Toys that Made Us: Power Rangers: Editing and Information Errors

Netflix has a toy documentary that has covered Star Wars, Barbie, He-Man, Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony and other toys. A lot of Power Ranger fans appear in this documentary such as Scott from Power Morphicon, Mike of Rangerstop, Black Nerd Andre, my buddy John, and two Ranger actors David Yost and Walter Jones. It tells the story of Haim Saban got the idea from Sentai to make Power Rangers. It starts out by explaining Tokusatsu. It shows a bit of history with Spider-Man and Kamen Rider. The accuracy then leaves. They use clips from subbed shows and mentions the wrong one while showing another. They show the Cyclone from Kamen Rider and say Sentai. I did my best to edit out the opinion from what CCLemon99 wrote. Thanks to him again.  The reason I did this was to just have the errors highlighted. 

Here is a couple of things CCLemon99 noticed:

• Popy is not mentioned. Popy was around before Bandai, they had the toy license in 1975.
• Kamen Rider is called the first Henshin Hero when that is inaccurate. I’m not even sure but Ultraman is one of them as well.
• Mattel imported some toys over from Japan in the 70s. Godaikin was Bandai's first attempt, but not the only attempt.
• 
  
  They mention Bioman but show a clip of Kyodai Ken Bycrosser. Bycrosser is not Sentai, but was produced by Toei.
• No mention of the 1987 comedy Dynaman dub here in the US but it is forgivable as it is just an hour.
• "Please remember, in 1991 Zyuranger aired in Japan." The show aired in 1992 but the toys were manufactured in 1991, hence why some toys said 1991.
• The 8 Inch Rangers were not sold for Zyuranger. If they were created for Zyuranger, it is not mentioned. The only time they were released was for Mighty Morphin.
• The original broadcast time of Day of The Dumpster. It's stated here as being 7:30am on August 28, 1993. In reality, it was 11:30am.
• 
  
  "Nonaka, speaking of America toy safety standards, shows a gold Zyusouken that he represents as "the American version" with an incredibly dull blade tip. The American Dragon Dagger is nowhere near as dull and, despite other big differences between the Dragon Dagger and Zyusouken, is the exact same blade. A better example of toy safety differences really lies with the swords that come with things like DX Won Tiger/White Tigerzord." -CCLemon99
• Stock footage of British parents swarming upon a Toys R Us while Trish is talking about complaints Bandai America was getting. The footage shown is of Bandai Europe.
• Auto-Morphin figures (1994) are said to be an American creation. Kakuranger (1994) had a line of figures with a very similar transformation action that released earlier in 1994. 
• A Ninja Steel commercial is shown during the Disney era.
• When discussing Legacy toys and then showing clips from 1994 toy commercials and Nonaka's gold-plated Kyuukyoku Daizyujin instead of highlighting the Legacy toys themselves.
• Also, at the end they mention Hasbro taking over and that TOEI was no longer part of it. FALSE. Toei is still partnered with Power Rangers because how else do they get the Super Sentai footage?

I wish it let my friends and other Ranger fans talk about their love of the toys and show off their collections like the Star Wars episode. These errors clearly show how much people really don't take Power Rangers seriously and had no passion for this episode. It could have been really great. I don't know if they messed up the clips on purpose as a homage to the early days of Power Rangers, or even Megaforce. Anyway, it is what it is and there you go. 

Source: https://www.cclemon99.com/2019/11/the-toys-that-made-us-mighty-morphin.html

What Lavender Ranger Expects From Hasbro

I don't want to be selfish and be like, this is my opinion and it is what is written in stone. With that thought, I then said let's make a post about the whole fandom wants. But getting everyone's opinions would take too much time and I'm beyond busy right now. And it would be douchy of me to speak for the fandom. I don't want to do that either. So here is my opinion and if anyone cares can read it, if they don't, they don't have to read it. I've been a Power Rangers fan since 1993, my first toy was the 8 inch Yellow Ranger from Bandai and I love the details and articulation of the Bandai Japan toys.  So here is stuff I expect and want...

