ACCESS FLASH!
Finally, after months and months of teasing our friends at Max Factory’s gearing up to release the much anticipated Figma SSSS.Gridman action figure.
Figma SSSS.Gridman will see a release in August 2019, retailing for 6,800 yen. Accessories include the giant Gridman Calibur weapon, in addition to an array of optional hands and Figma’s signature clear display base.
You can pre-order Figma SSSS.Gridman via AmiAmi as of this writing
Our friends over at Good Smile is finally gearing up to release Nendorid Akane Shinjo. A few days ago, GSC Blog gave us a preview of the figure along with her hefty accessory count which also appears to include a clear display stand too.
Additional photos of this figure have now been released, and with that, we now have a release window for this adorable little figure. Nendoroid Akane Shinjo will run at a suggested MSRB of 4,630 yen.
Goodsmile’s online shop will begin accepting pre-orders on February 13, 2019.
Yesterday, Bandai managed to acquire the license to release products from the successful SSSS.Gridman anime with a prototype of Minipla SSSS Gridman himself is the first of those products revealed.
In an unusual and bizarre turn of events, two of the shows most popular female characters: Akane Shinjo and Takarada Rikka will be getting Minipla model kits of their own. This will be a first for the Minipla line as it’s mostly done mecha or support vehicles until now.
For now, no other information exists on these two kits aside from the fact that they’ll be released in two sets and they’ll stand at 120mm tall, more information regarding the two will be revealed at the end of January 2019.
Yesterday we got our first real look at color prototypes for the upcoming Figma Gridman & Grid Knight from SSSS Gridman. Both look phenomenal in what little we could glean from the Figure Oh scan. Today however GSC has released a single hi-res look at this fair together for the first time! This offers the absolute best look yet at either of these Figma’s and I have to say, they look incredible together. The post this image was attached to also indicates that Figma Gridman pre-orders will begin on January 19th.
In another surprise teaser, Goodsmile has announced that they are indeed working on at lest one Kaiju from the series. No, we don’t just mend the adorable clay model Kaiju that Nendoroid Akane Shinjo comes with, this is apparently going to be some sort of full size figure of Ghoulghilas! The cyborg like dragon monster which Gridman faced in the first episode of the series. While GSC has not indicated if this will be some sort of full scale DX, Figma, or maybe even just a vinyl figure, it’s pretty promising to see a Kaiju from the series being worked on. It was anounced in the same GSC blog update as the new Figma image.
As more information about Gridman, Grid Knight, and Ghoulghilas becomes available we’ll be sure to keep you informed.
Though the series itself may about to come to an end, Ultraman R/B fans still have plenty to look forward to as their story continues on into Ultraman R/B the Movie: Select! The Crystal of Bonds! As has been the case with the previous New Generation Ultra films, the film will also see the previous Ultra hero make a return as Riku Asakura/Ultraman Geed joins the cast.
As well as releasing promotional images for the film’s new characters, Tsuburaya Productions have also launched the first trailer for the film that shows them off in action. The big news is that Asahi Minato will be joining her brothers as the previously revealed Ultrawoman Grigio! The three siblings will also combine into the new Ultraman GRB. Joining them is also the mysterious Ultraman Tregear, who will serve as the film’s main antagonist.
Ultraman R/B the Movie: Select! The Crystal of Bonds will be released in Japanese cinemas on March 8th 2019. In the meantime, check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts!
Via the GSC blog, we have a full set of official images for Good Smile’s upcoming Nendoroid Akane Shinjo!
While GSC is also working on a Figma Akane (and Rikka!), the Nendo will satisfy many collector’s needs, especially given the wonderful accessories she includes:
That is QUITE the hefty accessory count, though undoubtedly something will be included as a GSC online shop exclusive. Possibly even one of the above revealed items. At this time, GSC has not confirmed Akane’s price but orders will open for her on December 26th, so we’ll know how much she’ll run you, at that time.
“Access Flash!”
