Super Sentai's SLUMPING Toy Sales On Super Sentai's 45th Anniversary While Kamen Rider Still Gets Huge Toy Sales

 

I was thinking about the record of low Super Sentai toy sales. One such show that had it coming was Shuriken Sentai Ninninger - a show that was SOOOOOO BAD that it took the horridness of Power Rangers Ninja Steel to "bail" it out! Now, I was thinking about Bandai Namco's record for this year which really makes you think about it. Kamen Rider is somewhat "still going strong" for a reason that it beats both Ultraman and Kamen Rider. I confess, I haven't been watching Ultraman and my preferences have slowly migrated to South Korea while I still love Japanese products. A record of total toy sales which would show that Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger had better toy sales than Kaito Sentai Lupinranger vs. Keisatsu Sentai Patranger. I speculated it based on the economies of scale that perhaps, Kyuranger toys were doing much better so there was a surplus. Some toy buyers probably bought the Kyuranger toys a year later while Lupinranger vs. Patranger was airing that same year.

Now, the record starts to go significantly lower IMHO. Imagine a drop of 21 billion yen down 19.4 Billion Yen isn't that bad. However, by 2019 they nearly lost nearly a half of sales from 19.4 billion yen to 10.2 billion yen is already a huge slash down. It would be even more painful to think that toy sales went down from 2020 to 2021. Now, it's a very low strike of 5.2 billion yen (which may increase or not) but it seems that there's no sign of improvement in sight. Personally, I decided to do some slow rewatching of Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger and I think the addition of Two Kaiser is probably just, "We need more toy sales! Let's rush it!" and poof we got Two Kaiser. I feel the pacing is really THAT rushed for that reason. It reminds me of how early Kyoryu Gold and Star Ninger appeared as sixth rangers when they're supposed to appear a little bit later. 

Meanwhile, Kamen Rider is seeing quite a boost and not so much of a slump. Sure, Kamen Rider Saber did get some serious backlash on its first eight episodes but I don't want to deny that the show is somewhat recovering. I'm still watching Saber right now and the Luna arc is getting interesting. I still wonder why Luna didn't grow up while Touma and Kaito have grown up. I think about how last year's Kamen Rider Zero-One really did give a good first impression as a Kamen Rider reboot for the Reiwa era. I admit that a lot of the Kamen Rider designs are fanciful and more fascinating. I think Kamen Rider EX-AID, Kamen Rider Build, and Kamen Rider Zi-O also had good toy designs too. I really enjoyed the alternate modes in Zi-O and Build's really built-up designs, pun intended.

I'm wondering what's going on with Super Sentai? Last 2016, ratings were really slumping. Heck, I couldn't get over how the crossover of Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger with Ninninger had the famous line, "The history of Super Sentai - it's over!" Fortunately, Kyuranger did take the hype and managed to boost things up. Lupinranger vs. Patranger did well but not that good. However, why Toei decided to create a fourth dinosaur Sentai is really a red flag. Theme repetition can be boring eventually. Why didn't they decide to create a dinosaur-themed Kamen Rider instead? I wonder what even caused Mashin Sentai Kiramager to have low toy sales too. It seems that the franchise may not be in good shape after a long time of non-stop run since 1979 - the year when Super Sentai restarted after a hiatus after Dengekitai JAKQ ended in just 35 episodes in 1977.