Fate/Grand Order Nendoroid 2150 Berserker Morgan

 Well it's bound to be released soon or later but the Ice Queen Morgan finally made it to Nendoroid lineup as well! Considering Castoria got released back in November 2021, her sister Morgan got to make it through as well. Sold for 7900 Yen, Nendoroid Morgan will be released for October 2023.

 Straight from her debut, Morgan just surpassed any of the FGO waifus with her design because just after the summon she declared herself as the legal wife of Chaldea Master and this certainly make her an instant favorite among FGO players. While in the pan human history, she is depicted as a conspiring witch hell bent to put Artoria into downfall, her FGO depiction shows that she can be a very devoted wife if she find a worthy partner like Ritsuka. This announcement release probably meant to coincide with incoming Morgan Banner release in Global server and I am willing to get her Nendoroid version even if I am waiting for her Figma version should she is willing to visit my Chaldea.

J-Decker Non Scale Super Build Tiger

  One of the better Yuusha Support partner finally made its reappearance as Kotobukiya Model Kit and it is no other than Super Build Tiger from J-Decker. Despite being Non Transformable, Kotobukiya do try its best to provide as much gimmick for this guy and the effort is praiseworthy. Non Scale Super Build Tiger will be released for October 2024 for 11000 Yen.

 With Kotobukiya Model Kit, you get to display the model kit as Build Tiger or Super Build Tiger and the parts swap is simple enough. Super Build Tiger is the gattai result from 4 members of the Yuusha Police team which are Mccrane, Dumpson, Power Joe and Drillboy. The model kit is designed to have some interaction compatibility with the previously released Non Scale J-Decker. For the Super Build Tiger i noticed that the leg are quite extra chunky but the proportion still look better compared to the old Takara Toy. If GSC could release the GATTAI version of this guy under 25000 Yen, i am more than happy to get one along with J-Decker. If you are interested with J-Decker but have no time to watch, you can check my old article here

Riobot SRX GET!

 By far this is the most expensive collection that I have ever obtained but the required toil is well worth it! When I was in college, I was always eyeing for Volks SRX but fate decided that i will have to wait for a decade and so do I with Riobot SRX. I suppose being someone who is starting to be Semi Boomer and got relatively stable income, my hobby expenses are expanding in proportion. While I find Riobot SRX to be rather expensive for a collectible, I am still aware that I have to get one within short time frame due to notorious nature of Sentinel for nonexistent availability once it has past more than 6 months after the product release. 

Fortunately I am still able to score Riobot SRX for quite reasonable retail price while snagging myself a Riobot R-Gun Powered when it was in Bargain. To be honest I am quite sure this won't be the very end of SRW Onslaught by Chinese Toy Company. All I want is just for some breathing space for each release.

Arknights F:NEX 1/7 Mudrock Silent Night Ver

 Arknights never run short of Quality PVC Figures for the Waifu operators and the beloved Sarkaz Defender Queen Mudrock in her Summer Swimsuit skin. made by Furyu, This figure fall on more luxurious side with gratituous amount of props that come along with the PVC Figure. Scheduled for October 2024 release, FNEX Mudrock Silent Night will be sold for 26180 Yen.

Mudrock is Kuudere Waifu who puts a distance with Doktah initially due to her history fighting on the opposite side of Rhodes Island as Reunion. But once she opens up to Doktah, she is one of the more affectionate waifu. Together along with W and Surtr, Mudrock is the part of Sarkaz Waifu trinity. Her Coral Coast Summer Skin is rather special with the extra amount of allure being exuded. Holding on Apple with exposed skin, it is as if Mudrock inviting Doktah for some intimate private time which is more than possible when her trust reaches maximum like select few Female operators. While i will not be getting this Figure, I am more than willing to obtain Mudrock's Nendoroid which should make her appearance in the next 1-2 Arknights Nendoroid Entry.

Berserk SHF Guts the Black Swordsman

  Even after the mangaka's passing, Berserk series still remain to have the strong following and in turn after years of drought for Merchandise, Tamashi Nation decided to enter with a bang by announcing releaase for SHF Guts and Griffith. This great news certainly a blessing for the fans considering the price of Figma Guts are kinda insane nowadays in the aftermarket. SHF Guts will be scheduled for September 2023 release with 10500 Yen price tag.

 The version of Black Swordsman Guts that Bandai make is the version which Guts got some armor upgrade by Godot after his journey of slaying apostles with Dragonslayer and I believed GSC didn't make the figma of this version for some reason. While the pricing is quite high for SHF, I think the quality for SHF Guts will not disappoint considering Bandai is well reputed for the articulation of their Action figures and SHF Guts comes with generous amount of accessories. The only concern would be the Dragon Slayer to be rather heavy making the poses rather limited though the figma had the same issue as well apparently. Personally I am not the biggest of Berserk series, but Bandai's SHF Guts and Griffit sure worth the hype.

