Kiseijuu / Parasyte

Last post for this 2014! I like Historie but i never know the author wrote another great manga before! If you ask me how good Kiseijuu is? it is as good as Naoki Urasawa scifi work. From few pages i already knew it was the work of Histories's author. Kiseijuu is a story about interaction between a teenage boy and parasitic alien creature that failed to hijack his body. The aliens aimed to destroy humanity but among that we find that friendship transcends race and this makes powerful message from the manga aside environmental issue that the manga addressed as well. The manga is not overly complicated but very clever in delivering the stories. I gotta respect the mangaka since he could pull gory stuff very well to without overdoing it. While it is abit different with Historie it is a solid manga and you will like it too if you are sci-fi horror fan.

A Christmas Greeting and 2014 Review

Merry Christmas 2014 Guys! and it is a week to go for 2015! Hope you guys have a meaningful time during this joyful day. This year marks my less activity for the blog since i have less time now but i still have the commitment. 2014 marks some significant change in my life as in the mid of the Year i left Australia to study Chinese in Beijing but i left no regret since i made the most out of my stay just before leaving Sydney which i will come back again sometime. Christmas in China is rather different in Sydney, everything goes usual in Beijing today which is suppose different culture different Significance. But i hope things goes well next year just like always.

I just finished my Papercraft which is a picture frame with Christmas theme and i spent my Christmas this year doing this. While it is a bit different with making Gunpla, i put my skills which i earned from for the former into some good use. Since it is my first kind of this work the result is not too good obviously but i did have fun along the way even took crash course of sewing and obviously my first few attempts look pathetic. I had fun the most building the fireplace as it reminds me of building Gunpla for some reason while i had some quite hard time making the Christmas tree since it is the trickiest part in the kit. Depending on circumstances i may show some of my future papercraft works so please look forward to it!

Some B-Daman Loots

Not exactly the Holy Grail that i seek but still a good haul imo. Got this set from Taobao for roughly $12 which is very good deal since this product had been long discontinued. These B-Daman Armor set is the one that the B-daman team used before the Saint Dragon that i shown before and obviously they can't combine to form larger mecha. I have seen another variation of Saint Dragon with 4 Celestial Beast Pattern which i would get if i can find one with reasonable price. I wished Takara would continue to make their B-Daman toy lineup but unfortunately since the series license now owned by konami they can't do anything for now i suppose.

1/6 Metabee

I used to play the GBA Medabot Fighting game alot when i was in my Junior High and recently got back into the series with the RPG game on GBA too which i somehow overlooked it. Obviously just like other series that i got into i will always discuss the available merchandise. While i forgot the series a long time i always remember the anime got a Referee who always appear out of nowhere whenever Medabot Battle started.  Medabots have 2 main robots that represent the series, melee based Rokusho and range attacker Metabee. I think Metabee is more popular since he got the main character role in the anime and i remembered him as foul-mouthed medabot and most of the time argue with Ikki though sometimes soft on him too. I think Kotobukiya did very on the mode quality for Medabot lineup and the price is kinda decent too compared to Muvluv or SRW kit since it cost 3500 yen for Metabee Kit. The Gimmicks is rather nice too as Metabee comes with the parts to replicate his signature Head Missile attack. I will cover the Medabot Game once i finished them which is not anytime soon given my nature of procrastinating and i wished the 3DS Medabots Games would be brought to the west someday.

Nitroplus Blasters - Heroines Infinite Duel

Slowpoke post here, i didn't expect Nitroplus would release another new fighting game for their series, while the Fighting game in the PC was far from perfect it was good fanservice so i suppose this time Nitroplus tried their luck again. So far the informations we got here is that the game will be released on Arcade next year which will serve as testbed like other similar VN based fighting games such as Aqua Pazza and Melty Blood. So far the playable shown characters are Ein and Mora which were playable in the previous game and i think they should retain some of the moves from it as well. The Soukou Aki Muramasa Heroine is one of the new cast shown to debut in the series as playable character. Apparently the Nitro Blaster will also incorporate Partner system where Hello World! heroine shown to be one of them which looks like some downgrade as well. F/Z Saber will be featured in the game as well which i wonder will she be playable this time. I hope this game will have more fluid fighting mechanics compared to previous game which is highly likely and at very least the game would ported to console or PC sometime later. I would get the game if it ever popped up in Vita which i wished Aqua Pazza or Melty Blood did. Also i wonder if Type-moon will ever release Tsukihime x Fate Crossover fighting game so Shiki could kill some Servants.

