SDCC 2015: Interview with Bandai of America
 

Kickback just finished up a full interview with Bandai of America regarding to of the big questions fans and collectors have about the current Dino Charge & Legacy toylines!

The Rundown:

Legacy
- Items were never meant to be released in chronological order that's just the way it turned out over the history of releases.

- The Ninja Megazord, Shogun Megazord, & Falconzord are all obvious times to look at doing in the future in their mind.

- On the topic of Zeo, Bandai is very much a fan. Internally it's agreed that it would be fun to do so it's a very good possibility.

- Legacy Zeo Gold Ranger Power Staff? An interesting idea ;) ;)

- Legacy Tor? They don't want to destroy our wallets but its possible.

- Legacy as a whole is meant to be released as one roleplay and one Megazord, or sometimes 5" figures, at a time to spread things out.

- Legacy Blade Blaster at SDCC was a total mock-up, retail copy was not ready. Will follow up with us later with more info on this release.

- Thunder Megazord should be able to assume the Thunderzord Assault Team "sled" configuration but Bandai is going to follow up with the designer and get back to us post convention.

- When asked if a Black & Gold Dragonzord could be made to accompany the Megazord, their response was "would fans buy it"?


Dino Charge

- Last year we asked Bandai about the rangers in Dino Charge for their 5" line. They said then that if the character was in Dino Charge (alluding to the ll different ones in the source material) that there was a good chance of them being made as toys. This year the same question was posed, including gender swaps. Bandai says they're sticking to the original answer. If it's in the show it's likely to be a toy.

- Poisandra. Bandai is looking into it, but it depends entirely on what happens to the character in the show. They simply don't know her future in show. We asked "How about a PMC exclusive for Poisandra?" They're response. "Hey good idea!" (Kickback personally apologizes for this :lol )

- They're very eager to see how the villains sell for Dino Charge. It's the first time since MMPR that the majority of a wave has been villains.

- Regarding more Dino Charge Megazords, as with the 5" figures, if it's in the show footage it's a very good chance it will have a toy.

- The reason there were no new reveals for SDCC, if it hasn't been revealed in the show then they can't necessarily show it in toy form without approval from Saban Brands yet. On the topic of the new Dino Chargers that were displayed, we asked what might be printed on their backsides. We'll just have to purchase them to find out ;)

Super Megaforce
- When asked about Ranger Keys they're stance is that it's no longer the "play pattern" that's available. Not much chance of future retail releases. Exclusives for cons are a maybe.

NYCC
The show itself is getting bigger so the exclusives need to be as well. If possibel they'd like us to come this year. And they've confirmed there IS a Power Rangers exclusive for this year.

Bandai takes the fan opinion very seriously. They also want to cater to collectors and use the Legacy line as well as conventions to try and do that. They encourage fans to let them know what they think at conventions and such.

We'd like to thank Bandai America for their time over the weekend for answering our questions and being awesome in general. The team is super excited for the future and can't wait to show you what's in store next. They hope you'll come see them at this year's NYCC.

So how long until we get Lexcon exclusives? :D

Anyway, some great info here. I love how much effort they put into connect with us dollar signs- I mean fans.

"Would fans buy it?"
I dunno. I would like to buy it, but I'm still working on getting a normal Dragonzord, first :lol

Also, glad to hear they're planning on letting the Thunderzords form their sled thing. It's not super necessary since I only plan on having it displayed combined, but it's nice.

Also, Legacy Ninja Zords? I need to know about the Battle Borgs!

BoA is a fan of Zeo?

If and when we do get a Legacy Zeo Megazord I am soooooo going to buy it. Reading that was just dandy since Zeo as a season gets overlooked at times.

If Poisandra ends up being an exclusive, I know a certain mod who will be angry as hell :lol. Would give me more of a reason to attend PMC XD

Wha? The only time Zeo gets overlooked is when it comes to mentioning Tommy's powers, simply because his tenure as green and white are remembered by fans who watched MMPR and nothing more.
Zeo is insanely popular with the adult fanbase, cited as one of the better, if not best, series in the franchise.

Sounds like they're still excited about developing the Legacy line and one-day movin beyond MMPR. Hopefully that momentum will carry them up to at least Lightspeed Rescue.

I don't really remember Zeo, or Turbo, In Space, or Lost Galaxy for that matter, but it's nice to know that Zeo fans won't be left out when it comes to the Future of Legacy. I'll need to rewatch it before saying if I have any interest in Legacy Zeo stuff myself.

As for Dino charge, it sucks that they weren't able to show off anything new yet, but it's understandable. That said, they have shown off some stuff that hasn't made it's way into the show yet.

I don't currently plan on getting any of the villain figures, but I do hope they're able to produce a Poisandra figure. If not as a wide-release figure, maybe as a store exclusive. If they do, I think I'll actually get her, most of the other main villains, possibly some of the one-offs, and while I'm at it... probably all eleven Rangers... so maybe they shouldn't make her, lol

It wasn't needed, as I'm sure there was no doubt that they would be doing all the on-screen zords, but having the confirmation is kinda nice. I just wish they could have shown off some of them.

Out of curiosity, but what would be the next convention that we could possibly get some Dino Charge toy reveals at?

Oh boy. Sentai will not be happy if the Poisandra is a PMC exclusive. :lol

Happy to say I inadvertently (Very likely) called the Legacy Ninja/Shogun/Falcon Zords. :D

A Gold Ranger staff? That could be expensive. The same with MMPR S3 megazords, but that is cool that they are planning to move beyond MMPR.

