Sunday, December 29, 2019

Gun X Sword


 If Cowboy Bebop uses Mecha instead of Spaceships, I think Gun X Sword is the closest thing to it. Watching this anime in preparation for SRW T and this anime doesn't disappoint for a mecha fan! Gun X Sword premise share plenty of similarities with Cowboy Bebop where a Ragtag band of Misfits lead by carefree protagonist who had personal vendetta with the Main Villain. To me Gun X Sword is a series that had a place somewhere in between Wild Arms and Cowboy Bebop, a closest thing to a Spaghetti Western Mecha series. Surprisingly the production value of Gun X Sword is quite high and the mecha designs are one of the better of its time. The series had solid start in the first half but went slightly downhill on the second part which probably made this series forgotten. Nevertheless Gun X Sword still conclude its story properly and remains a good watch to this day.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files - Rail Zeppelin Grace Note


 Few days ago i gave myself a time to watch this particular Fate series spin off and it certainly washes off the bad aftertaste of previous anime that i watched. I have been taking a close watch to El Melloi II Case files since its Event Campaign on FGO JP around mid of this year. In short, if you are a fan of Nasuverse you will be in for a treat with this particular Lord El Melloi Case Files anime!

 From what i know Lord El Melloi Case files are Light Novel series created a while after Fate/Zero anime, featuring Waver Velvet one of the surviving 4th Holy Grail War Master as the main character. The Novel cover's Waver's adventures as Lord El-Melloi II where he investigates mysterious cases involving magic which usually revolve around murder. During his investigation, Waver is accompanied by his Apprentice; Gray, a mysterious teenage girl who wield an artifact that had mysterious ties with King Arthur serving as a fighter when things resort to violence.

Monday, December 23, 2019

SRW V 2nd run Complete + Platinum Trophy


 Could have done this faster but finally beat the 2nd run for SRW V and getting the Platinum Trophy! settling my business for this game. Second Run for SRW is usually a easier due to the newgame+ Bonus but the one that SRW V bestows is too generous which made the whole run to be way much a breeze.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Masou Kishin Cybuster Anime


 Wow people didn't lie when they say this anime is really bad, no doubt Cybuster is one of the worst mecha anime of its time. Loosely using SRW Masoukishin as its base, the production team managed to make an abomination out of a good series. I won't bother talking about the story of Cybuster anime but it's what if Masoukishin fights took on Earth on a much smaller scale piloted by weak pilots. Basically Cybuster is a copy of a copy, While Masoukishin was borrows heavily from Dunbine it manage to add value to mecha series overall whereas Cybuster did the reverse. The worst offense that this anime made is making the 4 Elemental Lords into robots that brawl on fistfight making it a shadow of its former self by far margin. I think Anime like Cybuster is what happen when a group of animators tried to make an anime without a backing of decent writer to make a coherent storyline.

This anime might have been more tolerable if it doesn't borrow Masoukishin for its them, but it will still be another lackluster anime in the end. Out of many Mecha series that i have watched, Cybuster is easily one of the worst that watched and doesn't have any redeemable value. So in conclusion if you are a SRW fan, steer away from this anime because it will ruin your experience.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Recent Muvluv Hauls


 It has been more than 3 years since i got any Merchandise related to Muvluv. I suppose it has to do with the recent re-release for Official Muvluv Alternative VN which i decided to do my part to support this series. The Muvluv goods i got are the consolidation from my purchase on last month and this month. I got the Sumika and Vita copy of Muvluv Alternative earlier and then the Volks A3 followed up last week which i got from last month. I got the Volks A3 around 1000 Yen each but due to the Proxy service, the price for them went doubled, but still a good haul nonetheless. I really want to get cracking on the Muvluv Alternative soon though i need to finish my SRW V second run first.