Zords like Bandai Japan zords

The next series to be adapted is Go-Busters as Beast Morphers. The mecha looks the most like Transformers so it is definitely in Hasbro's wheelhouse. Since around when Disney took over, the Bandai America zords have lost quality. They used to be close to the quality of Bandai Japan. The Legacy zords definitely stepped up and got better than Bandai Japan, then they did Bandai Premium. Hasbro is no stranger to recreating toys from Japan, Transformers, VR Troopers, etc. And they have done great articulation with Transformers.

Legacy Figures Continued

The Marvel Legends figures are 6 inches tall while the Bandai Legacy figures are 6'5". Fans want the Legacy line to continue and with the 6'5" height. That would be great, I would like that because I can continue my collection and not have to restart. Unfortunately I don't see that happening. It is rare for toy lines to continue from one company to another. I do look forward to Hasbro doing the Legacy figs because the Marvel Legends have different heads and arms unlike the Bandai ones. 

Shogun Megazord and other Legacy Items

Talking about continuation of lines, Bandai moved on from MMPR finally and will give us Zeo Mropher and Golden Staff but they skipped Shogun Megazord which has left a sore spot for fans. Basically because they decided to release Red and Yellow dino zords instead of it. The original Shogun Megazord came with a pink one instead of white and I would like to see a show accurate Shogun Megazord. Hasbro executives have said they will cater more to grown up fans and their Marvel line sure has shown that so I hope so. 

Villain figures

Hasbro makes a lot of villains. Bandai did in the past but not so much anymore. Bandai has been releasing more monsters, I would like to see more monsters to continue. I would like to see classic villains in a Legacy line like Rita, Zedd, Goldar, etc. This might be too much to ask but past monsters would be great now. The above pic shows 11 inch "Nutcracker" figures, I now they will continue. I know fans won't like it but it will continue because it is the industry norm now. 

Equality

I know fans didn't want to believe girl figures don't sell and I even refused to believe it. But I have seen them warm shelves. But I think the current Bandai America figures did so because the figures were/are so thin and easily to break. I say that because my nephew and niece have easily broken through female figures' arms and legs. For the Movie, Bandai did release more female figs and gear. For Black Panther and Antman and Wasp, they have lots of female figures and I hope this continues with Power Rangers. I think it won't be an issue with Beast Morphers as they is just one female and she is yellow.

 Final Thoughts

I've said what I expect but what I WISH would be affordable items and quality items. "Affordable" is hard. If you want quality, you have pay for it. But I wish it was worth it. The Bandai America Legacy Communicator was not show accurate and the sounds were random and was $80. If I spend $80, I want it to be worthwhile. All above is just speculation anyway. I don't know really what will happen. I am excited. A lot of fans are hyped, they don't want to disappointed. But from experience, not everyone will be happy. We'll see. It is part of life. Excitement and disappointment. All I got to say to Hasbro is: Bring It On. 

Last half of Kyoryuger toys at Japanese toy fair

http://www.heroshock.com/?p=5211

 

Bragigas, Gigant Bragi-Oh, Gigant Kyoryuzin and Kyoryuzin Black Version.

 

 

Lavender Ranger's Editioral: Why I think Power Rangers and Super Sentai are Boy's Franchises

UPDATED 9/9/13 7:30 PM EST
The reason I put 'Why I think' when I really believe that both Toei and Saban, even Disney believe this is because fans do not agree with this notion. It is understandable. I used to be bothered by this. The reason it is bothersome is on its surface (two females per most teams and focus on female characters and scattered female empowerment) the show serves both to boys and girls, but there are a lot of facts that show it is the Boy's franchise. Let me clear that what I mean is that the companies consider it a boy's franchise, I am not saying girls and women should not watch the show or enjoy it. What I am basically saying is that Toei, Saban and Disney (at one point) consider boys the target audience.

Age demographic

When I was 11, I didn't like that the show was aimed at kids. Nowadays it seems to be aimed to boys ages 2-11 (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130122006426/en/Saban-Brands-Presents-All-New-Series-Power-Rangers), while the toys say 4 and up and the TV rating is TV-Y7. With Samurai, there is now Halloween costumes for toddlers but still not infants. And being a teacher, I see kids from Pre-Kindergarten to 2nd grade like it, by 3rd grade they start denying they like it. Many kids over 8 say 'it's for little kids' even though parents have protested its 'violence' since the show began.

