Solo Levelling

 A popular Korean manhwa during its serialization that gains even more fame with the recent passing of the illustrator and this one lives up to the reputation despite some glaring shortcomings. Solo Levelling begins with the typical Isekai trope where the weak protagonist suddenly gains overwhelming strength after being left for dead by his teammates. Think of the manhwa as something in between Arifureta and The Gamer, but Solo Levelling have none of the harem BS that the japanese counterpart usually have in the genre as extra baggage.

 Solo levelling starts like a typical Isekai but the story ends up like Diablo series, this is what separates this manhwa among its peers and secure the Manhwa's popularity. Solo levelling's strength lies in its superb action sequences and some interesting concepts that it tried to showcase through its 179 chapters but ultimately never fully manifest. The protagonist is basically a chosen candidate of Lucifer expy who was involved in an endless war between Chaos and Order represented by Monarchs and Rulers. Using the power inherited by its predecessor, the protagonist ultimately try to save his world ravaged by the endless war of the two otherworldly factions.

The most glaring flaw of Solo Levelling is that the human characters aside from the main protagonist are rendered irrelevant by the 100th chapter as Sung Jinwoo is overpowered complete with his own army. But i don't think this is the main reason why Solo Levelling stops its serialization way too early because it could have gone for 200-300 Chapters especially the Monarch War and Time Travel arc is way too short. To be honest Solo levelling concept is quite universal and the upcoming anime adaptation could have just use full Japanese setting and the story would work out quite fine. I hope that  anime adaptation could be better than the previous Korean Manhwa adaptation which didn't do enough justice for the original work.

Shovel Knight Nendoroid 1929 Shovel Knight

 

 From one of the widely acclaimed Indie Metroidvania, GSC at last managed to release Nendoroid Shovel Knight! Nendoroid Shovel Knight is scheduled for February 2023 release schedule with 8000 Yen which is slightly pricy maybe due to higher licensing cost demanded from Yacht Club publisher.

 Shovel Knight is a big deal in Indie scene because it is a homage to a classic retro platformer in particular Megaman and Duck Tales and it is one of the few that succeed to surpass the classic titles. As the titular Hero, Shovel Knight went against hordes of Witch's minions and her 8 Knights in order to save his companion and lover, Shield Knight. Shovel Knight incorporated plenty of mechanics from the classic Old school games which make the fans of genre felt right at home including hellish platformer at some segments of the game. But the greatest strength of this Indie gem is the soundtrack list which will make you feel nostalgic if you was a kid in 16-bit era. If you haven't play Shovel Knight, do yourself a favor and play this gem of Indie game, the best value would be the Treasure Trove version as you get to play some of the 8 Knights which had their own powerup.

Personally i wish Hollow Knight will follow up since its odds are quite good with Shovel Knight making appearance but i think Shovel Knight's Rival Black Knight had a good shot too even some of the 8 Knights like Specter Knight

Macross Frontier Tiny Session VF-25F Messiah Alto

 A surprise release but a promising lineup made by Bandai for Macross series. Tiny Session appears to be new product series to be made equivalent with existing NXEdge with some new quirks to tailor Macross characteristics. For the initial release, Bandai will be releasing 2 models for Macross Frontier featuring Alto and Michael VF-25 Messiah. These two items will be sold for 4500 Yen with November 2022 release. The main selling point of the Tiny Session would be the available complete transformation gimmick which is a steal for this pricing even though it is not as perfect compared to Chogokin series.

What sets apart Tiny Session with the existing NXEdge series is that Tiny Sessions featured additional character figurine which resemble smaller version of Figuarts mini figurine and the initial two release featured Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee. But seriously VF-25G Michael is a missed opportunity as Klan Klang would be a more suitable candidate for the featured figure and Ranka reserved for VF-25S Ozma. But let's see if Bandai will continue the series for Macross Frontier after they are done with Macross Delta.

I am always a fan of things that have good potential and I do see it on Bandai's Tiny Session because it offers an affordable Macross collectible items with good gimmicks. It would be awesome for Macross fans if Bandai could go beyond Macross Delta and Frontier for this lineup

Crying Freeman (Ikegami Ryoichi)

 

Late 80s manga industry is filled with plenty of action genre manga which featured a lone wolf specialist/bounty hunter as the main character and Ikegami Ryoichi presented a decent title from this era titled Crying Freeman. While not as prolific as Golgo13, the main character of this manga is a badass young assassin from Chinese Underworld who sheds tears after killing his target which is the reason. The manga tells the adventure of this young mysterious man in the underworld scene after he spared a life of a young woman for some reason.

