Winners and Losers of 2015: Tokusatsu and Anime

It's almost the end of the year again. Fourth time I do this but second time it is Anime and Tokusatsu.

WINNERS

 Female Blue Ranger Fans

Zyuohger has the 5th female Blue Ranger in Super Sentai history. Also fans of Elephant Rangers are happy about the green elephant ranger.

Sailor Moon Crystal Fans

Second series of Sailor Moon Crystal will cover the Infinity Arc coming this summer which includes Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Saturn! (Fan made image above)

New Zealand

One of the objectives of Dino Charge was to advertise New Zealand as the TV/Film business was declining after many productions had left the country. The aim was to have a character from New Zealand and given the rest of the four Ranger actors were American, one native actor would not be among other New Zealand/Australian actors with American accents like in Disney seasons (sort of like Mystic Force but Richard B is Australian). Anyway, native Kiwi James Davies plays Chase, a New Zealander. Now has this had a positive effect to New Zealand film and tourism? I am not sure. But at least American kids are learning of another country that rarely gets spoken about in American Pop Culture.

LOSERS

Fans of more complex mecha

I don't really mind the Jyyuouger mecha but fans have called it 'an insult' and 'garbage.'

Fans of upgrades or different modes being slowly introduced

Fans have complained that Kamen Rider Ghost is quickly introducing different modes rather rapidly, once an episode. But Power Rangers have been blamed of this as well but since most Sentai and Kamen Rider have 50 episodes or so to slowly do so, this does have pacing issues.

Saban Brands' secret keeping

As much as Saban Brands wanted to keep secret about the female Red Ranger back in Samurai, fans already knew because of Shinkenger and also Carlos Pena revealed in a YouTube video that Kimberley Crossman was the Red Ranger. Also given that the episodes aired earlier in Latin America. Also when they wanted to hide that Cameron Jebo as the Silver Ranger for Super Megaforce, fans already tracked that he was Orion and found a pic of his back and his photo in a production room. I have to admit they did a good job at keeping secret Davi Santos as Ivan. As soon as Claire as cast as Kendall, fans deduced she would be purple (the glasses were a giveaway if you saw Kyoryuger). Also the eps of her becoming Purple aired in foreign countries before the US. They tried to keep it secret. Even in a interview video for World Wide Play with Yoshi and Claire, Yoshi Sudarso almost revealed Claire was a Ranger. The female Purple Ranger toy has been spotted and the description is vague on her identity but the episode aired today in the US on who she is. So what's the point?



Winners and Losers of 2014: Tokusatsu and Anime



TV Shows, Magazines and websites do "Winners and Losers," I've done it for the last two years, so here my mine for this year. You may not agree, I may me completely wrong, but there we go.

WINNERS

Sailor Moon Fans

Sailor Moon has been revived with new merchandise in order of the 20th anniversary and then a brand new anime Sailor Moon Crystal. On top of that, Figuarts, dolls and recreations of the wands and brooches.

Kamen Rider Gaim Fans

A good series is a good series. Kudos. It is a well written series, it had multiple Riders, it has creative fruit-based weapons, arsenal and belts.

White Rangers Fans

We haven't had a White Ranger since Gekiranger (2007). And there was not a female White Ranger since Magiranger (2005) and not a female White Ranger in a core five-member team since Gaoranger (2001).

Dino Charge Megazord Fans

We dodged a bullet, the Triceratops was going to be in Purple and it showed up at SDCC 2014. Now it is correctly pink. Why purple? Bandai America feared boys wouldn't buy the Megazord because it had pink in it. But there will be a purple zord and also with the Dino Charge Power Packs, there are more purple ones. I have no problem with purple, it is just the show accuracy.

LOSERS

Power Rangers Fans older than 12

Fans who have grown up with Power Rangers and know the past seasons were hoping for a lot out of Super Megaforce. Especially those who saw that Saban Brands was hyping up the Legendary War (with the PMC 2012 promo, in early eps of Megaforce, etc.) and the 20th Anniversary. Sure, people can say that I am expecting too much from Saban Brands and that it is not going to be good because Samurai wasn't any good. Also actors have stressed the worked really hard on the show. But think about it this way. The majority of the populace agree that the Super Mario Bros Movie and Batman & Robin were not good films. While personally I think they are both hoots and a half, really small cult films or campy kitsch. If it is not good, it ain't good. Now yes, the Megaforce seasons had redeemable qualities and the cast wasn't bad. I am just saying this was a lowpoint.

