Osamu Tezuka Black Jack

  Another Osamu Tezuka-sensei works to discuss here, either Astroboy or this series called Blackjack is what probably play a prominent role in the rise of Tezuka-Sensei. Blackjack is arguably the precursor of Doctor-themed manga in Japanese manga industry, probably most of the manga that dabbled in this theme especially had to do with Surgery stuff paid some homage to Black Jack one way or another. This manga narrates the adventure of an unlicensed Doctor named Black Jack who had a disfigured face but possess godlike skill when it comes to surgery and had a reputation of avarice, charging hefty sum to his patients. Accompanied by his girl sidekick Pinoko, Black Jack will use his talent in surgery to all sorts of patients which sometimes make him encounter life-and-death encounter.

 Tezuka-sensei is well known as had a background in medicine who had a choice to be a doctor but become a mangaka instead. He certainly put more of his medical knowledge in Black Jack compared to Hidamari no Ki and i think he had penchant of using Peritonitis in this work. Black Jack is a great classic that explore the social facet of modern medicine industry and exposes its ugly side which undoubtedly had become abomination by this time. Out of  main protagonists from Tezuka's work, i quite like Black Jack because he uses his wits more compared to brute force and are not as bullheaded. Black Jack might be an outcast of his society but he had a firm sense of morality and even help some patients for free if they deserves it. Blackjack probably develop a reputation of avarice in order to protect himself since he often encounters people from shady background in his line of business who sometimes attempt to backstab.

 While the drawing style does not age well, Black Jack is definitely belong to must-read list from Tezuka-sensei's work. The english version of the manga spans over 17 volumes though i feel it could have gone longer since the manga finished somewhat in a cliffhanger. On an another note, Adult version of Pinoko would be quite a beauty if she is given a modern take of her design.

Guardian Tales

 Another Gacha Game that i encountered recently and i think this one will survive for quite a while. Guardian tales is a roguelike hack and slash Gacha game featuring retro 16-bit style sprites made by Korean dev named Kong Studio. I have tried Counter:Side before which is another Korean made Gacha Game that has somewhat sleek presentation. But the latter doesn't suit my liking due to its time demanding nature and rather lousy Gacha rate in terms of value-to-time ratio. 

 On the other hand, Guardian Tales is one of the least time demanding Gacha game i have encountered. Compared to Arknights which forces you to spend at least 30 minutes to 1 hour for daily grind, In Guardian Tales you can just spend 5 minutes a day to use of your stamina resources for grinding mats since this game have auto-resolve option for stages that you have completed before on top of auto grind option. Guardian Tales offers nice change of pace for me after getting burned out from Uma Musume which forces you to grind at least 2 hours per day to stay competitive. 

 In terms of Gacha Rate, Guardian Tales offer no pity rates but there is a mileage system where you can exchange for SSR of your choice once you had 300 Gacha pulls. Speaking about downside though, the premium currency pricing, Guardian Tales falls on the range slightly above Arknights, but it does offer some good bundle from time to time. Power Creep is somewhat an issue in Guardian Tales because only SSR units and some SR units worth investing in resources while the 1* units are just lef in the dust

 Speaking about Uma Musume, the game have slowly lost its luster to me personally. In terms of production value, Uma Musume is still no doubt amazing but given its gameplay model, i think the series would have fared better as Console Game instead of Gacha because the daily grind is just a big pain when you have done it over 300 times. I am just amazed some Japanese are willing to commit so much time over the monotonous grind for some paltry change of Gacha currency.

 Going back to Guardian Tales, the game's production value is nowhere close to the top Gacha Games but it makes a very good secondary Gacha in case you need one due to very low amount of commitment this game demands from players. The gameplay might be simple hack and slash but it still offer moderate amount of customization which may make worth you stick around with Guardian Tales . 

