2010-11-10 Pictures Available for Power Rangers Samurai
Thanks to Bigbadtoystore.com we now have pictures of what the Power Rangers Samurai toys look like. I'm not going to put the pictures here since they are online, but I will give my thoughts and impressions on them. If you haven't seen them by now, well get ready.
Samurai Megazord - The primary Megazord for the rangers continues the tradition of being a redesigned and smaller version of the Japanese figure. So far i can say that I like the look of the Samurai Megazord, if not being entirely in love with the name (I was hoping for Ronin Megazord personally). At first glance the most noticeably difference is in the thighs. My only real complaint with Shinken Oh is that the thighs are built into the lion body, so the legs look a little stubby. Here there is a defined section for the thigh that gives the zord some height. In the pictures the kanji on the bear and dragon aren't painted and they really should have been, but overall a fantastic looking Megazord mode. The sword needs some paint on the handle and hilt, but I can see myself getting some quality playtime out of this toy. The bodies of the zords that contain the kanji also appear to have the repeating shape through the black background, but it's unclear at this point if the zords can transform into the emblem mode. Personally I don't care for the emblem mode so if it's lost the only real problem would be in some of the later combinations.
Currently listed at $31.99
Basic Figure Assortment - Bandai America made a curious choice with the basic figures, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them. The suits are completely redesigned, and feature a more armored look reminiscent of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie. The helmets have an accented kanji design on them, and a silver mouthpiece added. The mouthpiece is a bad design choice to me as it throws off the look of the helmet, which I'm not crazy about to begin with. It's like these helmets are inspired by the Jungle Fury Jungle Master mode, which expanded on the core helmet, but since this line so far lacks the basic helmet the design doesn't work for me. For the individual weapons they are true to the sentai, except for the Red Rangers whose had a blade added to his to make it more resemble a sword. This probably was a good idea since admittedly when I first saw it in Shinkenger I had no idea what it was.
Currently listed at $59.99 for the Red, Blue, Pink, Green, and Yellow Rangers with an Evil Space Alien.
DX Battle Gear Sword - They also chose to redesign the katana sidearm and go from a more elegant and simple version, to a sophisticated techno version. The shinkenger version is being released as a basic sword, with the disc spinning feature intact it seems. The description for the new sword states that it expands at the pull of a trigger, which explains the larger part of the blade closest to the hilt. While it's a great looking sword, I miss the simplicity of the Shinkenger sidearm.
Currently listed at $26.99
My opinion is somewhat divided right now. While I respect the new designs, they don't feel like Power Rangers to me. With the exception of MMPR:TM, Power Rangers have been heroes in brightly colored spandex. These feel like a power-up mode, or a different line, and if they were being marketed as either, I would really enjoy them. If this is what we're getting in place of the basic figures though, I think it's a serious mis-step on Bandai's part, but I'm going to hold that judgement until both the figures are released and we start seeing promos for the show. In a recent E-mail reply from Bandai they advised to watch the show when it aired as it would address the question of why the designs were changed. I have a feeling the E-mail was more of a canned response, but I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt for right now. Ultimately each person has to make up their mind about the designs, but as far as the functionality of the figures goes, it looks to be spot on with what we've seen from previous Bandai offerings.
Samurai Megazord - The primary Megazord for the rangers continues the tradition of being a redesigned and smaller version of the Japanese figure. So far i can say that I like the look of the Samurai Megazord, if not being entirely in love with the name (I was hoping for Ronin Megazord personally). At first glance the most noticeably difference is in the thighs. My only real complaint with Shinken Oh is that the thighs are built into the lion body, so the legs look a little stubby. Here there is a defined section for the thigh that gives the zord some height. In the pictures the kanji on the bear and dragon aren't painted and they really should have been, but overall a fantastic looking Megazord mode. The sword needs some paint on the handle and hilt, but I can see myself getting some quality playtime out of this toy. The bodies of the zords that contain the kanji also appear to have the repeating shape through the black background, but it's unclear at this point if the zords can transform into the emblem mode. Personally I don't care for the emblem mode so if it's lost the only real problem would be in some of the later combinations.
Currently listed at $31.99
Basic Figure Assortment - Bandai America made a curious choice with the basic figures, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them. The suits are completely redesigned, and feature a more armored look reminiscent of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie. The helmets have an accented kanji design on them, and a silver mouthpiece added. The mouthpiece is a bad design choice to me as it throws off the look of the helmet, which I'm not crazy about to begin with. It's like these helmets are inspired by the Jungle Fury Jungle Master mode, which expanded on the core helmet, but since this line so far lacks the basic helmet the design doesn't work for me. For the individual weapons they are true to the sentai, except for the Red Rangers whose had a blade added to his to make it more resemble a sword. This probably was a good idea since admittedly when I first saw it in Shinkenger I had no idea what it was.
