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"Samurai Sentai Shinkenger" toys revealed

Once again, Thai-Toku.com proves to be an invaluable asset to me...

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It is official- the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger are on their way! This year's theme will be around samurai (1994's "Ninja Sentai KakuRanger" and 2002's "Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger" focused instead on ninjutsu), and there will be a focus around the Japanese kanji alphabet characters and natural elements.


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Yes- we are getting cell phone henshin devices... again. (Let's see now how many series we've had those with before? "MegaRanger", "GaoRanger", "DekaRanger" [sorta], "MagiRanger", "Boukenger", and the current "Go-Onger".) Enough already! Sheesh... what ever happened to the more widely-used wrist, buckle, or other item changers??? (Say- howsabout another two-part changer like we had in "Jetman", "DaiRanger", "CarRanger", and "OhRanger"? Those were cool!) These new changers, however, don't collaps down like a typical cell phone (vertically)- instead they fold around horizontally, and then act like some kind of small knife!

. . .

The connecting gimmick that will be seen throughout the series will be removable discs. These may be the Shinkenger's power source, and they seem to be treated like CDs, which can spin. These discs will be included in some of the mecha designs, and more prominently in the Shinkenger's weapons. I don't think that each disc has its own light-&-sound like the Go-Onger's Engine Souls do/did, but rather the toy they are placed into will have the electronics instead. I suspect that if the latter is true, each disc will have a unique key which each toy will then recognize and respond to differently each time [a la the cards used in the Command Voicers in the Metal Hero series "B-Fighter Kabuto" (aka the Data Bonders from "Beetleborgs Metalix")]. Each belt buckle can also store a disc (how many at one time?).

For the standard weapon, each Shinkenger will get- wait for it- a samurai katana [longsword], which can also accept those discs. (This kinda reminds me of the weapons used in "Kamen Rider Blade", where each Rider weapon could identify the specially-designed flat UnDead cards slid across them... which I thought was cool, but by now has been done many times in other series.) And each ranger will be issued a unique individual weapon which can also accept the discs (I've see up there a blue crossbow and green spear).

The Shinkenger's finishing weapon will be a long red-&-silver bazooka which can shoot the discs!
(Is it just me, or does that thing also change into a giant sword...?)


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The mecha line is called OriGami (or is it just "Origami"?)- in reference to the fact that they are all triple-changing robots: animal form, a kanji/badge form, and robot-component form. The five animals will be:

  • Lion OriGami (Shinken Red)
  • Dragon OriGami (Shinken Blue)
  • Bear OriGami (Shinekn Green)
  • Monkey OriGami (Shinken Yellow)
  • Kami OriGami [a turtle] (Shinken Pink)

The OriGami mecha can all change into a compacted form which then prominently displays a specific kanji symbol which is relevant to that mecha and ranger. So far as I can tell, there will also be an elemental theme to the mecha as well, delving into mythology once more- fire, water, Earth, metal, and sky- which is what those kanji symbols may be on the mecha.

The first lead robo is called the [???] Gattai Shinken-Oh. ("-Oh" means "king", BTW, so it could be read as "King of the Way of the Samurai" or perhaps "Samurai-method King".) The DX version shown above will stand 28cm (11")-tall. Like the weapons, the DX Shinken-Oh can carry a single disc on the left shoulder (one is provided), and seems to have an accessory needed to turn any disc in the series into a hand-held shield!
(Is it just me, or do the golden guards on either side of the Shinken-Oh's face close up like a face-shield...?)

. . .

We will be getting DX-sized accessory mecha again this year, starting out with at least three:

  • Kabuto [Hercules beetle] OriGami
  • Karini [Swordfish] OriGami
  • Tora [Tiger] OriGami

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They will- thankfully!- not be limb-swapping [though that is still a possibility given how the Monkey and Kami OriGami attach to the Shinken-Oh].