Osamu Tezuka Phoenix

 Osamu Tezuka is no doubt one of the most legendary figure in Japan Manga Industry with plethora of his works. However if i have to pick one works that serves as the testament of Tezuka-sensei's legacy, it would be either Buddha or this manga called Phoenix. Phoenix is another manga that i should have read earlier because it is just really that good, the drawing style might be old school, the story that the Tezuka tried to convey with Phoenix simply amazing.

 Using mystical creature Phoenix, the undying legendary firebird, Tezuka-sensei explored the big question of Life itself which spans from the ancient civilization up to far flung future. Utilising obsession toward immortality tied to Phoenix, Tezuka-sensei did a well done job in fleshing out the ugly side of humanity and the portrayal of life and death cycle along with the futility to avoid it in this work quite well. The protagonist in each arks find themselves in predicament revolving Phoenix directly by seeking immortality or indirectly through the whims of other people who are usually powerful figures. The story might get confusing at first due to sudden timeskip but everything will make sense once you read through the series.

 I don't really have particular favorite character in phoenix as most of the protagonists are way too stubborn to a fault, but i have a liking to the clone arc where a man find his clones end up being slaughter target for reality show due to his foolish intention toward Phoenix but eventually find way to redeem himself. Unfortunately the series never truly completed as Tezuka-sensei passed away before he could completed this work which is probably one of his remaining regret through his illustrious career. Phoenix is unquestionably masterpiece despite being unfinished work, and you will be astounded the depth of this series for a old school series.
 

Alexandros - Dream for World Conquest

 

 When it comes to manga retelling the tales about Alexander the Great, Historie comes to mind to be the best candidate so far. But if you want something that is more condensed then there is this manga called Alexandros around the corner. This manga recounts the main events of Alexander the Great campaign complete from his battles against Darius until his adventure to far east and even covers briefly the aftermath of Alexander's death. If you have read Historie before you will be familiar with most of the characters since Alexandros give quite good coverage for Alexander's main retainers with Lysimachus being the main focus in this one, Eumenes made some appearance but he only plays minor role in this one. Since it is only one volume, don't expect too much detail but the artist definitely try to evoke the grandeur of Alexander's journey in his best quality. I think the mangaka could cover the Diadochi period if he was given a chance to draw one more volume but i suppose it will be up to the future mangaka to pick up this one. On a side note, the mangaka of Alexandros is also the one in charge of Gundam Origin illustration, so you might feel that this version of Alexander looks abit like Amuro

Jigoku Shoujo

  One of the classic 2000 Anime series that had quite a following in its time which i only managed to complete its 4 season marathon recently. The series follow after the journey of a mysterious girl named Enma Ai who served on behalf of Hell to send a person directly judged to hell for the begrudged at a price of their soul in afterlife. At first i thought Jigoku Shoujo would be more intense in its horror theme due to its nature but turns out to be still quite mild compared to something like Ghost Hunt. The series could have cranked up the Horror if they want to do as showcased in some episodes but i suppose they want the series to be accessible for teen audience. Jigoku Shoujo spans over 4 seasons though only the first 3 Season can be considered full anime season since it is not easy to get fundings for 26 Anime episodes nowadays.

 While Jigoku Shoujo is episodic in its nature, where Enma accepting errands and send people to hell, each of the first 3 Season of the series had overarching theme in relation to Enma's Past, Present and Future which is tied to particular character that had relationship to Enma in some way. The first season had a Journalist whose ancestor had personal bond with Enma when she was human, while second season feature a young boy whose life drastically changed from witnessing Enma in action and finally third season had a middle school girl who is supposed to be Enma's future successor.

 While Enma supposed to accept request by people who is wronged by perpetrator who are unable to be judged by law, most of the clients are just as insufferable and no better than the people who wronged them especially the teens. Even Enma's subordinates which are bunch of Youkais had better shred of humanity compared to these clients showing that how depraved human nature could be. Just like Death Note, I think Jigoku Shojo just try to show that supernatural power to kill people does no good in the hands of human as they will end up misusing it anyway. 