Ranger Key Collectors

Now Bandai America didn't promise we would get all teams. Fans were just hoping they would. At San Diego Comic Con of 2013, they showed a variety of female and sixth rangers but when the actual keys came around, it was just 3 per pack and all males. Then there was the bombshell at the Toy Fair that they would only do 60 keys. Because of fan complaints, they then announced at SDCC 2014 that there would be more keys. They said they wouldn't say how because they hadn't finalize agreements with their partner. Razzle1337 then spotted new key listings at Toys R Us. Then a fan found pictures of these listings on a foreign website that usually just have prototypes that never make it to stores. I am included in these "Losers." I don't mean Losers like you are a loser, just that this was a sore spot.

Super Sentai Fans

Super Sentai fans that were hoping Dairanger and pre-Zyuranger Sentai would be free of not being part of Power Rangers now can't rest easy with this. Changeman, Flashman, Fiveman, Maskman, Dairanger and inadvertently Dynaman have been included in Super Megaforce as "New Powers." To add insult to injury, they didn't even keep the names straight. In one episode Maskman is called Blitz, then later called Lightning. Changeman is called Dragon in one ep and then Blitz in another. Ugh.



Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2013/12/winners-and-losers-of-2013-power.html | http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2012/12/winners-and-losers-of-2012-power.html

Best and Worst of 2013: Power Rangers/Super Sentai

This sounds a little like "Winners and Losers" post but this is different. This will be like "Best Dressed" and stuff like that.

SUPER SENTAI

Best Abs

Of course this will go to Daigo of Kyoryugers who sheds his shirt before becoming Carnival Kyoryu Red.

Best Dressed
Best dressed in purple has to be Yayoi Ulshade.

 Most Rangers Ever
Even though Dekaranger had 10, Kyoryuger has the most at 11 or 12 however you look at it KyoryuBlack, KyoryuCyan, KyoryuBlue, KyoryuSilver, KyoryuGold, KyoryuRed, KyoryuViolet (2 of them), KyoryuPink, KyoryuGrey, KyoryuGreen and Deathryuger (not pictured). Gokaiger had over 200 Rangers but they had 6 in the main team. 

Worst Color Combo
Kyoryu Grey and Kyoryu Silver doesn't help with color blind people. Well it is not the worst but it is not what people would had preferred. With the 11 colors, they avoided yellow and even orange. Grey, Silver, Cyan, Gold, Black, and Navy concrete the idea to me about colors companies think boys like better.

POWER RANGERS

Best Abs

Only shirtless guy on Power Rangers since Mike quickly in Power Rangers Samurai and Scott in RPM. Andrew M Gray above in Power Rangers Megaforce as Troy Burrows.

Best Couple
Move over Gia and Jake, I'm shipping over Metal Alice and Robo Knight, there was some definite sexual tension there.

Best Villain
Sorry Vrak, it had to go to Metal Alice. She is the definite one. She is cunning, cold, intelligent and loyal. Also a killer voice actress.

Worst Villain(s)
Bigs and Bluefur are tied with Malkor as they had no personalities and just got easily deposed of.

 

Worst Gag
Ernie's ice creams, smoothies and sundaes dropping or being dropped on people. I know MMPR did it but there is a limit.

KAMEN RIDER

 Best Makeup
 Oren Pierre Alfonzo (Kamen Rider Bravo) is effeminate and wears makeup and sometimes women's clothing items. He is totally muscular and intimidating though.

Best Ending to incorporate past Characters
Kamen Rider Wizard ends and leaves 2 episodes to have past Riders visit.

 Most Handsome Rider in Kamen Rider Wizard
Kamen Rider Wizard himself Shunya Shiraishi.

 Most Handsome Rider in Kamen Rider Gaim
Yutaka Kobayashi as Kamen Rider Baron. While Gaku Sano is a cutie as Kamen Rider Gaim, Baron has that badass mystery going for him. Coincidentally both Kobayashi and Shiraishi share similar psychical traits.