They will, instead act as giant helmets/backpacks- presumably bestowing their particular animal skill to the mecha as opposed to acting as a weapon/armor-upgrade like was used with the Geki Beasts in "GekiRanger". Unlike the first five OriGami mecha, however, each of these also can accept a disc (a unique one is, again, provided with each). While the dics can also spin inside each accessory OriGami, it looks like the same movement causes a part of the toy itself to move as an action feature!
It's also possible (but unlikely, I think) that because of this, they too will have light-&-sound.

(In other words, when you get the DX toys and combine them, be prepared for some seriously back/top-heavy action...)


"Samurai Sentai Shinkenger" will debut on February 15th, 2009.
Be sure to also look for the traditional hand-off at the end of "Engine Sentai Go-Onger" on Feb. 8th!

Posted 8 December, 2008 - 17:43 by EVA_Unit_4A

Comments

28 comments posted
Yes. The kanji on the mecha

Yes. The kanji on the mecha all correspond to different elements. If you look closely you'll see that the helmet designs are more stylised versions of the same kanji. Shinkenred is definitely fire and Shinkengreen is wood (so far the same as Magiranger)but I don't know the kanji used for the other three.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 8 December, 2008 - 18:21
I think...

Blue is water, and Pink is Ten (Sky...)

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 8 December, 2008 - 20:36
Re: I think...

Surely the turtle is not the symbol for air, and the dragon for water...!?

This would make far more sense:

  • lion = fire
  • dragon = sky
  • bear = earth
  • monkey = wood
  • turtle = water

If the dragon weren't in there, yeah, I'd say the turtle could be used for both water and sky. But since there is a dragon in there, then, well... ^_^

I'm still unsure of one of them might be metal instead of earth.

Oh, BTW, anyone else notice that the five elements wer the same ones used in "Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog", as opposed to the typical Greek fire, water, earth & air [and for you Bionicle fans out there, add stone & ice]? Would the elements be more of Asian mythology, or European?
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 8 December, 2008 - 21:30
i know

its actually:

lion = fire
dragon = water
bear = wood
monkey = earth
turtle = not really sure about this one.

i watched the first episode today ^^

but i see what u mean, it would make more sense if dragon was sky and bear was earth...well earth and wood are kind of the same thing.

And to answer your last question. I think its more of an Asian mythology. Im not sure but thats what i think.

DevilsArms's picture
Posted by DevilsArms on 19 March, 2009 - 00:43
I've done a little more

I've done a little more research on the kanji.
As I said red is fire (it sort of looks like a flame) and green is wood (a tree, complete with roots and branches) but I can add to that that blue is definitely water (sort of like a splash of water) and yellow is earth (a single flower growing out of the ground). Pink I'm not so sure about because the kanji don't really match, but do think you are right about metal (the kanji sort of looks like a mine but if this is what they're going for they've removed some of the more complex elements).

The other thing that's interesting about the kanji they've chosen is that aside from representing elements they also stand for a day of the week.
火 Fire = Tuesday
水 Water = Wednesday
木 Wood = Thursday
金 Metal = Friday
土 Earth = Saturday

Aside from the fact that I'm not 100% convinced by pink I'm wondering if this is something intentional. In which case it might also be possible that we're getting two add on rangers again, representing the sun and the moon (peculiarly these two days of the Japanese week actually correspond with their English meaning).

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 9 December, 2008 - 12:16
Re: I've done a little more

Cool, cool, cool, very cool. Thanks!

I knew that I saw metal written out somewhere, but I wasn't sure which one it was.

So, we're getting:

  • Lion OriGami = 火 Fire = Tuesday
  • Dragon OriGami = 水 Water = Wednesday
  • Bear OriGami = 木 Wood = Thursday
  • Monkey OriGami = 土 Earth = Saturday
  • Kami OriGami = 金 Metal = Friday

These elements- I feel like I've seen them before together like this. Does anyone else know if they are, other than as the days of the week?

. . .

Something else I noticed, and I saw it most prominently on the arms & legs of Shinken-Oh...

