Mechatalk: My Top 5 SRW Original Super Robot Edition

Who shall be the one that reaches the top?

Muvluv Total Eclipse

Hmmm didn't expect the Scarlet twins got the Su-47 like that and the bad guy pilot died pathetic death like that. Just as i promised when Total Eclipse began to air that i will watch the anime till the end regardless how bad it will go. As an anime, TE might be mediocre at best but it served its purpose really well and quite an enjoyable ride for me as the Muvluv series follower from the VN. From what i see, the main purpose of Total Eclipse anime being created is to generate general interest for Muvluv series as well as raising the hype for the Upcoming VN for Total Eclipse on PS3 and Xbox360. What i sought from the Anime is the TSF's action which is probably the best part from the anime and i really like how the anime show the Physics of the TSF. Now i also understand Age's decision to give Total Eclipse an anime since arguably it is the better choice to showcase assorted choices of TSF as the anime featured plenty of different variants of TSF and it makes me interested enough to get A3 J-10 if i can find a good deal. As a Muvluv series fan i can say the anime is watchable for fellow fans and i hope the TE VN will get a PC port so i can get a copy. By the way Merry Christmas everyone!

1/144 YF-23 Black Widow

Got this pic from /m/ which is taken from some chinese website, if the scan is true then i am just speechless. My wish came through to see Kotobukiya release a Plamo for YF-23 but unfortunately it is 1/144 so no get for me. The kit will be released somewhere next year but no details are further given. While The YF-23 haven't got the near 1/100 Non Scale treatment yet, i am positive Kotobukiya eventually will give one for it. The 1/144 kit for YF-23 will be the Black Widow which is one of the two YF-23 colored in black. In Altverse YF-23 is the contender for YF-22 to be the successor of latest 3rd Gen TSF for US Army which the later one wins and results in mass production of F-22 Raptor. Looks like we will see more variation of TSFs in 1/144 scale near in the future.

LOGH rerun 2nd Season completed!

It is 6 months already since i wrote the last post regarding my progress of 2nd run of LOGH which is still as awesome as ever. This time i managed to pass through the second season of the series, arguably the highest point of this epic Space Opera. The 2nd season marks the major confrontation between Reinhard and Yang Wenli which determines the future of the nations they are fighting for. The brief conversation between Reinhard and Yang in person is one of the finest moments in the OVA.  I am still writing down the quotes of the characters and Yang is still the major contributor of the meaningful quotes as always. While iwon't be finishing the 3rd season soon i am planning to complete my this small project of mine by June next year. Sieg Kaiser Reinhard! Sieg Mein Kaiser!

Uchuu Kyoudai / Space Brothers

In the past few months i have been reading this manga and it becom my instant favorite. Just like the title implies, the manga is about a pair of the siblings who aspires to become Astronauts and explore the space after some fateful encounter with an UFO like object in their childhood. The story focus on the older brother journey to become an Astronaut following his younger brothers footsteps as he goes through all tough selection process to become one. What makes this manga appealing is its optimistic view on humanity future of space exploration which is really inspirational for readers. I am not astronautics expert but from my point of view, Space brothers keep the setting of the series as realistic as possible. So far the manga translation is a bit slow but i think the manga quality will be still consistent. There is also anime of the the series that has been airing from early this year which i think i will give it a watch.

FAF Bellzelute Review

It's Revenger time!

SRW UX for 3DS

Well SRW never ceased to surprise me every time, just today i got to know Bamco announced another new title for SRW series to be released on 3DS. The new SRW is called UX scheduled for March next year for 6800 yen. Some series from SRW K and L will be returning to UX along with couple of new mecha series. Some of the debut titles are Demonbane(Midorikawa's wish come through it seems), Mazinkaiser SKL, Heroman and another Virtual On title. Being a fan of the series after i finished reading 2 of the VNs, My body is ready for some Demonbane goodness in SRW but i didn't expect it become like this. It is hard to justify for me to get the Japanese 3DS solely for this game and i don't really have other Japanese 3DS title that appealed me. I will just be bystander this time and hope that Demonbane will see another light in SRW for other platform.

