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under Power Rangers, Super Sentai

Those of you who have followed TokuNation.com over the years are aware of our love not only for toys and collectibles but the desire to get to know more about what goes in to making them happen. That love allowed us the opportunity to get to know, on personal levels, some of the individuals at Bandai America who were working on the Power Rangers brand. One such individual was Gregory Mitchell, who first joined the Power Rangers team in 2013 and started making his mark on the property with Power Rangers Super Megaforce. He would finish his tenure with Bandai America as the Senior Director of Marketing for Power Rangers and oversee Power Rangers Dino Charge, Power Rangers Dino Supercharge, the Power Rangers Movie, and Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

Gregory Mitchell left Bandai America and Power Rangers in October of 2016 to join Alpha Group, a Chinese based company that was in the infant stages of growing their presence in the US markets and territories. Since joining the team, he has played a pivotal part in the acquisition of master toy licenses for various properties, including the multi-billion dollar global property that is Spongebob Squarepants. Fans of tokusatsu will recognize the name Alpha Group as the same company in China that produced the Armor Hero tokusatsu series.

He was kind enough to sit down with us for two hours and discuss a number of topics relating to the Power Rangers brand, both from his time there and from his position now looking at things as an outsider. In our exclusive interview, Gregory discusses how the process of a Super Sentai season becoming a Power Rangers season happens; the inside scoop on Legacy toys quality control issues; Legacy Shogun Megazord; an abandoned Super Sentai series that was planned before Lupinranger vs Patranger; and a handful of stories and favorite memories that you may have missed over the years.

The full interview is available in podcast form from Talkin Toku. You can listen to it in the player below or download it by clicking here.

The entire interview is also uploaded in to 9 total videos on our YouTube Channel. The first piece, a preview we released a couple of weeks ago, is shown here on the front page. All 8 follow up segments are included with this story and can be found by clicking “Read More”.

Again, please click “Read More” to see the other 8 YouTube videos!

[Read more…]

under Super Sentai

A very unique new spinoff project for Super Sentai has just been announced by TOEI!

Officially referred to as Hero Mama League this new film features a trio of veteran Super Sentai heroes-

*Nao Nagasawa as Hurricane Blue
*Ayumi Kinoshita as Deka Yellow
*Ayumi Beppu as Magi Pink

Once champions of justice, all three are now raising families of their own! And now they must learn to balance their lives as Heroes with their responsibilities as Mamas. But things become even more difficult when the Space Shinobu Demost appears on Earth!

This film was created as a “backdoor spinoff” of sorts for the upcoming KyuRanger VS Space Squad film- which is why the Hero Mamas take on a Metal Hero villain.

Hero Mama League is currently scheduled for release on May 13 2018- Mother’s Day! Stay tuned to TokuNation for further details on this interesting Super Sentai spinoff!

under Super Sentai

With the release of the YU-DO Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger candy toy figures due at the end of this month, the Bandai Candy Toy blog has featured a new post taking a closer looking at the six figures along with their packaging and accessories. It also gives buyers a closer look at what the figures will look like without any of the stickers applied, so if you’re a fan of painting them this is your opportunity to see just how much work it’ll be!

However as with most of the blog’s posts the images end with a sneak peak of what else the line has in store – a YU-DO Poderman! The Gangler mook figure is still very much in the prototype stage but is looking great so far, and a positive sign that the line will continue on into at least a second wave.

Could more Ganglers be on the way too? Check out the full selection of images after the jump and let us know your thoughts!

under Super Sentai

Some new images from the most recent Super Sentai merchandising catalog have surfaced online, giving us a quick look at the ever-expanding arsenal of Mecha to be used in Kaitou Sentai LupinRanger VS Keisatsu Sentai PatRanger!

A total of THREE new Mecha are shown off in this new catalog-

*The zeppelin-based Magic DialFighter
*The fire-engine-based Trigger Machine Splash

Both these new entries should add some much needed versatility to both teams.

Topping off this lineup is the Jackpot Striker! A golden crowned repaint of the GoodStriker, this appears to be the Movie-exclusive Mecha for this years’ Super Sentai special feature.

And rounding off the reveals this time around is a special Mecha Combo! The LupinRangers’ Dial Fighters & the PatRangers’ Trigger Machines will unite (along with the Mecha belonging to upcoming new Ranger Lupin/Pat X) to create a form tentatively known as Good Cool Kaiser VSX.

