throk of the Drule High Command to create a new army the Fleet of Doom.  This movie was released later on DVD by the company originally responsible for taking the Japanese source material and bringing it to American audiences, World Events Productions (WEP).

Voltron: The Third Dimension
Voltron: The Third Dimension is an American computer-animated television series. It departed from the original Lion Voltron's animated look, as well as some character changes, such as the physical appearance of Prince Lotor. It served as a sequel to the Lion Voltron series, set three years after the end of that program. It aired from 1998-2000. Lance wore red in this series, Allura wears blue and Hunk wears yellow. 

Voltron Force
Voltron Force is a new version of the 1980s animated series, Voltron, that was originally scheduled for a release in autumn of 2010. Eventually, the show premiered on June 16, 2011 on Nicktoons. On April 4, 2010, it was announced that the show's title had been changed from "Voltron Panthera Force" to "Voltron Force."the characters are five to seven years older than those in the original series, and the general concept of the original series is mostly accepted as backstory. A live-action movie is still in the works.




CONFUSION 
A 2009 web parody called 'Megabot' had concepts of both Voltron and Power Rangers. In it they have five pilots of five robots that become one robot. In parody of the first season of MMPR, Yellow is asian and Black is an African-American. Also Red is a Jock and Blue is a nerd. But the suits are clearly parodying Voltron.




CONCLUSION
 So if GoLion was made in 1981 and Super Sentai concept in 1975, then Super Sentai came first. Now you can say that Power Rangers DID come after Voltron. But both GoLion and Voltron came after Super Sentai, if anyone want to talk about 'Rip-offs,' then Voltron can be taken as a rip-off of Sentai. Also, my pal Joe Rovang says if it is from the same company (Toei) then he doesn't consider it a 'rip-off.' Like how VR Troopers, Beetleborgs, Masked Rider and Mystic Knights shouldn't be considered rip-offs from Power Rangers.

Related: http://spanengrish.blogspot.com/2007/08/voltron-what-we-all-fear.html | Voltron and Power Rangers Spoofs

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Poll Results: Power Morphicon/NickToons


Are you still watching Power Rangers on NickToons? 
Yes
  113 (72%)
No
  42 (27%)

Do you like seasons that have continuation and callbacks or more standalone?
Callbacks
  58 (38%)
Continuation
  50 (33%)
Standalone
  32 (21%)
All of Above
  78 (51%)

Do you think seasons with more episodes are better than seasons with less? 
Yes
  113 (64%)
No
  14 (7%)
Maybe
  33 (18%)
Don't Mind
  16 (9%)

Would you like them to have Power Morphicon next year (2013) for the 20th anniversary of PR? 
Yes
  151 (84%)
No
  12 (6%)
Maybe
  15 (8%)

Are you attending Power Morphicon?
Yes
  23 (12%)
No
  29 (15%)
Maybe
  5 (2%)
Wish I could
  125 (68%)

Which figure do YOU really really want from Tamashi Nations/Figuarts?
Nova Ranger
  118 (47%)
White Mystic
  117 (47%)
Kat Ranger
  116 (46%)
7 MMPR
  107 (43%)
5 Psycho Rangers
  86 (34%)
20 Red Rangers
  79 (31%)
Titanium Ranger
  73 (29%)
6 Movie MMPR
  58 (23%)

Lord Zedd
  56 (22%)
5 Aquitar Rangers
  56 (22%)
5 SPD A-Squad
  54 (21%)
Ivan Ooze
  34 (13%)


Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2012/08/poll-results-power-rangers-figuarts.html