The WiLL brand was a marketing approach shared by a small group of Japanese companies who decided to offer products and services that focused on a younger demographic from August 1999 until July 2004 in Japan. The companies that participated were the Kao Corporation (a manufacturer of personal hygiene, household detergents, and cosmetics), Toyota , Asahi Breweries , Panasonic , Kinki Nippon Tourist Company, Ltd , Ezaki Glico Candy, and Kokuyo Co., Ltd. (an office furniture and stationery manufacturer). Toyota also engaged in a similar "youth oriented" approach in North America, with the Project Genesis program. This selective marketing experiment reflected a Japanese engineering philosophy called Kansei engineering , which was used by other Japanese companies. All products were listed online at "willshop.com".
26-466: Toyota offered three individually designed cars, based on the mechanicals of existing Toyota models. The series was intended to appeal to markets that were not covered by Toyota's mainstream range, and to discover how commercially feasible such unusual designs were. The American Scion range is based on a similar concept. All WiLL vehicles were only sold in Japan, and only at Toyota Vista Store locations. When
52-481: A cult following, the model was never released overseas. Production of the WiLL VS was stopped circa 2004 and a replacement model was never announced, much to the disappointment of its fans. Nevertheless, some would argue that there was no need to replace the WiLL VS for at least another decade given its futuristic design that some of the newer cars were only beginning to adopt. This would include trend-setting features such as
78-489: A group of otherworldly supervillains that threaten to take over the Earth. In a typical episode, the heroes thwart the enemies' plans and defeat an army of enemy soldiers and the monster of the week before an enlarged version of the monster confronts them, only to be defeated again when the heroes fight it with their mecha . Each Sentai series is set in its own unique fictional universe ; various TV, video, and film specials feature
104-478: A live-action Spider-Man series, which added giant robots to the concept of tokusatsu shows. The giant robot concept was carried over to Toei and Marvel's next show, Battle Fever J , released in 1979, and was then used throughout the Super Sentai series. The next two series Denshi Sentai Denjiman and Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan had Marvel Comics copyrights and co-productions, despite no influence. Subsequently,
130-581: A new season of Power Rangers . In 2002, Saban sold the Power Rangers franchise to Disney 's Buena Vista division, who owned it until 2010, broadcasting Power Rangers on ABC Kids , ABC Family , Jetix , and Toon Disney . On 12 May 2010, Saban bought the franchise back from Disney, moving the show to the Nickelodeon network for 2011 with Power Rangers Samurai . On 25 July 2014, Shout! Factory announced that they would release Zyuranger on DVD in
156-586: A parody on the USA Network television show Night Flight . In 1993, American production company Saban Entertainment adapted 1992's Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the Fox Kids programming block, combining the original Japanese action footage with new footage featuring American actors for the story sequences. Since then, nearly every Super Sentai series that followed became
182-424: A team-up among two or more teams. The first two Super Sentai series were created by Shotaro Ishinomori , then known for the 1971–1973 Kamen Rider TV series and the long-running manga Cyborg 009 . He developed Himitsu Sentai Gorenger , which ran from 1975 to 1977, and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai , released in 1977. Toei Company put the franchise on hiatus in 1978, collaborating with Marvel Comics to produce
208-473: Is one of the few concept vehicles that went into production, albeit only in small numbers, only 15,000 were ever produced. In the years to follow, several other vehicles have taken styling cues from the WiLL VS, most notably the 2004 Opel Astra and the Renault Mégane . WiLL Cypha was produced from 2002 to 2005. It shared many of its mechanicals, including the 1.3-litre 2NZ and 1.5-litre 1NZ engines, with
234-550: Is the unit in the higher spec Toyota Celica. The VS joined the revised Vi, renamed the Cypha , and offered WiLL buyers the choice of a wider car with a more powerful engine. The width dimensions of the VS exceeded Japanese Government regulations that taxed vehicles based on exterior dimensions, which buyers of the VS were liable. In spite of its success in the Japanese market, where the WiLL VS had
260-603: The tokusatsu genre, featuring live action characters and colorful special effects, and are aimed at children. Super Sentai airs alongside the Kamen Rider series in the Super Hero Time programming block on Sunday mornings. In every Super Sentai series, the protagonists are a team of people who – using either wrist-worn or hand-held devices – transform into superheroes and gain superpowers – color-coded uniforms, signature weapons , sidearms, and fighting skills – to battle
286-453: The 2001 Los Angeles Auto Show , as a precursor to the introduction of Scion to North America, and sales in the Japanese market in April of that year under a massive publicity campaign with British electronic group Underworld . The TV commercial featured their hit, " Born Slippy ," originally released six years prior. The WiLL VS was manufactured at Kanto Auto Works . Inspiration for the design of
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#1732869239749312-563: The Ist . Its styling developed themes seen in the Vitz/Yaris , but has a more angular look, a continuation of the short-lived WiLL Vi. Notable features are the rear lights placed level with the rear window, giving a look of the Renault Mégane II, and the distinctive headlights which have four lamps per side arranged vertically. The interior used a rounded theme, with items such as the door pulls and