 Girls

I have mentioned before on this blog about female empowerment (Lauren in Samurai and Jen in Time Force for example) and fans wanting more female toys. In 1994, Bandai released dolls based on Yellow Ranger and Pink Ranger which only lasted two years and were never done again. Bandai has reported for years before that the girl figures don't sell well. In Japan, some dolls for girls were released through the years but for random teams (Bioman, Changeman, etc.) and there was the short-lived 'Girls in Uniform' collectibles line that ran from 2006-2008 that had heronies and villainesses. But there is no girls costumes or girls clothing anymore. When asked if a female could lead a series, Toei producers said toy stores wouldn't support a boy's line lead with a girl. Probably the reason Ninja Red and Time Red were the lead in promotion in their series that girls lead them. At Wal-Mart in America back in 2006, Bandai wanted to have an exclusive figure for White Mystic Ranger called Winter Ranger but they didn't think it would sell well.
http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2012/09/can-girls-line-for-power-rangers-work.html 

 In 1993, Neilsen report said that 40% of the audience was girls. "According to Ms. Margaret Loesch, approximately 40 percent of the "Power Rangers" audience is girls as opposed to about 20 percent for other Fox children's programs."
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-12-29/features/1993363111_1_morphin-power-rangers-mighty-morphin-non-fox

This other article about Power Rangers being blamed in the death of a little girl at the hand of three boys also states 40 percent of the audience are girls. 40 percent doesn't sound like a lot but in a boy's franchise it is. I couldn't find an article of what the percentage is now.
http://articles.mcall.com/1994-11-24/features/3004366_1_rita-repulsa-toys-mighty-morphin-power-rangers/2

Greg Aronowitz on his blog stated that Disney said that SPD helped bring up the percentage of female viewership. Thanks to @morphin_k for the article.
http://barnyardfx.blogspot.com/2011/05/power-rangers-spd-in-japan.html

Facts

- Majority of backpacks, lunch boxes and birthday supplies have only the male Rangers present

- Power Rangers clothing (underwear, t-shirts) for children is mostly made for boys these days. Same in Japan.

- At McDonalds, Power Rangers is now exclusively for boys as the meals are split from boys and girls since Dino Thunder (2004).
- In Japan, there are only one figure made per female. There are some chibi figures but majority are male. All the Rangers including female appear in majority of products and merchandise but they are usually smaller than the males.

  The Yellow Issue

  In the early Saban days, if there was one female in Sentai, they would turn Yellow from male to female. In Japan, Yellow Rangers used to be considered males. The first Yellow Ranger Ki Ranger was male. Since 2006 with Boukenger (which became Operation Overdrive) Yellow has been a female color. In fact the Toei now considers Yellow a female color because it has been used so much for females. They didn't want to use Yellow in Kyoryuger because they considered it too feminine, they wanted mostly males because the Kyoryugers needed to be believable (in their eyes) to beat up their dinosaurs to tame them. I suppose Kyoryu Pink and her dino could be excusable in their eyes. American fans were upset that there was only one female Kyoryuger in what seemed to be 10 Kyoryugers. Now we have a female Kyoryu Violet, making 2 females in about 12 Kyoryugers. Some fans even joked that Saban should make their own Yellow Ranger when Kyoryuger is adapted which I doubt them making.

 In the Power Rangers Megabloks nowadays, they make more Yellow products than Pink, seeing Yellow more excusable for boys. With Power Rangers, Yellow Rangers are considered female, even though there has been 3 male Yellow Rangers. My 26 year-old nephew says he still considers Yellow a girl color. My 3 year-old grand nephew liked Yellow last year and when given the option of dressing as a Yellow Ranger for Halloween, my 26 year-old nephew who is my grand nephew's uncle didn't like that option. It is interesting.