Some stuffs from Mandarake

Getting myself some early Christmas Present and Birthday from Mandarake which i ordered around the end of Last Month. At that time i got myself couple of good deals and hauled several quite rare stuffs which are Japanese Exclusive stuffs. From Mandarake i got myself Composite Ka Cybuster Masou Kishin Version, Armor Plus Sol Tekkaman 2 and FAF Bellzellute and Wildwurger. i have been watching over the Armor Plus for a while and got mine for 6000 Yen which is pretty good deal while i got the Cybuster for 4000 yen despite i can get regular one for less. Lastly i get both FAF for 3700 Yen and didn't expect myself to be able to find the Bellzellute since it is one of the harder figure from the lineup to find. I will get the Sol Tekkaman 1 if i can get it for 6000 Yen which probably will take a while. I also will review one of these loots ASAP so look forward for it!

Kurogane no Linebarrel Variable Action Vardant Review

The Azure Samurai takes flight once again!

Non-Scale Type-94 Shiranui Japanese Imperial Guard version

Another Variants of Shiranui that Kotobukiya released from Muvluv series. While this makes roughly the 6th release of Shiranui, actually this is the 2nd version of Type 94 Shiranui ever been released by Koto. The kit is scheduled to be released on April next year with the price of 5200 yen. Other than being the recolor of the Type 94 Shiranui, the kit also include Missile Pod which is mounted on the shoulder for TSF with Blast Guard position. I am not that eager to get this kit for the Missile pack, and just hope Koto being nice enough to release the Missile Pod as Optional kit along with the Sniper rifle as TSF weapon pack. The Japanese Imperial Guard version of Type 94 is the common version of Shiranui being the original version, which has been one of the main TSF forces of Japan Empire in Muvluv Alternative. The notable eishi of Imperial Guard version of Shiranui is Sagiri, Marimo and Hibiki who is the main character of The Day After 1&2.

1/100 MG Jesta announced

I know this is bound to happen soon or later as Bandai really love to milk Gundam Unicorn series for their Gunpla Model. In the recent gundam expo, Bandai shown the prototype model for Jesta which is one of the MS from Gundam Unicorn series. The MG kit is scheduled to be released on Spring next year with 4500 Yen price tag which is the same with the MG Delta Plus. Seeing the habit of Bandai we will be also likely able to see Jesta Cannon later as well. I am still crossing my finger to get this kit since i do like Jesta as a souped up Grunt unit despite i find the rifle design kinda retarded. While the prototype seems underwhelming let's see how the kit will look like later on.

SRW Z2 Saisei-Hen first playthrough cleared

It has been 6 months since i got my copy of Saisei-Hen and certainly takes a while for me to finish the first playthrough of the game. But finally i managed to beat the game this week as i defeat Gaioh and his Jigenjuus within 3 turns. Overall Saisei-Hen is decent though i feel the game drags on too much as 60 stages feel abit long for Saisei-Hen. Gaioh is more like annoying rather than challenging since it is unnecessary annoying to have hard time landing some good damage on him. Since i used my Hakai-Hen 100% clear save data, the game is rather a breeze throughout the whole game. In my first playthrough i went through Macross route hoping to get Basara earlier and he is quite awesome in this game though Alto is too emo to appreciate his music. As for Crowe, i chose Librasta-R for him which don't really fit him well but i prefer to save the better part for later. While it is not anytime soon for me to complete the 2nd playthrough, i will make a complete review of the game once i get it done.

Ragnarok Odyssey Get!

Got my copy today from Ozgameshop for regular price. Perhaps Ragnarok Odyssey is one of the hottest game right now on Vita since it is one of the first solid Action RPG coming to the platform. I decided to get one myself since i heard the game is similar like Monster Hunter but it turns out more like Lord of Arcana with no annoying gimmicks after i played the game a run for few hours. While i doubt i will clock this game as much as MH, i think i will spend plenty of time with Ragnarok Odyssey on my Vita. If anyone considering to get a Vita, this month is a good time to get or you can wait till Christmas to get a better deal because some of the Great titles for Vita are coming this month.

