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under Ultraman

Rejoice Ultra fans!

Today is a landmark day in tokusatsu history as Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd announced their victory in US courts against UM Corporation (aka Chaiyo) for the international rights to the first six instalments in the Ultra Series. That’s right everyone, it’s been a long battle but Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro are finally home.

For those unaware the international rights for these six series have been in question for several years, after Chaiyo Productions founder Sompote Saengduenchai claimed that in 1976 Eiji Tsuburaya‘s son Noboru (who died in 1995) had provided him with a contract giving him rights to everything related to Ultraman outside Japanese territories, in exchange for a monetary loan. The legitimacy of the document was extremely questionable, however Japanese and Thai courts accepted this contract as real and binding due to supposed appearance of Noboru Tsuburaya’s hanko (signature stamp) in the document.

Headway was finally made November last year when a Californian jury deemed the document to be a fake and ruled in favour of Tsuburaya, but it isn’t until today that we have confirmation that the company’s long ordeal is finally over.

So what does this mean for the series in question? Will they be joining the rest of the Ultraman backcatalogue on Crunchyroll? New home releases with better quality masters? Who knows, but with Tsuburaya continuously looking to promote Ultraman on a worldwide scale we’ll find out soon enough.

 

under Kamen Rider

BUILD UP!(literally)

In case you missed it, Bandai announced that the Figure Standard series will once again be delving into Kamen Rider with Figure Rise Standard Kamen Rider Build Tank Rabbit having been on display at the last Winter Wonder Festival. 

Offical stock photography along with release info for this forthcoming kit courtesy of Bandai Hobby.

Figure Rise Standard Kamen Rider Build Tank Rabbit will be released in July and cost 3,240 yen.

under Kamen Rider

Another new release has just been teased for fans of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and SH Figuarts!

This new teaser image suggests that DAN KUROTO himself will be obtaining a Figuart release! Even after previous entries for Kamen Rider Genm and the recently-teased Genm Level Billion fans are apparently STILL demanding more representation of this amazing character!

Sadly, no other information about this upcoming figure is available at time of writing- although based on the image, this release would include Kuroto’s CONTINUE pipe that allowed him to respawn when defeated.

Stay tuned to Tokunation for further details on this exciting release!

under Kamen Rider

Toei has officially uploaded the first full image of the next Kamen Rider to join the adventure that is Kamen Rider Build!

This is Kamen Rider Evol! This mysterious figure uses an incredibly powerful new henshin device called the EvolDriver.

While fans have speculated as to the identity of this Rider since toy listings first surfaced, we will leave any further details OFF the frontpage out of respect for the fans who wish to enjoy Build’s saga unspoiled.

Kamen Rider Evol will debut in the next episode of Kamen Rider Build! Stay tuned to TokuNation for further developments on this remarkable Rider series!

under General Tokusatsu News, Kamen Rider

Today we have some sad news to report. Verne Troyer, the actor perhaps best known for his role as the character Mini-Me in the Austin Powers franchise, has passed away. He was 49.

Now why are we reporting on this? Well, it’s an often over looked fact that Verne Troyer also had one small role in tokusatsu. An infamous role that has become an ironically loved character in recent years. Verne Troyer was actually the suit actor for Ferbus, from Saban’s Masked Rider. As such we felt it only appropriate to share the news of his passing with community.

The news of his passing comes way of The Hollywood Reporter. While no immediate cause of death is listed, there are quotes taken from his representatives/family that mention severe and chronic bouts with depression and suicide. Regardless of what has claimed his life, we only hope that all involved parties respect the privacy of those who cared for him and whom he cared for. If you yourself are suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts, please seek help from such sources as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The world is better with you in it.

under Kamen Rider

The Tamashii Nations S.H. Figuarts blog is sharing a treat with us today. Seitou’s dangerous rider, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Rogue! They’ve recently gotten in a prototype sample of this upcoming figure for quality check purposes, and have shared a handful of images for fans to salivate over.

Check out everything after the jump by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. And remember, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Rogue will be released in September for 6264 yen as a Tamashii Web Exclusive. Be sure to keep an eye on your prferred middleman service to secure an order for one!

under Kamen Rider

This was unexpected. The popular and more adult-oriented Kamen Rider special series, Kamen Rider Amazons, has now seen an official release in the United States via your Amazon Prime subscription. Titled “Amazon Riders“, the entire first season is available to watch RIGHT NOW with English subtitles. Amazon originally announced plans to bring Kamen Rider Amazons, originally available on Amazon Prime in Japan, to English speaking audiences all the way back in 2016 but failed to give any details on release.

Check out season one of Amazon Riders by clicking here

under Godzilla

TOHO Animation and POLYGON PICTURES have just released the first official trailer for the next entry in their Godzilla anime series!

Godzilla: The City Mechanized For Battle follows in the footsteps paved by previously-released film Godzilla: Monster Planet and explores the King of the Monsters in ways never before imagined!

The City Mechanized For Battle will be released in Japanese theaters on May 18 2018! Following its theatrical run, this film will also be made available worldwide on Netflix!

under General Tokusatsu News, TokuNation, TokuNation Site Updates, TokuNation Spotlights

“What do we do?!”

“We fight!”

We’re rolling out the PPDC’s  final two Jeagers in one double sized gallery today. Guardian Bravo embodies the bulky power of it’s predecessors and improves on the Gipsy series’ chain sword with it’s own unique weapon. Saber Athena meanwhile is the newest and fastest Jaeger in the fleet/ Built for agility and finesse, Athena is a remarkable close range fighter. Can these two next gen titans turn the tide of the war? We’ll see with their Robot Spirits figures!

Both of these figures really stand out in the line. Guardian Bravo features a far brighter color scheme than any of the other Jaegers, and Saber Athena features vastly improved articulation and really unique proportions compared to the others. Bravo also comes with it’s signature Arc-16 Elec Whips while Athena comes with both of the Ionic Twin Blades as well as the larger Ionic Sword. For the last two figure we have to handle in this line (for now) they really are great ones to finish it on.

We’ve got a full 80 image gallery of this pair (split across 3 posts) that you can see by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. Our next gallery after this will focus on the valiant knight Kamen Rider Brave Level 100!

under Power Rangers, Super Sentai

The upcoming Shout! Factory complete series release of Mirai Sentai Timeranger is coming on July 31st, 2018. We now have our first look at the cover image! You can pre-order this item on Amazon.com.

Mirai Sentai Timeranger was adapted in to Power Rangers Time Force and is considered a fan-favorite series. This summer you can see the Super Sentai series that inspired the popular Power Rangers series.