Choujuushin Gravion

 Masami Obari is one of the most influential talent in Mecha Genre and there was a period of time the man tried to make a name for himself by making his own anime series. Among his original works, Choujushin Gravion is arguably one of the Obari's works that are easier to get into. Gravion is essentially the culmination of Obari's experience handling Yuusha series. Overall Gravion is pretty much a Generic Super Robot series as it can get, excelling in Styles but lacks in substance which had been Obari's most glaring flaw.

The first time i was exposed to Gravion was from SRW Z which is more than a decade ago and to be honest SRW had better opportunity to make the series shine compared to the anime. Several things that are unexpected for me with Gravion Anime series are that Gravion's Final Form only show up for few minutes in the last episode and The main protagonist's elder sister relationship with Sandman.

In any case Gravion is still a fun ride if you look for mindless Super Robot action and its lackluster storyline is still better than Gridman.

Ichigeki

 

 A good Samurai-themed manga that had its translation finished recently, if you like samurai manga like Vagabond or Blade of immortal then Ichigeki might pick up your interest. Taking place in turbulent Bakumatsu period of Japan, Ichigeki narrates a story of a group of warriors recruited from peasant class tasked to fight against Satsuma warriors who made defiant stand against Tokugawa in Edo. In terms of storyline, Ichigeki offers nothing particularly flashy within the sword&sandal genre, but the manga managed to capture the brutal and bleak nature of that particular period of Japan perfectly with its 47 Chapters.

If i had to pick the best part of Ichigeki, it would be the main character Ushigorou. The character is very well made for a short manga, a person who come out on top against every odds by relying his wits and win even against skilled Samurais despite his peasant background. Usually Bakumatsu period Samurai manga tend to revolve around Shinsengumi which is quite overdone by this point, but Ichigeki is an exception. This manga is definitely a good read if you look for some newer realistic Samurai manga with no supernatural aspect considering most of these types tend to be covered extensively in old school style.

Fate/Grand Order Figma 560 Berserker Miyamoto Musashi

 

 I thought this would be released later around mid of the year but Miyamoto Musashi made it back to Figma in her Summer version! In her 2nd Ascension, Figma Berserker Musashi is scheduled for December 2022 release with 9500 Price tag.

Just like her Saber Figma version, the 2nd Ascension form is still the way to go for Berserker Musashi since it has the best balance between Style and Functionality with 1st Ascension being rather plain while 3rd Asc is way over the top. Out of summer SSR Servants, Musashi's summer version can be considered to be one of the more absurd design which worked out the less. In short for her summer outfit, Musashi had a cowgirl bikini getup and wield twin gunblade which is kind of ridiculous but suits her free-spirited character nonetheless. Surprisingly Max Factory went quite tame for Summer Musashi considering she is designed to be one of the most well endowed female servant in FGO.

 In FGO, Musashi is an AOE Arts Berserker Servant who made her debut last year on Global server during 4th Summer Event. Compared to her Saber class, Summer Musashi lacks staying power due to her berserker class weakness but capable of wiping out high level mobs when given proper support. Summer Musashi will be the premier Farming DPS choice when Castoria coming out during 5th Anniversary around August this year. I will be looking forward to Summer Okita Figma which will be a good candidate for GSC Summer Exclusive like Summer Mordred last year.

Uma Musume Pop Up Parade Goldship - Uniform ver

  Just like the Nendoroid series, Goldship also spearheading the Uma Musume lineup for Pop Up Parade series. Pop Up Parade Goldship is scheduled for July 2022 Release with 3900 Yen Price tag. From what i see, the School Uniform version of Uma Musume are based on the R* Support Cards from Uma Musume game. I have the feeling that the Uma Musumes Racing uniform will be reserved for Premium PVC like Kotobukiya's Prototype for Teio thus the Prize Figures will be getting the School Uniform only. 

On the other hand the affordability of Figure lineup of Uma Musume will allow non-main Uma Musume like Urara or Mejiro Ryan to have an opportunity for getting a Physical representation. I will be keeping close watch with Banpresto since they have some plan of releasing some Uma Musume figure in their School Uniform versions.

Arknights Nendoroid 1789 Frostnova

 A peculiar choice for the next Arknights Nendoroid, but the lovable antagonist Frostnova makes it as the next Nendoroid for the series after Thorns. Nendoroid Frostnova will be scheduled for September 2022 release with 7000 price tag. Just like some previous Arknights Nendoroid, Frostnova price is rather expensive for her minimalist accessories.

