Shin Sakura Taisen announced!

 Well this is what the Sakura Taisen fans are waiting for more then a decade already by now and Sega just announced the Reboot Project of this classic series. Dubbed as "Shin Sakura Taisen" the series reboot project will be released on Spring 2020 with PS4 as the choice platform. Shin Sakura Taisen features Bleach Author, Tite Kubo as the main characters designer taking over Kosuke Fujishima. 

 From the first glance, the male protagonist looks worthy enough to be Ichiro Ogami's Successor, but the Heroines are still not on the same level with the previous Teikoku and Paris Kagekidan considering Fujishima's work on the Heroines for both series are tall order to surpass. The first Tetralogy of Sakura Taisen was Phenomenal mainly because of the superb quality of the Heroines. As a series Sakura Taisen's storyline are never its strong point but the Heroines of Teikoku and Paris Kagekidan made up for all the weakness that the first Tetralogy had. As for the seiyuu cast, Sega picked the popular choice with Sakura Ayane starring as the main heroine. However i doubt the series will ever go back to the Popularity level that the series used to have, to the extent of Theatre stage like the previous Kagekidan since it require considerable investment both in financial and human resource.

 Nevertheless we could expect good gameplay at very least since Valkyria Chronicle team are in charge making them revisit the old series making full use of their experience and as long as the game are well rounded it will do just fine. I will definitely get a copy if it got released on Switch to honor Sakura Taisen series. Also i need to finish my Sakura Taisen 2 Playthrough soon so i could write proper article for the game as an offer for this great classic.

You can look at my coverage of the Sakura Taisen 1 and 3 over here

• Sakura Taisen 1
• Sakura Taisen 3

Ichiban Kuji 1/8 Megumin Figure

 Banpresto is quick with this one for sure! After the wonderfest last month the preorder for Megumin Figure under Ichiban Kuji lineup are available for Preorder already. Normally you can only obtain Ichiban Kuji figure by playing the Kuji lottery usually as grand prize but Banpresto do sell them overseas and my company happen to get the offer too. The figure will be released around July and the SRP for this item is 4600 Yen. I think the sculpt should be better than the Sega version which were around for a while ago in exchange of higher price tag. I will skip this one since i belong to Aqua faction which i would get her equivalent figure of this version if available. But i think the Ichiban Kuji series that this figure served as Grand prize probably centred around Megumin considering she is the main star in the upcoming Konosuba Movie.

Ufotable Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works

 Took me a roundabout way to watch this particular adaptation, something had to do with the bad aftertaste by Deen version but at least i am glad with another score settled. Ufotable did justice with Unlimited Blade Works and this is no doubt the proper adaptation the series deserved. This version basically fixed all issues that the Deen Movie had especially the pacing and expands the material from the original VN even further. So Ufotable UBW covers everything essential from the VN route for newcomer and there are still treats around for those who have read the VN. My favorite part from this series is the treatment that it give to Lancer Cu since most of the cooler battle belongs to him. As i grew older i do find Shirou's way of thinking to be unbearable sometime but i still look forward for his action in Heaven's Feel Movie. With UBW anime done, i think i will do some UBW related Toy review soon.

Magic Knight Rayearth

 After Galient and Dunbine, my Fantasy Mecha journey stops at Rayearth which is the culmination of this genre. Out of the Fantasy Mecha series that i have watched, Magic Knight Rayearth no doubt held very high position among its peers despite its potential is not even fully tapped by the TV series. First part of Rayearth is the best one but the series could have use some breather to pull off more coherent second half of the series. Doing 49 episodes in one go is not exactly good idea if you are planning to build robust storyline. Rayearth can be considered very well rounded, having most of the things that makes good fantasy mecha and the Rune Gods are one of the coolest looking for their type. The only catch for me is the setting rather too noblebright for my taste especially the second half part probably due to the Shoujo theme, but it is still not as bad as Escaflowne. Out of the Magic Knights, Fu Hououji surprisingly my favorite out of the three and her romance with Ferio could have gone better in second half part. With this i have prepared myself for SRW T if i got myself a copy in the future. Despite the great design, i still wonder why the Rayearth Rune Gods haven't got any noteworthy Toys that they rightfully deserved. But at very least i believe Rayearth, Selece and Windam have a good shot considering their Magic Knights got Figma recently. Lastly if you are looking for a good gateway for Fantasy Mecha, no doubt Rayearth is one of the best choice out there.

