Sakura Taisen 1/8 ARTFX J Shinguji Sakura Review

咲いてみせます さくら... さくら..... さくら色

Yami's Megahobby 2018 and One Hobby G Expo Highlights

 Usually the big stuffs for Japanese Toys are shown on Wonderfest but for some reason this Year's Megahobby Expo catches my attention. This event mainly focus on PVC Figures so Bandai doesn't really have presence on this one. As usual FGO dominated the product lineups and the temptations are strong with this one.

Nendoroid 937 Reinhard Von Lohengramm

 I saw the Prototype for Nendoroid Yang Wenli from the new LOGH a while ago but turns out Kaiser Reinhard got the first dibs. Scheduled for This year's November release with 5000 Yen Price Tag, Reinhard von Lohengramm from the LOGH Reboot series, is getting a Nendoroid treatment. Being Overpriced as usual, i think Reinhard could have used a miniature of his Flagship Brunhild as his Nendoroid Accessories but his throne chair doesn't look too bad. Nevertheless the Nendo still capture the Porcelain Doll with Sharp blue stare look for Reinhard so i might get this one in place of Kotobukiya's figure.

 Speaking of the new LoGH Reboot, Die Neue These. Studio IG definitely did try their best to live up to the Previous OVA standard even though it won't reach the original OVA level because the latter had budgets and stellar director to back it up. One interesting thing that i find after reading the LoGH Novel is that the Original OVA actually fleshes out the Novel even further and did a great job on it, which is why the OVA stays legendary. At any rate i think the Tv series will close its 12-13 Episode with the conclusion of Amlitzer Battle just fine considering that was where the First volume of the Novel Ended. And i think IG Studio will use the movie to cover Lippstadt civil war arc which should work just fine with the pacing of that particular Arc. Die Neue These might not surpass the OVA but it gives the opportunity for the series to get Merchandises that the series deserves and i will try to support it as best as i could especially if we get the Flagship Model kits.

Front Mission Evolved

 Tried this Black Sheep of Front Mission series to figure out why it is badly panned and it turns out as expected. To put it simply, Front Mission Evolved only nailed down the gameplay while leaving everything else a lot to be desired. The Original SRPG Front Mission had good gameplay, but it is most known for its Gritty Sci-Fi yet Realistic Geopolitics and Evolve is nowhere close to its Predecessor. I do like the gameplay even if it is short since it had the potential but a Front Mission action game should have more tactical element on it instead of being a run and gun Mecha Game. My main gripe with the series are the customization system and mandatory loadout levels which are easily the worst aspect of Front Mission Evolved. I dont actually mind the FPS sequence but it not anything solid either. I suppose with the departure of the original Devs, it is hard for Evolve to deserve a place among its predecessors as it lacks the Soul and Vision that the previous games had. To be honest if Square Enix put more effort to polish this game, Front Mission Evolved could have been something though i doubt this will be the end of the series. I still had 4-5 more titles to go with this series and definitely looked forward to it and I am still waiting Square Enix to release the Play Arts Kai for Front Mission which they had shown the prototype a while ago.

Persona 5 First Playthrough Complete!

 Ever since i own PS3 a while ago, Persona 5 has been one of the game in my bucket list to play as i followed the Persona series since the 3rd Game. After clocking around 70 Hours, i managed to complete my first playthrough for this game. Persona 5 is definitely a worthy successor of the series even though it feels that contents pruned off here and there in order to keep the game Polished. Overall the story of Persona 5 is darker than the previous games as it touch on uncomfortable subject that Japanese Society had. In terms of gameplay Persona 5 no doubt surpass its Predecessors and managed to raise the bar yet again with its very stylish presentation. But when it comes to storyline, it isstill up for debate. Persona 5 is a Great Game for sure but i find its setting too Depressing and Tokyo simply is not charming compared to Tatsumi Port Island or Inaba. For me, i find the game's theme of rebellion against establishment are slightly edgy and over the top for my taste. In the end Persona 3 still wins with its end game story while Persona 4 have better character synergy when compared to Persona 5. Nevertheless there are still plenty of opportunity of additional improvement that this game can get considering it lacks almost two months worth of content.

Mobile Suit Gundam Ensemble 7

 While i still stick to Master Grade for my Gunpla Fix. Recently i have started collecting Gundam Candy Toys again due to overwhelming temptation in my workplace. Therefore i keep observing available variants for Gundam related Candy Toys. While Converge is still the mainstay choices, i have started looking at Gundam Ensemble. Gundam Ensemble Series lineup just started about 2 or 3 years ago but they offer more articulation compared to Converge for the same 500 Yen Price tag a pop. Proportion wise they are more similar to the recent Gundam Silhouette SD Gunpla lineup which i kinda dig since it reminds me of MS Saga series. Now the Gundam Ensemble had reached its 7th lineup which offers Re-GZ, Gundam MK-II with G Defenser as well as Geara Doga with Heavy Armament. Not particularly flashy but solid enough to warrant a purchase from me. I think Ensemble series will be long running one since Bandai made a good winning formula with this one as long as the available Mobile Suit for the lineup are interesting enough.

Gashapon T-Arts The Drawer Review

 One of Gashapon that i happen to own as i am finding accessories for my growing 1/12 Figure Collection. Takara happen to make some of their Gashapon to complement Figma sized figures like Pokemon Gacha Machine. While this one is not as flashy as the former, the Drawer Gashapon makes a nice addition for anyone planning to make some room based Diorama.

PS Vita Konosuba Aqua Ending

 When i played this Fanservice Konosuba game on my Vita, i already aimed for Aqua from the beginning. Aqua is my favorite Heroine because for some Reasons you can't really completely hate her character. At times she is very high and mighty but then become downright pathetic at an instant. Seriously i never expected to have so much fun to have a fictional character like Aqua get tormented so much even though it is mostly her own fault. Aqua would be a perfect Heroine if she casted off her Rotten personality and i think that Potential makes her my favorite Heroine in the Series. So in this post i will within my best capacity to retell Aqua's route story for those who can't get a copy of this game which definitely contain Spoilers for sure.

MG SEED 2.0 overall thoughts

 I have finished assembling MG Freedom 2.0, Providence and Justice Gundam two weeks ago for my Company's store display. Since i get my hand to fiddle around the kits, might as well share my brief opinion about them. For these three kits, i just do a straight build then do some panel line and apply decal with Matte Top Coat as finishing touch. Overall these Three Master Grade look impressive and maintain decent articulation without any Polycaps in the frame. However MG Freedom 2.0, Providence and Justice all share same main issue for being a Backpack heavy Gundam so don't expect some dynamic action without Action Base assistance with Justice Gundam being the worst of the three. Surprisingly I find Providence Gundam being my Favorite MG out of three despite i am a big Athrun fanboy. I think this is because i feel that Providence had the right amount of weight while Freedom feels rather scrawny where as Justice has serious back issues. By assembling these 3 SEED MG i got better understanding of these three mechas and i never expect Providence had that many DRAGOON Ordinance attached to it. While it is not much here are the rest of the shots i took for these three kits which i will take more when i built them for myself.