 In Arknights, Frostnova is parts of the Reunion Group, the primary opponent of Rhodes island in the main storyline. She serves as a squad leader commanding a group called Yeti Squad and possess Originium Arts capable of freezing her surrounding at the expense of her lifeforce. The Player will encounter Frostnova in Chapter 4&6 where Rhodes island fought a series of Skirmish in Lungmen. Doktah formed a bond with Frostnova when both of them trapped during one of the Skirmish encounter and chances he could have succeeded recruited her if they met earlier. But inevitable both fought in a final showdown with tragic conclusion. As opponent Frostnova is rather fearsome opponent who can instant kill any operator with her special move that also render the deployment tile unusable.

The reason why Frostnova is rather strange choice to get Nendoroid treatment is because she no longer play any part in the recent Arknights story development and there are still plenty other 6* Operator who could use some Nendoroid for themselves. Perhaps this particular move implies the chances for Frostnova to appear as limited Alter OP in near future which could be a hit or miss.
 

Uma Musume Nendoroid 1783 Goldship

 Uma Musume Pretty Derby made a really strong entry in Japan Gacha market early this year as such the merchandise will obviously follow suit, After a hiatus for more than three years since Special Week, Uma Musume got a new entry for Nendoroid continuing the lineup and it is no other than Goldship making the second entry for Uma Musume Nendoroids. Nendoroid Goldship is scheduled for July 2022 release with 5800 Yen Price tag.

 Goldship is one of the Uma Musume that made appearance in the anime series serving as supporting role as part of Spica team member. Among many horsegirls in the series, Goldship stands out the most since she is one of the wackiest character in Uma Musume by far margin so far and will even dropkick the trainer in the game if she wins any G1 races as the winning pose. Despite her crazy antics, Goldship is capable to act like a proper lady at times, catching players off guard which contribute to the reasons of her popularity,

IRL Goldship is male stallion that had illustrious yet polarising race career in early 2010s Japan Horseracing scene and particularly excelled at long distance races. While Goldship's career as not illustrious as any of the Triple Crown horses, his comical behaviour and capability when serious easily wins the heart of many fans. Goldship's Grandsire is Mejiro Mcqueen which is the reason why Goldship is quite clingy toward the latter in the anime. I think Goldship Nendoroid will be quite well received in Japan but personally i will still wait for Grass Wonder or Symboli Rudolf.

SRW OG HG Non Scale Gespenst

 It appears that Bandai are keep invested on SRW series and for the third SRW Model kit, we are getting Gespenst and it will be Gilliam's to boot with! HG Gespenst will be scheduled for May 2022 release with 4000 Yen price tag, so far Bandai kept their SRW Model Kit series at consistent price range for some reason. For Bandai's version of Gespenst, the armaments is roughly about the same compared to the Kotobukiya including Beam Rifle, Saber, Split Missile and Slash Ripper.

 Gilliam's version of Gespenst is rather special since it is the precursor of the mass produced version Gespenst Mk-II. In terms of specs, Gespenst had slightly better performance compared to Mk-II but it is the Gilliam's exceptional piloting skill that makes this Personal Trooper able to stand on par with other SRW OG Pilot with stronger Mecha. Gilliam himself is an enigmatic figure who belongs to elite squad called Aggressors along with Zengar, Kai and Elzam which are some of the best pilots in OG Saga. In OG series Gilliam mostly absent in the story doing intel works and i recall that he was former antagonist in one of the Banpresto's older game.

 In SRW OGs Gespenst is rather weak unit used by one of the better pilots, Gilliam will use Gespenst Mk-II RV later on as the upgrade which is quite decent unit on Real Robot side. Personally i am quite surprised that this version of Gespenst came out early since i thought Daizengar or other popular OG unit would have better shot to secure the third slot from Bandai for SRW OG Model kit series.

Showa (Shigeru Mizuki)

 

 A semi-autobiography manga made by one of the legendary mangaka from early era of manga industry. While not as well known Osamu-Tezuka sensei in the west, Shigeru Mizuki is one of the few accomplished mangaka from the same period with Gegege no Kitaro being his most well known works. 