Figuarts Zero Persona 3 Protagonist

This year Bandai released couple of Persona 4 figurines in their catalogue but on September this year, they also release Persona 3 protagonist. Definitely this figure is a must get for the owner of D-arts Thanatos since the Figuarts is made to match the D-arts. Being the figuarts Zero lineup, virtually there is no articulation for our Persona 3 Protagonist as the figure only have 2 possible poses which the protagonist is holding an Evoker or Arcana card.  The Figuarts Zero is sold for 2800 yen as Tamashii Web exclusive though you can find one available in Mandarake or Tokyo Hunter for slightly higher price. I doubt i will get the Figuarts since i am still hoping a Figma for P3 protagonist to be released one day.

Zipang

I am always a big fan of History as a subject and i do enjoy reading good Historical Manga. One of the manga of the genre that i read recently Zipang written by Kawaguchi Kaiji. Named after the territory of Japan Empire should they managed to unite Asia in World War 2, Zipang offer quite interesting reading experience. World War 2 has always been popular theme in media and Zipang makes it even more interesting as it incorporate Time Travel. The story is about a modern Cruiser-class ship of JSDF called Mirai departing from Japan to Sout America for joint operation but the Crew found themselves stranded in World War 2 era after caught in the storm. With the opportunity to change the History the Mirai Crew found themselves in dilemma whether they should make Imperial Japan victorius and along the way they saved a Imperial Navy liutenant which unknowingly will affect their future forever. Time travel to World War 2  is quite controversial stuff but Zipang is very well written as it doesn't bias too much on any side despite the story takes on the perspective of a Japanese soldier and still have really interesting story. The original manga have been finished few years ago and the translation still need to catch up, but so far Zipang is really good read. If you are looking for some good seinen manga and love history, Zipang is a good choice to get into. The author wrote Spirit of the Sun as well which quite interesting as well.

Kishin Hishou Demonbane

The return of the Innocent Blade!

Fate/Extra Caster route finished!

Continuing Fate/Extra which was in my PSP games backlog(ugh i have too much) where i left at 4th week in-game months ago. Over one week i am marathoning the game from my last save which i used Caster after clearing the game once with Archer. Unfortunately fighting through the Holy Grail War with our lovely Magical Fox Girl is really hard as expected and seriously i don't recommend playing as Caster in your first playthrough because you will find yourself Ragequit all the time.

However Caster's is definitely the more interesting route out of the 3 playable servant in which she is one of the more flirty and playful character in Fate/Extra. In Male Protagonist playthrough, there are plenty of innuendos with the interaction of Caster with main character and Caster seems more than eager to spend some "tender moment" with her beloved master. Her story gets more interesting near the end of the game which is around week 6 if you pull things right because her route is something in game which is closest to Dating Sim. Nevertheless i would recommend to go through Caster's route at least when you play Fate/Extra though using her in the first playthrough is still not recommended. This is because you will have hard time to survive in the dungeon against less predictable opponents as caster has different playstyle compared to Saber or Archer and needs more careful planning in the battle. But Caster gets more powerful later in the game especially after she gets Merciful Sky and her passive skill which makes the dungeon more bearable and make the boss fight quite a breeze. In the end Caster's route is basically Hard mode of Fate/Extra with more rewarding experience(if you don't do it in the first playthrough).

Waifu GET!(or maybe not lol)

Robot Damashii Composite Ver Ka Ξ / Xi Gundam

While Bandai is unlikely to release the Plamo kit of Xi Gundam anytime soon, they still didn't forget this guy and decided to announce the release for Robot Damashii treatment. Previously Xi Gundam see itself in Gundam Fix Figuration lineup where it is packed with Penelope as one package though it is unlikely to see the same treatment again this time. From the leaflet information,, the Robot Damashii will be the improvement version of the previous GFF and stands 18cm tall which is roughly 1/144 scale of the model. The Xi Gundam RD will be sold in Tamashii Web Shop just like Byalant, while there is no confirmed release date year, the RD probably cost more than 7000 yen when it is released due to its size. Xi Gundam is well known to be one of the first MS(technically Penelope is the first) in UC Era with proper midair flight capability due to Minovsky Craft and piloted by Hathaway Noah in Hathaway's Flash rebelling against EFSF. if you are interested, my previous Mechatalk cover some more detailed information about Xi Gundam.