 You won't get anything convoluted out of Crying Freeman but it is a good pulpy adventure which certainly cater to the fascination toward China which was still closed to the world at its time. The manga main weakness is that it lacks main villain to keep the reader commited to the story as the manga in the 80s cannot survive with the same formula like older series like Golgo13. As i mentioned before, Crying freeman is relatively unknown in the west but the character is badass enough to have a fighting chance against Golgo13, a consummate assasssin of underworld. You wont get much out of Crying Freeman manga but it still serves as a good filler series. Still Hoping Ikegami Ryoichi's Nobunaga getting translation

Dragon Quest - Dai no Daibouken

 A great JRPG Shonen manga based from a popular RPG Game series which i didn't managed to read until now. When i was a kid i did watch part of Dai no Daibouken 90s anime. While i forgot most of the stuff, i still remember Flazzard and the catchy opening song. Dai no Daibouken had a typical JRPG start where the protagonist went on a Journey to fight the BBEG after his life of peace is destroyed. But what makes Dai no Daibouken seated on the peak of Genre is that it is one of the few manga that can offer a complete experience of JRPG.

 While there plenty of good high fantasy manga like Lodoss series, Dai no Daibouken is the best one that encapsulates the JRPG Genre. The manga had really good cast of Protagonist and Antagonists which puts your typical Isekai manga to shame. The main hero, Dai himself is very strong to boot but his greatest strength lies in his purity of heart. Despite being a kid, the purity of his heart sways some Antagonists who are not genuinely bad over his side and makes his allies willing to sacrifice their life in order to protect him, seriously Dai really reminds me of the essential quality of a good JRPG Hero. The antagonists in Dai no Daibouken are really worth mentioning as well, Most of the Villain casts have been introduced from the beginning but their sheer quality makes them sufficient for the manga to survive over 300 Chapters. Simply to say Hyunckel is my personal favorite, Hadlar is one of the best midboss out there and Hym got really good character development. Lastly the manga is overall solid read but if i have to point out some of personal gripes, it would be Popp having too much importance and the love triangle between him, Marm and Hyunckel is poorly resolved.

 It is understatement that Dai no Daibouken had really significant influence in JRPG even outside Dragon Quest itself. Capcom JRPG Breath of Fire is definitely inspired from this series and part of Cecil character from FFIV is probably based on Hyunckel even Jigoku Sensei Nube's Oni are inspired by Hadlar Hyperdemon form. All in all Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken is a quintessential read for JRPG fans as it offers a complete package of the genre. At some point true RPG fans will encounter this series on their journey. If i have some free time, i will give the 2020 Reboot Dai no Daibouken anime a watch since Toei gave the reboot some generous funding for it to last over 70 episodes.

The Promised Neverland

 A recent manga title that i marathoned and it was a good read despite it does not reach its fullest Potential. Promised Neverland had a potential to be a very good grimdark series but the mangaka watered down his works in order to cater general audience and turned to be a noblebright work instead. The story of the series is about Three Kids raised in an orphanage living a peaceful life who one day find out the truth that they are raised to be slaughtered as livestock to be eaten by Demon race. Upon finding the grim reality the Kids against the stacked odds, attempt to escape the orphanage and find a place for themselves where Demons will not consume them. 

Promised Neverland had a solid start with its first arc but eventually turned into rather generic Shonen adventure manga as the Mangaka probably had constraints to portray the story as bleak as possible and went with noblebright route instead mostly due to the publisher want to avoid having kid characters dying horrible deaths. The series fate pretty much sealed after the timeskip arc as the pacing of the story become too rushed until the end. To be honest i could have seen Promised neverland could reach 300+ chapters but maybe due the poor sales, the series got axed instead and the backstories are just barely covered in particular Ratri Clan's past. Despite its rushed nature, Deadman wonderland still tried its best to conclude its story properly even if not satisfying. In the end we got another wasted potential manga that will fade in obscurity within few years.

 Speaking of an axed series, Hinowa ga Crush also suffer the same poor fate recently, still hoping its present circumstances won't be permanent.
 

