Pre-Ordered Deformeister Petit Super Sentai Series

I caved in and pre-ordered this set of 10.

Damn! Bandai really knows how to play this game and is darn good at it; the same happened with the Prop Plus Petit for Shinkenger.

It's just so cute seeing the Gokaigers do their signature pose, especially Green and Yellow!



The 10th figurine will be a secret character, and from the looks of the silhouette, it's probably GoseiKnight?

Originally at 4,750 yen but now at 3,450 yen (approx. S$52.63) at AmiAmi Japan before shipping. No deposit or payment required upfront.

Hopefully, I will be able to secure this set because online pre-orders from Japan apparently does not guarantee you the product fulfillment.

RPM Megazords Clearance

With Power Rangers RPM into its final 4 episodes on Okto, various toy stores have started to reduce their prices for the Deluxe Formula Megazords, and the assortment of vehicles/bikes.


*Click for larger image*

Now selling at S$49.95 each! (Usual Price at S$69.95)

I'll probably wait a while more for their prices to drop further before I grab all 4 for the RPM Ultrazord. Maybe at the Takashimaya Annual Crazy Toy Sale! Hahah.

Arrived in the mail today!



Kaettekita Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Tokubetsu Maku (Limited Edition)

"Thanks" to Toei's perfect new strategy of bundling the Annual Chouzetsu with the special DVD from Shinkenger onwards, I almost couldn't collect it because it was simply too expensive (approximately S$90.33).

*(For those wondering, Chouzetsu can be referred to as a complete illustrated guide for the series, or a mini-encyclopedia)

Luckily, Play-Asia had a very good offer of S$51.43 which is why I was able to order it and add to my collection that started with Boukenger. Now, I will probably do the same and wait for the one for Goseiger (which is again bundled with the special DVD releasing in June) to get a special offer.

Pre-Ordered S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed

S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed with Gokai-Oh Steering Wheel (First Press Limited Bonus Item); Releasing in September 2011.



It is definitely not hard to see that Bandai Japan had this planned all along. After the success of the Shinkenger lineup and the current craze over Gokaiger, this will never go wrong.

I did contemplating not pre-ordering this one as it will be a regular release like ShinkenRed. However with Ng's Collections closing down in August, I feel that it might be harder to track this one down especially when Dollz Inc is a little out of the way and stocks have been rather unstable. Therefore, it would be much easier to just pre-order instead of going up and down all the time to check whether it has arrived.

Regarding the recent announcement over the availability of the First Press Bonus Steering Wheel possibly limited to the Japanese Market only, I e-mailed La Tendo and they confirmed it will come together with the Bandai Asia release as well. So I decided to pre-order with them and paid a deposit of S$20.00 (full amount S$50.40).

Oh well, I'm still a little skeptical about the Steering Wheel because other online stores stated that their distributors have confirmed it will not be available for the Bandai Asia version. Contradicting right?

More Gokaiger Stuff!

Finally, the long-awaited stocks have arrived!

Gokai Machine Series 02: DX PatStriker (Dekaranger) - S$40.00



I believed that most people would agree that the DX Magi-Dragon was a rather bad design. DX PatStriker, on the other hand, proved to be rather interesting.

When the catalog images first appeared, I thought that the redesign for PatStriker was rather unflattering as well. Although the actual Magi-Dragon toy did turned out better than expectation, the whole design concept was still rather awkward. PatStriker, however, was not the case... Besides being smaller and a little more flat than expected, I find it quite aesthetically pleasing with the red metallic paint and gold chrome wheels.

The lights and sounds are well-done as usual (per Bandai Japan's standards). There are 3 dedicated sounds for PatStriker, one for summoning, one for combining and one for the finishing move. Overall, a very neat toy.

Gokai Machine Series 03: DX GaoLion (Gaoranger/Shinkenger) - S$65.00



Unlike the first two auxiliary mecha, GaoLion actually resembled it's original design the most because in the show, it's supposed to be the same GaoLion. There's no explanation for the sudden change of appearance though, but it's Super Sentai where a lot of things don't make sense.

