Robot Tactics X

 Over past few weeks, my appetite for gacha games grew significantly for some reason and one Mecha game called Robot Tactics X catches my attention. Mecha games in Android are a rarity let alone a Gacha one with Final Gear being the best one around. Robot Tactics X is a SRPG Mecha game with Gacha Mechanics and the next iteration of mecha game called Robot Tactics. In essence it is prettier version of the predecessor  with better 3D model for the mechas. 

 What catches my attention from Robot Tactics X is its close resemblance with SRW Masoukishin being a Grid-based Strategy RPG featuring full proportion mecha sprite and it comes with some cool mecha designs too. If you like Masoukishin/Xenogears/Armored Core, you might find the mecha aesthetics of this game really appealing. 

In terms of overall Value, Robot Tactics X is unfortunately another B-Tier Gacha Game that has unusually good strength at its mecha design. Compared to Final Gear, Robot Tactics X is not too well rounded with lackluckster in everything else aside from the Mecha as the Pilots lack variety and the voice acting are non existent. In terms of Gacha, this game is mediocre with bad monetary options which it try to make up with free daily pulls. But in the end Robot Tactics X still has potentials to improve as it has solid fundamental in its Mecha designs and that's what matters for this genre.

Trapped in a Dating Sim - Mobuseka

 

 Another Isekai series with ridiculously long name that i encountered recently but this one is above average and got mecha too! Trapped in a Dating Sim - The World of Otome Games is tough for mobs or Mobuseka in short is a Isekai series that had the Protagonist sent into a Fantasy World series based on a Dating Sims game. While the title might imply that the series catered to female audience, Mobuseka definitely still aimed at the general audience of Isekai Genre.

Destiny Girls / The Symphony of the Dragon and Girl

 One of the newer gacha game that is promoted heavily over last month and long story short i gave in to see what its worth. Destiny Girl is an idle gacha game that is ported from a Japanese game named Symphony of the Dragon and Girls or Dragal in short. In this game you gather bunch of waifus named after Historical characters and had them fight Dragons as main adversary. 

 Overall Destiny Girls is B-tier Gacha game that mainly panders on Horny teens with its risque and saucy illustration similar to what games like Evony and other did as their marketing strategy. When it comes to Gacha, Destiny Girls SSR rate is rather standard despite generous amount of handouts in the beginning. The main selling point of this game is the fanservice L2D illustrations rewarded to players as they ascended the SSR Characters which are borderline R18+ at times.

 In terms of production value, Destiny Girls is a mixed bag with Non SSR characters are practically worthless. If Fate/Grand Order sometimes blundered when it comes to their character design which are based on historical figures, Destiny Girls commit even worse atrocities. Basically all the game did are drawing some cute waifu characters and pasted some random historical figure name on them. It really pains me to see Japanese Daimyos turned into beastgirls wearing skimpy outfit but this is what Destiny Girls did.

 But what Destiny Girls did right is that it carves itself a niche by offering a waifu gacha game that does not demand too much times and encourage players to spend in order to unlock sexy live2D illustrations of the Waifu characters. While this game won't stand a chance against AAA Gachas with subpar voiceworks and assets, it works quite fine as a filler game. To be honest i gave this game a try due to being tired being guilt trip by Gacha Games that i have played and it would have been great if FGO had implemented the Idle mechanics from this game instead of forcing players to farm on monotonous stage every day. Personally i don't think Destiny Girls is a good game but it probably did something right if it manage to survive more than a year in the Japan server which even Gachas that use famous IP failed to do.

Golden Kamuy

 Another Great manga that recently finished its serialization and who expects Manga series that had Ainu Culture as its main theme would be such a great ride! A Seinen adventure manga, Golden Kamuy story takes place in 20th Century Japan shortly after Russo Japanese War. A veteran from the war, the main character went to Hokkaido in search of fabled Ainu Gold relying to find a group of Tattoed prisoners as the lead to the fabled gold. In search of the gold, the main character is accompanied with an Ainu Girl for an epic adventure across Meiji era Hokkaido, encountering wide range of characters including some famous Shinsengumi hero and their journey will somehow lead to some big conspiracy which determine the Fate of Imperial Japan and Ainu people.

 As a manga, Golden Kamuy is one of the few that has complete package for its story. This series is more capable to make the readers laugh and cry at times. Props to the mangaka who is capable of making very colorful cast of character especially the Convicts who can exhibit some really interesting behaviors that leads to some great Dark Humor situation. Golden Kamuy's main strength is no doubt lies in its comprehensive depiction of Ainu Culture which is no simple feat for a weekly basis manga that tend to sacrifice quality for quick output, nevertheless by far this is the best manga when it comes to Ainu subject matter.

