S.H. Figuarts Shinkenger

When the Shinkenger team was announced for the S.H. Figuarts, it really got alot of fans excited! Japan was finally going to have awesome poseable figures rather than the unexciting vinyl ones.

Sometime back, ShinkenRed and ShinkenGold first went online as pre-order items on Bandai's webstore with Kurokos as first-press bonuses. They are also slated for regular release in late Feb and Mar this year.

As cool as it sounds, the price for getting the whole team was also astronomical for a bunch of action figures! Based on CSC's import prices, one S.H. Figuarts is approximately S$45 which makes the whole team of 6 at S$270?!

NOW THE DREAM OF OWNING THE WHOLE TEAM HAS BEEN MADE CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE...



The latest announcement from Bandai Japan has confirmed that ShinkenBlue and ShinkenGreen would be online exclusives only.

This means that those who wish to get them have to go through middleman services. Damn! Now, I'm debating whether to get or not.

The Debate Has Ended...

Real Suits or CGI/Photoshopped? In the latest Power Rangers Samurai Promo for the Blue Ranger, we now have confirmation that the "Mega Rangers" (first released as toys) are indeed in the show and not just some stupid Bandai America toy designs.



Apparently, Saban has decided to replace the Megazord Cockpit with its original American Creation along with the "Mega Ranger" suits. At this point, we can only assume that the Samurai Rangers have to power up to the "Mega Mode" to summon the Zords and combine into the Megazord. The idea just sounds dumb to me, but Saban can eliminate the problem of the Japanese Mojikara footage completely.

Opinion time: I am not fond of the designs for the "Mega Rangers" at all. Don't you think they looked very bulky and ugly? And they don't seem to serve any real purpose unless they serve as a mid-show team upgrade? American kids would probably find them cool compared to the regular spandex.

While I am still on the topic, the negative reactions by the fandom when the toy images first surfaced seem to have dissipated more or less. Kinda like an ironic situation, American fans who hated the designs now adore them once they learnt that they will appear on the show.

Power Rangers Samurai premieres Feb 7th, 2011 (Monday) on Nick!

The Anniversary Season

So the season number for Power Rangers Samurai sparked countless debates which the impact is anticipated to be a little more reaching...

Among the confusion on whether Power Rangers Samurai is one season for two years or two seasons for two years, it will most likely affect the next coming anniversary season to follow: which may either be Goseiger or Gokaiger.

Scenario 1:

Supposed that Samurai is the 19th season, Goseiger gets adapted as the 20th season in 2013 which Power Rangers will celebrate the 20th Anniversary. The only significance lies in the fact that the team color is the same as the iconic MMPR.

However, Goseiger has been receiving alot of hatred so a number of people are ranting to skip it. Well, I think these people are too full of themselves because it does not mean that other people wouldn't like it. Sure, Goseiger isn't as fantastic as Shinkenger or Gekiranger but I certainly feel that it is not the worst Sentai Series in recent years. I don't hate the Headder Gimmick but I admit that it really didn't do much for the series. In contrast, Go-Onger's story is much more boring saved for the talking Engines which actually captivated the kids alot.

Scenario 2:

Instead of the season number, Power Rangers can celebrate with the Gokaiger adaptation as "20 years of Power Rangers" despite it being the 21st season. Plus, people are dying for Gokaiger to be the anniversary season as it certainly makes more sense with what Japan is doing - Epic Story that covers the 199 heroes from the past.

At the very least, Power Rangers did celebrate its past anniversary years with Wild Force (10th) and Operation Overdrive (15th), which coincides with both Gaoranger (25th) and Boukenger (30th) from Super Sentai so this is highly plausible.

Till then.

Samurai: The 18th or 19th Season?

Like it or not, the Official Press Release for Power Rangers Samurai has stated that it is the 19th season in the franchise.



As much as I (and alot of people) want Saban to recognize Samurai as the 18th season instead of the "Reversioned Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", it is pretty much a fact from a television production perspective - like the new opening, edits and effects as well as a new ending credits.

Sure, there's a lot of arguments against the stupid lame rerun and a million reasons why Power Rangers Samurai should be the official 18th season, but nobody at the corporate side is going to care for some numbering issue anyway.

Nope, there's more... Since Samurai is going to run for two years, does that make it 2 seasons or still one? Only Saban knows the answer now.