Definitely some exciting times ahead for these Ranger teams! Stay tuned to TokuNation as we keep you up to date on all LupinRanger VS PatRanger reveals.

under Power Rangers

A few pages from the next issue of BOOM! Studios Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic series event Shattered Grid have been posted online thanks to SyFy Wire!

Lord Drakkon escaped from captivity and murdered the sentient sword Saba, an ally of the Rangers who helped Tommy Oliver and Billy Cranston survive in Drakkon’s alternate world. Drakkon even tricked Ninjor into restoring his powers before attacking Tommy shortly after his first date with Kimberly Hart. It was a vicious assault, and Tommy never stood a chance against his evil doppelganger. Now, the entire Power Rangers timeline could be at risk…

Be warned, the preview pages contain SPOILERS for the previous issue- and possibly for the rest of this special event!

This issue of the Shattered Grid comic event will be released on Wednesday, April 18 2018! Stay tuned to TokuNation as we keep you up to date on this incredible adventure!

under Power Rangers, Super Sentai

Get ready to blast off into outer space! Uchuu Sentai Kyuuranger will be the next Super Sentai series to head to South Korea dubbed in Korean under the Power Rangers Galaxy Force(Not to be confused by the Transformers series of the same name) name along with a spiffy new logo.

At the moment, there is no word on when this dub will air but this is exciting news for collectors and Kyuuranger fans. South Korea will often produce their own take on Sentai toys as seen with the new Zyuohger DX Mecha revealed just a few weeks ago, so it’s entirely possible for Bandai’s South Korea division to the same with Kyuuranger.


Of course, this is all just speculative but we’ll be sure to provide you with more info on this as it breaks.

under Kamen Rider

Kuroto Dan certainly has some longevity to him eh? Bucking trends in Bandais collector toyline, the mighty self proclaimed God Kamen Rider GenM has a new Figuart on the way, S.H. Figuarys Kamen Rider GenM God Maximum Gamer Level Billion!

This unique situation means that GenM’s final form power up, a repaint of Ex-Aids penultimate Level 99 form, will actually be released before the original! GenM Level Billion has been confirmed for a September 2018 release as a Tamashii Web Exlcusive for 9936 yen. 

I am and when Ex-Aid Level 99 is also officially announced for release, we’ll be sure to update you. For now, be on the lookout for a set of official photos for Level Billion! The original source for this news comes way of a flyer posted by @LS04_Melon on twitter.

under Power Rangers

The biggest event in the Power Rangers franchise to date, and possibly the most talked about second to the movie last year, is the Shattered Grid crossover event. With the 29th issue of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, we can see via the latest cover that the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are joined by members of Power Rangers In Space, Power Rangers RPM, Power Rangers SPD, Power Rangers Dino Thunder, and Power Rangers Dino Charge! But will they be able to stop Lord Drakkon?

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue 29 releases this July in comic book stores and digital. Don’t miss it! Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Daniele Di Nicuolo.

under Power Rangers

The momentous crossover of the ages, Shattered Grid, continues this July with Go Go Power Rangers by Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora! As always – the story is under wraps and you have to read the issue to discover what truly happens. But until then we have some AMAZING artwork via the covers that will be available for the book.

Check out a cover of the Ranger Slayer with Gravezord, an iconic scene from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with Trini and Billy, a stunning Black Ranger cover, and the continuation of classic movie covers redone with Power Rangers this time featuring the cult-classic Mallrats.

Go Go Power Rangers releases this July in comic book stores and digital.

under Kamen Rider, TokuNation, TokuNation Site Updates, TokuNation Spotlights

“Vaporize.”

Himuro Gentoku’s presence at the opening of Pandora’s Box changed him, changed his fate. Driven to become someone new, the Deputy Prime Minister would help found Faust. Experimenting on humans to create the Smash, working & clashing with the mysterious Blood Stalk, all the while hiding his other identity. One day Himuro will become Kamen Rider Rogue, but for now the “Bat-Man” is the villain who will menace Kamen Rider Build. This is S.H. Figuarts Night Rogue!

Night Rogue is our 2nd release for Build and of course the first villain for the series so far. While we’ll see this mold make another outing as Blood Stalk, I’m happy to report that in it’s initial outing, it’s really won me over. Despite appearances, Night Rogue is a really dynamic and well executed figure with plenty of detailing and personality. Between the way the upper body can pose, the haunting way the eyes shine through his visor, and his fully functional sidearm the Transteam Rifle, Night Rogue is an absolute winner in my book.

We’ve attached the full 80 image gallery to this post, but you can also check out our full review of Night Rogue by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. Next time, Hyper Clock Up!