Macross Frontier Tiny Session VF-25F Messiah Alto

 A surprise release but a promising lineup made by Bandai for Macross series. Tiny Session appears to be new product series to be made equivalent with existing NXEdge with some new quirks to tailor Macross characteristics. For the initial release, Bandai will be releasing 2 models for Macross Frontier featuring Alto and Michael VF-25 Messiah. These two items will be sold for 4500 Yen with November 2022 release. The main selling point of the Tiny Session would be the available complete transformation gimmick which is a steal for this pricing even though it is not as perfect compared to Chogokin series.

What sets apart Tiny Session with the existing NXEdge series is that Tiny Sessions featured additional character figurine which resemble smaller version of Figuarts mini figurine and the initial two release featured Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee. But seriously VF-25G Michael is a missed opportunity as Klan Klang would be a more suitable candidate for the featured figure and Ranka reserved for VF-25S Ozma. But let's see if Bandai will continue the series for Macross Frontier after they are done with Macross Delta.

I am always a fan of things that have good potential and I do see it on Bandai's Tiny Session because it offers an affordable Macross collectible items with good gimmicks. It would be awesome for Macross fans if Bandai could go beyond Macross Delta and Frontier for this lineup

Crying Freeman (Ikegami Ryoichi)

 

Late 80s manga industry is filled with plenty of action genre manga which featured a lone wolf specialist/bounty hunter as the main character and Ikegami Ryoichi presented a decent title from this era titled Crying Freeman. While not as prolific as Golgo13, the main character of this manga is a badass young assassin from Chinese Underworld who sheds tears after killing his target which is the reason. The manga tells the adventure of this young mysterious man in the underworld scene after he spared a life of a young woman for some reason.

 You won't get anything convoluted out of Crying Freeman but it is a good pulpy adventure which certainly cater to the fascination toward China which was still closed to the world at its time. The manga main weakness is that it lacks main villain to keep the reader commited to the story as the manga in the 80s cannot survive with the same formula like older series like Golgo13. As i mentioned before, Crying freeman is relatively unknown in the west but the character is badass enough to have a fighting chance against Golgo13, a consummate assasssin of underworld. You wont get much out of Crying Freeman manga but it still serves as a good filler series. Still Hoping Ikegami Ryoichi's Nobunaga getting translation

Dragon Quest - Dai no Daibouken

 A great JRPG Shonen manga based from a popular RPG Game series which i didn't managed to read until now. When i was a kid i did watch part of Dai no Daibouken 90s anime. While i forgot most of the stuff, i still remember Flazzard and the catchy opening song. Dai no Daibouken had a typical JRPG start where the protagonist went on a Journey to fight the BBEG after his life of peace is destroyed. But what makes Dai no Daibouken seated on the peak of Genre is that it is one of the few manga that can offer a complete experience of JRPG.

 While there plenty of good high fantasy manga like Lodoss series, Dai no Daibouken is the best one that encapsulates the JRPG Genre. The manga had really good cast of Protagonist and Antagonists which puts your typical Isekai manga to shame. The main hero, Dai himself is very strong to boot but his greatest strength lies in his purity of heart. Despite being a kid, the purity of his heart sways some Antagonists who are not genuinely bad over his side and makes his allies willing to sacrifice their life in order to protect him, seriously Dai really reminds me of the essential quality of a good JRPG Hero. The antagonists in Dai no Daibouken are really worth mentioning as well, Most of the Villain casts have been introduced from the beginning but their sheer quality makes them sufficient for the manga to survive over 300 Chapters. Simply to say Hyunckel is my personal favorite, Hadlar is one of the best midboss out there and Hym got really good character development. Lastly the manga is overall solid read but if i have to point out some of personal gripes, it would be Popp having too much importance and the love triangle between him, Marm and Hyunckel is poorly resolved.

 It is understatement that Dai no Daibouken had really significant influence in JRPG even outside Dragon Quest itself. Capcom JRPG Breath of Fire is definitely inspired from this series and part of Cecil character from FFIV is probably based on Hyunckel even Jigoku Sensei Nube's Oni are inspired by Hadlar Hyperdemon form. All in all Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken is a quintessential read for JRPG fans as it offers a complete package of the genre. At some point true RPG fans will encounter this series on their journey. If i have some free time, i will give the 2020 Reboot Dai no Daibouken anime a watch since Toei gave the reboot some generous funding for it to last over 70 episodes.

The Promised Neverland

 A recent manga title that i marathoned and it was a good read despite it does not reach its fullest Potential. Promised Neverland had a potential to be a very good grimdark series but the mangaka watered down his works in order to cater general audience and turned to be a noblebright work instead. The story of the series is about Three Kids raised in an orphanage living a peaceful life who one day find out the truth that they are raised to be slaughtered as livestock to be eaten by Demon race. Upon finding the grim reality the Kids against the stacked odds, attempt to escape the orphanage and find a place for themselves where Demons will not consume them. 

