TFW2005HisstankTokuNationToyark

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

under Conventions, Power Morphicon

A special preview has been put online for this years’ Power Morphicon exclusive figure!

Rounding out the Power Rangers Legacy action figure series in its final stage comes LORD DRAKKON! This character has been the centerpiece of Boom! Studios’ fan-favorite Power Rangers comics (including the still-ongoing event Shattered Grid.)

Power Morphicon is currently scheduled for August 17-19 2018 in Anaheim, California! For those interested in attending or picking up this unique figure, feel free to check out the Official Power Morphicon Website for further details!

under Power Rangers

IT’S MORPHIN TIME!

Our friends at Boom! Studios via PowerRangersNow just released a new set of pages previewing the upcoming issue of the on going comic: Go Go Power Rangers Issue #11!

The Shattered Grid event continues in Go Go Power Rangers Issue #11,  we explore the Ranger Slayer’s past in this volume. Issue#11 is set to hit store shelves sometime in July.

As always, the pages will contain spoilers for the comic so hit the jump at your own risk.

under Ultraman

Last week we reported the initial announcement and that preorders would be coming soon, but now Bandai Tamashii Nations have updated their webshop with pre-order info and high quality images of S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Zero Beyond.

As previously reported Ultraman Zero Beyond will be released as a Tamashii web exclusive in November 2018 for the price of 5940 yen. However now we can also confirm that the figure will come with five alternate hands, a replacement colour timer, energy versions of his Beyond Twin Edge swords and an additional translucent purple fist effect part.

Check out the full selection images after the jump!

under General Tokusatsu News

Exciting news for anyone interested in the new Gridman anime series from Studio Trigger!

Funimation has announced a special WORLD PREMIERE screening of the new series, SSSS Gridman to be held at Anime Expo 2018! This convention will be held from July 5-8 2018 in Los Angeles, California!

The premiere screening of SSSS Gridman is currently scheduled for Friday, July 6 2018 at 7:45PM. Several members of Studio Trigger will be attending the convention for a Q&A Session after the screening, including:

*Executive Producers Shigeto Koyama and Hiromi Wakabayashi
*Character Designer Masaru Sakamoto
*Animation Producer Masato Takeuchi

While no official announcement has been made at time of writing, this premiere event strongly suggests Funimation will be licensing SSSS Gridman for a Western release once the series officially begins. Stay tuned to TokuNation for further details!

under Kamen Rider

METAL BRANDING!

In case you missed it Bandai announced S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider WShinkocchou Seihou Heat Metal is in the works, as a perfect follow up to Luna Trigger. It may have been sometime after the figure’s reveal but we finally have the pre order info for his hot new figure.

S.H.Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider W Heat/Metal  will be sold as a Tamashii web shop exclusive item retailing for 6,480 yen before middleman fees and shipping if your buying from overseas. Pre-Orders will offically open on June 29th 2018 before finally getting sent out sometime in December 2018.

His signature Metal Shaft weapon will be included in two configurations: fully extended and collapsed modes any previously released Memory Gadget accessories are shown to be compatible with it as well.

under Power Rangers

The most recently-completed Power Rangers season is coming to home media!

Lionsgate has announced a release of Power Rangers Ninja Steel: The Complete Series.

Collected on three discs, this set will feature all 20 episodes of the Ninja Steel Power Rangers facing off against the warrior Galvanax and his team of monsters to possess the Ninja Nexus Prism. The cover art is done by George Caltsoudas, known for his work on Batman: The Animated Series and the “Star Trek: Boldly Go” graphic novel).

Power Rangers: Ninja Steel will be released on August 14, 2018 for the suggested retail price of $19.98 and include an insert from the BOOM! Studios Artist Tribute book for Power Rangers. Click “Read More” for full details!

[Read more…]