338-583: The Power Rangers franchise from Saban Capital Group for $ 522 million. Super Sentai has been broadcast in South Korea, dubbed in Korean. The first such series was Choushinsei Flashman which aired as Jigu Bangwidae Flash Man ( Earth Defence Squadron Flashman ), released in video format in 1989 by the Daeyung Panda video company; this was followed by Hikari Sentai Maskman and Chodenshi Bioman . Throughout
364-653: The Toyota Origin , the Subaru Vivio Bistro , and the Mitsubishi Minica Town Bee . The curve of the tail section is also similar to that of the second generation of the Renault Mégane . The car was equipped with MacPherson struts for the front wheels and a torsion beam axle for the rear wheels. The car was painted in a number of pastel colors, and the plastic wheel covers resemble sand dollars . One of
390-588: The 1970s, multiple Super Sentai series, including Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and Battle Fever J , were brought to the Hawaiian market, broadcast in Japanese with English subtitles by JN Productions. In 1985, Marvel Comics produced a pilot for an American adaptation of Super Sentai, but the show was rejected by the major US TV networks. In 1986, Saban Productions produced a pilot for an American adaptation of Choudenshi Bioman titled Bio Man . In 1987, some episodes of Kagaku Sentai Dynaman were dubbed and aired as
416-404: The 1990s, Dai Sentai Goggle Five , Dengeki Sentai Changeman , Choujyu Sentai Liveman , and Kousoku Sentai Turboranger were also released in video format. In the 2000s and early 2010s, Tooniverse (formerly Orion Cartoon Network), JEI-TV (Jaeneung Television), Champ TV/Anione TV (Daewon Broadcasting), Cartoon Network South Korea , and Nickelodeon South Korea have broadcast Super Sentai series
442-539: The United States. They have since been the official distributor of Super Sentai in North America, and as of 2024 have released all subsequent series up to Dekaranger , plus Jetman and Fiveman . Shout! also provides episodes on demand via Shout! TV since 2016. Super Sentai episodes are also available to watch on the free streaming service, Tubi . On 1 May 2018, toy company Hasbro announced they had acquired
468-640: The WiLL VS was said to have been derived from the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. It also has many appearance similarities to the Renault Avantime . The WiLL VS came in three levels of trim. The top of the range model came with alloy wheels, fog-lamps, body kit and tiptronic gearshift. Models are available in automatic transmission, tiptronic, and a six-speed manual, powered by Toyota's 1800 cc VVT-I engine offering 140 hp or VVTL-I engine offering 180 hp, which
494-572: The WiLL project ended in 2004, Toyota stopped producing WiLL-branded vehicles, and renamed the Toyota Vista dealerships to Toyota NETZ , that coincided with the launch of the North American introduction of Scion, using lessons learned from the WiLL project. The WiLL Vi is a subcompact car, produced from 2000 to 2001, with distinctive styling combining elements of many cars. The WiLL Vi was designed by
520-602: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 825417843 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:33:59 GMT Super Sentai The Super Sentai Series ( スーパー戦隊シリーズ , Sūpā Sentai Shirīzu ) is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai , and aired by TV Asahi . The shows are of
546-419: The central console being circular. All Will VC' and WiLL Cyphas were manufactured by Central Motors at its "Headquarters plant" located at Ohira, Miyagi , Japan. It was announced as WiLL VC in 2001 but was released as WiLL Cypha in 2002. The Cypha (the words "cyber" and " phaeton " combined) was one of the first Toyota vehicles to be installed with their vehicle telematics system called G-Book . The vehicle
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#1732869239749572-557: The few options was a canvas sliding roof, and the vehicle was installed with bench seats for both front and rear passengers, with the gearshift installed on the dashboard. Unfortunately, however, the WiLL Vi's sales were so disappointing, that the car was discontinued in December 2001, and was replaced by the WiLL Cypha. The WiLL VS was first introduced in 2001. It was formally introduced at
598-452: The rakish body shape, aerodynamic angles, projector-style headlamp cluster (regarded as revolutionary in 2001), illuminated speedometer and clear LED tail lights. The car was used as the police vehicle in the 2001 Hong Kong Film "2002" . The car was used as the police vehicle "Machine Bull" in the 2004 Super Sentai series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger and was used in the intro for its American adaptation Power Rangers SPD . The WiLL VS
624-444: The remainder of the series has been solely produced by Toei Company . The following is a list of the Super Sentai series and their years of broadcast: Although the Super Sentai series originated in Japan, various Sentai series have been imported and dubbed in other languages for broadcast in several other countries. After Honolulu 's KIKU-TV had success with Android Kikaider (marketed as Kikaida ) and Kamen Rider V3 in
650-620: The then newly formed Virtual Venture Company, headed by Jim Shimizu. The unique-appearing rear window had earlier appeared on the Mazda Carol , the Ford Anglia (1959–1968), and the Citroen Ami . The "neo-retro" look represented a period in Japan where vehicles took on the styling of historic vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Nissan Be-1 , Nissan Figaro , Nissan S-Cargo , Nissan Pao ,
676-457: Was also promoted with a sales approach called "pay as you go" meaning that you were given the option not to buy the car with monthly payments, but to instead lease the car, and only pay a monthly bill based on how far you drove in a month. When the driver no longer wanted the vehicle, they returned the car to the Toyota dealership. Scion (car) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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