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Archives for December 2013

under Super Sentai

Engine Soul Set!

And we’re here folks! It’s time for our final tribute gallery to Kaizoku Sentai Gokiager! The final entry in the DX Gokaiger  line is Gokai Machine #5 Engine Machalcon!

This big bad machine, while a tribute to Engine Sentai Go-Onger, is also a completely unique character! Rather than being a rehash of a mecha from a previous show, Engine Machalcon is actually the son of Engine #1 Speedor & #3 BeaRV! Definitely an odd entry for sentai. Rarely (if ever again?) has one mecha been the child of another. Regardless this impressive toy is huge and imposing and succeeds in incorporating the Engine Soul gimmick of Go-Onger and the Ranger Keys of Gokaiger! Check out the full gallery of DX Gokai Machine  Engine Machalcon by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post.

AND don’t forget that this if the final gallery eligible for entry in our Toku Toy Box Giveaway! Simply post in this gallery to be entered in for:

Super Sentai Bravery Prize Pack
-S.H. Figuarts Kyoryu Red
-Legend Sentai Zyudenchi set 1
-Vinyl Gabutyra
-Wizard Sentai Ring Set (Super Hero Taisen Z)
-#8 Bunpachy & Sun Vulcan Candy Toy Zyudenchi
-Minipla Bragigas

You have until January 5th to submit posts in any of the 8 eligible threads for entry! Be sure to do so if you haven’t yet!

under Super Sentai

The 38th Super Sentai team has been fully revealed!

Our new Rangers are:

Tokkyu 1 (Red)-Raito, played by Jun Shison

Tokkyu 2 (Blue)-Tokatsuchi, played by Jin Hiramaki

Tokkyu 3 (Yellow)- Hikari, played by Riria

Tokkyu 4 (Green)-Mio, played by Ryusei Yokohama

Tokkyu 5 (Pink)- Kagura, played by Ai Moritaka

Looks like this new group is all aboard for their heroic duties!

under Power Rangers, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Power Rangers, we asked the users at TokuNation to rank who they thought the 10 Best Power Rangers were (with #1 being, of course, their top choice). We then took the nominations, what rank they were, and assigned each rank a certain numerical value that would allow them to be added and averaged in a fair way. In overwhelming fashion (literally more than twice the number that the #2 entrant received), the fans at TokuNation.com selected Jason David Frank – who played Tommy Oliver the Green Ranger and White Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Red Ranger for both Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo, and finally the Black Ranger from Power Rangers Dino Thunder – as the Greatest Power Ranger of All Time.

The character Tommy Oliver first appeared in the episode “Green With Evil Part 1” on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Tommy was the new kid in school and showcased an incredible, aggressive style of martial arts. He befriends Kimberly immediately, but as he’s supposed to meet her, Rita Repulsa appears and sends the Putty Patrol after him. Tommy is victorious, and Rita Repulsa decides that Tommy will be the one to wield the Dragon Coin and become her evil Green Ranger.

Given the Sword of Darkness, Tommy overpowers the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He separates the Red Ranger, Jason, away from the others and systematically picks them apart piece by piece, removing Zordon and Alpha 5 from the equation. Good always triumphs over evil however, and the Power Rangers restore Zordon, who shares Tommy’s secret identity with the team. Together, they destroy the Sword of Darkness, thus freeing Tommy from evil, and he, along with his mighty Dragonzord, join the team. At this point, Tommy is nothing more than reinforcements – while he will fight with the others in civilian form, his only scenes in the Green Ranger costume are to call forth the mighty Dragonzord to aid the others. However, Rita Repulsa uses the Green Candle to absorb Tommy’s powers. The others are unable to destroy the candle, and Tommy has to give his power coin to Jason, thus leaving the team.

But when you’re the Best Power Ranger of All Time, you never get to leave for good. When the other Power Rangers had their parents kidnapped and they were duped in to giving up their Power Coins, as well as losing the Dragon Dagger to Goldar, they brought Tommy back as their only hope for salvation. Zordon infused his own energy with the Green Power Coin, and Tommy’s Green Ranger powers were restored, at least for small bursts of time. As soon as he grabbed the box containing the Power Coins, his body absorbed the energy from the force field and restored his powers. Tommy, and the Green Ranger, were back!