Currently listed at $59.99 for the Red, Blue, Pink, Green, and Yellow Rangers with an Evil Space Alien.
DX Battle Gear Sword - They also chose to redesign the katana sidearm and go from a more elegant and simple version, to a sophisticated techno version. The shinkenger version is being released as a basic sword, with the disc spinning feature intact it seems. The description for the new sword states that it expands at the pull of a trigger, which explains the larger part of the blade closest to the hilt. While it's a great looking sword, I miss the simplicity of the Shinkenger sidearm.
Currently listed at $26.99
My opinion is somewhat divided right now. While I respect the new designs, they don't feel like Power Rangers to me. With the exception of MMPR:TM, Power Rangers have been heroes in brightly colored spandex. These feel like a power-up mode, or a different line, and if they were being marketed as either, I would really enjoy them. If this is what we're getting in place of the basic figures though, I think it's a serious mis-step on Bandai's part, but I'm going to hold that judgement until both the figures are released and we start seeing promos for the show. In a recent E-mail reply from Bandai they advised to watch the show when it aired as it would address the question of why the designs were changed. I have a feeling the E-mail was more of a canned response, but I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt for right now. Ultimately each person has to make up their mind about the designs, but as far as the functionality of the figures goes, it looks to be spot on with what we've seen from previous Bandai offerings.
Power Rangers Samurai
2010-10-26 Power Rangers Samurai Available For Pre-Order
Shinken Oh from the Japanese Sentai
Well after waiting for what seems an eternity, a new season of Power Rangers is underway. With the recent acquisition of the franchise of the franchise from the mouse, Saban Brands has pumped some much needed life (and advertising dollars) into the franchise.
First to surface was the new and improved www.powerrangers.com which is showing 145 days of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Not only that, but they are wisely using the most recognized version of the show to run gorgeous little snippets advertising Power Rangers Samurai. The advertisement features the respective ranger helmet symbol (Japanese kanji) with an elemental theme.
And while I've been tuning in everyday to watch MMPR, even more exciting are the recent pre-orders discovered by rangerboard.com member Bouken Silver from www.bigbadtoystore.com. The listings feature a set of the core 6 figures of Red, Blue, Pink, Green, Yellow, and a Nanashi, along with the Samurai Megazord (I was personally hoping for Ronin Megazord or Sword Saint Megazord). Also of note, Bandai of America has failed just about every time a season involves auxiliary zords in releasing them all. It seems they finally may have found a solution in the zord vehicle system introduced in 2010. The vehicles appeared to be good sellers at under $10.00, and the fact that these are slightly higher leads me to believe they are designed to work with the Megazord like the Japanese counterparts. Each of the aux. zords comes with the respective ranger that controlled it in Shinkenger. Now if the zords are show accurate remains to be determined, but I'm hopeful based on the description since they can combine to form a 'birdlike creature seen on the show' they won't be totally redesigned.
Stay tuned for more info on Power Rangers Samurai!
First to surface was the new and improved www.powerrangers.com which is showing 145 days of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Not only that, but they are wisely using the most recognized version of the show to run gorgeous little snippets advertising Power Rangers Samurai. The advertisement features the respective ranger helmet symbol (Japanese kanji) with an elemental theme.
And while I've been tuning in everyday to watch MMPR, even more exciting are the recent pre-orders discovered by rangerboard.com member Bouken Silver from www.bigbadtoystore.com. The listings feature a set of the core 6 figures of Red, Blue, Pink, Green, Yellow, and a Nanashi, along with the Samurai Megazord (I was personally hoping for Ronin Megazord or Sword Saint Megazord). Also of note, Bandai of America has failed just about every time a season involves auxiliary zords in releasing them all. It seems they finally may have found a solution in the zord vehicle system introduced in 2010. The vehicles appeared to be good sellers at under $10.00, and the fact that these are slightly higher leads me to believe they are designed to work with the Megazord like the Japanese counterparts. Each of the aux. zords comes with the respective ranger that controlled it in Shinkenger. Now if the zords are show accurate remains to be determined, but I'm hopeful based on the description since they can combine to form a 'birdlike creature seen on the show' they won't be totally redesigned.
Stay tuned for more info on Power Rangers Samurai!