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under Kamen Rider

The rumor mill for a few months now was that Kamen Rider Gaim would be a shorter season than some of the seasons prior (everything will be shorter than Kamen Rider Wizard). The cast had mentioned they were halfway through production when the show was airing in the late teens, leading many to speculate that the show would end somewhere in the 30’s. However, Gen Urobuchi, a forever fan-favorite for his work on Kamen Rider Gaim, announced via Twitter that he’s still writing episodes! He also replied to the actor who plays the fan-favorite Kamen Rider Bravo. Our friends at the Tokusatsu Network took the time to translate the tweets and they are as follows:

I can say now that the year I spent working on a content giant like Kamen Rider is something I’ll treasure. I am really glad I accepted this offer. Now I want to keep this feeling of happiness and run through the end.

…and…

No, there are a few episodes left. I am right at the climax. Cannot relax just yet.

The Tokusatsu Network states that episode production/filming is about 8 episodes ahead of when an episode airs. So with Episode 34 airing this weekend, Episode 41 and/or 42 should be filming as we speak. That would give Kamen Rider Gaim a rough estimate of the high 40’s in terms of episodes. Probably not 50, but we hope we’re wrong. Share your thoughts! Thanks again to the Tokusatsu Network for this find!

under Power Rangers

Friend of the site Fury Diamond has been attending the Licensing Expo 2014 and sharing a ton of pictures and information with us regarding Power Rangers Dino Charge. He’s shared details of the promotional marketing video for Power Rangers Dino Charge, and you can find a detailed run-down of the video by clicking here. Some fans may be curious why the video isn’t being posted – it’s mostly because the Licensing Expo isn’t meant to be a press gathering. True, a lot of information about future products are revealed at the Licensing Expo, but certain details are not necessarily meant to be released to the mass public.

Either way – included in the video is a brief screen capture of some of the Power Rangers Dino Charge figures for 2015. We see the Dino Charge Megazord (yes, the triceratops looks purple and is supposed to be pink but at this time it’s hard to say if that’s painted purple or if it’s just the power of optical illusion), the Dino Charge Morpher, a Dino Charge battery accessory (NOTE: notice that it’s a Ranger instead of a dinosaur?), and what appears to be the Red Dino Charge Ranger in 5″ figure size and form. Interesting! Check out the picture below courtesy our friends from RangerCrew.com!

dino charge toys 01

We know – the more you look the more purple you see. We’ll most likely get a much closer look at the Dino Charge Megazord at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Be sure to check out RangerCrew.com for all of their coverage, in specific their SamuraiCast Blog! Are you excited? Are you Charged Up? Join in the discussion!

under Kamen Rider

Come on, Banana Arms!

The second release from Kamen Rider Gaim in the S.H. Figuarts line is here! S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Baron Banana Arms!

As a follow up/simultaneous release with S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gaim, Baron is the perfect compliment to the orange samurai. As with Gaim there’s no Arms Change ability here, but there are gorgeous paint apps and a wealth of accessories to help mitigate that. Kamen Rider Baron includes a variety of extra hands, a closed Banana Lock Seed, as well as both forms of his trademark weapon the Banaspear! The founder of Team Baron has never looked better! Even on the DX Lock Vehicle Rose Attacker Kaitou looks the part of a warrior seeking power.

Please check out our full 50+ image gallery after the jump by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. And in just over a week or so we’ll be back with a gallery of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Zangetsu!

under Kamen Rider, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights

Let’s Watch Wednesdays returns! Kamen Rider Den-O is speeding down the tracks. But are we approaching a detour?

Kintaros the mighty bear Imagin is here to stay! And as long as he’s here he’ll continue to make the forces of evil cry as Kamen Rider Den-O Axe Form! But how many more stragglers can the Den-Liner pick up? And while we have questions, what about Hana? Her destroyed future? The secret behind her and Ryutaro being Singular Points? But more importantly (f0r now) it’s time for Ryutarou to be a bodyguard, well Kintaros can do most of the work.

Fun Fact #4
Did you know that each of the Den-Liner Imagin that make up Den-O’s arsenal are all based on Japanese myth/folk heroes? Each of them is based on a unique hero of Japanese lore and this week we focus on big red himself. Momotaros is based on the legend of Momotaro. Sent from heaven floating down a river within a giant peach, Momotaro was taken in by a childless couple. Raised by them he grew up to be a great slayer of the various Oni of myth. Even going so far as to befriend several wild animals, and with their help he invaded the dark island Onigashima, defeated the hordes there and return home with enough wealth to live out the rest of his days comfortably with his family. Momotaros shares a basic peach motif with this hero of legend and his look is in fact based on that of a “typical” oni. Next week we take a look at Urataros’ origins in myth!