The panels on the lower legs just on the outside of them, are enough to make up the kanji symbols by themselves. But, then they also have those same shaped panels on the inner side fo the legs. So what I'm thinking is, the OriGami will actually be flat like hockey pucks in 'badge mode', and the kanji will be represented on both sides of them!
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 9 December, 2008 - 14:24
This is the coolest Megazord

This is the coolest Megazord design in years!! The best since Magiranger! Finally, sentai is getting back to its roots.

gaiking's picture
Posted by gaiking on 9 December, 2008 - 07:22
yes

i will import this one just to have a turtle that can also be used for robo hockey!

jzorn's picture
Posted by jzorn on 9 December, 2008 - 08:21
Re: yes

Yes, I saw that too!

XD
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 9 December, 2008 - 14:06
The full name of Shinken-Oh is...

Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh. I've looked at the kanji used in the two images showing the mecha and the announcement poster, and the first character in each have too many similarities to each other to be a coincidence.

YuushaFan's picture
Posted by YuushaFan on 9 December, 2008 - 10:44
Do you mean 侍? It does

Do you mean 侍? It does just mean Samurai, also "to serve" and waiter (wouldn't it have been funny if that were the theme they'd gone for). The next two kanji in the Shinkenger logo represent Sentai, and the ones on the mecha logo represent gattai.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 9 December, 2008 - 12:05
Re: Do you mean 侍? It does

Well, samurai were loyal to one master unless something really significant came up, so that the kanji would be related makes sense. Indeed, if a samurai left his master, often they were condemned whatever the reason was, and would become outcasts until they regained respect through either finding a new master (a shamed samurai was easily turned away too), or became prominent on their own (a la mercenaries).
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 9 December, 2008 - 14:11
Maybe. I also tend to think

Maybe. I also tend to think that the cell phone becomes, not a knife, but a ink brush, which is what they originally wrote with. Look at the picture some more, I'm sure you'll see it as well.

YuushaFan's picture
Posted by YuushaFan on 9 December, 2008 - 16:58
You're absolutely right

You're absolutely right there. I didn't stop to look at that one but looking at the katakana it's called the shodouphone. Shodou means calligraphy.

Oh and the swords are shinkenmaru.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 9 December, 2008 - 18:15
It's a calligraphy brush!

Upon closer examination of the cellphone morpher pic, I think it's actually a calligraphy brush and not a small knife.

Look at the "blade", its white with a black end, as if it was dipped in an inkwell. And since the first form of the zords are kanji characters, I think that's how they call out them out, WRITE them out to be exact.

ivanko's picture
Posted by ivanko on 9 December, 2008 - 22:51
Re: It's a calligraphy brush!

Aw- that is an awesome idea, ivanko! Very cleaver! =D

If it proves to be ture, you'll be the one on CDX who's credited with the theory.

I read earlier comments about it being a calligraphy brush- sounds interesting, but I couldn't see why they'd do that.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 10 December, 2008 - 01:53
I thought pretty much the

I thought pretty much the same thing today and that the ink tip for the shodou phone might be the key both to the mecha and possibly even a part of the henshin sequence. Looks to me from the smaller pictures that there may be some function to it on the toy too rather than it just being a plastic tip there for show. I wonder if somebody involved in the Shinkenger design has been playing Okami?

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 10 December, 2008 - 11:48
Lights / Sound

If I read the ads correctly, those DX Mechas should not feature any lights and sound as it says "No" with respect to any batteries requirement.

I personally am not a big fan of electronic toys, so going oldschool this year may put me back into buying. I like G10-12 but the lights and sounds just bother me so much.

In addition, those three DX armour mechas can form a big bird if anyone has not reported it yet. The beetle will split in half for the wings, the fish will become the head / tail and the tiger will become the body. Any leftovers form the tail.

I think it will be like Gekiranger all over again, but without the lights and sounds. I just hope they will have a big combo together that does not look like G12. (Something like Ultimate Daibouken but bigger will be perfect.)

