Super Dimension Fortress Macross

 I have watched plenty of Mecha Anime including Macross series by this time but for some reason i only managed to watch the forerunner of Macross series now. As expected from the precursor of the most enduring series in Mecha Genre, with its trinity formula of  Mecha, Song and Love Triangle, SDF Macross was a revolutionary work and way ahead of its time by a decade at very least. 

Combat Mecha Xabungle

Finished yet another Tomino's series and this one is actually quite good! If Ryosuke Takahashi had Fang of the Sun Dougram then Tomino in turn had Combat Mecha Xabungle to match. Taking place in a Desert Planet of Zola, Xabungle is a misadventure of a youth named Jiron along with a group of misfits exploring the desolate land with a share of fighting and looting along the way, eventually leading to uncovering the truth of their planet.

Rance VI: Collapse of Zeth

 To fill the void that Sengoku Rance left as i settled all of past my scores, i have been marathoning other Rance Titles over past two weeks. Among three Rance games that i played, i spent most of my time with Rance VI and this one no doubt left the deepest impression to me. In Rance 6 , the brutal warrior Rance landed himself in the Magic Nation Zeth which is rife with discrimination toward non-magic user and such situation certainly calls for Heroic intervention from Rance.

QuesQ Fate/Grand Order 1/7 Scathach Heroic Spirit Formal Dress

 I have been seeing the Prototype of this figure floating around for two years and now Ques Q think they are ready to open pre-order for this Gorgeous figure of Shishou. I had quite an attachment with Scathach since she was my first SSR in FGO and thus keeping a lookout at her related merchandise worthy to be my part of collection. Being one of the more popular Heroines in the game, Scathach is not short of figures coming for her but the Formal Dress is no doubt an eyecatcher. Based on FGO 2nd Anniversary Craft Essence, Scathach's Dress enhance the Land of Shadow Queen's already plenty Feminine Charm even further easily seducing any Chaldea's Master that have her.

The Heroic Formal Spirit figure of Scathach is scheduled for May 2021 release with 18000 Yen price tag. While i am not too familiar with this QuesQ Brand, i am interested enough to chip in for this figure since i have seen their 3rd Ascension Scathach Figure which looks very good. I think Ques Q took a long time to announce Scathach's Formal Dress release since the paintjob for some part of the figure certainly look complicated. But i think this particular figure will complement quite well with Max Factory Jeanne Alter Dress due to some similarities in color scheme  

 If i had to pick between Skadi's first Ascension and Scathach's Formal Dress, i will pick the latter though i may consider to double dip if i get Skadi on her upcoming banner this July. Scathach's Character design is great but up until now The Lancer version of Shishou doesn't really have any significant part in FGO story which is one of my main gripe. One may wonder why FGO with almost five years flight time for some reason still unable to give their early SSR servant an opportunity to shine. But hopefully Typemoon could come up with something within this year for Lancer Shishou in FGO

Sengoku Rance 1/8 Yamamoto Isoroku Review

Go! Hayatemaru!

Front Mission Wander Arts Kyojun Glen Duval ver

 After more than 6 months of inactivity, i thought Square Enix had given up continuing their Front Mission Action Figure line up probably due to lack of demand. Turns out that Square Enix has not finished with this franchise yet and put up another attempt. The timing maybe unfortunate with the COVID plague still ongoing but Square Enix has announced the second wave of Front Mission Wander Arts which features 3 Wanzers which are Frost, Grille Sechs and Kyojun. All these 3 Wanzers appeared in Front Mission 3 but probably appear at the latter game as well

 Each Wanzers come with 2 different color variant and cost 8800 Yen with August 2020 release. Out of these three Wanzers, Glen Duval's Kyojun look the most appealing to me. I haven't played FM5 but from what i know, Glen Duval is one of the main character in FM5 who was the close friend of the game's main character, Walter Feng. Kyojun itself in FM3 is a Wanzer specialised in ranged combat with skills geared for Rapid Firing guns and i recall used by Ryogo, Kazuki's wingman. I think if Square Enix want to revive Front Mission Franchise, i think the rebooting the original trilogy would be a decent starter as the plots for the original Strategy Game is good enough filled with intense Geopolitics and heavy dose of Gray Morality.

Puchirittsu / Petitrits Saber Altria Pendragon

 I suppose Bandai's  FGO Model Kit lineup, Puchiritsu/Petitrits is doing decent enough that we are seeing steady flow of the new products and now the series catalogue has reached its 8th products! Artoria Pendragon being the ever eternal heroine of Fate series obviously bound to get her Petitrits made and she happen to be the 8th one of the lineup. Scheduled for August 2020 release, Petitrits Artoria Pendragon will be sold for 1500 Yen and it comes with 3rd Ascension version! It is quite a good deal by Bargain considering this is the most affordable version of the Penguin King in her 3rd Form as GSC Nendoroid 600 DX are still very expensive at aftermarket let alone her PVC Figurine. With some good paint job, Petitrits Artoria will look really good and certainly a worthy addition for your FGO collection!