Despite the animation didn't aged particularly well, Jigoku Shoujo story are still good enough if you want to get some fix of pulpy mild horror anime. There are probably attempts to revive Jigoku Shoujo series but personally i would love to see the ultimate fate of journalist guy from the 1st season.

Kino no Tabi - The Beautiful World -

 

   Another anime series in my backlog that i finished recently and Majo no tabitabi is definitely based on this. There are two versions of Kino no Tabi, the one made in 2003 and 2017. I tried to watch the 2017 version but ended up visited the 2003 one first. Kino no Tabi tells the story about a boyish girl named Kino travelling to all sorts of places with a sentient motorbike named Hermes as her partner. The series explores the ideas throughout the history of humanity through the places that Kino visited, some places are pleasant trip while a few can be a downright anarchic where Kino had to fight for her survival. Both 2003 and 2017 version had its own merit as each have their own separate story to tell with only about 3 episodes that had similarity. Personally i find 2003 version story are more interesting but darker at the same time, while the 2017 gives more screentime for supporting characters that Kino encounter throughout her journey. Personally Kino no Tabi deserves second season because there a much from 20 volumes of Light Novel material that can be covered. In any case this is a superior version of Majo no Tabitabi

Densetsu no Yuusha Da Garn The GATTAI Gaon

 

 It was quicker than expected since i thought it would have taken GSC more than 6 months to follow up the GATTAI Da Garn X, but here comes the Lion Sidekick Gaon! The GATTAI Gaon is scheduled for May 2022 Release with 22000 Yen Price tag, slightly below the GATTAI Da Garn X. Just like its partner counterpart, this version of Gaon comes with transformation gimmick and obviously include capability to combine with Da Garn X to from Great Da Garn X as its main selling point.

 Gaon is one of the last Yuusha to join protagonist team in Densetsu no Yuusha Da Garn, Gaon is one of the handful Yuusha in its series that taken Beast form as part of its transformation apart from Hawk Saber and Seven Changer though the latter is quite an exception. Compared to Da Garn, Gaon is more of a close combat fighter dual wielding Guns and Tomahawk to get the job done but for some reason  Great Da Garn X which is result from combination of Da Garn X and Gaon heavily focus on ranged firepower  with the Big Guns and Missiles.

I have come to notice that Great Da Garn X is basically Da Garn having Gaon as its external armor parts, which is abit derpy but still not the worst of the Main Yuusha Final Form. In any case this version of  Gaon is a must get for those who have ordered the GATTAI Da Garn X.

Kami no Shizuku / The Drops of God

 Another hidden underrated gem which its translation only accessible for the whole series recently. If Oishinbo focused only about wine industry and given modern breath of artstyle, you got yourself Kami no Shizuku! This manga is a legendary series at its own right which explore the world of wine through the rivalry of two men in 44 volumes of manga. The premise of the series is about a Son of a prominent Wine critic found himself fighting for his father's inheritance against a famous young wine critic in a battle of finding wines riddled as "12 Apostles of God" which ultimately will lead to the legendary Wine bearing the title of "Drops of God". 

 The manga explores the world of Wine which lead the main characters travel around the globe obviously including a good portion of time in Wine Birthplace France, to find the God Apostles Wine. The main character, Shizuku Kanzaki might look disadvantaged at first in the fight of 12 Apostles Wine as he is merely a salaryman who is pitted against Issei Tomine, a young Wine Critic who is at the peak of his popularity whose talents are real deal. However Shizuku, gifted with very sharp sense of taste and almost godlike perception when it comes to wines due to his upbringing proves to be serious challenge for Tomine in each of the 12 fights for the Apostles Wine.

