So we kicked off the week with Black Cat. Y’all ate up Vault’s Cupcake Shop review. Can we do a whole week featuring girl figures or girl toys? I’m not quite sure what we can pull off for Thursday & Friday, but today will be a healthy dose of pink in the form of a Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger! This is another review I’ve been sitting on for awhile (I think I picked it up in November), though I’m not sure why it’s taken so long.
I’m looking at this figure, and I think I’m having review block. I think I know why I haven’t reviewed it…
I don’t believe in review block really, but I find that I’ve just not got much to say about the Pink Ranger. There’s the obvious – we all had a crush on her, didn’t we? I did. There’s the trivia – Amy Jo Johnson was the only one of the five original Rangers not to leave amid rumors of pay disputes (she just plum wanted to move on). There’s the interesting – she’s never appeared at a Power Rangers convention (this year will be her first). And there’s the debatable – she’s probably been the most successful of the group, going on to star in other shows over the years. Can you tell I’m really stretching here? We might get some back-to-back pictures on this one, boys.
The Pink Ranger is probably an all-new sculpt. It is possible that she could reuse pieces from previous Figuarts Rangers, but I’ve been told by multiple people that Bandai doesn’t really take that opportunity on that side of the Pacific (though I’m sure she’ll share parts with the Yellow Ranger). It all seems to strange to me, but the figures are surely better for it.
If the Pink Ranger seems short in some of the upcoming group pics, that’s because she is – Amy Jo Johnson is only 5’ 2” and the figure is pretty accurate in comparison to Jason (though Tommy should be taller and isn’t – some part reuse rears its head!). Like previous releases, all the costume details are sculpted on and match up well to the source material. One neat little thing was the skirt does have slits on the sides and they overlap just a tad so that if the skirt is stretched in a pose, it will still “look” right. That’s pretty cool.
The paint work has been sharp on all my Figuarts so far. I think the only area where things get a little sloppy are the diamond patterns on the boots and gloves, but everything is well within reason, particularly when compared to some domestic releases. I also want to shout out again the smart use of matte and gloss finishes between the clothes and helmet. That has made each of the figures really pop!
As with previous releases – y’know I keep saying that. Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble, it’s not really a repaint, but it totally feels like it! I mean, you can’t knock it. This is completely what we want – what we need – for a proper Rangers display, but I feel like I’m reviewing Rainbow Lanterns all over again. Sheesh! Continue to Page 2…
So, gonna get both Yellow Rangers, for that ‘cross the Pacific’ picture? “Hey, what do you mean I’m a girl here?!” 🙂
I’m less a Power Rangers fan than I am a Super Sentai fan, but I’d buy the American package Jyurangers just for the fun. I really want a complete set for Jetman however.
My inner completist kinda wants the Sentai Yellow Ranger, but no, I don’t need it.
I will snag the other three from Jetman if they ever put them out though. And I might finish the Star Rangers that the White Ranger hails from too, I like those suits. I shoudln’t buy too too many of these though!
Dai Ranger. And yes, a full team of them would be awesome. Not only are the suits sweet, but I love having these Rangers that have never been part of the American Power Rangers series. Like with the announcement that the next Power Rangers series will be an adaption of Kyoryuger, called “Power Rangers Dino Charge,” and Go Buster might get skipped all together. It sucks, because the Go-Busters look and motif are awesome (there’s never been a spy themed Sentai/PR team before, whereas this is the third dinosaur team), but it’s also kind of neat because my PR display has this team of Rangers that I can imprint my own imagination onto.
We need to make up a name for what Dai Ranger would’ve been had it been brought over.
Since it was used for MMPR season 2, and everything in that season was Thunder-themed (Thunder Zords, Thunder Cannon, etc.), I’ve always thought that any name the series might have gotten should have reference to “thunder” in it. Thunder Star, Roaring Thunder, something along those lines. I don’t know, it’s late and I’m tired.
I like it. I always think of Star with that team for some reason? Was there anything to do with stars?
I think the translated name of the series is “Five-Star Sentai DaiRanger
So I’m not totally crazy.
For some odd reason, when Toei was trying to sell 恐竜戦隊ジュウレンジャー JyuRanger to the international market they had tagged it ‘Galaxy Rangers’ iirc, which makes NO sense given there already was a ‘Galaxy Rangers’ cartoon and the REASON to pimp the show was the dinosaur tie-in, given Jurassic Park was a BIG DEAL. Kids love them some dinosaurs. 🙂
Toei often falls down when it comes to trying to sell to English speaking markets.
And yes, DaiRanger was 五星戦隊ダイレンジャー ‘Gosei sentai’ or 5 Star Rangers.