Worst Outfit
This poor girl was stuck in the same costume all Kamen Rider Wizard.

Winners and Losers of 2013: Power Rangers and Super Sentai



I started a new tradition last year to go over what I think are the winners and losers this year.

 SUPER SENTAI

WINNERS

 4. Dinosaur Sentai fans

The Kyoryuger vs Go-Busters teamup will not only reunite the Go-Busters but also Zyuranger (after 21 years) and Abaranger (after 10 years).

 
 3. Violet Fans
We not only got one Kyoryu Violet but two! Male and Female.

2. Ranger Key fans
Kyoryuger gets Ranger Keys finally but only out of an expensive exclusive.

1. Kyoryuger
Japanese and American fans love it! The suits were great, the mecha were cute, good writing, great cast, fun moments and I think the series is really reminiscent of 90's Sentai.

 SUPER SENTAI

LOSERS

 1. Tokkyuger

Train fans and Super Sentai fans. Fans don't like the suits. Maybe this will change. Just one loser? Good enough.

 POWER RANGERS

WINNERS

3. Robo Knight

Gosei Knight was not that popular in the US (In Japan, he was a moderate success) but Robo Knight got many fans here in the US. Combined with his voice and writing, he won us over. "A Knight to Save the Day" did not become a hit but fans still like it. He won't be in Super Megaforce and it is rumored he will have a cameo or something. Will he be missed?

 2. Legacy Items and Green Ranger Fans
Green Rnager and MMPR fans are getting lots of Legacy items like the Gold Legacy Power Morpher with both Green and White Coins, Legacy Dragonzord and Legacy Dragon Dagger. The boxes even emulate the original look of the MMPR boxes. 

 1. American Ranger Keys

The keys are smaller but they are spring loaded. It looks like we will be getting Ninjor and Titanium Ranger. Ninjor's Japanese key showed up not part of Gokaiger but part of Super Hero Taisen 2 exclusive package.

 POWER RANGERS

LOSERS

 3. ACG Fans of "Legends United"
Power Rangers Action Card Game series have appeared in stores every three months but now that Series 4 Legends United was 'released' in November, it has only been available in distribution sites. Most stores around the country has had not them. Only some Wal-Marts like in Texas and other places. Hopefully Series 5 will have reprints of Series 4 cards and will be better distributed.

  2. Our Wallets
  Because of the ACG, Ranger Keys and Legacy Items, our wallets are burning as all this stuff is expensive. We complain about size and paint application, but we then complain about the price. But that is beyond the point. I'm crying all the way to the bank.

  1. American Ranger Keys

Uh, this is hard. I mean, Super Sentai fans that didn't get the Japanese Ranger Keys and were waiting for these keys and they are smaller than the original. Also, there are fans who were expecting them to be bigger than the Japanese keys but oh well. Also they will only 1 per package, coming with the Megazords, zords, cycles, battle gear, multipacks, and blind packs. But the multipacks are only 3 per pack. So we will see if we will be able to get all the teams.

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2012/12/winners-and-losers-of-2012-power.html

Winners and Losers of 2012: Power Rangers and Super Sentai

I decided to do posts for the end of the year in review if it isn't already evident by the last posts. Here are the winners and losers in Power Rangers and Super Sentai. I grouped them together because you will see why, they work together.

WINNERS and LOSERS of 2012

5. DVD Buyers

Winners:

We have gotten a flurry of DVDs this year: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers three seasons box set, Zeo-Lost Galaxy box set, Beetleborgs dvds, VR Troopers dvds, and Ninja Turtles: Next Mutations dvds. Also Power Rangers Samurai and Power Rangers Super Samurai dvds and complete season of Super Samurai.

Losers:

Saban Brands gave out Blu-Rays to Power Force members without asking if they had Blu-Ray. One disadvantage. Also, fans don't like that Zeo-Lost Galaxy DVD box set is not available on sale yet other than Time-Life but we are sure they will be out soon. No Power Rangers Samurai season one complete season yet though.

4. Power Rangers Samurai/Super Samurai

Winner:

#1 Kids action show and high toy sales, Saban successfully made Power Rangers a hit with kids once again.

