TFW2005HisstankTokuNationToyark
Tokunation › Archives for July 2018 › Page 7

Archives for July 2018

under Power Rangers

The Bandai Era of Power Rangers toys is not over yet!

New listings have been revealed for some final entries in the Power Rangers Ninja Steel toyline, including:

*A Sabertooth Zord with a mounted Gatling Gun.
*A Stegosaurus Zord with a tail-launching gimmick
*A Ninja Steel Red Ranger with Super armor & a Ninja Power Star launcher
*A Ninja Steel Blue Ranger armed with a Dragon-themed flamethrower.

Some very interesting new items from this unique Ranger series!

Sadly, no release details for these new Ninja Steel figures & Zords are available at time of writing. Stay tuned to TokuNation as we keep you up to date on all Power Rangers toy reveals!

under Ultraman

The newly released 12th volume of the ongoing Ultraman manga has revealed that it’s forthcoming anime adaptation will premiere on Netflix in Spring 2019! More importantly the announcement also confirms that the series will have a simultaneous release worldwide, with the whole series being made available to subscribers that day.

The series is being animated by prolific studio Production I.G., with Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) serving as directors. It will be produced as a 3D CGI series, with motion capture also being utilised for an added sense of realism.

The Ultraman manga series first began in 2011, serving as a direct sequel to the original 1966 series. Its North American publisher Viz Media describes the series as;

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined Shin Hayata of the Scientific Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters known as Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero – a new kind of Ultraman…

Shinjiro is an ordinary teenager, but his father is the legendary Shin Hayata. When he learns that his father passed on the “Ultraman Factor” to him, and that he possesses incredible powers, nothing will ever be the same again.

Are you looking forward to the release of the Ultraman anime adaptation? Let us know your thoughts after the jump!

under Power Morphicon, Power Rangers

The convention artwork for this year’s Power Morphicon has been revealed on the Power Morphicon homepage. Featuring artwork by the famed Tsuyoshi Nonaka (Head Designer of PLEX for Bandai Japan and USA, designer of all the Power Rangers Legacy toys, designer of all Power Rangers toys in the 90’s), the Power Morphicon Convention Artwork features the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger, the evil Lord Drakkon, and the newest hero, the Beast Morpher Red Ranger.

Check out the artwork and a shirt mock-up image by clicking the title of the story.

Power Morphicon happens this August 17th-19th in Anaheim, California. It is the only official Power Rangers convention in the world and this year will help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Power Rangers. Click here to start your registration process and we will see you at the show!

under Power Morphicon, Power Rangers

A surprise update to the list of exclusives for this year’s Power Morphicon convention. On top of being able to grab your exclusive Legacy Lord Drakkon figure and your Funko POP! Vinyl Black and Gold Megazord collectible, you can also purchase a custom, hand-made throne for your Legacy Lord Drakkon figure. The throne is designed in the style of the character’s first appearance in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic. Thus, it is the Lord Drakkon throne.

Because these are hand-made items the paint application will vary piece by piece. As of the time of this posting, we do not yet know who is making these thrones. The extra details are below:

– $65 Attendees
– $80 Non-Attending
– $100 International Non-Attending
– Hand-Made
– Individually numbered and limited
– The throne is sold separately from Lord Drakkon – image of Lord Drakkon sitting in throne is for reference only

Check out all the details by clicking here. Power Morphicon is the only official Power Rangers convention in the world and it is happening in Anaheim, California on the dates Friday through Sunday, August 17-19. Register for Power Morphicon today and we will see you at the show!

under Power Rangers

The company known as Saban Brands is no more, and thus it is time for the trademark machine to go in to full haywire mode. Mega Power Brasil alerted us to a quick piece of information that, upon further investigation, yielded some interesting results. Check out the list of trademarks below that had some changes done recently.

– Kyu Rangers (originally filed June 2017)
Fans will immediately recognize the name as belonging to the Japanese counterpart Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, which many fans thought was the obvious heir to Super Ninja Steel. Instead we have Beast Morphers for 2019 and 2020. However, an extension was filed for Kyu Rangers last week. This may be nothing more than Saban Brands, prior to closing its doors, looking to lock up any loose ends or pending trademarks before the Hasbro takeover of the brand.

– Ghost Ranger(s) (originally filed December 2016)
Not much is known about this trademark. It showed up in December of 2016 with the usual descriptions (including a trademark for television). But it was just recently granted a second extension in mid-June.

– Power Morph (originally filed March 2018)
The trademark for this phrase involves interactive things such as sporting goods and games. It is currently in the “extension of time for opposition”, meaning a third party has filed for an extension of time to determine whether or not to challenge the trademark.

– Phantom Ranger (originally filed August 2017)
This one should be pretty easy to guess. It is ironic to note that aside from Red/Blue/Black/Yellow/Pink/Green/White and “Ghost”, this is the only other named Power Ranger trademarked. It was granted a first extension.

– Beast Morphers (originally filed January 2018)
Ironically, this one is currently an extension of time to file for opposition, meaning a third party has paused the trademark to review whether or not to challenge it.

So what does all this meaning? Honestly, probably nothing. Again – when a company has its intellectual properties purchased by another company, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes legal stuff that has to happen. The “file for opposition” could very well be Hasbro.

What do you think? Tweet us @TokuNation and give us your thoughts – we’d love to discuss it with you!

under Power Rangers

Today is July 2nd and the company Saban Brands is no more. We saw via social media late last week that employees of Saban Brands were moving out of the office – but moving to where? Now we know! Here are some notable moves of Saban Brands employees to their new home with Hasbro, the new owners of the Power Rangers brand.

Jason Bischoff – Director, Global Franchise Creative for Power Rangers, Hasbro
Melissa Flores – Director, Power Rangers Development & Production for AllSpark Pictures
Brian Casentini – Senior Vice President of Power Rangers Franchise Development and Production for AllSpark Pictures
Laura Suh – Senior Graphics Designer, Hasbro
Paul Strickland – Production and Development, Power Rangers, for AllSpark Pictures

The “super fans” will know those names very well – Jason Bischoff has been a social media voice for the Power Rangers brand for Saban Brands, acting then as global licensing for Power Rangers. Melissa Flores has been part of the creative team behind the everything for Power Rangers including both the television show and the comic, as has Brian Casentini who also has the title of Executive Producer for Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

If any other names drop we will be sure to let you know. Congratulations to Jason, Melissa, and Brian on their new roles. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for Power Rangers under Hasbro!

UPDATE #1 – Laura Suh is now Senior Graphics Designer at Hasbro, former Marketing Communications Designer at Saban Brands
UPDATE #2 – Paul Strickland is now Production and Development, Power Rangers, for AllSpark Pictures. Formerly Coordinator at Saban Brands