Aura Battler Dunbine

 One of the most influential Fantasy Mecha out there no doubt and glad i finished this one. The father of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino's works tend to be inconsistent with his work from 90s onward are mostly disappointment, But Dunbine no doubt is one of his better works. As a series, Dunbine is an important milestone in Fantasy Mecha and Isekai as it sets up some of the essential elements for those two genre. In terms of storyline, Dunbine is your standard mecha series in 80s but what Dunbine did exceptionally well at its time setting up its atmosphere.  Byston Well Landscape are quite piece of work with diverse range befitting a Fantasy themed series. Unfortunately, Dunbine suffers abit problem on Pacing especially during the second half of the series where the wars took place on earth. While i like the main protagonist from the series, i find the rest of the cast to be rather insufferable including the protagonist side. Lastly in terms of mecha design, the Insect Warrior mecha from Dunbine is very distinct but Yutaka Izubuchi yet again perfected the design with his contribution, Sirbine which is the grandfather of Cybuster. Overall to me Dunbine's most important contribution is its ideas which give birth to amazing series like Masoukishin. After watching the series now I am  looking for a copy of Robot Damashi Sirbine but i guess best bet is waiting for rerun by Tamashii Nation as the aftermarket is rather pricey at the moment.

Taito Rider of Black Astolfo Prize Vol 2 Figure Review

 A short review for one of the Fate Prize figure made by Taito. Fate is no doubt a very big series in Japan that warrants some manufacturers like Banpresto, Taito and Sega made affordable Prize figure for the series. Out of the Three company, Taito's price range happen to fall on cheaper spectrum but overall quality wise it is quite passable. One of the Prize figure that i own from Taito is the trap servant from Fate/Apocrypha, Astolfo. Being one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins, Astolfo depiction in Fate as a crossdressing Pink haired knight doesn't sit quite well with me. Regardless i suppose there are demand for such niche in Fate series.

Figma 432 Saber Alter 2.0

 With the Heavens Feel movie release, this is one of the awaited moment for Saber Alter fans. The Ice Queen version of the eternal main heroine is getting the 2.0 version that she deserved! Figma Saber Alter 2.0 will be released November this year with price tag of 7800 Yen. For the lesser amount of accessories compared to Saber 2.0, Salter cost more than her vanilla counterpart which probably have something to do with the production cost nowadays. In original FSN, Salter served as the antagonist in Heaven's Feel route who is even more ruthless compared to her original counterpart. However in FGO, Salter had more personality and her dere moment makes her more waifuable for Gudao. I will get this Figma for sure because she will complete my Saber Artoria set and makes a good pairing with my Jalter as well. I think the figma version of Salter's 3rd Ascension are still within a realm of possibility too. While i skipped the figma for Salter Shinjuku, i would like to get some of her expression faceplate.

March 2019 Gunpla sample build

 There is a particularly big Toys Event this week and it is an opportunity for me to get dibs on some upcoming Gunpla Samples for display. There were plenty of choices including EX-S but i picked four of these kits which are Hi Res Wing Gundam EW, SDCS Sisquide, MG Ace 2 Magnum and HGUC Gustav Karl. Out of the 4 Kits that i build, MG Ace 2 Magnum is still flimsy since Bandai hasn't finished the fine adjustment yet but it will be no doubt a great Master Grade.

 At first i thought Gustav Karl going to be bigger than MG but it haven't reached that point yet even though no doubt it is still big for 1/144 standard.SDCS Sisquide turns out to be quite good looking and with its BFG it rather reminds me with Huckebein. I suppose Bandai's goal with SDCS took rather different spin after the initial release as the popularity are not as good as they expected but at very least we will get to see more exotic design for this lineup which is not necessarily a bad thing.

 The best out of the bunch is no doubt the Hi Res Wing EW Gundam which i did a blind run without manual book that turns out just fine. Hi Resolution 1/100 lineup is no doubt a luxury MG for those who don't have time to paint their kits. The Inner frame contain some diecast parts and Bandai make the assembly as convenient as possibly. Nevertheless the Wing Gundam EW still got weight distribution problem with the heavy backpack but i believe Bandai will make this lineup even more perfect. I am still looking forward for the opportunity to build MG Alex 2.0 which is quite possible before the Gunpla Expo this year.