Loser:

Well the real loser is Power Rangers Samurai, not Nick. Nick is just fine. Well the real real loser is kid fans who love the show and are treated by too many repeats and too many months of waiting for new episodes. For info on what I think should have done, check my Year in the Review on Scheduling of Power Rangers.

 3. The Color Pink

Loser:
This past year, the Pink Samurai Ranger got shafted when it came to Mega Bloks, with no turtle zord nor her own hero pack. Plus her regular figure was cancelled. In Sentai, there was no Pink Ranger this year with Go-Busters. They did get a 'Pink Buster' but it was just a crappy costume ala AbarePink.

Winner:
This past year, Pink Ranger did get a costume and a Mega Mode mask in the Samurai line. Also, the MMPR Pink Ranger seems to be getting love in 20th anniversary collectibles and Halloween costumes for women. In the coming year with the new sentai Juuden Sentai Kyoryuger, the lone female ranger is Pink and her mecha, unlike other Pink Ranger's mecha is COMPLETELY Pink.


2. The Color Yellow

Winner:
In the past year, Yellow Ranger got stuff in MegaBloks that the Pink Ranger did not in Power Rangers Samurai like Ape Zord, Super Mode Hero Pack and multiple figures. Also, she is often grouped with the male figures unlike the Pink Ranger. She also got a Morphsuit.

Loser:
For Samurai Halloween Costumes, Yellow Ranger did not get a costume. This is common on teams with a Pink Ranger. Also there was no adult Yellow Ranger costume, sans the Morphsuit. Samurai Yellow's Shogun Mode was not seen in action on the show. This upcoming year, there will be NO yellow Ranger for Juuden Sentai Kyoryuger (2013), making Yellow also the loser for 2016 when it is adapted for Power Rangers.


1. The Fans

Winners:
It has been confirmed that we will be getting the Legend War for Power Rangers Megaforce but not clear at which point. Also we have Power Force, 20 influential fans selected to represent fans and give feedback to Saban Brands. Also the 20th anniversary will be giving new merchandise and also a new Power Morpher! Also the Power Morphicon had Saban as a presence and it was just plain awesome.

Losers:
Lol just kidding... uh.. not really. Well, you guys know what. We are always unhappy about something. Look at Nick, where we don't even get promos anymore. Or look at PRS itself, where adult fans are not happy. But that is just part of being a fan. Not everyone is going to happy because there is always different opinions on how to run things.

Year in Review: Failure of Go-Busters?

(The following is just my theory--not fact to why the series did not perform well with Japanese kids, it has nothing to do with the worth of the series at all. I liked the series, it was a solid show.)

Word is that Bandai president says Go-Busters had low ratings and low toy sales. Initally they thought it was doing great, rumor is probably because of the Ranger Keys sales. Also supposedly they blame the Go-Busters storyline for being too 'Dark.' I personally don't think it was so dark. I think the series just didn't have a lot to go on. I do like Sentai series that concentrate on story, but I just couldn't get into Go-Busters. I don't hate it, I do like it, it just never 'sucked' me in. Go-Busters also served many unconviental concepts such as the monsters not growing but having seperate giant robots fighting the team, no stock footage of transformation, no auxilary robos like most years and also no Sixth member.

The new sentai Kyoryuger has one female and not yellow. I understand the thinking behind one female and 4 males. Because like it or not, it is a boy franchise. And boy toys sell more. And lately, Bandai has only had limited figures of the females so instead of having 3 boy toys to sell, they can sell 4. Most likely they got inspired by Go-Busters' 4 male lineup and decided to do the same with Kyoryuger. I don't see Go-Busters as a failure. But here are some points to review...

No Auxiliary Robos
Most fans would bemoan the use of too many Auxiliary robos or weapons to 'catch them all' (ala Gaoranger), but it has now become a Sentai stable. Not that I don't like the robos of Go-Busters. I did like that they were triple changers: went from animal to vehicle to robo. There was the frog robo from the movie but it wasn't the mass quantity like in Abaranger, Boukenger, Gekiranger, Go-Onger, Goseiger, and Gokaiger. Dekaranger and Magiranger sort of took a break on this concept but Dekaranger had multiple robos and Magiranger had different miscellany. Go-Busters only had one extra mech.