Iron Blooded Orphans Metal Robot Spirits Gundam Kimaris Vidar

 
 New Gundam title is being hyped now but Bandai does not still forget Iron Blooded Orphans and Kimaris Vidar got its turn at last. Over past two years, Bandai have been releasing Metal Robot Spirits for IBO second season which most of the cool gundams got their portion, pretty much any of the Gundams that got the 1/100 Full Mechanics model kit are given MRS treatment. Barbatos Lupus and Rex are part of regular release and it sold like hot cake where as Vidar and Bael are sold as P-Bandai for some reason. Kimaris Vidar didn't get the Full Mechanics, but it is still given the Diecast Action Figure. Sold for 16000 Yen, MRS Kimaris Vidar will be released in December 2022.

 Out of IBO Gundams, Kimaris Vidar is my personal favorite because i am fan of Gaelio who is one of the more decent character in the series. After Shedding the Vidar Disguise, Kimaris Vidar personify Gaelio's Chivalric character combined with his vengeful desire over the betrayal by Mcgillis. In order to fight Gundam Bael, Kimaris Vidar is equipped with modified Alaya Vijanana system which grants improved control of the Gundam unit but puts less strain on Pilot's Body as the system using Ein's brain to share the burden

 I was rather surprised that Kimaris Vidar sword weapon in this version is rather long since the iconic lance possess sufficient range already but it is still cool anyway. I think one of the main reason why Kimaris Vidar didn't get as much exposure is because the mecha designer copy way too much from a Shooter series called Astebreed which the lead mecha shared plenty of Physical resemblance with the former. While i won't get MRS since i don't collect 1/144 scale Gundam, i am always willing to get a Metal Build which might be a good possibility.

The Fable

 

 An award-winning Crime thriller manga that recently finished its translation and this one definitely live up to its fame! This manga tells the story of a Pro Assassin called Fable who belong to a mysterious organization whose skills are phenomenal to the point of becoming an urban legend. After his last hit, this assassin was given a year break in a small town and tried to live a normal life as a part of his next training. But being the best of Professional Killers, dangerous situations always comes to him and throughout the manga, he will need to handle it without killing anyone.

For a manga of its genre, The Fable is solid work all around which is why it was gaining awards. The manga is quite realistic at portraying how Pro Killers would probably work in Japan and the mangaka probably got his own source of informations to pull off such depth for his work. The protagonist have everything it takes to be a pro assassin, but his greatest strength lies in his resourcefulness to the capable of making his own makeshift gun that comes in equal lethality. Apart from the realistic depiction of that side of the world, Fable got really good pacing and buildup which makes each chapters very easy to digest even in a single read The kind of Hitman like protagonist really reminds me of the Gyoza Ohsho murder case years ago and it was definitely the work of a pro. So if you like series like Hitman or John Wick, The Fable will be really compatible with your preference.

Arknights Nendoroid 1895 Skadi

  Took long enough but one of the first Waifu Guard operator Skadi finally joined in Arknights Nendoroid series! Scheduled for November 2022 release schedule, this Orca waifu is be sold for 7200 Yen which is typical high price tag for Nendoroid from Arknights series.

 Skadi remains to be a Top Tier waifu material for Arknights series whom lonely gaze combined with solitary personality just wants make most of Doktah want to accompany this beloved Orca to make her life change for better. While overshadowed by most 6* Guard Operators in Arknights especially by the recent Nearl Alter, Skadi is still a viable choice to fight against High Hp Elite units. But she could use some Def-ignore and ASPD module to make her competitive. Despite her glaring Shortcomings, Skadi is the only 6* Operator whom i bother to raise until Potential 6 and Mastery 9 just to show how much i appreciate this piece of art made by Alchemaniac.

 To be honest current Nendoroid Accessories for Skadi is rather lackluster which is kinda uncommon for Arknights series by this time, but this issue should be fixed if GSC are planning to release her summer and Alter version for her Orca Plushie and more seductive expression. The pizza accessory might be rather random but it is possible signal that GSC is interested to make a Nendoroid for Grani

Artery Gear: Fusion

 Another new Mecha themed Gacha game which is just released on mid of this month and this one gathered quite a bit of fanfare for its debut. Artery Gear is a gacha game made by Devs team that split off from Flashwing which made Final Gear and this game had be around in China for more than a year before it made its appearance on Global server. 

