AFA Creators Super Fest 2017

 Went to this event in Jakarta as some of my acquaintances opened some booth on that place. This makes my first time attending AFA related event in Indonesia. Creators Super Fest is basically mini AFA event which focus on fandom circles. As always nothing much to do in this event if you are not cosplaying or shopping stuff. However for such a small event, the enthusiasm of the event is quite good though. On the other hand i am quite surprised with the talent level of illustrators in Indonesia. From the range of the fandom stuff they sell here in this event, the illustration quality are quite good. While it is not as good as the one in Singapore or Australia yet, Indonesian's creative talent still have potential for more growth. Just as always, this kind of event could use some more Japanese Karaoke machine.

My Haul from the event

Yami's Guide for Joysound TV Plus on Vita TV

 So do you like to sing Japanese Song? But there are no Japanese Karaoke Bar nearby or If there is one it is outdated and overpriced? Worry Not! If you have PS4 or Vita then you are able to access Joysound TV Application which is no doubt a godsend for those who like to sing Japanese songs yet live outside Japan. Joysound is one of the biggest Karaoke Machine company in Japan apart from DAM and they extended their service to Playstation Console few years Ago.  I decided to write a guide for Joysound TV because i went through so much trouble to get a working Vita Japanese Karaoke Setup without a guide and hope to help other people with the similar passion to achieve the same thing easier. Even though trying to set up your own Japanese Karaoke entertainment on Playstation seems challenging, with a little bit Knowledge of Japanese and some dedication you will make it out. While this Guide is focused on Vita TV, the general setup is similar for PS4.

Sega SPM Figurine Hatsune Miku Innocent Review

 One of my Acquisition from AFA SG last year which i got for 20 SGD. I used to follow Vocaloid through Project Diva series but i am kinda indifferent toward it now. This is my first and only Hatsune Miku Figurine so far since i kinda liked the Song which the costume was based on.

冷たい部屋を　交差する感情
今この場所で　応えて欲しい

 Miku Innocent dress is from Vocaloid Song called Acute made Kurousa-P one of the top tier Vocaloid Composer out there best known for Senbonzakura. The song is all about Love Triangle which Miku played the role of Heartbroken Maiden betrayed by her lover and best friend. The reason i bought the Innocent version of Miku is because it is one of few costume that brings the "Maiden falling in Love" quality for Miku. In terms of quality, you are getting what you are expecting from Ufo catcher-tier figure where it got decent sculpt, but the face looks derpy upon closer inspection. I doubt will get Acute version of Kaito and Luka considering i am not a big fan of Vocaloid anymore. But if i ever get another Vocaloid Figurine, i might consider the Hanairogoromo version as primary choice.

Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Final Thought

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 With Iron Blooded Orphans finished airing early this month, a while ago i gave the series a quick marathon and finished the last episode recently. After the flop from Gundam Age and Reconquista, i guess Sunrise did try to put more effort with Iron Blooded Orphans. While IBO Second season got some Significant flaw. Nonetheless i think IBO still managed to achieve its main objective, to reboot the interest of Gundam series which it did with Flying colors. But if Iron Blooded Orphans was not a Gundam Show, i think IBO could have gone even more grimdark.

 Iron Blooded Orphans strongest point is its storytelling, which is very good by Gundam standard. Using Child Soldiers as the main characters does make powerful anti-war message after all but the clever deconstruction of Gundam Tropes plays a huge part in my opinion. For a Gundam series, Iron Blooded Orphans ends with rather bittersweet note. But in the process, IBO breaks most of the convention that the previous Gundam titles made and at the same time cements its position as a Solid Gundam series, possibly one of the best Alternate Universe title by far. Apart from the story, IBO got some good fighting scene as well with the brutal nature of the combat helps to emphasize the message that the series try to deliver. The Mobile Armor fight in Episode 36 is certainly some top tier stuff.