Promised Neverland had a solid start with its first arc but eventually turned into rather generic Shonen adventure manga as the Mangaka probably had constraints to portray the story as bleak as possible and went with noblebright route instead mostly due to the publisher want to avoid having kid characters dying horrible deaths. The series fate pretty much sealed after the timeskip arc as the pacing of the story become too rushed until the end. To be honest i could have seen Promised neverland could reach 300+ chapters but maybe due the poor sales, the series got axed instead and the backstories are just barely covered in particular Ratri Clan's past. Despite its rushed nature, Deadman wonderland still tried its best to conclude its story properly even if not satisfying. In the end we got another wasted potential manga that will fade in obscurity within few years.

 Speaking of an axed series, Hinowa ga Crush also suffer the same poor fate recently, still hoping its present circumstances won't be permanent.
 

Iron Blooded Orphans Metal Robot Spirits Gundam Kimaris Vidar

 
 New Gundam title is being hyped now but Bandai does not still forget Iron Blooded Orphans and Kimaris Vidar got its turn at last. Over past two years, Bandai have been releasing Metal Robot Spirits for IBO second season which most of the cool gundams got their portion, pretty much any of the Gundams that got the 1/100 Full Mechanics model kit are given MRS treatment. Barbatos Lupus and Rex are part of regular release and it sold like hot cake where as Vidar and Bael are sold as P-Bandai for some reason. Kimaris Vidar didn't get the Full Mechanics, but it is still given the Diecast Action Figure. Sold for 16000 Yen, MRS Kimaris Vidar will be released in December 2022.

 Out of IBO Gundams, Kimaris Vidar is my personal favorite because i am fan of Gaelio who is one of the more decent character in the series. After Shedding the Vidar Disguise, Kimaris Vidar personify Gaelio's Chivalric character combined with his vengeful desire over the betrayal by Mcgillis. In order to fight Gundam Bael, Kimaris Vidar is equipped with modified Alaya Vijanana system which grants improved control of the Gundam unit but puts less strain on Pilot's Body as the system using Ein's brain to share the burden

 I was rather surprised that Kimaris Vidar sword weapon in this version is rather long since the iconic lance possess sufficient range already but it is still cool anyway. I think one of the main reason why Kimaris Vidar didn't get as much exposure is because the mecha designer copy way too much from a Shooter series called Astebreed which the lead mecha shared plenty of Physical resemblance with the former. While i won't get MRS since i don't collect 1/144 scale Gundam, i am always willing to get a Metal Build which might be a good possibility.

The Fable

 

 An award-winning Crime thriller manga that recently finished its translation and this one definitely live up to its fame! This manga tells the story of a Pro Assassin called Fable who belong to a mysterious organization whose skills are phenomenal to the point of becoming an urban legend. After his last hit, this assassin was given a year break in a small town and tried to live a normal life as a part of his next training. But being the best of Professional Killers, dangerous situations always comes to him and throughout the manga, he will need to handle it without killing anyone.

For a manga of its genre, The Fable is solid work all around which is why it was gaining awards. The manga is quite realistic at portraying how Pro Killers would probably work in Japan and the mangaka probably got his own source of informations to pull off such depth for his work. The protagonist have everything it takes to be a pro assassin, but his greatest strength lies in his resourcefulness to the capable of making his own makeshift gun that comes in equal lethality. Apart from the realistic depiction of that side of the world, Fable got really good pacing and buildup which makes each chapters very easy to digest even in a single read The kind of Hitman like protagonist really reminds me of the Gyoza Ohsho murder case years ago and it was definitely the work of a pro. So if you like series like Hitman or John Wick, The Fable will be really compatible with your preference.

Arknights Nendoroid 1895 Skadi

  Took long enough but one of the first Waifu Guard operator Skadi finally joined in Arknights Nendoroid series! Scheduled for November 2022 release schedule, this Orca waifu is be sold for 7200 Yen which is typical high price tag for Nendoroid from Arknights series.

 Skadi remains to be a Top Tier waifu material for Arknights series whom lonely gaze combined with solitary personality just wants make most of Doktah want to accompany this beloved Orca to make her life change for better. While overshadowed by most 6* Guard Operators in Arknights especially by the recent Nearl Alter, Skadi is still a viable choice to fight against High Hp Elite units. But she could use some Def-ignore and ASPD module to make her competitive. Despite her glaring Shortcomings, Skadi is the only 6* Operator whom i bother to raise until Potential 6 and Mastery 9 just to show how much i appreciate this piece of art made by Alchemaniac.

 To be honest current Nendoroid Accessories for Skadi is rather lackluster which is kinda uncommon for Arknights series by this time, but this issue should be fixed if GSC are planning to release her summer and Alter version for her Orca Plushie and more seductive expression. The pizza accessory might be rather random but it is possible signal that GSC is interested to make a Nendoroid for Grani