Kami no Shizuku main strength lies at the vivid visualization of Wines which the main character portrays in very elaborate fashion. This selling point is what makes the manga a very interesting read even for readers who are not familiar with Wines and it is very enjoyable read for those who appreciate arts in general. The Journey of these Shizuku and Tomine for the Drops of Gods does not exactly end in Kami no Shizuku as the series has another sequel which spans over 26 Volumes that only finished last year. Hopefully it won't take too long for the Finale Part getting translation but in any case Kami no Shizuku is still very good read on its own right.

Prisma Illya Nendoroid 1680 Illyasviel Von Einzbern

 

 Out of Fate series character, i didn't expect Illya would take long for her Nendoroid to get released despite she enjoyed relative popularity in the series. In any case the magical version of Illya is now available for preorder for February 2022 release schedule with 5000 Yen Price tag.

Personally i do enjoy Illyasviel character in original Fate series even wishing for her own route in FSN instead of Heaven's feel. However i stayed away from Prisma Illya due to its excessive underage yuri fanservice. I actually thought the Nendoroid would come with crazier expression for Illya but GSC version is relatively tame considering Illyasviel do have some silly moments in the Prisma Illya which even carried over during the FGO collab event. In FGO Illya is one of the rarer SSR Caster servant due which her banner only shown up like twice up until now. At any rate i think Chloe and Miyu had a good chance to follow up considering it take illya to open the floodgate for the Prillya fans

Majo no Tabitabi

  Some Fantasy Slice of life that i watched recently which i find to have interesting premise but had rather annoying main character. I was interested with Majo no Tabitabi when i read some articles about dark fantasy and this series to be mentioned. Overall the series is lighthearted most of the time as it tells about the story of a young witch traveling around the world but it do have some darker episodes where some of the sinister element kicks in such as the child serial killer. Personally i am not too fond of the main character Elaine since she is too selfish and immature for a person of her position. Considering Witches in the Majo no Tabitabi setting are position that wield significant influence in that world and Elaine probably will cause many misfits with her immaturity. Majo no Tabitabi selling point is the encounters that Elaine had throughout the journey because the magic system and everything else are rather shallow at the point of  the anime airing. At the current state Majo no Tabitabi is rather mediocre fantasy series but it still have some potentials to be tapped should the 2nd season popping around.

Arknights Nendoroid 1635 Kaltsit

 

 GSC is quite quick on this one, being shown in Arknights CN 2nd Anniversary broadcast, Nendoroid Kaltsit is now available for preorder. Scheduled for January 2022 release, Nendoroid Kaltsit will be sold for 6900 Yen. For its price tag which fall on the pricier side of Arknights Nendoroids, Kaltsit doesn't come with much accessories to justify the price and i don't think M0nster miniature figure worth extra over 1000 Yen cost. 

In Arknights, Kaltsit is a 6* Medic Operator who serves as the Top Executives of Rhodes Island who manages things behind the scene while Amiya serve as leader figure and Doktah handle missions deployment. By far Kaltsit is the only Medic Operator with summon gimmick in which she can deploy creature called M0nster as powerful melee unit. In the Storyline Kaltsit treated Doktah rather coldly due to Doktah's Pre-amnesia actions though she is popularly depicted as Doktah's ex-wife within the Fandom. Kaltsit will be available as recruitable operator at the end of this year in Global server which certainly match well with the release timing of the Nendoroid. As for myself, i will be still waiting for Nendoroid Doktah and Skadi to follow up since they were revealed at the same timing with Kaltsit.

Arknights Figma 525 Chen

 

 Another significant milestone for Arknights! While the series is not the first Chinese Mobile Game series that got figma treatment which i think Girls Frontline gets the credit, it is still a commendable achievement by the industry. The Operator who gets the first dibs on the figma treatment is no other than the popular Dragon Waifu, Chen! Figma Chen will be scheduled for December release with 8000 Yen price tag.