If i have to point out this series flaw, Golden Kamuy had rather rushed and abrupt end, hinting the possibility of the series getting axed considering plenty of the main characters died in quick succession in the last part of the series while even the secondary convicts took their time for their death. Personally i think the main antagonist Tsurumi is one of the best antagonist out there from recent works and could have delivered something more which won't happen due to unfortunate circumstances. But my main personal gripe would be the location of the Ainu Gold which is rather disappointing. Considering the manga spent most of the chapters narrating the attempts of the protagonists searching for overly elaborate Ainu Gold location hints, only to have the stash located at one of the most famous landmark in Hokkaido. In any case Golden Kamuy managed to wrap up its story properly and i will be looking forward to some Gaiden story related to the series.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX-40 Dendrobium Gundam

  Gundam Ensemble had been very active on Stardust Memory series and now we are getting the big ticket item! If you have to mention the most iconic mecha it would be the Gigantic mobile armor Dendrobium Gundam and Neue Ziel! After appearing in many forms, at long last these two made appearance in Gundam Ensemble! Slated for September 2022 MS Ensemble EX 40&41 will be released with 14300 Yen price tag. 

Out of non HG choice, Ensemble Dendrobium and Neue Ziel are no doubt the best incarnation of the mecha by far. The details are probably more impressive compared to Converge, SD or the 1/500 scale and it is no slouch when it comes to size either as Ensemble Neue Ziel will stand 20 cm tall, probably twice as large compared to the converge counter part. Some interesting things from these 2 Ensemble EX is that the Dendrobium include the parts to connect Gerbera Tetra to reenact Cima's horrible death scene while Neue Ziel got Anavel's Zaku hidden inside just like Ensemble Apsallus which is very cool gimmick even probably not accurate. Personally i would love to see Ensemble continue 0083 series since we still need rendition for Powered GM and GM Cannon II

Plinius

  Another hidden gem of Historical Manga that is overlooked by me until recently and this one is another high quality work. If you like Thermae Romae, this one will not disappoint because it is made by the same mangaka, Mari Yamazaki who is one of the few Japanese mangaka that had intimate knowledge about Roman civilization.

 Taking place during the middle reign of Emperor Nero, Plinius is essentially a biography manga for Pliny the Elder, one of the leading figure in natural science in his time. Through this character you get to see Rome Empire during its height which is a rarity for this medium. Compared to Thermae Romae or Cestvs series, Plinius strength lies in its wide coverage of Roman Civilization life that only high budget movie or TV series could rival. To me what Plinius did the best is its Depiction of Rome which fleshes out the inherent flaw of the City that caused it dubbed as Sin Cit. The original manga spans over 12 Volumes and so far only 4 Volumes are translated, but hopefully the translation will catch up someday just like Thermae Romae. Seriously Mari Yamazaki is another top tier mangaka who is worth following because she is another mangaka that i can think of apart from Urasawa who follows the path of Osamu Tezuka.

Persona 3 Nendoroid 1863 Makoto Yuki

  Things finally come into full circle for Persona series in Nendoroid lineup! took compared to Figma, but Persona 3 Protagonist Makoto Yuki made it as the last Modern Persona series Nendoroid. Nendoroid Makoto Yuki is scheduled for October 2022 release with 6100 Price tag, slightly more expensive compared to his compatriots probably due to weakening Japanese Yen.

Nendoroid Makoto Yuki accesories pretty much mirror the Figma counterpart with an extra Tarot Card and it is kinda lackluster for its price. Seeing the recent movement on Shin Megami Tensei series i think it is a good moment to re-release HD version of Persona 3 to follow up SMT 3 which got Figma Hitoshura recently as well. I think Nendoroid Makoto Yuki could use a companion like Thanatos or Elizabeth to accompany him for an extra selling point for this personal favorite Persona Protagonist of mine.

Kurogane no Linebarrel RIOBOT EX Linebarrel

 I think it has been more than a decade since we got something from Kurogane no Linebarrel series and Sentinel planning to release one heavy duty stuff for one of the better modern mecha series. There have been plenty iterations of Linebarrel before but Sentinel goes big and released the Heavy Armor variant of Linebarrel dubbed EX Linebarrel. Scheduled for May 2023 release, Riobot EX Linebarrel is going to be sold for whopping 50000 Yen which is as expensive as Sol Gravion.

I didn't noticed this version of Linebarrel except that it is apparently the Ultimate Version of Linebarrel exceeding Linebarrel Overdrive. From Its Aesthetics, Linebarrel EX is a heavy melee unit equipped with tons of Blades to the point of overkill and Vardant still have better extent of agility compared to this version of Linebarrel. As expected from Sentinel, Riobot EX Linebarrel is unreachable for regular collector yet again. It is highly likely that GSC will release some moderoid for this series at some point but i personally prefer if they can make some action figure for this underrated Mecha series.
 

Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan

 Oda Nobunaga always make popular choice as Sengoku Period manga and this rather new entry took an isekai spin on it. If you have been following Nobunaga no Chef, you will find right at home with Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan! The manga premise is about a Highschool girl from Agricultural school who somehow find herself stranded in Sengoku Period and in a strange turns of event ended up serving Oda Nobunaga. Using her knowledge from modern world, the heroine attempts to make a better place for the populace she is in charge of while at the same time strengthen the dominion of Oda Clan with her inventions. Unlike most Sengoku period manga, Sengoku Komachi doesn't shy away from alternate take of this rather colorful period of Japan history. 

 I think the primary goal of this manga is to showcase how Oda Nobunaga reacts with modern technology to the extent that are even very hard to swallow for people of the period. Simply to say Nobunaga is portrayed to have excellent adaptability and make good use of these novelties which is the way the manga justify how this particular Daimyo to be the most influential person in his period. The main heroine herself is quite likeable as she is not milksop and had a good sense of reality which majority of isekai theme protagonist lacks most of the time. At this time Sengoku Komachi is still far from being concluded but its potential is good enough for me to keep a close tab on it.

The GATTAI Mugen Gattai Gurren Lagann

  A surprising entry for Guren Lagann but a welcome one nonetheless! Recently there have been some movement for Guren Lagann series indicating something will be up for the series once again. Sentinel did their part with Riobot Guren Lagann costing whopping 32000 yen and then GSC followed up with Mugen Gattai Guren Lagann which appear to be better bargain. Scheduled for November release with 24900 Yen price tag, Mugen Gattai Guren Lagann feature 8 Ganmen robots including Guren Lagann that has awesome gimmick of combining into one Giant Robot.

At one glance Mugen Gattai Guren Lagann reminds me of Bandai's particular combiner robot from Doraemon and Disney series, serving as better application of the concept. In terms of design this version of Guren Lagann are somewhere in between Guren Lagann and Arc Guren Lagann. As long as Guren Lagann unit articulation is good enough, Mugen Gattai will be a valuable collectible for the fans considering Sentinel's pricing are pretty much unaffordable except for High-end dedicated collectors. I am quite sure Bandai will have something in response for this move by GSC since their last contribution for the series were SRC and NXEdge.

Arknights Nendoroid 1859 Saga

 A strange choice for the next Arknights Nendoroid release, but against all odds the Higashi Perro Vanguard operator Saga got her Nendoroid treatment way before other top Arknights waifu candidate. Scheduled for October 2022 release, Nendoroid Saga will be sold for 6800 Yen.

 As usual Arknights Nendoroid fall on slightly more expensive price range probably due to licensing fees that Hypergryph demand and Saga's accessories is rather lacking for its worth. Nendoroid Saga comes with her Naginata and bowl of Natto Gohan as her accesories as well as her ecstatic face expression which is typical of a Perro race. Saga made her appearance in Arknights 1.5th anniversary being the featured 6* Operator along with Dusk. Saga played a minor role in Dusk's storyline being another outsider apart from Rhodes Island operators who are stranded in Dusk's painting world. This is the exact reason why Saga is a strange choice for GSC to release its Nendoroid first because Arknights still have other plenty 6* Operators to work with such as Skadi, Angelina, Bagpipe or Nian but in any case the doggo operator got lucky somehow.

 In terms of gameplay, Saga is a low cost Vanguard operator with solid DP generating ability and good offensive capability. With her S3, Saga realy shines when deployed in intersection tiles as she is capable of dealing spammable AOE damage in 4 directions which works well against grunt unit swarms. The only downside is that she will constantly spam gibberish lines related to food when activating the skill due to airheaded nature of Perro race. Anyway, Saga's Nendoroid is easy skip for me since i am still waiting for Skadi which is due for a long time already.
 

Hexagear 1/24 V-Thor

 I haven't paid attention with Hexagear series for quite a long time but the latest entry catches my attention for sure! Hexagear is Kotobukiya's original lineup that put more emphasis on combined arms mecha. Featuring 1/24 mechanised soldiers and beast mecha as the bulk of the lineup, the latest entry of Hexagear is a humanoid robot called V-Thors is fresh breath of air for this lineup. Scheduled for August release, Hexagear V-Thor will be sold for 8480 Yen.