Conclusion
I do think it is a boys franchise but even though it is a male franchise, doesn't mean girls can't enjoy it too. Super Sentai tried only once to have the series without women (Sun Vulcan) back in the 80's. I think females do enjoy Power Rangers but probably not at the same frequency as males. As for adults, there are a lot of women's clothing and products now but I think it has to deal with the nostalgia factor. I do still think Saban should try to do more products for girls like back in 1993. Things have changed in the past 20 years what with Powerpuff Girls, Monster High and Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is also 20 years old and hopefully will return to the US with the new Anime coming soon. I don't think Power Rangers being a boy's franchise is a bad thing. I say embrace it. Maybe it can be seen as just a cover that is it marketed to boys, it can serve for both girls and boys while on its surface being meant for boys.

Pteraranger Figuart on Japanese Online Store and soon in the US

UPDATED 6/8/13 12PM EST

Tamashii Nations reveals the Pteraranger S.H. Figuart that will be available for sale on their online store in October. INFO UPDATED FROM MORPHIN LEGACY Tamashii Nations says coming November 2013 to the US for $39.99. Amazon has pre-orders right now, saying release is September 25, 2013. Quantities are indeed limited. She is the third Zyuranger Figuart to be released.

 http://morphinlegacy.com/2013/06/mighty-morphin-pink-ranger-figuart-coming.html
http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/6513/tamashii_web_exclusive_sh_figuarts_pteraranger_zyuranger_power_rangers_pink_ranger



Green and Red Rangers are already to be released in the US soon. The White Ranger Figuart is to be available at the San Diego Comic Con this July. 

http://www.jefusion.com/2013/06/sh-figuarts-ptera-ranger-image-leaked.html?showComment=1370507741767

Amazon Pre-Order: http://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Tamashii-Nations-Figuarts-Morphin/dp/B00D95E30G/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1370699905&sr=8-16&keywords=power+rangers+figuarts 

The Amazon link says the US Packaging comes with Power Bow, Blade Blaster and the Thunder Slinger. Now if you only seen MMPR and not Zyuranger, you may not know what a Thunder Slinger is. It is the Japanese name of the weapon that defeated the Super Putties thanks to Titanus. In Japan, it was used more than once and it also had a toy. 

UPC: 4543112820327
SKU: BAN82032

Metal Heroes Ranger Keys and Bunpachy gets a Kyoryuger!

Ranger Key Complete Edition

Jansperson, Jiraya, Jiban, Draft Redder, Blue Beet, B-Fighter Kabuto and 2 Ranger Key mysteries. One has a Kakuranger symbol so I figure it will be Ninjaman. Another has an Abaranger symbol so I figure it might be AbareMax (or AbarePink?!).

In the new hero movie, the Gokaiger will transform into Metal Heroes.

Gokai Pink --- Jansperson

Gokai Green --- Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya

Gokai Silver --- Jiban

Gokai Red --- Draft Redder of Exceedraft

Gokai Blue --- Blue Beet of B-Fighter

Gokai Yellow --- B-Fighter Kabuto

 

 

Bunpachy will appear next month with his own partner, name still not provided.

 Raiden Kyoryujin, combination of Kyoryujin with Pteragodon .

 

Kyoryuger Toy Showcase

Movie-Edition Ranger Keys Set to be released in August

UPDATED 1/21/13

 

The website of Bandai's Premium will be taking orders for "Gokaiger VS Go-Busters" movie (opening this week) exclusive Ranger Keys. This 'Phantom Set' includes four Buddyroid Keys (except J), five Phantom Keys, and eight unrevealed Keys. All together, the Set costs 15,750 yen and will begin shipping in August 2013.

 Five Phantom Ranger Keys (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Pink)

Four Buddyroid Keys

 So the 8 Keys are Megazord (Giant Robo) Keys. Flash King (Flashman--1986), Daizyujin from Zyuranger (better known as THE MEGAZORD), Ryuuseioh from Dairanger (Red Dragonzord in Battle Mode), Gao King of Gaoranger (Wild Force Megazord), MagiKing of Magiranger (Titan Megazord), DaiBouken of Boukenger (DriveMax Megazord), and GekiOhja of Gekiranger (Jungle Pride Megazord).


I am guessing this is an universal key, to count for others. It is the Greater Power of the Go-Busters; It generates the Megazord Keys and is generated from the Greater Power of the Go-Busters, the Buddy Roids.

 17 Keys: 5 Phantom Rangers, 4 Buddyroids and 8 Giant Robos