 If i have to mention the series flaw. The Second season in IBO felt kinda rushed especially after Episode 36 for some reason. This plays a huge part for the Char Clone of the series causing its character stunted thus lead the final showdown less climactic. I think IBO could have another 12 Episodes to conclude properly. As for the mecha design IBO is rather weak compared to SEED or IBO. Mainly due to poor grunt unit designs and the Cool units doesn't have enough screentime despite it got some moments, but it is just not enough. On a side note, i think some IBO Mecha design are heavily inspired from Five Star Stories especially with that anorexic waist

Now Playing Toukiden 2!

 When i played the Japanese Demo for Toukiden 2 last year, i know that i will be getting a copy for this game. Now i have clocked a few hours in the game and would like to share my impression on Toukiden 2. For Certain Toukiden 2 is a solid game and i think that the game will have good amount of content even without Expansion. As usual i use Spear as my weapon of choice and seriously the Party AI in this game are way too competent. The Open World mechanics is a fresh breath for hunting game genre and if given enough time to polish it, Koei will have a Franchise that will serve as some serious competitor for Monster Hunter. My thoughts may change once i reached endgame but for now i don't really find any glaring flaw with Toukiden 2.

Evolution Toy Legioss

Ever since i watched Mospeada, i have been keeping an eye for the series merchandise. On this year's Winter Wonderfest I did see the Legioss Prototype but it didn't catch my attention because prototype was rather sloppy. It turns out the one who are making the new Legioss Toy is a company called Evolution Toy which appears to make plenty of Super Robot Toys. The Toy is fully transformable and will be released on July this year with 28000 Yen Price tag which is very hefty for the quality of product. Unfortunately their mold for Legioss seems too Bulky and thus make it look very toyish. For now the Legioss Toy made by now Defunct CMS Corp still look better and definitive. Mospeada itself while nowhere close to Macross, it still have some interesting concepts even though the anime series didn't fully realize it. One of these days Mospeada should show up in SRW series.

1/72 HMM Liger Zero Empire

 On this year's Winter Wonderfest, Liger Zero is one of the two products that caught my attention in Kotobukiya's booth and a while ago Kotobukiya have just released details for the product release. The kit will be slated for July this year and will cost around 5600 Yen without tax. Unfortunately Liger Zero Empire will be Kotobukiya Web product only which means importing would be inconvenient. Compared to the Regular Liger Zero, Liger Zero Empire is pretty much a carbon copy of the former with palette swap, a cool one nevertheless. In the series Liger Zero Empire is what happen when Zenebas Empire steal Helic Republic's tech and develop their own version of Liger Zero. Later on Empire did make their own CAS which Liger Zero X is one known variant. In Zoids Legacy, Zero Empire was one of the available CAS variant for Liger Zero and the easiest one to make. Statswise it is still the same with Liger Zero and have the same quirks as well. I guess if this kit sell good enough, Kotobukiya will likely release Zero X too.

Yami starting watching Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans

 Kinda late to the party but since the series just ended its second season i decided to give the series a run. So far i have finished the first half of IBO and looking forward to watch second season. For now i will just share my impression about the series. My first impression from watching Iron Blooded Orphans is that Sunrise intend to create a completely different Gundam Show with this show. 

 Compared to the previous gundam series, Iron Blooded Orphans looks more gritty and filled with more raw violence. It also doesn't help that the mecha fight in IBO focus on brutal melee while eschewing beam spamming. The protagonist of the series, Mikazuki Augus is what would result from further exploration of Setsuna F Seiei or Heero Yuy archetype. Mikazuki is not a person that you would look up to being desensitized to violence and apathetic toward his opponent due to his life as Child Soldier. Personally Mikazuki is probably one of my least favorite gundam protagonist but his character definitely plays an important role for IBO to deliver its point.

 From the onset of the series, the main casts in Iron Blooded Orphans already got some obvious flags that they walk on self destructive part as they play the Don Quixote role. Nevertheless their struggle trying to fight against the odds will be worthy to watch. After Gundam Age and Reconquista, i guess Sunrise finally try to do things seriously with Gundam series. If they intend Iron Blooded Orphans to revitalize the interest of Gundam Series then it did pretty good job, at least in my opinion. For now i am more interested on the prequel chance for IBO since the Calamity War had pretty good potential if done right even though 72 Gundam seems like a tall order. Probably in near future i will also acquire some of those IBO Full Mechanics kit.