Arknights Deformed Figure Vol 1

 The recently popular Tower Defense Gacha game, Arknights is getting another SD figure and for once it is deformed figure made by Company other than GSC. Made by Emon Toys, the SD figure come under Deformed Figure series and the first Volume features 3 Popular operators from the series which are Amiya, Kalt'sit and Chen. The Figures are scheduled for July release for 2480 Yen Price Tag and come in individual or set packaging. In terms of pricing , Emontoys Deformed Figure is still reasonable as for once we are getting an affordable collectible product for Arknights considering the manufacturer is not even a big player like Bandai or GSC and their effort is commendable.

The figure stands about 14cm but i think that includes the base height, so we could expect the actual figure height is probably around 8-10 cm. Out of the three figures, Kalt'sit is the one that piqued my interest the most because her depiction as the melancholy main protagonist's Ex-Wife by fandom really sold her character for me. If the reception of the product is quite good, i think we could expect continuation for the series which i think the Manufacturer hopes too. I would love to see Skyfire or Skadi if this series able to make it out of the first volume.

Sengoku Rance Nanjou Ran IF route clear!

 The last of Sengoku Rance IF route cleared! Now i see why of all Sengoku Rance routes, Nanjou Ran is easily the least popular one. Overall Ran's route is the weakest, mainly because it was given the least amount of effort but her story is just not compatible for a Rance game. I suppose at the time Alicesoft think that Sengoku Rance need a variety of Main heroines apart from Female Samurais and thus Nanjou Ran came into the equation as a Onmyoji providing a supporting role.

Sengoku Rance 1/8 Senhime Review

The Battle Princess joins into the fray!

Outlaw Star

 Another Space Opera made Anime by Sunrise Studio in late 90s and this one is surprisingly very good. When it comes to a swashbuckling space adventure, Outlaw Star offers a definitve experience. Outlaw Star tells the story of a young bounty hunter named Gene Starwind journey to become a renowned Outlaw, something similar to 40k Rogue Trader. His fate will intertwined with Top Secret experimental Spaceship and mysterious girl named Melfina.

Yami starting Azur Lane

 Looks like i am digging myself deeper in Gacha Hell as i put my hands on to Azur Lane. By this time I suppose even Arknights is insufficient to quell my Gacha Fix and soon curiosity get the better of me with the Beautiful Shipfus that Azur Lane had to offer. Arpeggio of Blue was the pioneer of this particular niche of Antromorphized Ships Girls which were later popularised by Kancolle. However i think Azur Lane is the one that was truly able to capitalise the Ship Waifus successfully on global scale. 

Getter Robo Armageddon

 I have been familiar with Getter Robo series through SRW for quite a long time but this is the first time i actually delved into the Animation series. I picked Armageddon as my gateway to the series and as expected it is a good Super Robot Show considering it has OVA budget. Used Prominently on Another Century Episode 3, Armageddon is the Post Apocalyptic chapter of Getter Robo where Humanity are on the brink of destruction due to the costly war against Alien Races that is attracted to Getter Ray Radiation called Invaders. Being one of the OG of the Super Robot, Getter Robo Armageddon is a pure distilled Hotblooded Manliness even if the Seiyuus are not the same with the old one. Surprisingly the old school mecha design of the Getter-1 looks really good in Armageddon and younger mecha fans should be able to stomach this one

Apparently Getter Robo Armageddon was handled halfway by Yasuhiro Imagawa, an esteemed director for Super Robot series for some reason. Had he gone a fully commited with the series, we would have expected a stronger storytelling for Armageddon, but as it is the series is quite good already as it is properly concluded. If you are interested with Getter Robo but not too keen with the 70s series, i think Armageddon worth a try. For the next Dynamic Pro series, i think i should try Shin Mazinger Z which should be very good as well.

Sengoku Rance 1/8 Uesugi Kenshin Review

Bishamonten protects us!

Ghost in the Shell Robot Damashii Tachikoma SAC 2045

 It is quite a long time since i have seen some Ghost in the Shell Toys and the iconic Blue AI Robots from the series, Tachikoma made a return through Robot Spirits! Apparently, this newest incarnation of Tachikoma is from the upcoming GITS series through Netflix called Stand Alone Complex 2045. Robot Tamashii Tachikoma SAC 2045 will be released on August this year with 6500 Yen price tag. 

I am rather neutral toward the new design of the Tachikoma. I suppose the use elongated rear part will be showcased in the upcoming series, but the original Spider Tank design had its own unique charm. I will not expect anything from the new Netflix series considering it is a tall order to surpass Stand Alone Complex which is one among the few that reigns at the Top of Cyberpunk Anime. Maybe i should go rewatch the first 2 seasons of Stand Alone Complex.