[Gekizenbu]

Looking through the interviews and thinking about the production history of Sentai and Power Rangers, I don't think its as simple as just letting Hasbro sit on the license until it expires and boom, we'll have new tokusatsu. Between Shirakura noting that Zyuranger was going to be the first "last Sentai ever" and the continuous hot potato of the rights to its western counterpart apparently keeping Sentai afloat financially every time someone bought them, I think all companies involved whether its Toei, Bandai, Saban, Disney, or Hasbro have seen the limit of what Sentai can do at this present moment fiscally and creatively. Hasbro was the one to drop the ball last, but it sounded like the signs were always there, just delayed by a regular infusion of western cash and the occasional good year of profits.


If we're going to see Sentai (and perhaps even Power Rangers) make a return, it's going to be after a very long period of soul searching for Bandai/Toei and probably with a lot of new blood that won't feel pidgeonholed by the format. How they're going do that, whether its through production budget management, writing, advertising, toy quality, etc., I could not tell you, but it'll probably be similar but different like Kamen Rider going from Showa to Heisei. The first step is figuring out the new soul of Sentai, the rest should follow not too long thereafter, but that first step is going to take a long while.