As always be sure to join in on our weekly discussion thread by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. Kamen Rider Den-O is ramping up to something big very soon. You just have to watch to see!

 

under General Tokusatsu News

If you’re a fan of Power Rangers then the name Koichi Sakamoto should ring a bell for you. Acting as everything from stunt director to director and producer, Koichi Sakamoto’s run on Power Rangers was one of the longest running jobs spanning nearly 20 years. After leaving Power Rangers (though he did direct the final episode of Power Rangers Super Megaforce) he spent time working on both the Ultraman franchise as well as directing Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger which will be adapted next year as Power Rangers Dino Charge. Thanks to both the Tokusatsu Network as well as RangerCrew.com we can share with you the promotional images from the licensing expo as well as the pilot for this new series being developed by Gunblade Culture Industry SPC in South Korea. The press release, courtesy the Tokusatsu Network, is as follows:

Las Vegas, Nev. (June 12, 2014) – From the executive producer and director who brought adoring fans the hit popular series, “Power Rangers,” Koichi Sakamoto will bring to life the next generation of superheroes with a new action drama, “GUNBLADE.” The highly-anticipated show will be unveiled during the 2014 Licensing Expo at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Tuesday, June 17.
During the three-day tradeshow, visitors of the Kocca booth will experience an exclusive eight-minute sneak preview of “GUNBLADE” and will also have the opportunity to interact with one of the superheroes.

Produced by Gunblade Culture Industry SPC, a South Korean-based production company and a subsidiary of A mate Inc., “GUNBLADE” is the tale of the extraordinary “Gunblade Team,” a six-member special missions unit, assembled to protect and defend humankind against the evil Dr. Dexter and his super computer, “Olympus.” Seeking assistance to carry out his diabolical plan to destroy the Earth, Dr. Dexter resurrects an ancient destructive clan, “Gothic,” who had been sealed away for evildoing. Now with the threat of humanity becoming extinct, the Gunblade Team must stop Dr. Dexter from destroying the Earth. Equipped with the “GB Drive,” a special smart phone type device, GUNBLADE members can use its applications to transmit high-tech weaponry, assist in a variety of attack skills, garner protection by an impenetrable shield and even transform into a special armored suit.

“GUNBLADE is an extension of popular superhero programs that have appealed to audiences of all ages for years,” explains Sakamoto. “As a child, we looked up to superheroes because we wished we could be one ourselves. With superhuman powers, they saved the world from evil and got to wear cool costumes. As an adult, I believe our inner child still possesses that same feeling of admiration, which is why I believe superheroes have exploded in popularity and is what I hope to achieve with GUNBLADE.”

The $20 million budgeted production is scheduled to begin filming this August and will be on-air in Korea as early as March 2015. “GUNBLADE” will be distributed throughout select Asian markets in June and September 2015 and is planned to air in Europe and the United States by January of 2016.

The pilot trailer is below.

Currently, Gunblade is slated to release in March of 2015 in South Korea, select Asian countries the rest of 2015, and a potential airing in the United States and Europe in 2016. What do you think? Are you excited for Gunblade? Discuss the trailer/pilot in our discussion thread!

under Conventions, Other Conventions, Power Rangers

Our good friend Fury Diamond from RangerCrew.com is hard at work at this year’s Licensing Expo to bring us the first look and first official information on next year’s series Power Rangers Dino Charge! We’ve included one image of suit actors at the show, but for the rest of the pictures we ask that you please head over to the official blog of RangerCrew by clicking this link here.

Dino Charge Power Rangers RangerCrew

The official story line is as follows:

The Power Rangers franchise return with brand-new “dino charged” action. On prehistoric Earth, an alien entrusted powerful Energems to 12 dinosaurs for protection but when the dinosaurs went extinct, the Energems were lost. Now an intergalactic bounty hunter is determine to reclaim the gems and destroy our planet. A new team of Power Rangers must find the lost Energems and use their Dino Charges to power an arsenal of dino-fueled weapons, zords, and Megazords to save the world.

The next series of Power Rangers will be based off of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, which finished airing in Japan earlier this year, though there are some reports that the story will also feature some elements from the series that was skipped, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. What, if any, role that plays has yet to be seen. We will keep you updated with any information as it comes available.