Brave Express Mightgaine Super Minipla Mightgaine

 Bandai had been very generous for Yuusha series with their minipla lineup and by this time, they have reached made more than half of Yuusha entries. For the next Yuusha Minipla, Bandai decided to make one for Mightgaine from the 4th Yuusha series Brave Express. Super Minipla Mightgaine will be sold for 6300 Yen with October release schedule.

I wonder this decision of Bandai to release SMP Mightgaine is in order to steal a start from The Gattai Mightgaine which is in prototype phase. Usually Minipla tried to accomodate mecha sculpt with gimmick as faithful as possible but it seems Gaine is rather hard to pull of considering he looks chunky in this version. In terms of accessory, SMP Mightgaine doesn't come with many weapons apart from Dorinken which probably reserved for future Mightgaine Minipla like Mightgunner and Mightkaiser. With SMP Mightgaine being released, only J Decker and Goldran being left for Bandai to make a minipla out of them and i think J-Decker is likely to be released first considering it make appearance on recent SRW game.

Final Gear Sakura Taisen Collab Units Review

 The Sakura Taisen event collab on Final Gear had been going for 3 Weeks now and with one more week left before the crossover event ends, I think it is the time for me to make some coverage for the Collab Units. Sakura Taisen is easily the best collab event in Final Gear and this event turns out to be rather generous compared to GiTS and Evangelion collab for me. In this Article, i will be sharing my personal experience using the Koubus in this one of the few Mecha Gacha game.

Persona 3 Pop Up Parade Aigis

 With the recent plan of Persona 3 remaster being leaked out, i think we will be seeing more merchandise from this series which is more than welcome for the series fans like me. So after Makoto Yuki getting a long needed Nendoroid treatment, now it is the turn for the Robot Waifu Aigis getting the Pop Up Parade. Scheduled for October 2022, Pop Up Parade Aigis will be sold for 4800 Yen, typical of the lineup price.

For the Pop Up Parade Aigis is posed in Dynamic combat pose with her finger Gatling Gun portraying the balance of Power and Aesthetics as anti shadow weapon. Not as over the top compared to her Palladion Premium figure, but this one is decent enough for Pop Up Parade lineup considering Fate series suffered worse end compared to this. I think at this rate we are highly likely to see the rest of SEES team making it with this lineup at least the waifus one. Personally i would look forward to Mitsuru's being the best waifu from the Persona 3 cast apart from Elizabeth.

Gun X Sword Moderoid Van of Thursday

 Gun X Sword is one of the decent Mecha series in Early 2000s and would have been a memorable series if not for its weak second cour. The last time we had something related from the series are some Robot Tamashii for two of the mechas and now Moderoid returns with the protagonist mecha Dann of Thursday! Scheduled for December 2022 release, Moderoid Dann of Thursday will be released for 6500 Yen.

 Dann of Thursday from Gun X Sword had really some good concept built around it. It is basically one of the Seven elite units tasked to oversee the world which is used by its pilot to huntdown its brethren who went corrupt. Dann of Thursday is good showcase of an Elite Mecha unit which had several arsenals to fulfill its task including self regenerating capability for the Pilot and Mecha apart from being powerful to boot. Compared to the Robot Damashii version, Moderoid Dann of Thursday come with Transformation gimmick which allow it to turn into Swordform, something the former didn't had to bring out affordability. In any case i will look forward GSC whether they are able to release some more Moderoid from the series apart from Volkein.

Macross Zero Hi-Metal R VF-0S Phoenix (Roy Focker)

  For once, Tamashii Nation Hi-Metal series feature units from Macross Zero, This lineup had been generous with SDF Macross but this is the first time it graced itself with the prequel OVA series and it is no other than Roy Focker's VF-0S making a debut! Scheduled for October 2022 release, Hi-Metal VF-0S will be sold for 14000 Yen and we can expect Armored parts as an add-on, either regular release or P-Bandai

 In Macross Zero, VF-0S is a protoype Valkyrie Fighter Unit for Squad Leader pilot prior to UN Spacy formation. in the OVA this awesome VF design is used by Roy Focker who served as supporting character help Shin Kudo facing Sv-51. We would easily expect VF-0A or VF-0D to be released by Tamashi nation next possibly with Ghost unit add on. I had the Hasegawa VF-0S Armored before and i wouldnt mind to double dip for the Hi-Metal considering Zero was my second favorite series after Macross Plus.