Chogokin Fate/Zero Archer Gilgamesh

We have got some Gilgamesh Figurine back then but we rarely have the one in the battle form. Finally Bandai decided to release an Action Figure of Gilgamesh under Chogokin lineup along with Saber as a commemoration for Fate/Zero anime. There is no price tag announced for Gil yet but we can expect that he will be more expensive than Saber which is tagged for 7500 yen.  From the prototype model, Gil is equipped with his trusted Ea which is one of the few Anti-World Noble Phantasm. There is a good chance that Gil's armor can be cast off like Armor Plus lineup but it is not certain yet. Gilgamesh is probably my favorite servant in Fate series because He have really cool personality despite his arrogance. If Fate/Extra CCC ever got translated probably i will try to get Gilgamesh as my first servant in the game playthrough.

1/100 EF-2000 Typhoon

After some teaser by Kotobukiya around mid of this year, now they finallized the release date of the kit. With the price of 5880, Typhoon will be set for release around February next year which is roughly the same time around with Shiranui UN version release on this year. The kit is more expensive compared to average Muv-luv kit on the same scale due to the inclusion of Mk-54 Rifle and we can probably expect some improvement compared to the previous lineup. EF-2000 is one of 3rd Gen TSF comparable to Takemikazuchi mainly used in Europe and first saw in action in Rain Dancers sidestory from Alt Chronicles 0. The Typhoon version that kotobukiya released would be the Cerberus Team version which are one of the West Germany TSF team stationed in Great Britain border fighting against BETA. I am still undecided to get this kit since it doesn't include the Longsword variant that Typhoon used and it is likely that Koto will release some other Typhoon variant later next year.

Last Raven Zinaida Route cleared!

I am currently playing Last Raven on my PS Vita which works really well which i still use my PSP control scheme. After i finished 3 out of 5 possible route, i think myself that i am ready to take on Zinaida's route. By far Zinaida is probably the hardest(and cheapest) AC boss that i have ever faced, way harder compared to Ofanim or IBIS. But just like other opponent in Armored Core, if you know what are you doing, then you will have no problem. After hundred times of shameful defeat, i finally take her down with Medium build AC with Close ranged weapons and EO core which is particularly helpful. While her Railgun seems intimidating,  Zinaida's pulse rifle is the one that you need to watch out for since it can tear down your AP in blink of seconds but fortunately she won't use it much. After Zinaida's route i am planning to do Pulverizer 2 route which will make the 5th playthrough that i did in Last Raven.

Fang of the Sun Dougram

Over 6 months i have been marathoning this mecha classics after seeing this series being highly recommended by fellow /m/an. At first i got some difficulties getting into the series due to aging animation and at some point i think is Dougram is about cavemen fighting with robots. However this early work of Ryousuke Takahashi, the creator of Votoms turns out to be one of the hidden gem in mecha animation history. Dougram revolves around a group of youths called Fang of the Sun who waged guerilla warfare against Earth Federation fighting for a Earth colony planet's independence named Deloyer. The main character is Crinn Cashim who is the son of most powerful man of Earth who decided to separate his way with his Father and become the lead pilot for the Fang of the Sun.

On the surface, Dougram seems to be rather underwhelming due to lacking visual appeal and mediocre mecha action. The story of the series is better than Votoms despite being slow paced and the political aspect is a top tier one comparable to Legend of Galactic Heroes. There are some really well written character in the series mainly due to the political stunts they pull like Dr Samalin, Denon Cashim and definitely Lecoque who is really awesome dude which he would have made a great team with Job Truniht from LOGH. If the first Gundam is considered to be the pioneer of Real Robot genre, then Dougram is responsible for revolutionizing it since Dougram contribute some major elements for the genre that has been used constantly on mecha series. The major gripe of this series is that the series have 75 episodes which some people will find it to be challenging to get it through and slow paced story. If you are a diehard mecha fan, you will miss some great stuff if you haven't watched Dougram since it is arguably the best Takahashi's work when it comes to story. I would really love to see if there is Seinen version of Dougram since this series theme doesn't mix really well with Kid's anime. After Dougram i think i will move on to Panzer World Galient which is another Takahashi's work.