(and don’t think I’m such a clever boy that I can whip off Kanji typing like no sweat! Thank iTunes and my insane music library 🙂 )
Kids love trains too, but that doesn’t seem to be going so well. 🙂
What kid loves trains? Toqger is the newest Sentai, and I keep hearing people talk about how “kids love trains,” but I’m 31 years old, and even when I was a kid, trains were considered pretty old fashioned.
I’m debating on whether to get Tiger Ranger and Yellow Ranger. I’ll be getting Yellow Ranger for sure, since she can be pre-ordered through Diamond, which means I can get the guys at the comic shop to order me one and not only save on shipping, but also get the 20% discount I receive through them as part of their loyalty program.
Boi I might want for completist’s sake. I guess it’ll depend on how my cashflow goes. I’ve been buying a ton of Figuarts lately (embarrassing admission: most of my federal tax return went to Figuarts. 11 in total), and while it might be neat to have both versions of the figure, I don’t know if it’s something I really need. Then agian, I do have two MMPR Red/Tyranno Rangers, the standard and the armored, so we’ll see. The only way to get Boi is via a middleman service preorder. If I hold off on that, the price could get ridiculous.
Yeah, I was thinking about how I never see the “true” import versions of these MMPR guys. I was looking at pics of Kimberly and I swear she’s a hotter pink then ours, but it could just be the reviewers camera.
If Bluefin were smart, they should bring over a few of the Tiger Rangers in original packaging as they prolly don’t need a full run.
The Pink Rangers are supposed to be identical, but there are reports of some where different parts of the bodies are slightly different shades of pink. The problem has been reported in both US and Japanese releases, so it may be an overall quality control issue.
Some of the reviews might just be because Pink is hard to photograph then. I had to be careful with mine, some of the pics came out rather hot pink.
boy, glad you didn’t have the Blue in the color question and swap pics. AWKward! LOL
the last color swap pic does look cool with those color combinations, esp the two Tommys.
btw, the “continue” link seems broken?
Thanks! All fixed!
“Hey…uh, what are you guys doing later?”
UGH! Why does my mind automatically go to such horrible places?! I don’t need Michael Bay to ruin my childhood–I’m doing a fine job of it on my own!
lol Originally, they had a specific answer, but sometimes bring vague has funnier results… 🙂
There was finally a female Red Ranger in Shinkenger/Super Samurai. And there is a Figuart of her. It was probably my third or fourth Sentai Figuart. I have a hrd time remembering who I got first: Princess Shinken Red, Deka Red, or Shinken Gold. I know I got Shinken Red first, because he was the first Sentai Figuart released, and I got the “First Release” bonus Koruko. and I know I got Akiba Red right before or right at the same time as Princess Shinken Red. Yeah I’m just rambling through my fuzzy memories.
It’s funny you should mention the height thing, because Tommy was by far the tallest member of he MMPR team, and it was disturbing to me to find out how short he really is. Here’s a picture of the original MMPR team:
http://www.dramafever.com/st/news/images/original-group.jpg
And then I learn he’s only like 5’11”. The rest of those guys must be friggin’ tiny. Here’s a picture of one of the times I met him at Chicago Comic Con last year. I’m 6’4″ and have terrible posture:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101362272018018&set=t.26717494&type=1
Weirdly enough, going backstage to see him again the next day, I unexpectedly met DMC. Yes, from Run-DMC. It was surreal.
Oops. forgot to mention, the female Red Samurai/Shinken Ranger is the first HEROIC female Red Ranger. There was a female Red Ranger in Power Rangers SPD, an original creation for the American version, whose costume was made from a Power Rangers in Space/Mega Red helmet and motocross gear (all the “A-squad” suits from that season followed a similar pattern, standing in contrast to the B-Squad, the main focus team of the season, whose suits were traditional spandex), and who later turned out to have turned traitor. She only appeared in a handful of episodes, and was unmorphed only for two of those (and, yes, they made a big deal about the surprise reveal that she was a girl. How long ago was Metroid?)
Wow. I missed a lot of Power Rangers between then & now!!
But has there been a Pink Dude??
And, yes, that’s the pic I used to size up Kimberly! Great shot with JDF. I’m only 5′ 8″, so he’d seem tall to me. lol
You’ll get your pink dude in Ressha Sentai ToQger, starting next week. The entire team will switch colors, so although the initial colors are what you’d expect, sometimes, the women will be red, and sometimes, the guys will be pink.
If you haven’t already, look up the final episode of Kyoryuger (#48) for the hand-off. I didn’t even know this was a thing, but apparently, they’ve started a tradition of having a silent hand-off, post-credits, of the series from the prior series’ red to the current red. It’s just a few seconds long, and this year’s was super-cute.
I knew about the hand offs, but I’ve never watched one.
So the train rangers can switch costumes? Weird.
Well in one of the Gokaiger movies the team goes all pink and Marvelous is Ptera/MMPRS1 pink. Forget the others right now.
I need to find the pic for that!!