Figma Chen came in minimalistic accessories which only include her Twin Blades and 3 Face plates. Unfortunately she doesn't have blushing face expression considering it is never featured on the official storyline. The Nendoroid version still comes with more accessories but i suppose the Figma Articulation should be decent enough. I suppose there is a good chance for other Arknights operators to follow up despite majority of the Top Operators had rather difficult designs to be implemented as Action Figures. From the existing operators that got Nendoroid treatment already, Exusiai, W and even Texas came to mind for good candidates to follow after Chen due to their simpler clothing design.

SRW OG HG Non-Scale Alteisen

 Bandai is utilizing the SRW IP for their Model Kits Product and this time Alteisen joined the party following after Cybuster. Scheduled for December Release, Bandai's version of Alteisen Model kit will be sold for 4000 Yen Price tag which is about 800 Yen cheaper compared to Kotobukiya's last version of the Old Iron.

 Debuted in SRW Compact/Impact, Alteisen piloted by ATX Team Leader Kyosuke Nanbu, remains to be one of the major presence in SRWOG to the latest iteration. In SRWOG series, Alteisen originally dubbed as Gespenst MkIII, is a Personal Trooper that boast tremendous firepower but had glaring flaw at the same time with its control issues which Kyosuke only able to pilot effectively due to his daredevil personality. In terms of design, Alteisen had a certain charm with its Bulkiness which came in right amount. To this day i still haven't exactly figured out the mecha used for Alteisen mecha design but chances Scopedog inspired the Alteisen Design considering Chirico Cuvie contributed alot for Kyosuke's Archetype. At this point, i think Daizengar or R-1 had better shot to be the next SRW OG Mecha to be made compared to Weissritter and others. Also Huckebein definitely will never come to light.

Ushio and Tora the animation

 

 Ushio and Tora is one of my favorite youkai themed Shonen manga to this day as it is one of the few series that managed to capture the essence of Shonen Genre through the adventure of a youth named Ushio who is tagged along with a Youkai called Tora. Few years ago, Studio Mappa which is in charge of recent popular anime adaptations such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Shingeki no Kyojin made 39 episodes adaptation for Ushio and Tora which i finally gave a watch recently.

 As expected, the anime adaptation of Ushio and Tora didn't really live up to the original counterpart, primarily due to skimping too much of the story material from the manga in order to make the series to fit within 39 Episodes.  This is inevitable since Japanese anime industry in the present state didn't have that luxury to make lengthy anime series anymore unless the animated series brings in big money. So in essence the anime version of Ushio and Tora only cover the Hakumen no Mono arc and ditch all of the side stories which are actually interesting and contributing significantly for the buildup of the final showdown. In any case despite its glaring flaw, the Anime version of Ushio and Tora still did its part decently on the story it cover and Ushio and Tora still remains the best Human Yokai duo team to this day. I feel Onmyoji Arena could have put a good use for this series as collab material.

Macross 7 1/7 Nekki Basara

Older Macross series in general tend to be neglected apart from the DYRL series. But out of the blue, Megahouse just decided to announce PVC Figure for Macross 7 featuring Nekki Basara and Mylene from Fire Bomber Band!  Nekki Basara figure comes in 1/7 scale and will be scheduled for December 2021 release with 15800 Yen Price Tag. 

  Macross Plus might be the best overall title from the series but Macross 7 will still remain to be my personal favorite. The series might have rocky start with the repetitive first half, but it redeem itself from 30th  Episode onward and concluded with a satisfying end. Being the lead vocalist of Fire Bomber, Nekki Basara himself is the legendary figure in a Macross series being the Main Protagonist who sets himself apart among his peers with his larger than life attitude and very capable VF pilot despite not being part of military outfit. Basara might be one dimensional on certain aspects, but he had achieved many amazing feats through his singing which are probably even not doable by most Macross Protagonist which is why he is able to carry Macross 7 mostly by himself. With the current popularity status of Macross 7, i doubt Ray and Veffidas will join Basara and Mylene in 1/7 Scale figure to complete the Fire Bomber Crew, but i love to see more merchandise for this series.