Since Lion was a recurring theme for many animal-based seasons, the designers decided to combine the elements of both Gaoranger and Shinkenger into one. I think it's very smart and convenient at the same time - the GaoLion's body is actually the Rekka Daizantou and the tail doubles as the Samurai Helmet for Gokai-Oh.

For Gao-GokaiOh, it's fairly simple to achieve the GaoKentaurus look for tribute, so there's nothing much to review on. The only complain is that the girls always get shafted for new combinations, which has happened for many seasons. So basically, Gokai Trailer and Gokai Marine are now useless pieces again.

Due to Shinkenger's ultra-popular status, the design for Shinken-GokaiOh is the most special compared to the first 3 where GokaiOh's main look is retained. This time, GokaiOh gets a new Samurai Helmet and legs from GaoLion, dropping the treasure chest concept as well as leaving out Yellow and Pink from the transformation once again. The Rekka Daizantou is much smaller in toy form compared to the show, so it looks rather funny. LoL! To be show-accurate, you probably need the DX version from the Shinkenger toyline... I just prefer to pose it with the Naginata Gokai-Ken because it looks more badass.

Lastly, GaoLion also has 3 dedicated sounds similar to PatStriker: One Roar, One Summon and One Samurai. Overall, a very neat toy too.

Bandai Quality Control

For some reason, the quality control for Bandai Asia has slipped significantly?

The flaps on GaoLion are reportedly loose on the right side and rather sensitive to touch. I had to make some effort to ensure that the flaps are closed properly every time. Apparently, many others also have this issue and it affects the Japanese versions as well.

Candy Toy Ranger Key Series 01: GokaiRed - S$5.00



Bought this for fun from Robo Robo and it's the last piece. Too bad, I missed out on GokaiBlue... Didn't expect Gerald to get them from Japan since he don't deal with Candy Toy in the past. Screw Yamakawa for getting from bad to worse since Go-Onger.

When I opened it, I was kinda surprised by the plastic quality - It is almost the same as the DX version. The only main difference was that the black portion between the legs is now a sticker instead of paint. In fact, I feel that the paint application on the body is better than the DX version. Just compare the Gokaiger Emblem.

Funny how all the Ranger Keys are selling at 200 yen but differ so much in terms of quality. The DX and Candy versions are better choices compared to the Gashapon version which rely on stickers for the body details.

Then again, Singapore also didn't get the Gashapon Ranger Keys because Sheng Tai Toys screwed up as well.

The Gold Samurai

Ah, the exact debut and then the Gold Ranger joining the Samurai Rangers.

I quite like Antonio (Steven Skyler) and his fake Spanish accent because he brings life (and entertaining moments) to the all wooden team (I'm referring to the acting). While Skyler's acting wasn't all stellar but I enjoyed his over-the-top expressions. Yes, Hector (Mike) is the better actor out of the core 5 but he wasn't given much chance to shine in the last couple of episodes.

After all, Antonio was made to mimic that of his Japanese counterpart, Genta, but the difference this time is that I like Antonio a lot better than Genta. ShinkenGold was too crazy for my liking, and if you did notice, his stuntman was too "over-sized" which looked really awkward.

However, I would like to point out the fact that Saban and Bandai have been too cheap with regards to his Samurai Morpher since they couldn't use the Sushi-Changer. You can clearly see in the show that they used the crappy plastic toy instead of making a more professional prop! The only difference would be that the screen is "digitized"... but this is just one minor complain.

Moving on, Antonio's Mega Mode is sparkly as well! Other than that, the Mega Blade is kinda expected. In case you are wondering why the Gold Ranger's Mega Mode Helmet isn't redesigned, it's probably because he was a new addition to the team (not enough time to redesign along with the production) when the show got picked up by Saban again.

Originally, the core 5 were already pre-designed by Bandai (to create the MMPR Movie feel?) possibly for new toy releases despite Disney's not supporting the show after MMPR Reversioned. Do note that these are all just speculations by the fans, but early versions of the Samurai toy website had images of Jason, Billy and Tommy in the Auto-Morphin Red, Blue and Green Samurai Ranger prototypes. Well...