That totally makes me want one. I would get the Tiger Ranger and that for sure! Make a couple more and we can give the Green Ranger a whole alternate team!
Looks like your Pink Ranger didn’t suffer too bad from quality control in terms of proper colored limbs. A lot of people have reported their Pink Rangers having different color pinks on the legs, particularly the right one, and the upper arms compared to the rest of the body.
I have both a Japanese Zyuranger version and the U.S. MMPR version and my Zyuranger one doesn’t seem to have any major issues, but my U.S. Pink Ranger has a darker pink upper right leg and upper right arm and her torso is also darker than the rest of her body.
I didn’t even notice! Yay! Pink is a tricky color – even taking pics, it was hard to get the same shade.
Sorry to hear yours wasn’t as balanced out, but tell me are both versions the same Pink or are they different?
Both figures seem to have the same shade of pink used, but I dunno if something got in the paints particularly on the MMPR Pink during its assembly/painting or what as the parts that are different from the rest of the body are more of a pink with a hint of almost purple. It’s more noticeable in certain lighting.
I never had issues like this with my previous Pink Sentai/Ranger Figuarts though. DekaPink and Gokai Pink are both perfect.
Its funny but I forget who Luka(Luca?) and Ahim turn into when the Gokaigers went all red. My mindbsaysbone was AbaRed.
I would try for both Tiger and Yellow cause in truth even season 1 PR was Boi to begin with since used the Zyuranger footage. Just sad what happend to Trini (the actress, think thats the other reason would do a batman type memorial display.
I do wonder how poseable she is. Say how Tommy was in Akibaranger via scooping Pink up and getting slap happy on her. Man I wanna see that Malshina get made badly.
I think after ordering Glimmer gonna go after somebody in the figuart Sentai area. Ryuu ranger, Akibaranger, or Doc Gokai Green (hoping with Navi)
I think Pink & Green could pull off that pose.
If I got the Tiger Ranger, he’d be more of a seventh wheel than just to match the footage I think. I’m do glad they’re doing the Yellow Ranger outright!
Yeah, that final pic is outstanding.
Thanks! lol
That last picture… Eww, just eww…
Aww. That was a short end to my high from Paul!
I noticed on my Pink Ranger that the shoulder caps were looser than on the guys. Not sure if that’s because of the smaller limbs or what.
Didn’t notice any color variation on mine but now I’m curious and will have to check when I get home tonight.
Hmm. Mine seemed more stiff, more in the way. Let us know on the colors!
I’m curious, what are the big differences between the two releases of Yellow Ranger? I’ve gotten my three rangers ,Green,Red and Pink from Amazon.. they have a yellow…which one do i go for?
There are two different versions of the Yellow Ranger, aka Tiger Ranger, being released. In American, the Yellow Ranger will be released in MMPR packaging, and will be built on a female body (a modified Pink Ranger body, minus the skirt). In Japan, Tiger Ranger was male (believe it or not, his name was actually Boi, phonetically identical to the word boy), and thus the figure will be built on the same body as the other Zyuranger men. It will also, obviously, be in Zyuranger packaging, and Bandai has a new policy of packaging web exclusive figures (as most Sentai Figuarts are in Japan, outside of Reds and Sixth RangerS) in solid boxes, rather than window boxes.
If you want the Japanese release, you need to preorder it through a middleman service in Japan, as it’s a web exclusive that can’t be ordered directly by anyone outside of Japan (or you could wait on ordering, but the web exclusives tend to jump in price after the preorder period ends). The American release will be readily available through Diamond (meaning any comic shop can order it for you) and domestic online retailers.
The US “Mighty Morphin” Yellow Ranger will be female and use parts from Pink Ranger here (without the skirt), while the Japanese “Zyuranger” Tiger Ranger will be male and use the same body as Red. The body is the only difference; both will include the same weapons.
The listing on Amazon is for the female version.
Bah. Ninja’d.
These guys have you covered. I would only add that it’s up to you (each of us, really) to decide how we want Trini displayed. I know I want the female body even if wasn’t technically screen accurate to the footage. I think most will feel the same, but the internet has all kinds.
Does anyone have a suggestion of where to get the male Yellow Ranger from? Anybody know a website it can be pre-ordered from?
Searching for “tiger ranger pre-order” will get you a number of sites. I usually use Yokatta, but it looks like they haven’t listed him yet. The figure’s not due for release until the summer, so you should have time to get your order in.
Does anybody remember that “Spunky the Wonder Squid” parody-dubbing that USA Channel ran back in the late 1990s? Was that a re-dubbing of the original Power Rangers?
I was in my late teens when the Power Rangers hit the USA big, and I started with a negative impression of them because they either struck me as a Lion Voltron derivation or that “Spunky the Wonder Squid” TV series taken seriously.
What is their story? Did they enter the USA on the coat-tails of Voltron?