MG Tallgeese announced!

From the Japan Hobby Show this month, Bandai finally announced the MG kit of Tallgeese after all this years to be released on January next year with the price tag of 3800 Yen. With the Tallgeese release, the EW lineup is finally completed at lasr! Probably the kit will look slightly different compared to original lineart since it is EW version which the other Wing Gundam team got new design for their Gundam. Tallgeese is probably one of the strongest variant of Leo which is one of the few MS that can rival the 5 Gundam in one on one combat despite being an older model. The downside of Tallgeese is that this MS is really hard to pilot like a wild horse which have caused some of the pilots died from piloting Tallgeese including Wufei's late wife. Again i won't be getting this kit unless i cleared significant portion of my kits but this is a great buy for those who have been looking for MG Tallgeese for all these years.

PS Vita GET!

I have been eyeing for PS Vita since its start and waiting for good chance to buy it. With the recent Little Big Planet bundle i finally decided this is the time for me to get one of this PSP successor. I bought the bundle from JB-Hifi for $300 which got the best offer at the moment compared to other retail store in my place. For $300 you get the PS Vita LBP Bundle with overpriced accessories pack and FIFA 13. I got Little Deviants instead of FIFA since the game run out of stock which is better for me since i don't play soccer games. At the moment i am getting Wipeout 2048 and Touch my Katamari for my Vita Gaming library, but i am  also looking forward to US release of DJ MAX Technika tune which is probably the main reason i am getting a Vita right now. I hope Vita will live up to its expectation and possibly surpass older brother, PSP which have satisfied me for years and given me the best portable gaming experience.

Gunslinger Girl ends

One of the few manga that i followed since its publish and finally i have read the chapter 100 which marks the end of the series. The bittersweet end fits Gunslinger Girl theme perfectly which revolves around physically crippled girls who got their second chance to live as cyborgs doing government dirty errands.While there are some misconceptions of this series from some people as GSG uses young girls as the main character, i would say the manga got pretty good story as well as decent political stuff yet really dark for a Shonen series. If you haven't read this manga, go read it and you will probably like this series as it goes great drawing as well. By the way recently, one of the main heroine of Gunslinger Girl got figma treatment which is definitely good news for the fans.

Gundam Age afterthoughts

Watched the 49th episode of the series two days ago which marked the end of the series. Got to say i got mixed feeling about Age, As a gundam series i think Gundam Age is probably one of the weaker Gundam Tv series but definitely not to the point to be crowned as the worst Gundam series. I feel Age shoots itself on the foot from the beginning since it targets children as the main demographic while tries to appeal the existing Gundam fanbase at the same time. In my opinion the main problem with the story of Gundam Age is that the 3rd Gen arc is rather weak despite it got some good potential, partly caused by transition of the 2nd Gen to the 3 Gen isn't handled well which subsequently lead to slower buildup of the character despite it has plenty of time to cover itself. Another problem is the conclusion of the series is rather weak with the antagonist faction which are slightly hard to symphathize with.  Despite Age's story script is rather unpalatable, what i think the main weakness of Age as a Gundam series is that it doesn't really have memorable overall mecha design unlike other Gundam TV series which makes its feels less "Gundam" compared to its predecessors.

Despite its obvious shortcomings of the series, Animation quality and soundtrack are pretty solid. Age also probably conceived one of the better Gundam protagonist, Flit Asuno who i find to be quite well written character despite he had rather slow start. Like some people says, Gundam Age doesn't deserve Flit as a savior who probably fits better somewhere in UC era. Kio is probably unbearable sometimes but his greatest weakness for me is that he doesn't have strong enough conviction to justify his motive to match with his Grandfather. In Conclusion Gundam Age is does okay but probably will be one of the least memorable Gundam series. With the Gundam Age ended, Sunrise probably need to think over really well before they make the next Gundam series or otherwise there won't be much future anymore for Gundam.