Sadly, the Green Ranger powers were limited and destined to run out, this time for good. When Lord Zedd ousted Rita Repulsa and took over, he made it his primary goal to eliminate the Green Ranger once and for all. He would succeed, draining all of the Green Ranger energies, but not before Tommy saved the day one last time. With Lord Zedd stronger than ever, the Power Rangers knew they needed another 6th Ranger. Unbeknownst to the team, Zordon and Alpha 5 create the White Ranger, and in one of the most watched children’s television shows of all time, White Light Part 2, the White Ranger is revealed to be Tommy, his powers created completely from good powers and bestowed as the new team leader. With Tommy as the White Ranger and leader of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, they would defeat Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa time and time again.

When Goldar and Rito Revolto manage to destroy the Command Center, along with the arrival of the evil Machine Empire, Zordon uses the powerful Zeo Crystal to create the Power Rangers Zeo, with Tommy becoming the Red Ranger. When the evil space pirate Divatox arrives on Earth, Zordon creates the Turbo Powers to combat this new threat, giving creation to the Power Rangers Turbo. Tommy would continue to lead as the Red Ranger until he, and the others, decide that it’s time to pass on the power so they can continue on with the next phase of their lives. Tommy, as a race car driver, would leave the Power Rangers for many years (and miss out on some of the biggest battles!).

When General Venjix, a leftover from the evil Machine Empire, surfaces and attempts to restore Lord Zedd‘s personal zord, Serpentera, Tommy gathers a team of veteran Red Rangers to come together and destroy the Machine Empire once and for all in the episode “Forever Red”, which acted as the franchise’s 10th Anniversary special.

During all this down time, Tommy went to college and become a doctor of paleontology. He discovered the Dino Gems, mysterious jewels taken from the asteroid that crashed on Earth and killed the dinosaurs. When an evil creature known as Mesogag appears, Tommy knows he has to harness the energies of the gems to create a new team of Power Rangers. Three of his high school students stumble in to his secret lab and bond with the gems. With Tommy’s help, they morph in to the Power Rangers Dino Thunder, and Tommy is thrown in to the role of a mentor to his new team. But when he detects the presence of a fourth gem, Tommy goes to inform his students when he is kidnapped by Mesogag, who wants Tommy to show him how to free the Dino Gem from it’s prison. Through a twist of fate, Tommy ends up bonding with the gem and morphing in to the Dino Thunder Black Ranger, stating that he “might be old, but can still pull it off”. In one of the most beloved episodes of the entire franchise, Tommy winds up in a coma, fighting for his life, and ends up fighting his former incarnations – the Mighty Morphin Green & White Rangers, as well as the Zeo Red Ranger. Victory means life, defeat means death. When all is said and done, Tommy implies that he will stay in Reefside and continue teaching.

But you can’t keep the Best Power Ranger of All Time down. When The Armada overpowers the Power Rangers Super Megaforce, Tommy will once again take up the power to help save the world. Tommy will return as the Mighty Morphin Green Ranger in the series finale of Power Rangers Super Megaforce, airing in late 2014.

Jason David Frank is the actor who played Tommy Oliver for more episodes in the franchise than any other actor or character. Jason David Frank is a 7th degree black belt, an inductee in to the World Karate Union Hall of Fame, a Guinness Book of World Records record holder, an undefeated MMA Fighter, owner of the Rising Sun Karatae schools, creator of the clothing brand Jesus Didn’t Tap, an accomplished sky diver, an actor, a husband, a father, a reoccurring guest of the Wizard World convention circuit, and according to our users, The Best Power Ranger of All Time. Congratulations Jason David Frank.