Previously, Good Smile revealed prototypes for both an upcoming Figman Gridman, and most recently after some spoiler-y developments in the last couple episodes, teased a Figma Grid Knight. Now that the most recent issue of Figure Oh has been released, we finally have our first full color image of both prototypes!
This image shows Gridman for the first time in vibrant color, wielding the mighty Gridman Calibur. Grid Knight is looking equally gorgeous in purple & orange, though for now at least we haven’t glimpsed the Grid Knight Calibur he almost assuredly comes with. This image does however confirm Figman Gridman’s size at 160mm (roughly 6.3″) which is larger than the average Figma, and larger than the Gridman figure GSC is releasing in the DX Assist Weapon Set.
For now we still don’t have specific pricing or release information, but when we do, we’ll be sure to update this story.
The S.H.Figuarts line’s been something of a fan favorite amongst collectors ever since the series first started. Many of us have been hoping that these figures will be easier to obtain domestically, and now it seems like collectors will finally have their chance. In a rather surprising turn of events, it seems that more S.H.Figuarts will be made available domestically for North American consumers at Gamestop of all places thanks to no part to our friends at BluFin. Among those are numerous Kamen Rider and Ultraman figures. Various listings appeared on Gamestop’s website the other night, as reported by various fans in the Toku community. The 20 Rider Kicks versions of the following Figuarts are up for pre-order as of this writing:
S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Build Tank Rabbit
A screen grab from Gamestop’s own computers via Twitter user @ShadowThePika can confirm that these figures exist within the system and each one of these Figuarts will retail for reasonable 49.99 each and expected to ship out in February. Of course, we have no way of telling if Gamestop plans on carrying more of these in the future and it seems unlikely that they’ll carry anything P-Bandai exclusive. Still, this opens the floodgates for Kamen Rider collectibles to potentially come stateside!
Gamestop exists outside of North America as EB Games, and while the two companies operate under the same umbrella it’s currently not known they’ll follow suit. Stay tuned, and we at Tokunation will provide you an update to this exciting development as it’s made available.
The next Ultraman for SH Figuarts has been revealed!
Ultraman Ruebe the titular hero of Ultraman R/B is recreated in exquisite detail. Ruebe comes with his signature weapon- the R/B Kourin and two special effects parts for his counterpart figures- Ultraman Rosso & Ultraman Blu!
SH Figuarts Ultraman Ruebe is currently scheduled for release in June 2019! The price is a very modest 7020 Yen before shipping and handling.
In an exclusive being reported by THR, Tsuburaya has just tapped Jeff Gomez and his Starlight Runner Entertainment along with LA based The Licensing Group to rebrand and reboot the Ultraman franchise across multiple platforms for markets outside Japan. This is massive news for a number of reasons, but THR has a great exclusive breakdown of what this all means as well.
U.S. transmedia producer Starlight Runner Entertainment has been tapped by Tokyo-based Tsuburaya Productions to build out the Ultraman mythology for the digital age outside of Japan, to include a possible live action streaming TV series. The original live action Ultra Q and Ultramanseries that launched in 1966 featured a high-tech police force and their silver superhero Ultraman battling to save the Earth from invading aliens and giant monsters.
Dozens of sequel TV series, movies, video games and other spinoff content followed, including recent movies like Ultraman X the Movie in 2016, Ultraman Orb the Movie last year and Ultraman Geed the Movie in 2018, the 29th installment of the franchise.
As Tsuburaya looks to restore Ultraman’s profile outside Japan, Starlight Runner will team with The Licensing Group to reboot the superhero property across multiple platforms, with story-driven licensing and merchandising programs for the U.S. and international markets.
The Ultraman licensing program will be supported by new content distributed on cable, streaming and SVOD platforms. “Ultraman is one of my greatest childhood heroes. We’re honored to be embarking on this mission to bring this family of characters back to the world stage,” Starlight Runner CEO Jeff Gomez said in a statement.
So, how exciting is this? Seeing one of the oldest and most beloved Tokusatsu franchises in the world, stepping into the modern day in an entirely new fashion. SHare your thoughts on the subject by visiting our discussion thread on the topic, just click “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post.