No Collectible Items
 In past years like Go-Onger, Shinkenger, Goseiger and Gokaiger, the teams had a item to collect like the Engine Souls, Hiden Disks, cards and Ranger Keys. Go-Busters did not have this. Mostly because Bandai still had the Ranger Key line going on and released multiple versions of the Go-Busters as keys and continued the remainder of Ranger Keys that were missing. The Ranger Keys were so popular with Gokaiger, they decided to conclude it in Go-Busters. I think the lack of both extra robos and of these items lead to low sales. Could the Ranger Keys have hurt Go-Busters?

Long drawn out Storyline
I might not agree but some might see the downer in the show itself was that since there were no collectible items or auxilary robos, the show didn't have much new to introduce so it was slow moving. Maybe kids do need something new to increase viewership. If they had nothing new to obtain, it just gets boring. I was hoping this was not the case but probably now Toei and Bandai believes that to be the case. Granted that back in the day (1975-2000), there wasn't much of these extra things and the storylines did fine. But maybe since kids are so accostumed to it now, it is hard for them to break free.

Dark, not Happy
I don't think Go-Busters was dark. It indeed was serious and wasn't as lighthearted as Go-Onger or goofy as Carranger but it was just as serious as let's say Boukenger or Shinkenger. But this 'last season was dark, this season will be more light-hearted and fun' sounds a lot like what Saban Brands said when they brought along Samurai, saying Jungle Fury and RPM were too dismal. My suggestion to Toei is that change is good but don't change all at once, if you remove something, then don't remove more elements, keep it balanced. Go-Busters having character development and story is great and should continue for the rest of Sentai, but if you want toys to sell, then sell toys. I see Go-Busters as an empty slate, I am sure that Saban and Bandai will add more gadgets and even another Ranger when it comes stateside around 2015.

Color Combo
When I spoke to one of the Bandai artists (Tsuyoshi Nonaka) at PMC, he said that the color combo of Red-Blue-Yellow-Silver-Gold did great. This was a new because usually Gold and Silver are reserved for the sixth and/or seventh and never for fourth and fifth. They are the first team to have Gold and Silver in the core 5. And that they wouldn't do it a lot because it wouldn't have the same impact. This is probably why Kyoryuger's color scheme is more traditional but also different since it is Red, Black, Green, Blue and Pink. Usually when a team has Black and Green (Liveman and Go-Onger) in the core 5, there is no Pink. But Zyuranger did ultimately have Green, Black and Pink. Also Kyoryuger is the first series since Timeranger to have a single female in pink. Gaoranger, Hurricanger, Abaranger, Gekiranger and Go-Busters all ultimately had one female but none were pink. Also Go-Busters was the first to use leather but Kyoryuger has gone back to Spandex.

 It seems after reviewing all the color combos and designs they did in the past with Gokaiger, Toei wants to try different things now. But it is common after an anniversary season like with Gaoranger (2001), the next two seasons of Hurricanger and Abaranger were experimental. Dekaranger and Magiranger were more traditional. Boukenger (2006) was the anniversary and more traditional and then Gekiranger and Go-Onger were experimental. Shinkenger and Goseiger were more traiditional color combos. Gokaiger (2011) was the anniversary and now Go-Busters and Kyoryuger are more experimental, maybe more radically so than before. I think Gekiranger was pretty radical with Purple and White, but Go-Busters threw us with a curveball with having Gold and Silver as 4th and 5th and now no Yellow with Kyoryuger. What is also curious is that Kakuranger (1994) had 5 members, GoGoV (1999) had 5 members, Abaranger (2003) had 5 members, Gekiranger (2007) had 5 and now Go-Busters (2012) have 5. Each around 4 to 5 years apart.

Update: Judd Lynn of Power Rangers Dino Charge at SDCC 2015 says Saban ultimately decided to skip Go-Busters because they wanted to do Kyoryuger and cash in the Dino theme for Jurassic World, Jurassic Park's anniversary and Mighty Morphin. Because of the year gap and 2-year themes, they were able to pick between Go-Busters and Kyoryuger.