A recent report indicated that Bandai America might be decreasing their female Ranger figures in the future, and the company has now offered an official statement on the matter.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The earlier report from Tokunation said that the company communicated to fans at New York Comic Con that future Power Rangers toy lines would not feature as many female figures. Bandai cited low sales of the current female figures as the reason, figures that are delaying other waves that fans truly want (like the Psycho Rangers).
ComicBook.com asked Bandai America for comment, and this is their official statement.
“Bandai America is and has been fully committed to bringing ALL RANGERS to fans with our action figure lines. From the very first episode of Mighty Morphin, female Rangers have been equal and important members of Power Ranger teams and our product line will continue to reflect that. As with most brands, we continue to evaluate what characters and figures resonate with audiences and adjust the line based on fan demand and overall business objectives. Fans can rest assured that all Female Rangers will continue to be produced and included in Bandai America’s Action Figure and Legacy Figure lines.”
So, as of right now it looks like the worries of female Rangers being nixed from the line altogether can be put to ease, but the statement does mention that they will “evaluate what characters and figures resonate with audiences”. Bandai America has stopped producing as many monsters in their Power Rangers toy waves for that exact reason, as hardcore fans love them but for some reason, they don’t sell as well.
It seems that the recent Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Legacy wave 4 is the outlier then, which features three male Rangers.
As for if certain figures are clogging store shelves, that is probably true. As Bandai has said before if you want more of something buy the figures that are already there. That means female Rangers too, so don’t be the person that just has all the male Rangers and is still against Bandai eliminating the female ones. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
As always, voting with your wallet is the best way to get the point across, and the same goes for Power Rangers.
