[Bionichute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

You know, this is a piece of wisdom I hear a lot, and I think we all take it for granted sometimes, but exactly what basis does this really have in fact? Can it really be that simple when Bandai is still pumping out Genm merchandise well after Kamen Rider Ex-Aid ended? Or when Ultraman's monsters are almost as iconic as he is?

I don't doubt there's some truth to this, but even with this very show, the cool guy anti-hero Lupinrangers are apparently infinitely more popular with kids than the straight-laced Patrangers.

oh i'm fairly certain the whole "villains don't sell" thing is complete bunk in japan as much as it is in the west but i'm pretty sure that toy companies don't realize that. i feel like villain riders only get away with it because they have kamen rider in their names

in sentai, which does consistently have better villains than rider imo, we only get any merchandise for villains over here, even the villains that are actually popular don't tend to get anything (dark buster, lio, wolzard for example). i think if they gave villains a bit more of a push marketing wise, they could probably get some new sales

your point about ultraman monsters makes this even more obvious, ultramonsters are both villainous and so iconic that there are multiple series based around them. toei should take a note from ultraman and try to at least give us some toys for the major villains.