I'd actually question that considering the state of the Figuarts line when the Sentai stuff ended then was totally different from how it is now.

Now completing casts or getting alternate forms via P-Bandai releases has basically become the norm, unlike a few years back where it wasn't as utilized. Now practically every sub-line in Figuarts relies on it.

From what I can remember, sales outside of Japan can be helpful. Zyuranger probably got the full team for SHF because they did well overseas. Even the NA sales helped the figuart line for Dragon Ball before Super came out.

I'm going from what I remember hearing when I did volunteer work for Bluefin in 2015 and 2017. Stuff has probably changed in the last few years.

International sales def played a part in boosting the DBZ line and even Sentai figuarts a bit but specifically them doing Zyuranger. Zyuranger was already planned and Bandai just happened to work out a partnership with Bluefin who partnered with Tamashii Nations to get figuarts sold directly in North America. Every Sentai figuarts released in North America back then was branded under their Power Rangers name if it had one but the molds and figures themselves was still based off the Japanese characters and Sentai

Yeah we're talking about a time back then when not too many people were aware of Japanese imports or high-end toylines like Mafex, Figma, Bandai Japan and maybe even Hot Toys to name a few.

When more people learned about them and saw the prices they commanded they weren't feeling it and the same could be said about the idea of pre-ordering stuff back then which some people didn't agree with but are more accepting of it now to some extent...

For me though when I learned about Figuarts in 2012 or 2013 I was instantly hooked because as a kid I always wanted a complete toy of my favortie characters in a show that had everything they used in the form of accessories so when I came across my first Figuart which was Masked Rider Ryuki I was filled with joy

Not my pic but it seems like Jaou Dragon's top shoulder armor are connected to the torso while the purple one is at the arm. And then the cape is connected to the top shoulder armor. So... An improvement over Prime Rogue, I suppose? But that probably means his cape is draped down all the time.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFAE4IBa...jpg&name=large

Emperor looks exquisite, like an art piece :lol just like his sibling suit. Seems like you can remove Zanbat off the sword so you can have the sealed version for Dark Kiva, too. Shame he's so expensive.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFAH3OVa...name=4096x4096

Wow very beautiful and can't wait for both of these to arrive. That's good to hear about the Zanbat being removable since it was on the original release I believe. I own the original dark kiva figuarts and those accessories fit very well with my Seihou Dark Kiva.

I had no idea Emperor Form came with Kivat the 4th.

Now if you want the actual full Kiva line-up, you need 2 base forms.

Yeah. I was wishing the Future Kiva they showed back then was going to be a sort of coming reissue for Base Kiva that had Kivat the 4th. Disappointed it was just packed in with Emperor. But I suppose their intention was that you bought Kiva already, and then just having Emperor to represent Wataru.

I mean it makes sense considering Emperor basically became Wataru's main form after it debuted.

Unfortunately, due to the Hasbro deal, I don't think Bandai can rely on at least the North American market when it comes to the new Sentai figuarts. Domestic shops are not carrying Zenkaiser through Bluefin if Tokucollectibles lack of USA option is anything to tell by.

That was mainly due to Kiva's default form being so heavy for the suit actor. The more excuses to not use it, the better.