Spanning over 4 large volumes, Showa manga retells the life of Japan during Emperor Hirohito rule which spans from 1920s until late 80s through the perspective of the mangaka. To put it simply, Showa offers a superb insight on 20th Century Japan through a commoner perspective and a consistent one at that. Despite its simple style drawing, Showa is a particularly very good manga if you want to take a glimpse at WW2 Imperial Japan frontline as the mangaka himself had a surviving wartime experience from it. 

While the manga itself might be hyperbolised, Shigeru-sensei lived quite a colorful life despite filled with full of hardships. What makes Shigeru-sensei a legendary figure in the manga world is that his works accomplishment is on par with Osamu Tezuka's despite he lost one of his arm during WW2 which just shows physical disability will not hinder a man if he puts his effort. Among historical manga that covers modern period Japan, Showa is a good main choice as it offers a comprehensive experience from 1st hand account of a man who accomplished something big despite facing setbacks.

Monster (Naoki Urasawa)

 Revisiting one of Naoki Urasawa's works and i have to say either this series, Master Keaton or 20th Century Boys is this legendary mangaka magnum opus. Monster is one of the well regarded Seinen Manga because it has one of the best antagonist who just relies on his pure intellect. The series tells the story of a Japanese Surgeon in German whose life turned upside down after he saves a young boy named Johan Liebert who is gifted with a bright mind but used it to manipulate people for grisly ends.

As the main antagonist of Monster, Johan Liebert is well made character comparable to Makishima Shogo or Hannibal Lecter, who due to his traumatic past mostly commit his evil act by manipulating others through his eloquence and intimate understanding of human psyche. But what sets apart Johan with the latter two, is that he is not in the point of no return yet. From what i am able to grasp, before reaching that point of becoming true psychopath monster and to prove his point, Johan probably decided to end his life in a most elaborate way possible which the main protagonist rebuked by sentencing him to life at the conclusion of this series.

 Beyond his facade as a villain, to me Johan is a troubled young man who turned into sociopath due to being a victim of unethical cold war experiment. Usually when a person exposed to extremely traumatic experience, they tend to develop deranged personality as coping mechanism when Insanity was the only alternative in which Monster tried to showcase Naoki Urasawa's take on this argument. In the end at its basic level, what i believe that Monster tried to convey is that it is up to a society to determine how deep a man can sunk so low, because people are always the product of their environment.

4th Year with Fate/Grand Order

 Surviving another year with this Gacha Hell game yet again but my burnout toward Fate/Grand Order quite took its toll this time. Of all Gacha game that i have played, no doubt Fate/Grand Order that sticks with me the longest surviving 3 phone changes. But overall my 4th year with FGO is a downhill race that started promising but went downhill by the mid of the year. Despite my severe burn from this year's misfortune, I think i still have the drive to stick around FGO at least until LB6 which featured alternate version of Camelot.

Yami playing Genshin Impact

  It has been more than a month i started playing Genshin Impact and with the milestones i have reached, i think i am ready to prepared a rounded opinion about this hottest AAA Mobile Game of the year. It took me more than a year to start playing Genshin Impact partly because of limited hardware issue of my mobile phone at the time, but mostly from my hesitation trying another Mihoyo Game due to personal bad experience playing Honkai Impact 3rd which is a very high maintenance for a mobile game. 

Before i tried Genshin, i always thought the game to be very overhyped with its well-placed aggressive marketing that attracts Normies which is a recipe for toxic community. However after trying what Genshin able to offer for some time, i do find the game have its merit that makes it earn its current position as the top reigning Mobile Game. If i have to sum up my experience with Genshin Impact, the game experience is a polarizing one. By F2P standard, Genshin offers very amazing open world exploration but at the same time some of the worst Gacha experience on par with FGO and Uma Musume. Personally i like Genshin because it is the Chinese answer to Avatar and Exalted, two great series inspired from Eastern Asia esoteric cosmology, and a decent one at that.

Genshin Impact Nendoroid 1717 Traveller/Aether

 

 2 Months after Genshin Impact 1st anniversary, Goodsmile finally released the preorder for the main protagonists of the most popular open world Gacha Game themselves, The Traveller! and the twins come both at the same time! Nendoroid Aether and Lumine are sold for 5800 Yen each separately with July 2022 release schedule. For some reason related to production capacity, the first Genshin Nendoroids as well as Figma Mona will be released in rather limited quantity. 