Replaying Symphony of the Night

Few days ago i got some sudden urge to play Symphony of the Night. Previously i managed to finish the game 4 years ago which i played the one from Dracula X version in PSP. This makes the 2nd time i played this game and this time i tried to accomplish what i didn't managed to do in my previous run. In my first playthrough, i didn't do much weapon hunting and just went straight ahead to Count Dracula with Alucard Sword. However this time i try to do the opposite and managed to get some exotic weapons for Alucard like Heaven Sword, Mablung Sword, Mourne Blade or even the infamous Crissaegrim(i have 2 of them!). Got to say with these weapons, Dracula's castle is walk in the park for Alucard. My favorite one is the Heaven Sword, while Rune Sword is much better, when you get 2 of this weapon Alucard can pull some really cool moves which is similar like Gate of Babylon. In this playthrough i also managed to level up my Muramasa to have more than 100 Atk points which i used Dark Octopus to bleed from which is less time consuming compared to slicing those Medusa Heads.

SotN is best known for its influence of Castlevania series as it starts the whole Metroidvania stuff that bring the series to another level. For me i have to admit that this series is my personal favorite mainly because Alucard the most badass Castlevania protagonist(he would have mop the whole castle in Dawn of Sorrow by himself if he got his SoTN gears). Out of all Metroidvania that i have play, i can't say Symphony of the Night have the finest gameplay compared to later titles but i can guarantee SotN got the best fun factor. my only disappointment with SotN would be not enough strong enemy like Demon Lord since most of them died in few hits by the time i got the awesome weapons. This game or Aria of Sorrow is the best gateway for the series if you are interested with Metroidvania titles.

1/35 ASS-117 Valken A (Jake version)

I haven't been much interested in Plum until recently i touch Assault Suit series game which the manufacturer happen to produce some kits for the series. One of the kit is ASS-117 Valken from SNES Games called Assault Suit Valken or known as Cybernator in the west. I am particularly interested with Assault Suit series after i played Assault Suit Leynos 2 from Saturn(which is awesome!) and at the moment i am playing Assault Suit Valken. In my opinion this series is one of the best representation of Mecha genre in gaming platform particularly for Real Robot Aspect. Anyway about the kit, it is priced for 6500 Yen which is quite expensive compared with average Bandai or even Koto kits. The kit is 15cm in height and comes with Vulcan Pod and Shield as accessory. Valken is a grunt mech used by main protagonist named Jake in the game who sees through Space colony infiltration to preventing Orbital drop until surviving atmospheric entry. Valken can be considered pretty versatile mech for its size as it can be deployed on Space and Earth without significant problem. I really recommend mecha fans out there to try Assault Suit Valken preferrably the Japanese version which got some decent fans translation(since the american version is butchered) because it is one of the awesome mecha game out there. I am looking forward to Gunhound which will see some port release at the end of this year on PSP which seems to have similar gameplay with Assault Suit series.

Some sneak peek of the original game

1/100 MG Marasai Review

Hmm i am sure getting pretty inactive recently but i suppose it will last for some while. Anyway this is the latest repaint work of mine which is MG Marasai in Karaba Color Scheme which i used for group build in GAF 2 months ago. i suppose it will be a while before i am getting back to work on my kits again as well as active on this blog but rest is assured. Probably you will notice some similarities of my Marasai color scheme with Dijeh which is my intention though i still need to get a Beam Naginata to make Marasai look like one XD.

 

 Apologies in advance if the review is shorter than usual since i don't really have much to say about Marasai. One interesting note about Marasai is that it is one of the MS in UC Era that is inspired with Samurai design. For some reason the head shape of Marasai kinda remind me of Alteisen due to the horn which resemble Alteisen's heat horn. Some advice for those who is planning to get this kit, the articulation of Marasai MG is rather limited mainly due to the thickness of the armor because inner frame does fine. Ballute system looks the best on Marasai and you can get one for reasonable price from newer MG Hyaku Shiki rather than buying it from Bandai Webshop. As a closure i will be adding some more pics once i get the Beam Naginata.