AlBundy's picture
Posted by AlBundy on 10 December, 2008 - 14:41
Just Like a Cell Phone

If you guys look carefully the henshin device/calligrphy pen has a hinge facing inwards, so it still folds over like a cell phone.

sjkozy's picture
Posted by sjkozy on 10 December, 2008 - 15:15
I'm kinda with AlBundy on

I'm kinda with AlBundy on this one. I'm not a fan of DX plasticy robots having lights and sounds. For some reason, I feel lights and sounds belong on higher-end collectibles. Anyway, something like Ultimate Daibouken but bigger would be amazing.

Does anyone know when the show will begin to air? I followed the fansubs of Boukenger because I dug the promo pics of the robot so much beforehand. I don't know if this is the case for others, but watching the show makes the toy experience that much cooler!

--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 11 December, 2008 - 13:58
I agree Sanjeev. As far as

I agree Sanjeev. As far as Sentai is concerned I rarely have much interest in the toys until I've seen the mecha in action on the show. As the blog says the show premieres in Japan on 15th Feb, I'd imagine we can expect TV Nihon to sub the show soon after but their Go-Onger subs have been a bit random lately so I'm not sure when.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 11 December, 2008 - 18:36
To James O and Sanjeev,

To James O and Sanjeev,

Like any multimedia franchise, while simply owning a toy or model or figure can be gratifying in its own way, you can get the full richness of the experience by watching the series or movie to match it up. Now, that does not necessarily mean that it will make the item any better (it can, though), just that you are more comforted in its origins and features.

That I've seen, aside from not always being 100% accurate with paint apps, or showing a slightly different transformation (or, of course, lacking significant poseability), Super Sentai Series mecha are pretty damned close to what you see on the the screen.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 December, 2008 - 13:31
diecast?

Any chance of getting diecast on these megazords again? I'm getting ticked off at Bandai for neglecting putting any on these past few megazords that the have released.

ronin777's picture
Posted by ronin777 on 11 December, 2008 - 19:30
Thanks for the info, James

Thanks for the info, James O...I hadn't bothered to check the blog.

As for diecast, I thought Bandai was pretty much done with that on sentai bots. Plastic for the foreseeable future...?
--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 12 December, 2008 - 12:05
We haven't had significant

We haven't had significant die-cast since "Hurricanger" in 2002. The DX Senpuujin and Gouraijin both had Chogokin ID# (GD-42 & -43, respectively), and were the last Super Sentai mecha to carry those. Beyond that, I don't follow Chogokin that closely but it would be nice to see it once in a while in Super Sentai.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 December, 2008 - 13:24
Diecast on Sentai

EVA is correct, Hurricanger is the last sentai series to feature a very sexy amount of diecast. Like Sanjeev has said, I think Bandai will reserve diecast to Chogokins / SOCs now. I am somewhat fine with this arrangement as long as the plastic DX mechas are interesting in design and combine nicely (ie. Ultimate Daibouken or Magiking).

I do have to publicly thank Bandai for putting in electronics into the recently DX mechas. It saves me a lot of money. No offense EVA, but I hate Gekiranger.

AlBundy's picture
Posted by AlBundy on 12 December, 2008 - 16:43
5 not 3

i am digging the fact that 5 make up the whole thing, instead of one makes up the whole top/bottom and one makes a nice belt. Five people, FIVE! and one is a freaking monkey! and one is a turtle! to me thats like having "leonardo"(TMNT) and "optimus primal"(Beastwars) become part of "voltron" and for some reason "american dragon: drake long". A bear thats f'ing "smokey the bear" right there. Also they turn into convenient coasters! God wants me to have this. sorry for the long post

jzorn's picture
Posted by jzorn on 13 December, 2008 - 01:08
Lookalike

Is it just me or that robot looks like it could belong to battle fever J?

kurochan_24's picture
Posted by kurochan_24 on 29 August, 2012 - 04:25