 In terms of Accessory, Nendoroid Traveller both Aether and Lumine are rather lacking since they only came with low rarity sword and glider wing. The miniscule amount accessory may hints out that the product release for Nendoroid Traveller is likely to be rushed, probably something to do with Mihoyo's blunder during their 1st anniversary. I won't be surprised if GSC will release the DX version of both Aether and Lumine which could include Paimon and elemental effect parts as the extra accessories for starters.

 I tried Genshin since last month after getting a new phone that is capable of handling the game's rather high spec for a mobile game. After trying this game for a month for roughly a month, overall i find the gaming experience of Genshin to be polarizing. On one side you got yourself a well made Open World game that are available for free and on the other hand you got yourself one of the vilest gacha mechanics which puts up a good challenge with FGO. As for further discussion about Genshin, i will probably make a dedicated post for the series in near future.

Nendoroid Aether/Lumine is an easy skip for me with their lacking accessory but i personally will look forward to future release for Nendoroid Ganyu or Ningguang if GSC ever release one since those two are the characters from Genshin i am interested the most.

Fate/Grand Order 1/7 Scathach-Skadi

 I think it has been more than 2 Years since the prototype revealed but after many setbacks, GSC finally open preorder for 1/7 Scathach Skadi. Sold at 22800 Yen, 1/7 Scathach-Skadi is scheduled for March 2023 which is still a long way to go. I wonder if the release timing is intentionally coincided with the recent end of Skadi Banner Rerun in FGO NA server.

An alternate version of Warrior Queen Scathach whose personality merged with Norse Ice Giantess Skadi, Scathach-Skadi played the role of the LostBelt ruler in LB2 Singularity. Skadi is one of the most popular servants in FGO Japan back in 2018 since she is the enabler of Quick Meta which reigns supreme until the arrival of Castoria last year.

 All in all it will take around 4 years for this lovable Ice Queen figure to be available, i guess the struggle of the Japanese Figure Company is quite real in the last two years due to COVID for them to delay the figure this long. The for Skadi was quite high when the prototype revealed back then, but i really doubt it will be the same by the time when the figure is released.

 Despite the waning popularity of FGO series, i hope this won't be the end of GSC Support for FGO products because we still need more Skadi collectibles in the future as well as other recent servants such as Morgan and Melusine.

Final Gear

 Over past five years, I have played several Gacha Games and at long last i think i have found the right one for Mechas. Around last week, i tried this particular Gacha Game called Final Gear which featured Mechas with Waifus. Final Gear had been around for 2 years in China and Japan but it was only available on Global Server two months ago in which the localization handled by Komoe Games.

 When it comes to Gameplay, Final Gear feels closest to Azur Lane or GFL where you assemble a team of four mechas destroying everything that blocks your team's Path. Final Gear also features parts customization system akin to Medabots, Danball Senki or Custom Robo so you will feel right at home if you were fans of those games. Compared to AAA Gacha Games like FGO or Arknights or Genshin, Final Gear story or waifus are nothing special but the Mechas is no doubt its Strongest selling point good enough to be 1v5 Carry. To put it frankly Final Gear have plenty of Cool Mecha designs which will pamper anyone who consider themselves as mecha fans. Perhaps in near future, i might even consider to make starter guide for Final Gear.

Spy X Family

 One of the few great manga from past 5 years that escaped my watch until recently. It was until Spy x Family getting anime adaptation that makes the series caught my attention and long story short i marathoned all 55 Chapters in single sitting. Taking in a cold war setting, Spy x Family tells the story of a Legendary Spy called "Twilight" who infiltrate enemy nation to unveil the secret of the Nation Leader through elaborate complex plan which requires him to have a fake family of a wife and child as part of the plan. But in a turns of strange event, The Spy's fake family member themselves are quite extraordinary too with a beautiful Professional Assassin played the role of the wife and a Psychic being the daughter in which only the latter know the truth.

 After reading through all current 55 Chapters, I could say Spy X Family is one of the manga from last decade that have one of the better writing. The Manga series put a good balance on Action, Suspense and Humor and still managed to stay on track with its genre. As history fan, i like how Spy X Family managed to replicate the atmosphere of Cold War Espionage quite well which other few mangas able to pull off notably with Golgo 13 which comes in mind. The main character himself might not be as badass as Duke Togo but Twillight is still well accomplished in his field as Spy.

 Time will tell how the series with end up, but with current quality of writing, i think Spy x Family could last for 100-200 Chapters just fine. For now lets hope that the anime adaptation next year won't distract the progress of a promising manga series like Spy X Family.