You could find my review of the previous Nitroplus fighting game here which include all ending CGs

Nitro Royale - Heroines Duel

Variable Action Koubu Ichiro Ogami version

Sakura Taisen got some mechas which is why i got into the series and while the it is not as popular as it used to be, it got some good merchandise at very least. Megahouse made some of the Koubu(光武) which obviously the manly harem protagonist Ichiro Ogami got one. Koubu which are literally translated as the Light Armament are the main weapon used by Teikoku Kagekidan to fend off demon invasions in Tokyo which are powered by Reiryoku(Spirit Power) which majority of them tend to be possessed by female that makes up the Kagekidan. Ichiro Ogami however is a rarity since he is one of the few male who possess enough power to operate the weapon and due to his military background, he become the captain of Teikoku Kagekidan however in daytime he is cutting tickets for theatre. I tnink this version Kobu is the one Sakura Taisen 2 since the first one is not this flashy and In the game Ichiro Ogami is one of the weakest character in terms of firepower but he makes up for it by tough as nail when it comes to protecting his team and pretty much he is a lady killer.

The Variable Action Kobu comes with 8000 yen price tag which is still normal for this lineup but the price does worth it considering the average quality of the product. I remembered the series got some plamo as well which i seen in some shot of the Sakura taisen maid cafe which unfortunately closed down long time ago otherwise i would go there when i go to Japan.

Jurassic Park(1993 Arcade)

I have been fiddling with my Mame again after leaving it on dust for a while and i have been playing lots of Beat em ups and Rail shooter. I wonder why i picked Jurassic Park out of all the games to discuss but this is one of the games that i played in arcade even though not as much as Shadow over Mystara or other games. My impression when i was a kid about this game, it is terrible hard especially the first part! No matter what you do the T-Rex will always reduce your HP to half at very least. While my impression remains unchanged, i feel that game design is terrible because your skill affects the game only in slightest but the shaking seats and being chased by two T-Rex will always give a good thrill. While i hate this game for having bad game challenge design, Sega did better with their Rail Chase and Aliens 3 and even made better shooting game for this series which most of you know as The Lost World. But in terms of coin guzzling it is still acceptable since it took like 7 credits to finish the playthrough still better than Terminator 2 which is just too horrible.

Playing MHP3rd again

Ever since i stay in Beijing i didn't touch MH3U anymore since i did everything that i wanted already but to be Honest waiting for MH4U really kills. So it was such a coincidence that i can find Japanese friends to play MH and thus i picked up MHP3rd once again which was i played the last time like 3 years ago. While i have finished most of the mission in P3rd, i haven't farmed for high end gears or the DLC stuff so this is such a good opportunity to get back to the series again.

While P3rd doesn't have as much content as 3U, the game is still very enjoyable since there are couple of things that make P3rd a memorable MH series. Up until now i think Yukumo is the best village design by far even though Pokke is more nostalgic and while the cats are jokes compared to Chacha and Kayamba, they do make good looking accessory since there are more options to decorate them. As you can see i just made my Alatreon gear which is much worth it compared to the 3U one which are terrible for the effort to get the weapon. At the moment I am going to hunt Akantor and Ukanlos since they would make great practice when i face them in MH4U. Also i am going to get the Uniqlo armor set which looks quite good and honestly DLCs i got in P3rd are much better than the one in 3U since you got plenty of weapon and armor assortments which are cool looking too.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

