Advance Wars: Dual Strike

 Advance Wars has been one of my favorite original Nintendo Series made by Intelligent software. I suppose by this time with the Waifu Bait antics that Nintendo shove Intelligent put into Fire Emblem, Advance Wars become my preferred SRPG series over Fire Emblem. I have played all Advance Wars games from the GBA until Days of Ruins and Dual Strike happens to be my last one that i completed the Campaign mode. Out of Advance Wars i think Dual Strike has the best contents in the series so far because it wins by sheer amount of content. The Balance is rather tipped off though in Dual Strike as some of COs Dual Strike are gamebreaking stuff. I still wonder why there are none Advance Wars title for 3DS series even though Intelligent could easily make one. Preoccupation with Fire Emblem has to do with it but it would be a waste if Nintendo skipped one for 3DS.

Yuusha Exkaiser

 This makes 6th out of 8th Yuusha title i have finished watching and i am quite surprise my dedication to mecha series can get me this far. Being the 1st title of the Yuusha Series, Exkaiser is expected to be rather weak title considering the Yuusha series identity are not well developed by this time. Therefore there is not much distinction between Yuusha with Transformers series yet. Overall the series is quite bland as it is a Glorified Toy Commercial at its purest form targeted for kids which is still quite normal for a late 80s mecha title. Compared to its successor, Exkaiser mecha design is very blocky  but i do like the Transformation sequence for it reminds me of Baikanfu's Pile Formation Gimmick. In terms of story formula, Exkaiser story are episodic with each episode mostly have no correlation with each other and the main antagonist remains the same for whole series. Like Fighbird, Exkaiser is one of the series that got cool mecha design for the main antagonist which could have passed off as protagonist mecha. While Exkaiser got some decent Episodes, majority are forgettable not to mention it got the honor of having the most obnoxious supporting character in Yuusha series. As a kid i might have enjoyed the series but watching Exkaiser as an adult, there is not much thing to appreciate in this Yuusha title.

Legend of Galactic Heroes Reboot Trailer

 After few years in planning finally we are getting a glimpse of the new anime adaptation of LOGH series. I can't really say much at the moment but the reboot seems to go into proper direction. Because the I.G Studio looks quite serious on the adaptation project therefore i will give the series a proper attention to appreciate their effort. To be honest even if the LoGH OVA series animation aged slightly it is still a masterpiece and it will be a tall order for the Reboot to surpass it. From the trailer, the new Character Design for Yang Wenli and Reinhard is not really a huge improvement of the old design but still better than the manga version. However i had my doubts with the new ship design. The LoGH series reboot will be airing on Spring 2018 as 12 Episode Tv series for the first part and 3 Movies for the second part. I do hope from the bottom of my heart for this series to succeed because the Original OVA is still Timeless Masterpiece.

Legend of Galactic Heroes ARTFX 1/8 Reinhard von Lohengramm

 Sieg Mein Kaiser, Sieg Kaiser Reinhard! Following after Yang Wenli, The Magician's eternal rival; Reinhard von Lohengramm got the Release announcement! Being the second out of three LoGH character that got Figure treatment as the part of Kotobukiya's LoGH project, Reinhard's Figure will be released on March Next Year with 10000 Yen Price Tag. I suppose the Cape does cost 1000 Yen extra. For Reinhard, I think the sculptor doesn't really nail His Characteristic with the figure perfectly. The pose is fine but I think it is mainly due to the uninterested look of the Figure's eyes that makes Reinhard's ARTFX Figure a slight miss. The Figure's eye expression makes the Reinhard looks arrogant with slight notion of incorruptible virtue. For Reinhard i think the figure is better suited with expression of gazing at the long distance with determined look which display Reinhard's virtue of Courage and Justice better. For one the few fictional character that i look up to, i am not really bent on getting this version of Reinhard Figure. Considering there is a chance that Kotobukiya will likely release Reinhard Figure with longer hair version which they will likely portray his character better. So i am crossing my hands on this one for now.