Thank you to all the TokuNation.com users who participated in this event. We had over 75 different Power Rangers nominated, and we calculated all the nominations to create our Top 20 list. Please take a moment to review our Top 20, listed below:

20 – Danny Slavin (Leo, Lost Galaxy Red Ranger)
19 – Amy Jo Johnson (Kim, Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger)
18 – Chris Violette (Sky, SPD Blue Ranger)
17 – Valerie Vernon (Kendrix, Lost Galaxy Pink Ranger)
16 – Doggie Cruger (SPD Shadow Ranger)
15 – Brandon Jay McLaren (Jack, SPD Red Ranger)
14 – Erin Cahill (Jen, Time Force Pink Ranger)
13 – Matt Austin (Bridge, SPD Green Ranger)
12 – Ciara Hanna (Gia, Megaforce & Super Megaforce Yellow Ranger)
11 – Dan Ewing (RPM Black Ranger)
10 – Sean CW Johnson (Carter, Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger)
9 – David de Lautour (RJ, Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger)
8 – Christopher Khayman Lee (Andros, In Space Red Ranger)
7 – Milo Cawthorne (Ziggy, RPM Green Ranger)
6 – David Yost (Billy, Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger)
5 – Dan Southworth (Eric, Quantum Ranger)
4 – Austin St. John/Jason Geiger (Jason, Mighty Morphin Red Ranger, Zeo Gold Ranger)
3 – Jason Faunt (Wes, Time Force Red Ranger)
2 – Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam, Mighty Morphin Black Ranger, Zeo Green Ranger, Turbo Green Ranger)
1 – Jason David Frank (Tommy, Mighty Morphin Green Ranger, Mighty Morphin White Ranger, Zeo Red Ranger, Turbo Red Ranger 1, Dino Thunder Black Ranger)

That was the list that YOU, our users, voted for! Thank you again so much for your participation in our celebration of the Top 20 Best Power Rangers of All Time in honor of the Power Rangers 20th Anniversary. Maybe we’ll revisit this for the 25th. Maybe. Thanks again, and congratulations to our Top 20!

under Super Sentai

With the debut of the 38th Super Sentai team drawing ever closer, Nippon Columbia have revealed details about the opening and ending themes for Ressha Sentai Tokkyuger!

As is typical for many Sentai series, the opening will simply be named “Ressha Sentai Tokkyuger” and will be performed by Ise Daiki (who performed the song “Kamitsuki Brave” on the Kyoryuger: Gaburincho of Music soundtrack). The ending is named “Byun Byun! Tokkyuger!” and will be performed by Project. R, specifically members YOFFY, Takayoshi Tanimoto and Showgo Kamata.

Previews for the songs will likely surface in the coming weeks but in the meantime be sure to join in our ongoing Ressha Sentai Tokkyuger discussion thread!

under Power Rangers, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights

The fans of TokuNation voted very heavily in favor of this character and actor as their 2nd Best Power Ranger of All Time, and that honor goes to the very-talented and very-popular Johnny Yong Bosch, who played the role of Adam Park, the second Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, as well as the Green Ranger in both Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo.

Adam Park’s life forever changed the day he went rollerblading with his buddies Rocky and Aisha, as they ran in to Tommy, Kimberly, and Billy. Originally from the rival school Stone Canyon, he transferred to Angel Grove and in the process ended up being kidnapped by the evil Goldar. Discovering the hard way that you can’t wrestle snakes, Billy was forced to remove his helmet, leaving Adam as one of the only people to know the true identities of the Power Rangers. Eventually, a peace conference would occur and three Rangers would leave, and thus, Adam was selected to become the new Black Ranger of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The character of Adam would go through a few different things – overcoming self-doubt and gaining self-confidence, being duped by Scorpina, developing a mild romance with fellow Zeo Ranger Yellow, Tanya, and would actually have two of his most memorable moments in the show (prior to his 15th Anniversary return) helping instill self confidence in to others.

Adam would eventually become a second-in-command to Tommy during Power Rangers Zeo (until Jason returned), and continue in that role briefly in Power Rangers Turbo. Adam would return in Power Rangers In Space, specifically the episode Always a Chance, where he would help the In Space Black Ranger, Carlos, to overcome his lack of self-confidence after he accidentally injured a fellow Ranger. He would morph back in to the Mighty Morphin Black Ranger, using the damaged (but not destroyed) Mastadon Power Coin, and would eventually have the powers give out entirely during the fight.