Please make sure to check out RangerCrew.com, Samuraicast Blog, and the official RangerCrew.com Twitter, @RangerCrew to keep up on the updates as they occur. Special thanks again to Fury Diamond for all his hard work!

under Conventions, Metal Heroes, Power Morphicon, Power Rangers

It’s Monday – that means another Official Power Morphicon guest update! Joining the list of over 90 special guests is the beautiful, one and only Melody Perkins! She played the very iconic role of Astromena in Power Rangers In Space, the Princess of Evil who had a secret past with Andros the In Space Red Ranger. She would return in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and become the Pink Ranger, making her the first and only series main villain to return and become a Power Ranger in another series (Rick Medina would do the opposite, going from Power Ranger to a main villain in Power Rangers Wild Force to Power Rangers Samurai). But she wasn’t the only guest to attend – check out the list of added guests below!

  • Melody Perkins (“Astronema”/”Karone”, Power Rangers In Space, Pink Ranger 2 in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and Power Rangers Super Megaforce)
  • Elisabeth Fies (voice of the Otcophantom and Stag Beetle in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
  • Aaron Prunder (“Percy” in VR Troopers)

If you haven’t registered for Power Morphicon then we have some bad news – time is running out! Registration is rumored to close in the next few weeks! Don’t waste any more time – click here to begin your registration process! TokuNation.com as well as the Talkin Toku Podcast will be in attendance at this year’s show as platinum members, giving us front row seats to all panels, events, and early access to the show room! We will bring you on-the-spot coverage with news, pictures, interviews, and more! We’re also attending the show with our good friends from the Ranger Command Power Hour Podcast, and we have some very fun events planned with them during the course of the show, of which we will be sure to update you on! See you at the show!

under Power Rangers, Super Sentai, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights

It’s Monday which means it’s time for another Power Rangers Monday article! Last week, we talked about the Top 5 Things That MUST Be Adapted from Kyoryuger to Dino Charge, and it was a huge hit! Thanks everyone for taking part in the discussion. A lot of you disagreed with our feelings that the overall theme of music should be adapted and it was an awesome discussion on both sides. A lot of you also wanted to see Deathryuger as the Navy Ranger, or rather his 100 Years After adaption of being Kyoryu Navy. Either way it was a lot of fun – and if you missed it, check out the multi-page discussion by clicking here!

This week you voted on our topic of discussion – and you chose for us to discuss the Top 5 Coolest Things Not Adapted From Super Sentai! Not being super-versed in all things Super Sentai, I reached out to our content director Den-O, a self-proclaimed Super Sentai enthusiast, and with his help, came up with a rather fun and interesting list. Please click the “Read More…” option and check out the list we came up with!

Please take a moment and vote on next Monday’s article – we brought over a couple of options from the last poll and added three new options of which they would all be extremely fun to write and research! So vote, discuss, and read on!

[Read more…]

under Conventions, Power Rangers, San Diego Comic Con

Love him or hate him, Jason David Frank continues to be a mover and a shaker when it comes to the world of Power Rangers. Announced today via his Instagram account, the actor who played Tommy Oliver the Mighty Morphin Green and White Rangers, Red Zeo Ranger, Red Turbo Ranger, and Black Dino Thunder Ranger, will be appearing at this year’s San Diego Comic Con courtesy of Saban Brands (the property owners of Power Rangers) and Lionsgate (the studio announced to be behind the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie reboot/remake).

This will undoubtedly begin a wave of speculation – is he appearing simply to promote the brand? Is he appearing because he might actually land a role in the new movie? Saban Brands, along with Bandai of America, have made no mistake that they consider him the greatest Power Ranger of all time – he’s popular, his toys sell like hot cakes, and he remains one of the most fan-demanded characters in every Power Rangers series.

Join in our discussion on the speculation of Jason David Frank and his role, if any, in the new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie. It’s sure to be a wild ride in the discussion forum.

under Kamen Rider

Just revealed this weekend at Tokyo Toy Show International we’ve got some hard info about the release of the next Premium Bandai Arms Change set!

ACPB05 will Include Kamen Rider Mars (Gold Arms) & Kamen Rider Kamuro (Silver Arms). This set will retail for 7000 yen and orders will open on July 18th. Orders will remain open through September, with the two-packs release in November.

Also to clarify the nam Kamen Rider Mars has been confirmed. Despite differing accounts previously stating his name to be “Malus” that’s apparently false. The name tag for this set at the show presents an official romanization of the name as Mars.