SRW V First Impressions

 As i have acquired my Platinum Trophy nothing stands in my way to play SRW V. It took like 6 months after the game was released, but enduring it was well worth it. The main reason i get SRW V is because of its Roster which i find to be very Stellar and it didn't disappoint in this department. In terms of overall quality, i think SRW V Production Value is not going to be as good as Z2 Saisei Hen and Translation Quality got some inconsistencies but passable. So far i have reached up to 19 Chapters and i do enjoy the game up until now. The new gameplay mechanics like Pooled Skill Points which is called TaC does give my SRW playthrough experience a new breath. For my first playthrough i used Female Heroine which was instant dislike already because she is such a Hypocrite. Just like other Bamco Mecha Games, SRW V unfortunately got the screenshot capability locked and i will probably find a way to bypass this. Despite all of its apparrent flaws from the beginning, i think will still be able to enjoy my SRW V experience.

Starship Troopers Traitor of Mars

  I do enjoy Starship Troopers Invasion even though it is not perfect, Traitor of Mars turns out to be a total letdown for me. Starship Trooper is known for Grimdark and Gritty settings and somehow this movie manage to screw it up and have the atmosphere to be out of place. For 90 Minutes length movie, Traitor of Mars doesn't use well its time slot as if the movie are bunch of stock animations stitched up together with plot that barely make any sense. It is quite evident that Traitor of Mars likely to be rushed project as the story is pure garbage along with third rate antagonist, a result well known from drafting the story on the go with the animating process. Traitor of Mars is inferior in every way compared to Invasion. 

While Invasion got some badass supporting characters like Henry Varro, Traitor of Mars have none of it. Traitor of Mars action sequence is okayish but it is mostly Johnny Rico's part and no Marauder Armor is a big minus. After watching this movie it feels like it exists solely as an appetizer for series again as the upcoming project going to be the bigger focus. If you like Starship Trooper Invasion, do not bother to watch Traitor of Mars

Ougon Yuusha Goldran

 Continuing my Marathon of the Yuusha series from where i left off. So i think it is like a year already after i watched the last Yuusha series which is Fighbird and now i move onto Goldran. This makes the 5th Yuusha series i have completed which makes only three title left. Just like its Predecessor, Goldran is still glorified Toy Commercial made by Sunrise to push Takara Toys sale but i am cool with it nonetheless. Goldran is probably the wackiest Yuusha title i have see so far and likely to stay that way. Quality-Wise it is mediocre series but very lighthearted which makes it kid friendly show. By far Goldran is the only Yuusha series that i have seen which didn't conclude with the Protagonist beating the crap out of the Big Bad Guy.

Non Scale Raftclans Model Kit

 With Moon Dweller Release back then, Raftclans did have a good chance for a Model Kit Release and Kotobukiya just did it. The Raftclans Prototype shown from Wonderfest didn't fail the expectation and we got the release date shortly after the Summer one. With Al Van's Colors scheme, Raftclans Model Kit will be released around the end of this year with 8800 Yen Price tag. The kit comes with most of the Raftclans Gimmick save for the Orgon F Sword effect part which i find to be the coolest feature of the mecha. I have been expecting Raftclans will cost around 7000 Yen but as Kotobukiya Improvement of their Model Kit overall quality, i guess we won't see SRW Kit under 5000 Yen anytime soon.

 
 In SRW series, Raftclans begin as Original unit in SRW J and mainly used by game original Antagonists factions; The Fury. The units serve as the Fury Ace Pilot Mechas though it was unlockable as secret unit once you complete the Game with all three Original unit. In terms of specs Raftclans is strong in both Close and Ranged Combat and can perform further on either type depending on the pilot's Preference. Personally I find SRW J to be rather mediocre title at best, but Raftclans was what drives me to commit 4 Playthroughs and it was well worth it. You can bet that once i got the kit in my hand, i will just repaint it into Touya's color scheme.

SD Gundam G Generation Genesis Platinum

 I think it is almost 6 Months since i started Gundam Genesis and at last i managed to score a Platinum Trophy on this one. Roughly Speaking Gundam Genesis Heavily focus on UC Period around OYW and Post CCA Timeline because thats what i see where the Resources are poured in. In terms of Gameplay, i find Genesis lack in couple department such as Poor Battleship Selection and how the OYW are quite Handicapped in Late UC stages. Personally i find Gundam Genesis is not really my cup of tea as it is mostly Glorified Ads for Gundam Unicorn as the series pretty much hog the spotlight.