MG 1/100 RE-GZ Custom

 The year for Char's Counterattack anniversary has gone already, but another Mobile Suit from CCA MSV joining late to the Party. Out of all MS, RE-GZ Custom joins to P-Bandai Master Grade as expected. The Model Kit will be released on May 2019 with 5500 Yen Price tag which is 1500 Yen pricier than the original MG Re-GZ. RE-GZ Custom is the step up of Re-GZ with the BWS backpack fully integrated to the Mobile Suit which makes it fully transformable like Zeta Gundam. The MS is decent Elite Mobile suit all around but still pale in comparison with Nu Gundam due to lack of Newtype tech for it. The only thing that irks me with the RE-GZ Custom is the AK-47 beam rifle which is a worse choice even compared to FAMAS and the original RE-GZ Beam Rifle still fits better for it. I will easily skip this one one, but i don't mind getting one in the form of Candy Toys. Perhaps it is not anytime soon but we will likely see MG RE-GZ 2.0 someday

Panzer World Galient

 Another mecha series cleared, and this one pretty much wraps up my journey to Ryosuke Takahashi mecha series! I started from Votoms and ended with Galient which ain't that bad. Out of Ryosuke Takahashi's work, Galient is the only that took on Fantasy spin with mecha but occassionally it does get futuristic. Galient's storyline is typical JRPG stereotype where a prince of fallen kingdom fought against BBEG to reclaim his nation. But the conclusion of the series does take a different spin probably due to cut off early like Layzner. In any case the series have some interesting ideas but weak execution and being sponsored to promote toys sales doesn't make thing easier. If i have to pick the top 3 of Ryosuke Takahashi's work probably Galient will be on the third after Votoms and Dougram because i like some of the concepts. Votoms still reign the top because it has the best mecha action sequence and while Dougram's story no doubt the best of Takahashi's, aging animation prevents it to claim the first spot. Galient also had an OVA called Crest of Iron which is pure Fantasy take of the series which is kinda a miss since the story is rather messy. Nevertheless Panzer World Galient had a significant contribution for Fantasy Mecha. Escaflowne definitely took a lot of inspiration from Galient and definitely tried to fill in the shoes but ended up in failure unfortunately. If SRW ever assembled purely Fantasy theme mecha series i would love to see Galient and Escaflowne fought side to side together.

 By now i have finished Votoms, Dougram, Layzner, Gasaraki, Blue Gender and finally Galient which covers most of Takahashi's work, if i got interest probably i will take a look on FLAG.

Non Scale Black Sarena assembled!

 Finally i get to assemble Kotobukiya's Black Sarena kit that i bought last year. while it is probably nowhere as flashy as Sentinel's Black Sarena, the model kit is definitely worth the money. Being a model kit, this version of Black Sarena has some catch mainly with forming the Black Sarena require parts swapping. Nevertheless you can still pull armor purge pose with the kit which is still a win in my Book. My First encounter with Black Sarena was ACE 3 and this guy has been one of my favorite ever since. It is such a sad thing that model kits from obscure series like Nadesico will have hard time getting a new model kit as company like Kotobukiya can't survive on them. At very least i am grateful that Kotobukiya did make some cool stuffs before they move onto Mecha Musume. I will likely procrastinate again, but i will try my best to paint this guy within this year.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam GGG 1/8 Quattro Bajeena

 Megahouse has been releasing PVC figures for Gundam characters for a while already mostly featuring Universal Century characters. While most of the male character figure are derived from Zeon OYW faction, considering Char Aznable had one already, it is eventual that another of his persona, Quattro for getting one. The 1/8 PVC figure is scheduled for July Release with 12000 Yen Pricetag. Just like other Megahouse Figure, Quattro's figure will come with several parts for different poses though his best one is the holding glasses pose. I will certainly get this figure if available since Quattro is my favorite character from UC timeline especially from my SRW experience. I think in near future, CCA version of Char figure will be released too eventually and his counterpart Amuro should follow up too

Cowboy Bebop Soul of Popynica PX-05 Swordfish II

 Perhaps it slips under my radar, but the definitive toy for the iconic Spaceship from Cowboy Bebop had been around for 10 years and it was made by Bandai, surprise me! So Bandai did release the Diecast version of Swordfish II back then under Soul of Propynica lineup which are basically for mechanical designs that doesn't fit the bill of SOC. As the part of 20th anniversary The Diecast toy of Swordfish II will be released around mid of this year with 6800 Yen Price tag. I promised myself to get a physical representation for the Swordfish, and this is the best one i could asked for. Once again i am looking forward how SRW T will handle Cowboy Bebop as a series.

MG 1/100 Gundam NT-1 Alex 2.0

 As a part of 30th year anniversary of the OVA, Gundam NT-1 Alex which is one of the older MG from War in the Pocket is getinng 2.0 Treatment. The kit will be released on June this year with 5800 Yen price tag. For almost twice the price of the old Master Grade, MG Alex got the makeover that it may not need but definitely deserved. The 2.0 adds more color separation that the old kit didn't have but the most notable one improvement is the Chobham Armor which have way better gimmicks. I won't be getting this MG since i am happy with my old one which will look great if you put some work on it. Perhaps Bandai could use the new Chobham Armor on 1/100 GM Cannon II next but i think for this year they probably have something more in store for 08th MS Team.

You can also check my old work of MG NT-1 Here