 While Hexagear had some humanoid robots in their lineup before such as Bulkarms, V-Thor literally break the mold for its kind. V-Thor sleek design combined with giant katana weapon exudes protagonist mecha aura which even put Frame arms design to shame which also reminds me of Genji from Overwatch. From its aesthestics, V-thors appear to be Elite infiltration mecha unit that specialise in targetting high value targets. Hexagear V-Thors would have been a huge steal had it include a 1/24 Pilot unit but its beautiful design had made up for its price tag. If Kotobukiya is insightful, they could utilize this V-Thor mold for couple more variant

Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 Moderoid Madox-01

 A surprising entry for the Moderoid lineup but a welcome one nonetheless! Hailing from OVA series in  during the Mecha Golden Age of late 80s, GSC announcing Moderoid for Power Armor Madox-01. Moderoid Madox-01 is scheduled for September 2022 with 7200 Yen price tag.

Madox is quite a big deal in mecha world because it is one of the Shinji Aramaki works who is famed for his power armor designs like Megazone23 and Mospeada. Madox OVA series itself is rather forgettable since the storyline is basically a teenage boy tried to impress a girl by hijacking a prototype power armor and shoot down bad guys. As bad as the plotline goes, Madox-01 is a very beautiful mechanical design and probably Aramaki used Madox as the base for Marauder Armor in Starship Trooper Invasion CGI movie. Since Moderoid is a model kit, this version of Madox is easy skip for me though i am willing to wait for some action figure. If Madox could make it, i think Garland or Mospeada have a good shot in Moderoid Lineup too.
 

Genshin Impact Nendoroid 1795 Venti

 Genshin Impact is one of the hottest piece of IP since 2020 and the hype is still going very strong with merchandising department up until now. After Aether and Lumine, the first playable Archon character, Venti makes it as the first non main character from Genshin to make it as Nendoroid. The mischievous drunkard Bard is scheduled for September 2022 release with 5500 Yen Price tag. 

  For over 5000 Yen price tag, Venti comes with Skyward Harp Bow and his harp as the accessories which seems lacking but Goodsmile definitely will not able to fulfill all demands from the initial batch. Over past one year for some reason Goodsmile are unable to produce several of their products in large quantity which heavily affect Nendoroid Lineup including Genshin Impact's Aether and Lumine.

In Genshin Impact, Venti or Barbatos is one of the 7 Archons in Teyvat, controlling Anemo element and preside over Monstadt region. In the Mondstadt story Arc, Traveler assist Venti in restoring Sanity of his Dragon companion named Dvalin who went insane due to lingering poison and machinations of Abyss order. As an Archon, Venti's personality is very carefree and lacking of responsibilty, he is often seen being drunk in a Pub owned by Diluc. Venti is very famous due to his ~Ehe~ moment which made one of the most memorable moment of Paimon in the game. In terms of Gameplay, Venti is very popular due to being one of the best Crowd Control character and often used in competitive lineup for Abyss floor. Personally Venti is one of my target character as i happen to own Skyward Harp and need a worthy user for the weapon, though i am conflicted with Venti since there is a future Hydro bow-user named Yelan who seems to provide the same role with him.

 In any case i am still waiting for Waifu characters like Ganyu, Eula and Raiden to get their own Nendoroids which is just a matter of time.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby SHF Tokai Teio

 Uma Musume Pretty Derby was a huge hit in Japan last year and recently had celebrated its 1st Anniversary with generous gifts for the players. Since early this year the merchandise for the series had picked up its momentum and around this time Bandai finally joined in with SHF lineup. For the initial release, Bandai is releasing SHF for Tokai Teio and Rice Shower while GSC probably got license for Goldship and Mcqueen. SHF Tokai Teio is scheduled for July 2022 release with 6300 yen Price tag.

  Bandai's SHF lineup tend to fall on affordable price range especially for main kamen rider characters, but Uma Musume's pricing is slightly higher since i think Bandai try to focus the face sculpt quality to match up to Figma Standard considering bishoujo character had been a long term weakness for Bandai. For its 6300 Yen Price Tag Tokai Teio comes with generous amount of expression face plates sufficient enough to replicate poses for Umapyoi Densetsu, one of the most memorable song from the series.

Tokai Teio herself is one of the Uma Musume that was given the main heroine spot in the Pretty Derby along with Special Week and Silence Suzuka during the initial release. Prior to the game itself, Teio already had some major role in the anime series even becoming the lead heroine along with Mcqueen in the Second Season. Teio's character is basically an energetic young Uma Musume who possess great potential and aspire to reach the same fame of her idolized mentor, Symboli Rudolf. In the anime series, Teio ultimately fails to follow her Mentor footsteps but reached her own height of fame through her own path. In the fanbase Teio is sometimes depicted as Yandere due to some of her interaction in the game. 

Personally i think Teio's SHF would be quite decent since Bandai seems to be determined to improvise their sculpt for this lineup considering they are also getting license to make SHF for Special Week and Silence Suzuka to complete the starter trio.