Knights and Magic

 A mecha series with interesting premise but ultimately ruined with its Isekai theme. Knights and Magic is an isekai series with Fantasy Mecha theme. Basically the main character in this series is Ryuusei Date from SRW with ability to make his own mecha but a badly written one. The main problem of Isekai series is that the main character tend to be munchkin and Knights & Magic is no exception. Ernesti Eschevalier is another Mary Sue out there who decided a fate of a nation with his mecha and then accelerate his world technology by far leaps singlehandedly. Ernesti's character design is bad enough to make Kira Yamato  look rather tame in comparison. Nevertheless some of the mecha design in Knights and Magic is quite nice though we don't really see much of them converted into toys especially the Ikaruga. In conclusion Knights and Magic is another of those poorly written Anime of the season and i doubt the sequel will able to save itself.

Haganeworks Demonbane

 The last time i was seeing an action figure for Demonbane was around 10 years ago which was Mado Gokin by A-Label that cost over 20000 Yen. And now for a part of 15th year anniversary of Demonbane VN series, Goodsmile is releasing a new Action Figure under Haganeworks lineup with Mid Year release schedule and 17500 Yen price tag. For the price tag, you are getting 18cm Demonbane  partial Diecast action figure and almost complete arsenal of Demonbane save for Shantak backpack and Effect parts. I will definitely get this because Demonbane is one of my favorite Super Robot out there. While the series was over the top and butchers Lovecraft's work like no tomorrow, Demonbane is a good Hotblooded Super Robot through and through. Perhaps i should read the VN of these days to pay a homage for this series.

Mobile Suit Gundam Ensemble 08 Review

 Ensemble is one of the Gundam Candy Toy Lineup that caught my attention apart from converge because of its potential, serving as middle ground between Forte and Converge. While it is sold as 500 Yen per box, just like G-Frame some of the accessories are split into separate boxes which makes it worth 700 Yen Gashapon per model. But overall it is still worth it because you get to have those cool Mobile Suits with loads of arsenals in this lineup. Obscure but cool Gundam series like Advance of Zeta series are certainly finding a home in Gundam Ensemble.

February 2019 Loot

 Another spending spree that goes overboard this month as piles of my Preorder are coming in successions. As usual i got myself some FGO stuff and surprisingly my GSC haul this time are quite significant but mostly are from the items i highlighted in this blog before. I got myself my first Soul of Chogokin  which is Daitarn 3 since i am quite a fan of this guy ever since i played SRW and one day would love to get the proper one complete with gimmicks. As much as i  like to give review for the Figmas. i think the priority order is quite low among the list considering my ton of backlog of review material. I think the Candy Toys will get the review soon especially Gundam Ensemble which i missed one edition already. The best out of this haul is probably Nendoroid 600 Saber Special Edition which is my way to appreciate the 15th anniversary of Fate series after completing my FSN VN run.

Psycho Pass

 Studio IG is the animation studio that you can rely on if you need some fix for Cyberpunk anime. Finally i got an opportunity to watch Psycho Pass to figure out why the anime got such a hype back then. To be simple if Masamune Shirou has Ghost in the Shell then Urobuchi has Psycho Pass. Taking place in Japan where a centralized AI system called SYBIL that decided the role of a person in the society and their life and death, Psycho Pass centred around Police Special Task Force named Division 1. Each field member of Division 1 are armed with over the top futuristic gun known as Dominator which  then are used to pacify people that SYBIL considered to be a threat to society. The Dominator will and able to turn the target literally into mincemeat if they are considered to be a lost cause by SYBIL.

PS Vita Konosuba Darkness Ending

 With the announcement of Darkness Figma and couple other things like the upcoming of another Konosuba Video Game, i think it is the appropriate time for me to cover Darkness route at very least after constant procrastination. While Megumin and Aqua surpass Darkness in terms of popularity by far margin, the Masochist Crusader has her own quality to deserve her spot in the main heroine position. Out of the three main heroines, Darkness probably has the best traits as maternal quality and if it is not for her weird antics, Kazuma would have fallen for Darkness early on.