The light novel one not the manga, while abit slowpoke here i started reading the LN since it gets translated further than the manga. I am not really observant in Light Novels but i think ever since Maouyuu comes out fantasy themed LN got more popular than before at least in the western perspective. Tate Yuusha no Nariagari or the rise of Shield Hero is one of those. The stories is about 4 heroes summoned from other world to fight the demon invasion but out of all 4 Heroes the Shield Hero is the focus of this LN. Unlike other heroes, he can't attack at all and in the beginning he goes through misfortune that humiliates him as far as his reputation tainted and makes his personality become anti-hero one. So instead a story of classic JRPG Hero, Tate Yuusha offer fantasy story in the eyes of Anti Hero saving the world while trying to get his revenge(which he will definitely gets and it was so satisfying!). While i don't know how the story will go but i think it will be decent one at least even though i don't hear too much good thing about the ending. Anyway here is the link for the LN Translation and thanks for those guys who put real effort to translate the story!

Tate Yuusha LN Translation

Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula

SRX little brother

A little bit too much Anime and Manga post from me recently but i find another worthy mecha series to discuss. I still wonder why i overlooked Gigantic Formula even though it was one of the better Mecha anime after 2005(which is not much btw). The concept of the series is very interesting and i think Pacific Rim borrowed some ideas from Gigantic Formula for their Jaegers . The story of Gigantic Formula is about 12 Nations in war called Wisest World War to gain the right to rule the world which is kinda like G Gundam's Gundam Fight fighting with giant mecha called Gigantic powered by Head Statue resembled 12 Greek Deities. Unlike most mecha series which mainly focus on the main protagonist, Gigantic Formula over the perspective of pilots from each nation through the eyes of the main character which kinda make them peeping toms. This aspect surprisingly make good drama even though the pacing of the story is abit slow. Gigantic Formula also handle Politics and Mysticism adequately which was rarity in Japanese animation.

I really like mecha design from Gigantic Formula which are very well designed and it is kinda a waste that it is not used for SRW which i hoped it will change someday. The major letdown of this series is that the way the series concluded is rather disappointing despite the major buildup from the 24 episodes and it wasted as Gigantic Formula goes to cliche route which i will just let you figure out yourself. The series is kinda lack of intensity for a mecha series but at least the protagonist is not an emo one even though he is teen. I also think the anime could have used better character designer and english speaker consider the Engrish in the anime is just horrid. Anyway if you haven't got any mecha anime on your list, go watch Gigantic Formula. I hope someday this series will show up in SRW and the 12 mechas fight together instead of pitting against each other and tagging with Pacific Rim will be awesome too!

Akame ga Kill!

At first i was hooked to look at this series by the anime even though i don't really read this kind of stuff a lot anymore but i suppose i will discuss about this series abit. Akame ga Kill is one of those manga that is is borderline Shonen/Seinen since it got Fanservice, Hotblooded battle and Grimdarkness. The story is about a boy joining a group of assassins called Night Raid trying to overthrow Empire who are controlled by corrupt nobles wielding special weapons called Teigu. For a manga series in recent period i would say Akame ga Kill is quite grimdark with plenty of Gorefest despite colorful range of characters. Depending how it goes, the series can get grimdark enough to make Berserk blush as the Despair can be still higher. While i wished Mine the Pink Miku survived i think it is unlikely she will in order to make the series even more grimdark. I won't be watching the anime unless the series completed already but i will read the manga until the end to see how it goes.

Unless there are some drastic circumstances,
i think Tatsumi still better paired with Pink Miku rather than the Ice Queen

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien

It has been few years since i read Muvluv but i think i haven't discussed about Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien which is some of the reason that makes me go read Muvluv. I don't really exactly remember this anime anymore but certainly it leaves a memorable remark on me. Unlike Muvluv which got Lighthearted Drama, KGNE had very heavy duty Love Triangle and Mature drama which sets it apart from other Slice of Life. The story is basically about 2 best friends Haruka and Mitsuki who had a crush on the same person but Mitsuki let Haruka confess to Takayuki. While her relationship is abit rocky at first, Haruka gets on really well with the Takayuki until one day she got into serious accident that leads her to coma. Long story short years passed as Mitsuki become Takayuki's lover in Haruka's stead which started when Takayuki goes very Heartbroken due to Haruka's accident and now Haruka awake again from her long years of coma which starts the stormy love triangle that no matter how it ends up everyone will always get hurt and thats what makes KGNE so appealing.