A lot of people mad about answers. I will try to clarify.

Poisanda. Bandai didn't do one yet cuz they don't know the future of the character in the show. A lot of the stuff they do is with approval from Saban. So it's up in the air - if the character remains in show and Saban is okay with a toy it'll be done.

Personal thought - a female villain toy in an action figure line meant for 5 to 7 year olds could be seen as a potential negative thing. Who wants to put out a female villain action figure for a 5 year old to have Power Rangers smash in to and beat up? Yes not a human but still - base line is boy hero girl villain boy hero beats up villain girl. Does that make sense? Just my own thought process as a marketer.

Legacy. They want to do Zeo. They almost teased that it was happening without coming out and saying it. Then again, they know I love the Gold Ranger. So who knows? Post Zeo? Dunno.

Oh my God are you for real? Of course we would. Hell I just want the damn thing re-released!

The Legacy Megazords are super cool and black an gold is super cool so it's like a no-brainer.

KB, next time would you possibly inquire about a plastic version of Dragonzord? Or something with less metal?

I love all the metal in the Legacy line, but it really messes with the balance and makes Ultrazord soooooo top heavy.

They didn't seem too concerned about "destroying wallets" when Titanus came out with a $200 price tag.

How much more expensive would Tor be?

- Poisandra. Bandai is looking into it, but it depends entirely on what happens to the character in the show. They simply don't know her future in show. We asked "How about a PMC exclusive for Poisandra?" They're response. "Hey good idea!" (Kickback personally apologizes for this )

Goddamn it. Just. God. Damn it.

I'd say Zeo has one of the better teams, but I tend to think that the series hit its height (in quality, not necessarily popularity) with In Space. I've also never been a huge fan of the Zeo Megazord. I get that they were going for mythical/ancient animals/structures, which is an awesome idea on paper, but I'm just not a huge fan of the design or implementation. The Super Zeo Megazord/OhBlocker has a much more Power Rangers/Sentai-ish design in my opinion, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the theme of the series....the zords are merely mecha versions of the shapes that designate each ranger's rank. To me, Pyramidas is the one and only standout mech from the series. Just my two cents though; I know lots of people feel differently.

I can't imagine him being as much as Titanus. As others have mentioned before, he's a giant hollow shell....essentially a giant platform with two doors. There isn't even much to make chrome or die-cast. I wonder how to scale the new Legacy Thunderzords are with the original Tor. I haven't tried to fit the Legacy Tigerzord in mine, but if the other zords could sit on top without looking tiny in comparison, then there wouldn't be a huge need for a rerelease since they don't really "combine" in any way. As much of an OCD completist as I am, I'd say skip him and move on to the Ninja zords.

No more Rangers Keys? What about all of the missing Keys?

Looking forward to seeing more of the Thunder Megazord! Definitely picking it up.

Now the news that the Ninjazords are nearly assured is welcoming. Since the Legacy line started, indeed, since BoA did their 2010 MMPR line, it's all I've ever wanted. I don't mind waiting.

I could get excited for a Legacy Zeo Megazord and even more for Legacy season 3 zords.

My big question for them would've been distribution of Dino Chargers. Only once have I ever seen a set outside of the first 5 they released and they're already talking a bunch of new Chargers.

This makes a ton of sense. They don't want to create situations where little boys will get one of the girlies looking action figures in regards to PR and beat her up with a bunch of boy rangers. I could see her being a chase figure or limited release, but possibly not a mass release like the other figures.

It could be that them having to drop Titanus down to $109 before he finally sold out has something to do with the "break the wallets" comment.

However, that does seem to contradict the interview they had back at Toyfair where they said they want to do more big items like Tor, Serpenterra, and Pyramidas.

Which makes sense. Can't imagine what it would be like to be one of the people to develop an action figure just to find out that the character wiill be irrelivent by the time it comes out.
Good point, but she certainly wouldn't be the first action figure BoA has done of a female villain. While not relevant to the line she was in, they did do that Rita Repulsa action figure a couple of years ago.
I'm not sure about Target, but at least around here, TRU seems to be the place to go. While Walmart is still stuck with just the first wave (round packaging), the TRU I went to last week had stuff from all three of the waves that I know have been released so-far.

I actually actively dislike Zeo. It didn't hold up and the tone wasn't that good, still being as hokey as MMPR.
But I do know that Zeo is insanely popular.

And people do nothing but hate BoA when they obviously put so much importance on their adult fanbase.....seemingly even more so than their target child audience.

Kids are easy (can they hold it, is it fun, and will it hold up to the beating they will give it?), whereas adults have higher expectations for anything they spend their money on for their collection. Different crowds garner different types of attention.

I'm thinking with the big boys they might end up making them full plastic to keep the price manageable for consumers and prevent "bank breaking."

A Legacy Tor would be big and expensive no matter what, so making him all plastic to keep that price down some wouldn't be a bad idea. There's nothing to him that I think would need to be diecast anyways.

Honestly I don't think any of the Legacy toys need diecast.

Yeah, I could do without the die-cast too. It's nice when you feel it, but Dragonzord is a perfect example of die-cast gone wrong.

How about some Legacy Wild Force toys?

Probably gonna take a while if they keep on going chronologically.
But before we get there, I would love to see a S.H. Figuarts Titanium Ranger because why not.
And let's remember, Titanium/Ryan was the first to fight a tattoo before our dear sweet doctor from Akibaranger did.