Heavy Object

 This is one of those Light Novel adaptation that i recently watched which are mecha based. Heavy Object has quite some interesting concepts but questionable executions. The Setting of the series takes place in Modern period where conventional warfare are replaced by fights between Gigantic Weapons called Objects which are pretty much Metal Gear without Legs and slapped with tons of dakka on it. The story focus on two buddy soldiers Qwenthur and Havia who served as backup unit for an Object who then managed to distinguish themselves by destroying Objects as an infantry. Basically the main characters pulled feats like Solid Snake by defeating Gigantic Weapons that are impervious to modern weapons and usually require another Gigantic Weapon to be defeated. Heavy Object main selling point supposed to be how the main character relied on their Wits and Intellect to pull off impossible feat of destroying these Objects but since its writing are catered to teen audience, it feels like asspulls most of the time even if i feel the author did try their best efforts. Nevertheless it is still an entertaining watch and i mainly look at Frolaytia for some fanservice. As the Light Novel series is still going on, there is a possibility for a second season i suppose.

Fate/Grand Order Figma 428 Jeanne Alter Shinjuku Ver

 So this is the first one shown after the Wonderfest last week and the Dragon Witch make another entrance into the Figma lineup! I suppose GSC want to make it in time before the Shinjuku Arc which should be in NA server next month. Figma Jalter Shinjuku will be released on September this year with 7800 Yen price tag. For the same price of the regular Figma Jalter, the Shinjuku version seems to be having less accessories especially the banner. I suppose Goodsmile is betting on the value of the character to get away with higher than usual price tag, because Jalter is one of the most popular premium servant out there. I will skip this one since regular Jalter is sufficient enough and will save for Salter 2.0 instead.

Winter Wonderfest 2019 Fate/Grand Order Highlights

 Since it was part of my assignment for my company to make a coverage for FGO series, i might as well make a separate post for it. I find this task to be worthwhile even if it is fool's errand. I am glad that a big series like Fate got the treatment it deserved from Toy Manufacturers. Most of the exhibition pieces are PVC Figures from wide range of characters but still mainly Waifus though my objects of attentions are mainly Price Figures and Action Figures. It is expected but i guess the Manufacturers doesn't have enough time to prepare something for 15th anniversary celebration for Fate Series.

Yami's Wonderfest Winter 2019 Highlight

 It is this particular time every year where the the floodgates are released for the Toy Collectors. As usual temptations are always flying everywhere which may make your wallet go bust. Like every previous Wonderfest, i always make coverage that highlights things that catches my attention but this time i will make separate post for FGO since i got assignment for that one and might as well make a new material out of it.

Reaching the end of Realta Nua

 Every journey eventually will come to an end and so does Realta Nua soon as i reached Heaven's Feel. In Realta Nua version, you get the proper conclusion of the Fate Route once you complete all 5 Endings of the Three Routes. It might be a fan service but it does ties up Artoria and Shirou's story nicely, so it is a must read if you are fan of the ship. This is the reason why Fate route is my personal favorite even if UBW and HF had better writing as Shirou and Artoria is the most beautiful pairing that series had for its sheer purity. This will definitely leave a void to me for a while but this way i get to appreciate my Saber Artoria in FGO even more. Ufotable only has one job after Heaven's Feel Movie trilogy which is to redo Fate route and better put proper budget for the Realta Nua ending. Once again i am not fan of Saber, but her happy face is a pure blessing. Artoria's story might end so other Heroine can shine brighter but Typemoon will always be able to rely on the eternal heroine if they need some more money. Maybe i should get back to read Tsukihime again considering i did an half baked run on that one as well.

Fate Stay/Night Heaven's Feel Route Complete!

 Took me 10 years but finally finished my journey of Fate/Stay Night VN by clearing the last route, Heaven's Feel. This route definitely lives up to the reputation being the best one in terms of writing. Overall the route is more depressing than Fate and UBW as some main actors of the series left quite early on HF which is necessity for the sidelined character to shine. However the True Ending definitely gives some bittersweet closure. Since i have finished reading the Heaven's Feel, i will look forward to the opportunity on Ufotable's take for this route.

Gundam G-Frame 06

 Well G-Frame was out of my strike zone for a while as the last two editions had variants mainly from Unicorn and Narrative which doesn't quite sold me. However the recent 6th Edition managed to put my interest back on the table again. As usual G-Frame 6 is 1000 Yen Candy Toys lineup sold as two boxes of 500 Yen Gashapon and this time this lineup goes back to One Year War. G-Frame 6 Features Ground Type Gundam, RX-78-5 and Guncannon as its variants. While i am not too fond of with Guncannon, RX-78-5 and Ground Type looks promising indeed as it comes with generous amount of accessories. To be honest for me, Gundam G-Frame's potential lies in Mobile Suits that are rarely represented like Mudrock Gundam, not those common Zeon Grunt MS or RX-78-2. For the 7th Edition i think RX-78-4 will likely make it and i think the Zeon MS will probably be Gouf but the Custom version would sweeten the deal.