He would return again for the 15th Anniversary two-parter during Power Rangers Operation Overdrive titled Once A Ranger, where the son of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, a villain named Thrax, would severely damage the Operation Overdrive Rangers’ connection to the morphing grid, causing the Sentinel Knight to grab Adam, as well as other previous Power Rangers, and restore their power, creating a new team of Power Rangers. Adam would restore Alpha 6 from a storage unit and take him back to his dojo in Angel Grove.

Adam Park was played by the masterful Johnny Yong Bosch. Where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers launched his acting career, Johnny’s role as Vash the Stampede in the anime series Trigun would launch his anime career. He has had voicing roles in over 60 different anime movies and series, ranging from Akira to Gurren Lagann to even Pokemon. He’s also voiced some characters in video games, from Bumblebee to Zero to Nero. He continues to star in various films, teaming up with former Power Rangers director Koichi Sakamoto, and continues to do a majority of his own stunts. If that wasn’t enough to impress you, Johnny is also the lead singer in his own band titled Eyeshine, who continue to grow in popularity to this day. One can easily make the argument that Johnny Yong Bosch has gone on to have one of the most, if not THE most, impressive careers after Power Rangers. And you would agree, as you’ve voted him the 2nd Best Power Ranger of All Time.

So who will be number one? Pretty sure if you’re a Power Rangers fan you can figure this one out. If you’re not, you’ll still want to check back tomorrow when we announce the individual that TokuNation users have voted as the #1 Best Power Ranger of All Time. See you on New Year’s Eve!

under Super Sentai

Pirate and Ninja become one. This is the official Shuriken equipment!

We’re back with another gallery from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger! This time we’re looking at DX Gokai Machine Furaimaru! Furaimaru is a tribute to the character/robot of the same name from Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger and the Grand Power of that sentai! Furaimaru is also more than just an homage to his previous self but in fact incorporates elements of the main mecha from Hurricanger, Senpuujin! And the very overt shuriken theme of the figure is a direct himage to Shurikenger and his personal mecha, Tenkuujin! When used in conjunction with the DX Gokai Oh you can create Hurricane Gokai Oh!

Of course if you post in this gallery’s thread by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” you’ll be entered into our Toku Toy Box Giveaway! All it takes is a single post in any of our applicable threads and you could win free tokusatsu prize packs! By posting in this thread you’ll be entered in for the:

Kamen Rider Magically Delicious Prize Pack
-S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Wizard Infinity
-S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Abyss
-Special & Copy Candy Toy Wizard Rings
-Inflatable Kamen Rider Gaim Pine Arms Flail
-DX Grape Lock Seed with Ryugen Belt Plate

Good luck to you all! We’ll see you in just a couple days for our final Gokaiger gallery, DX Gokai Machine Engine Machalcon!

under Power Rangers, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Power Rangers, we asked our users months ago to list their Top 10 Power Rangers.  We took all that information and compiled a list, based on where each user ranked each Ranger, and created the TokuNation Users’ Top 20 Power Rangers of All Time list!  And we’re winding down to the very end here as 2013 nears its finale, and we’re pleased to announce that our users voted Jason Faunt, who played Wes Collins the Red Ranger on Power Rangers Time Force as the 3rd Best Power Ranger of All Time!

When an evil mutant from the future, Ransik, escapes the year 3000 and ends up in the 21st century, a team of heroes from the future, the Power Rangers Time Force, come to the past to apprehend him. However, due to an unfortunate incident that left their Red Ranger and team leader dead, or so they believed, they were unable to unlock the Chrono Morphers as it required the DNA of their deceased leader, Alex. A man striking a very similar resemblance to Alex, Wes Collins, aids the Rangers and they realize – he’s the ancestor of their former leader, and with his DNA they could unlock the morphers. With that, Wes unlocks the morphers and becomes the Red Ranger of Power Rangers Time Force. However the Pink Ranger and acting team leader, Jen, refuses to let Wes help, and takes back his morpher. After some time and convincing, from Wes and the others, Jen gives back the morpher and Wes joins the team.