Super Mario the Movie

  Took longer than Pokemon series but Nintendo finally decided to cash in their all time superstar IP, Super Mario! The last time i saw anything cartoon related with this series, it was a sunday morning cartoon mixed with live action which was like 2 decades ago. Overall Super Mario the Movie is something that you expect from a famed Video Game series which is an excellent family movie designed for maximum appeal toward general audiences and it was what Nintendo wished out of it.

The storyline is as generic as its gets with unexpected Mario partnership with Donkey Kong and Luigi is really overshadowed by his brother for good chunk of the movie. To me, Sonic the Movie was more interesting compared to this version but when you look at Box Office revenues, it just shows how powerful Super Mario is as an IP. Given the tremendous success, Nintendo could easily greenlit the sequel which will definitely include Yoshi and other characters though i would expect the former to pay a hefty sum to get the Top Hollywood Celebrities from this movie to continue their work on the Movie Sequel.

Isekai Ojisan Nendoroid 2130 Elf

 

 I have been looking forward to the release announcement for Isekai Ojisan's Elf since the Prototype teaser was up just as the series caught my attention. Surprisingly the accessories for this Nendoroid is quite generous for its kind too. Nendoroid Elf is scheduled for December 2023 release with 6700 Yen price tag. If the series went well i think the Ice magician and Female priest had a shot at following up.

 Tsundere Elf or Sui from the name given by the Ojisan himself, is an Elf adventurer whose fate intertwined with the Isekai Ojisan main protagonist ever since he saved her life from a Dragon. Ever since this Elf waifu stalked after Ojisan and throughout strings of event and misunderstandings, she had a developed a heavy crush towards Ojisan with a heavy streak of Tsundere & Yandere. Normally Sui behaved like a Cool Elf stereotype but she just lose her mind and heavily swayed by emotion when it has to do with Ojisan. While the Isekai Ojisan manga has not ended yet, her design being one of the better in Isekai series is good enough to gain my interest on her. I hope that Elf would be able to reunite with Ojisan someday.

The Gattai Yuusha Series most wanted Poll results

  Early this year, GSC hosted a poll survey for the GATTAI series, one for Yuusha and the other one for general mecha series. Since i have been converted into a Yuusha fan myself, I contributed my part too and now the results has been announced! Back then i voted for Captain Shark, Super Build Tiger and Draias in that manner of order but surprisingly Draias made it to the second place with Pegasus Saber being claiming the first Place. I suppose the vote was rigged in favor of Da Garn and Mightgaine, but i would have to admit that Pegasus Saber is one of the most unique supporting Yuusha out there whereas Yuusha fans are not satisfied yet with Minipla Draias because it is really cool design indeed.

As for Main Yuusha mecha, J-Decker is highly requested followed by the ever popular Gaogaigar and then the last Yuusha series that never had its anime, Baan Gaan, I really wished Captain Shark made it to Top 10 but I suppose Goldran is not that too well received having the character design that belongs to those Chibi mecha series like Wataru/Ryu Knight rather than a Yuusha title. I will also leave the Poll results of the non Yuusha Mecha series which I don't feel worth discussing due to the scattered nature of the poll results. Personally should have voted in Ohranger robo.

Arknights: Prelude to Dawn

 

 Just as 2nd season of Arknights anime got greenlit during the announcement of 4th year Arknights anniversary, I just managed to get some time finished watching Arknights prelude to dawn. In short the 1st season of Arknights anime is as good as a primer to the series but nothing more, nothing less. 

Over the span of 8 Episodes, Prelude to dawn covers the storyline of Arknights Main Chapter from the prologue up to Chapter 3 where Amiya lead Rhodes Island to rescue Doctor and have him rejoin the faction up to the mid part of confrontation with Reunion in Lungmen. As a fans of the series watching the anime, animation is good enough but i feel Hypergryph tried to make the anime as plain as possible.

 One of the main charm of Arknights game is collecting hundreds of operators and then slowly gaining their respect/affection. Though due understandable circumstances, the anime is devoid of this aspect with only Penguin Logistics and BSW shown directly working with Rhodes operators. Hypergryph actually could consider making 1-3 Episodes for the side stories to enrich the atmosphere of the anime series, though i guess the Devs team are trying to gain some experience as screenwriter before such project could be considered. To be honest Arknights anime will not be able to replace the mobile game's content but it is a decent gateway for the casual fans to get into the series,

Rihio Animacha Vol.1

 China's Toys industry scene never cease to amaze me yet again! This time from a candy toys blindbox lineup, they are releasing some pretty cool Mecha toys from a brand called Rihio. Dubbed as Animacha lineup, This candytoys lineup are bunch of SD sized Robot piloted by animals and this instantly catches my attention being a sucker for Robot toys with cockpit gimmick. Have been released in China market for few months, these cute little robots are sold for roughly 100 RMB each.

From what I found on the net, Rihio is a relatively new brand of Toys that make SD proportioned Mecha toys that mostly resemble to Diaclone/Bionicle hybrid. But their Animacha lineup show the best potential the most with Fresh and original design standing 12 cm tall. For now Animacha only have 1 boxed set along with a Rabbit Robot which were sold as limited edition, but they will have great future if they are able to continue with Solid entries for the next boxed volume.

