[Den-O]

Tiger Ranger, Boi!

Another in a fantastic series of recent S.H. Figuarts release is out! S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger is of course from the classic show Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger! Or you can consider this figure the original Yellow Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! Though this is the original proper male body which represents Boi, it can just as easily go into your display as Trini or Aisha.

Tiger Ranger was recently released as Tamashii Web Exclusive in Japan. American markets are being given a newly sculpted, female bodied, Yellow Ranger to go with MMPR S.H. Figuarts. The Tiger Ranger figure it should be noted is what the in show suit actually looked like for at least the first season of Power Rangers. As more original US footage was needed for later seasons however a more feminine version of the costume became prominent. So Tiger Ranger is basically the only Zyuranger figure to be released in Japan and NOT be released by Bluefin because of this. But due to the nature of how the footage for those seasons is, you can totally display it as either!

But for now, review time!

** Post #2 Contains additional images

Packaging
As I've said in many reviews recently, Tamashii Web Exclusives & Premium Bandai Exclusives tend to all come in windowless boxes now and Tiger Ranger is no different. With this being the last Zyuranger release for Japanese markets this rounds out the team of 6 for collectors of Zyuranger. The box styles are different for the 4 web exclusives Zyurangers (Mammoth, Tricera, Ptera, & Tiger). Dragon & Tyranno came out in traditional open style boxes as mass retail releases. So the boxes among all 6 don't quite match up if that's your thing, but they were released under different circumstances in the Japanese market so that's understandable.

Main Figure
S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger is once again an excellent use of the basic male Zyuranger mold. It retains all the traditional articulation and sculpting this successful set of releases has always had. The only unique change here is of course the newly sculpted Tiger Ranger helmet and the new yellow plastic. Otherwise this figure is nigh identical to the other 4 male releases.

I've noticed my Tiger Ranger feels like it's the best QC wise out of all my Zyurangers. The joints are nice and tight but not so much so that I feel like they might break. The paint is crisp and evenly applied, and the sculpt feels a bit sharper this time around. Otherwise there's not much to say that hasn't already been said about an excellent mold like this.

Accessories
Now here's where it's at for Tiger Ranger, this is where it all goes down! Boi not only includes his own trademark accessories, but also one that completes something else nearly a year in the making! Included with Tiger Ranger are:

• 3-additional sets of hands.
• 2-Sabre Daggers. Unlike the pair of Daggers included with Tricera Ranger, this set is intended for Tiger to hold and use as weapons. Those that came with Tricera are intended for the Howling Cannon combination. This set is molded perfectly, in the appropriate size & shape, and the Dagger holding hands included with Tiger make these fit nice and snug & look very natural.
• 1-Ranger Stick.
• 1-combined Ranger Slinger.
• 1-Moth Breaker Blaster Mode. This version is intended to be used as a proper blaster mode of the weapon as the butt of the axe is molded in the proper position at the bottom of the barrel. This is the accurate version of the Moth Breaker that should be used as the blaster. The one included with Mammoth Ranger was only the Axe mode of the weapon. This version also allows the Howling Cannon to finally be assembled! After months of waiting this is indeed the final part necessary!

So as you can see Tiger Ranger is loaded with the perfect accessories to finally complete your Zyuranger collection! The finished Howling Cannon is absolutely gorgeous. While it can be tough to get all 5 figures posed properly with the cannon, the pay off is worth it. Recreating that iconic image is completely worth the trouble, and it was more than worth the wait. And the nice thing about having a second set of the weapons that only combines into the Cannon, is that you still also have the first set for each figure to hold onto. So being able to display the standard weapons and Howling Cannon simultaneously is a huge bonus to me.

Final Thoughts
It's incredible to finally have this sentai be complete. S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger is yet another great figure to add to the line and to my personal collection. However the funny thing about this figure is that it's the one true Zyuranger figure that really is only a Zyuranger. Since there's no North American release of Tiger Ranger, there's only the female body version available, this guy is in high demand on the secondary market. He has a much more limited availability than any of the previous releases.

For me personally S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger completes my Zyuranger team perfectly. It's an absolutely fitting end to a great series of releases. But it still goes fantasticallywith your Mighty Morphin Power Rangers display as well if the female Yellow Ranger figure isn't to your liking. At the end of the day the decision to have one of them over the other comes down to which series you prefer or how you remember the character best. I own both figures and would say that for my personal tastes, Tiger Ranger is the clear winner.

However I do have a gallery coming up for S.H. Figuarts MMPR Yellow Ranger (female body) to elaborate on the good things about it as well! Many of the same team shots & vehicle shots you see in this gallery will be replicated with Female Yellow as well! Stay tuned as that gallery will be popping up later in the week!