While i am indifferent with the series nowadays. I did really like Muvluv series back then due to the potential it had as mecha series and it was no doubt still the best one coming from VN. But my attachment with Muvluv dies down as Age wasted opportunities after another with their half baked adaptations post Alternative. I would love to see a proper mecha action game out of Muvluv series one day even though it is rather unlikely to happen in the present.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory


 Finally got to watch the latest Full Metal Panic animated series, Invisible Victory! While FMP series has long gone concluded, it is always refreshing to see one of the more realistic mecha series being alive in motion. As i expected FMP do need around Two-cours length of anime to fully cover its material and this 4th season only had 12 Episodes. While FMP Invisible Victory conclude on cliffhanger, it left on the best possible point for this series to have its next adaptation to continue the final story part while keeping the fans hyped with anticipation. The mecha action for FMP IV is very impressive despite using 3D animations and it is one of the most fluid one for recent mecha series. For the last arc of FMP, i think a movie length animation would suffice but let's see what action will be taken by the IP owner. Lastly i would love to see another FMP related merchandise preferrably Arm Slaves in MS Ensemble format.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Heavy Metal L-Gaim


 Nailed down yet another Tomino's series and this one had more potential actually compared to other of his works. While this series still end up to be a wasted potential most likely due to Tomino's mishandling, L-Gaim managed to do one important thing; showcasing Mamoru Nagano's talent which in turn let him to create his Magnum Opus; Five Star Stories.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Kinetiquettes Monster Hunter Zinogre Statue


 Capcom Figure Builder features top quality statues for Monster Hunter series but this one definitely on another level! I don't really follow Kinetiquettes. but they produce Quality Premium Statue just like Sideshow and this time they decide to make one for Monster Hunter series, and i think they spare no expense for this one! For their first Monster Hunter Statue, Kinetiquettes picked the Flagship Wyvern from Monster Hunter Portable 3, Zinogre!  Usually MH Statues rarely features Hunters along the Monsters but Kinetiquette decided to include pair of Zinogre Blademasters to accompany the Majestic Thunder Wolf. The statue will be released at the end of next year, with a whopping 1200 USD price tag, certainly something reserved for Hardcore Collectors only. While the Kinetiquette version of Zinogre is out of my reach, i won't mind getting the CFB Version if i have the money. Considering Zinogre is actually my most favorite flagship monster from Monster Hunter series.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Singapore Trip Loot


 Last week i visited Singapore mainly to attend AFASG 2019 and here are some hauls i got from the trip. Due to the insane amount of the crowds in AFA, my motivation to find any bargain over there took a nose dive unsurprisingly. Nevertheless i do find some good deals over the Hobby shops that i visited during the trip. As usual my loots are Mecha or FGO related which I got myself Chocobo Coin Bank, Funko Space Marine, Sumika PVC Figure and FGO Desktop Army. Surprisingly the most expensive of all loot is the FGO Desktop Army 2 which cost me around 80 SGD which is about the same with FGO Desktop Army 3 that i bought not too long ago. As for Sumika PVC i got her for 60 SGD from carousell which will complete my recent Muvluv merch acquisition. I didn't intend to get the Chocobo Coin Bank but 28 SGD is a steal for this item because i knew the Preorder Price for this item was even higher two years ago. Lastly i got myself Funko Ultramarines to complement my Funko Blood Angel from my last SG trip and i had to say it is a decent and affordable 40k Collectable. I think the review for Funko and Sumika figure will be able to come up sooner out of all these loots.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Figma 463 Arthur Pendragon Fate/Prototype


 The exemplar Knight in Shining Armor has arrived after more than a year stuck as prototype! Being one of the most popular male character servants from Fate series, I bet fangirls have been waiting for the Figma rendition of Proto Saber. Figma Proto Saber will be released on July 2020 with 9000 Yen price tag. I am not sure that his accessory are as much as Figma Gilgamesh, but i suppose the price are that high because you can display Proto Saber in any of his three Ascension forms. Proto Saber is one of my aimed SSR in FGO. While my luck for waifus are quite decent, unfortunately it cannot be said the same with the husbandos. I am quite sure his white dress version will appear as Wonfes exclusive someday.