As time passed, Wes and Jen began to develop feelings for each other, though neither would admit it. Their budding relationship would play in to many episodes and continue to grow as the series progressed. It wasn’t until Wes’ father, Mr. Collins, was gravely injured that Wes would contemplate leaving the team. To top it off, the original Red Ranger for Time Force, Alex (Wes’ descendant), came to the past alive and well, and immediately took control of the team. It was at that time that the other Rangers realized how much Wes had become the leader of the team and how he genuinely cared about each of them – something Alex did not. In the end, Alex would return to the future and Wes would resume the role of the Red Ranger.

In the final battle, the other Rangers would be tricked in to going back in to the future so Wes and Eric, the Quantum Ranger, could finish the battle against Ransik on their own, as the time stream was beginning to fall apart from their presence. In the year 3000, the others would discover that in this final battle, Wes would die, but that his sacrifice saved the city and, in the end, the world and time itself. Not believing that someone’s destiny is written in to stone, the others return back to the past and aid Wes in capturing Ransik. In the end, Wes and Jen finally share their feelings for each other, and part ways.

Wes would return as the Red Ranger from Power Rangers Time Force twice – both in Power Rangers Wild Force. One was the annual team-up between the current and previous series, and the other would be for the franchise’s 10th Anniversary with the Forever Red episode. It was announced earlier this year that Wes would return again in the 20th Anniversary special episode of Power Rangers Super Megaforce.

Wes Collins is played by the popular Jason Faunt. He frequently makes the convention circuit and, speaking from personal experience, is an incredibly professional, respectable, and an all around nice guy. After Power Rangers, he took on the role of Alexander the Great for the Battleground: The Art of War series, and the same role again in Deadliest Warrior. As stated previously, Jason is reprising the role of Wes Collins the Red Ranger of Power Rangers Time Force in the special 20th Anniversary episode tribute in Power Rangers Super Megaforce, slated to air, most likely, around this time in 2014.

This is it! We’re down to the Top 2 Power Rangers based on YOUR nominations! Is this placement a bit of an upset, seeing as he beat out the original Red Ranger? Stay tuned – tomorrow we’ll announce #2, and Tuesday we’ll announce #1!

under General Tokusatsu News

It is with a sad and heavy heart that we pass along a message from our friends at JEFusion.com, that the site owner and founder, GekiDan, passed away last night. The announcement was made on their Facebook page this afternoon:

I have some extremely sad news. GekiDan. the founder of JEFusion. Passed Away Last Night. I will do my best to carry on with JEFusion. Turn it into what He always wanted it to be. I as well as everyone will gravely miss you Gekidan.

 

 

I, unfortunately, never got to speak much with GekiDan, but I can share that his website, JEFusion.com, was one of the inspirations for me to want to create a website like TokuNation. Regardless of anyone’s personal thoughts regarding JEFusion and how they handled posting news, GekiDan was a pioneer in bringing news, information, video streaming, and so much more from Japan to the whole rest of the world. Because of his dedication, JEFusion stands as the largest and most-viewed website for tokusatsu in the entire world.

Thank you, GekiDan, for everything you did in promoting this genre and helping open up the eyes of the world to the genre of tokusatsu. The staff here at TokuNation sends our sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and everyone who knew GekiDan. We have lost a truly important individual in this genre that we all love so much. May you rest in peace.

under Kamen Rider

Tamashii Nations Akihabara location is often the site of some awesome S.H. Figuarts,  S.I.C., Ultra-Act, and Robot Damashii displays of upcoming products. And today they’ve put the upcoming S.H. Figuarts from Kamen Rider Gaim on display. However we’ve seen Gaim, Baron, and the Sakura Hurricane before. Seen for the first time in this display is a bike used so far by Baron, Ryugen, & Gridon, the Rose Attacker!

No release information is known at this time but we’ll keep you posted as details, and more images, become available.