Battle of the Toys 2017

 My first time for this event and first time working here too. Taking a week after AFAID 2017 Battle of the Toys is another of those run of the mill pop culture convention but more focused on Toys considering it was hosted by the biggest toy seller in Indonesia, Multitoys. In terms of event quality, i can't say it is better than AFAID by far margin but at least in this event you get more things to see and getting some good bargain for toys.

Legend of Galactic Heroes ARTFX 1/8 Yang Wenli

 Kotobukiya is quite fast on this one,  shortly after the finished prototype shown in Wonderfest Last month we got the release detail for ARTFX Yang Wenli. Slated for January next year, the figure come with the price of 9000 Yen. Posed with holding his beret while showing gentle smile, Kotobukiya captured the character of Yang Wenli's character really well with the figure. In the series, leading the 13th Fleet Yang Wenli is mostly known for being the only person who can fight toe to toe with the future Galactic Emperor, Reinhard von Lohengramm. But what i admire from Yang's character is his virtue of Wisdom and willingness to fight for his ideal even though he serve dying nation rife of corruption like Free planet Alliance.  I will definitely preorder this figure and likely get Reinhard and Kircheis because i just really respect LOGH as a series and doing my part to contribute. I think Reinhard's Artfx will come with slightly higher pricetag but as for Kircheis, it will roughly cost the same with Yang Wenli.

AFAID 2017 Thoughts

 This is my first time i attend AFA in Jakarta and i will not visit again next year. For an event with International standard, AFAID comes with substandard quality as if the Organizer doesn't put enough effort with the event or plainly lack of proper budget. The main issue with this event is the lackluster content of the exhibition and far pales in comparison to the Singapore one and definitely way behind SMASH. This year's AFAID did got interesting guests like Amuro's VA and one of the Iron Blooded Orphans protagonist VA but the poor exhibition hall quality makes me cares less about them. If AFAID didn't get ahold of themselves properly, probably there wont be another one in next few years.

Sampling on some Star Wars Kit

 Over past three days i have been assembling these kits as a part of assignment from my company as they need these for upcoming exhibition. Since i don't belong to Generation X, i am not really crazy with Star Wars series but i am having good experience while building these kits. For this assignment i just do straight build on the kits and applying some decals since that what i am instructed to. Bandai did good job on the details with these kits but i think in terms of pricing the star wars kit are rather pricey compared to Hasegawa's Macross model kit, something to do with the licensing cost i guess.

Out of 11 Star Wars kits consists of 7 1/72 Scale and 4 Miniplas, i think i had the most fun working on Bobba Fett's 1/72 Slave I surprisingly. As for the hardest one to build it is definitely the Y-Fighter since the Model kit got so much finely shaped wire to attach though Applying decals for the X-Wings could be frustrating too. If this was personal project i would have painted these kits especially the X-Wing since the decal are just horrible substitute for the unpainted parts of the kit. If i got opportunity in the future i don't mind building some TIE Fighters or 1/48 X-Wing

Touch My Katamari 100% Completion

 One of the first few games that i bought for my Vita and just managed to complete it now. Seriously the last trophy is very time consuming and the game doesn't have platinum either. Out of all Katamari series Touch my Katamari for Vita is definitely the weakest. The game are riddled with issues like uninspiring level design and half of the levels locked behind some kind of Paywalls. The game have currency called Fan Damacy which is used to unlock DLC Levels and you can either grind or pay for it. While some of the DLC levels are decent they don't worth real money to unlock since you can get all those Fan Damacys while grinding for Candies for the last item. Some of the more interesting DLC levels are Maid Heaven, Athlete Abyss, Great Journey and Pacman which ironically i unlock most of them near the end of my playthrough. For the candies i mostly grinded on the 50 Objects level since it is the quickest one to complete and earns decent amount of Candy which makes it good level to grind for Fan Damacy too. Personally i find Me&My Katamari still to be my personal favorite and would love to play Katamari Forever someday

Wonderfest Summer 2017 Highlights

 As usual i always do coverage about Wonderfest whenever they appear. Compared the one earlier this year, The summer 2017 doesn't seem as exciting to me as you see more of the Manufacturer's progress on their prototype from the Winter Wonderfest. As always only mecha related stuff that piqued my interest and stay away from moeshits like a plague. In any case Kotobukiya and Sentinel seems to fill my expectation again this time.