Warhammer 40k Joytoy 1/18 Saint Celestine

 

 I haven't covering much about Joytoy but they are really doing well in their products lineup especially for 40k Series. They have released plenty of good collectibles with this series before which are predominantly Space Marines but this time they dropped another bomb right here! Joytoy finally is going to release another major character from Imperium of Man, The living saint of Adepta Sororitas, Saint Celestine! With 73 USD price tag, we can expect this figure to be released in mid of this year considering Joytoy's pace of product release.

I am not too familiar with Saint Celestine fluff but she is one of the viable Astra Militarum HQ Choice, Celestine was a member of Battle sister prior to her ascendance as Living Saint who died during her service for Emperor but found herself resurrected as Living Saint. In the battlefield she served as beacon of hope for Guardsmen and she usually fights in the thickest of the battlefield along with her twin Geminae escort bodyguard. Celestine release is a big deal considering she is the second famous 40k character who got her action figure made by Joytoy after Marneus Calgar and we can expect there will be more of these types in the future.

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves

  Dnd have been relatively a rather niche series that had been shunned by normies for a long time and Hasbro finally decided to test how the popular RPG series fare for general audience with a blockbuster movie. While the production suffered so many delays in the production, I believe the movie is a good success because it manage to be a good entertainment both for mainstream viewers or Casual DnD fans like myself.

Honor Among Thieves story is a basically low level campaign of DnD PCs with a Human Bard as main character fighting against his old rogue companion and an agent of powerful lich in the realm in order to save his daughter, Traveling across many places in Forgotten Realm for the quest and encountering many sorts of people including allies. Honor among Thieves is a good DnD adaptation because the series perfectly capture the essence of this Role playing series beloved by many where the adventurers are not the top of the food chain like those typical shitty Isekai series and need to brave many dangers by relying with their wits and abilities considering they will get TPK'd should they try to fight a Red Dragon with Isekai mindset. The ever present sense of mortality is truly what makes the adventure a complete fantasy experience. 

 My Favorite character from this movie is the Paladin, Xenk Yendar who just serve as powerful NPC ally in this movie because he is a good adaptation of a Lawful Good archetype. I think Honor among Thieves is successful enough to warrant a continuation, though i really doubt it will be hard for this Bard party to commit on the next adventure, given the nature of movie production.

Soul Calibur Storm Collection Heishiro Mitsurugi

 

 Storm Collection is a small Hongkong action figure making company who are renowned for making quality muscular action figure for memorable characters from Fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken or Mortal Kombat. Now they are finally ready to start making some action figure for Soul Calibur beginning with Heishiro Mitsurugi in his Soul Calibur 2 version! Storm Mitsurugi will be sold for around 90 USD with Q3 2023 release schedule.

I never collected Storm collection before since i am not really into the characters they make, but If you want some muscular warrior type action figure, Storm did it better than Figma considering You will be really able to feel the weight of these characters. Mitsurugi is one of the most iconic character from Soul Calibur series apart from Siegfried from Soul Calibur male characters. In Soul Calibur series, Mitsurugi is a Peasant turned Samurai and fought through countless battles in Feudal Japan era until he decide to travel around the world in search for the strongest weapon, Soul Edge. In his quest for power, he fought alot with Taki who tried to prevent the Samurai corrupted by the cursed sword. While Mitsurugi is not my most favorite character, he is quite fun to play in SC 3 & 4. I will be waiting for Raphael's turn someday.   

GITS SAC Megahouse Gals Series Motoko Kusanagi

  Still surprised that we are getting some figurine for Major Motoko and the version from Stand Alone Complex no less! though this one fall on rather pricier side. So for some reason, Megahouse is releasing a PVC figure for Major Motoko as the part of Gals series with 22880 Yen price tag and October 2023 release date.

 However for a rather high price tag for PVC Figure, this version of Motoko had rather lackluster face sculpt and pose despite the body sculpt is good enough to bring out Major's alluring seductiveness. Personally i will look forward to Pop Up Parade or Figma for this version of Motoko which remains one of the best strong-willed Female protagonist out there.

Arknights Nendoroid Blaze

   So for Arknights we are getting the months pace for a Nendoroid release and the next one is one of Rhodes Island Elite Operator no other than the Chainsaw Kitty, Blaze! She is one of the top anticipated Ops so her release is imminent, Nendoroid Blaze is scheduled for October 2023 release and will be soon opening for Preorder in next week but i would expect her SRP should be around 7000 Yen.

 In Arknights Blaze is an excellent Laneholder Guard Operator due to her decent endurance and Strong consistent AOE DPS with her 2nd Skill. She is one of the Guard Operator who had been serving quite well since the Game debut 3 years ago and still reliable if overshadowed by the newer Guard OPs that can dish on-demand powerfuk burst damage. Her Nendoroid Chainsaw Accessory is surprisingly small maybe because the impression of her massive range from her skill 2 in the game. With the current pace of GSC, Siege or Mudrock would be a likely candidate for next Arknights Nendoroid