For a Slice of Life the drama in Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien is quite heart wrenching and tearjerking sometimes and you can find it easily relevant because the cause and effect of the decision in this series are rather realistic. The songs too from the anime are very emotional and i think Minami Kuribayashi best songs are from this series. Again in this post i will use the opportunity talk abit about Muvluv, considering KGNE had some ties with it even though not directly related. I used to like Muvluv until it becomes piles of abomination that is tryhard and pretentious which what the series become after Alternative. Extra/Unlimited is very enjoyable experience and Alternative too though it is the point where it begins to show up its defects. Anyway if you read Muvluv before you should go watch KGNE if you haven't and don't skip the OP and ED to experience a journey full of emotions! Also watch the OVA if u want Haruka Ending

Starting watching Gundam Build Fighters Try

Slightly late watching the series but it seems like it is going to be a fun ride just like the previous Gundam Build Fighters. Just now i caught up the series until the 4th episode and i would say i am really hyped with Gundam Build Fighters Try. GBF is a good medium for Bandai to have all Gundam series have appearances without worrying too much about messing up canon storyline and appease avid Gundam fans at the same time. While it is still over the top like previous GBF i can still stomach it up considering the mecha actions are still really good. GBF doesn't do enough justice with G Gundam series but now Try will make up for it and i will look forward the time when the protagonist will shout  俺のこの手が真っ赤に燃える！and hopefully some Domon cameo will show up. I am not too interested with how the series with end up but i think GBF Try will be enjoyable ride as long as Bandai keep the focus of the series toward new and old fans balanced.

Ragnarok the Animation

One of the weekly anime that i watched back in middle school when Ragnarok Online was really popular at the time and it was the only consolation for me since i can't play the PC game for some reason. I marathoned this series recently and find out surprisingly that i didn't miss any single episodes back then. While it is far from good Ragnarok Animation is quite memorable for me since it is decent RPG adventure anime. But i do find half of the main characters are annoying especially Yufa and Maya. From what i know the gaming fanbase hate this series for some reason but i guess because some of the stuff in the anime are unrealistic when compared to the game like beating MVPs with 1st class job. In the end i would say the anime could have been better if it has stronger relation with the game.

Since i got plenty of time during weekend in Beijing, over past few weeks i played RO on Private Server which i can say the game mechanics has aged already. I used Mage character which just become Sage which i really like because it is very versatile for me even though it is not powerhouse. My impression of RO as a game is that the Game is just overly reliant on equipments just like Ragnarok Odyssey. While i am expecting the game is Grindfest since it is MMORPG, the effort is just way too much especially if you are farming for the cards which is for me 10 times worst than getting the rarest drop in MH. Also i find the PC Game are not particularly creative after Yuno Chapter as the locations and monsters are just very uninspired. Nevertheless i will just play the game for the sake of making up the lost time which at the moment i am just burning those undeads in Glast Heim with my Firewalls!  

Non Scale Cybuster Possesion form kit

Since Masoukishin 2, i have been expecting Possesion form of Cybuster to get a kit eventually and few while ago in some Japanese Hobby show my expectation hits the target once again! There is no apparent release date or pricing yet but judging from the size i think it will cost at least as expensive as Neo Granzon or even more which probably will be around 10k Yen. Considering the 1/144 regular version of Cybuster alone was 7800 Yen which i had one. I hoped other Masoukishin will get a model eventually in particular Granveil and i recalled even Jaohm got a Garage Kit. However with how the last Masoukishin game turns out i think the chances are bleaker. I didn't play the 4th one but i heard it was disappointing which was kinda expected since Pride of Justice was terrible already, it seems either Winkysoft doesn't have the capacity to continue the series or Banpresto forced them to tie the series up. Nevertheless how the series turns out, i still recommend to play the first Masoukishin because the charm of the series was in that game and Masoukishin got the best version of Cybuster's theme.

You can see the possesion form of other Masoukishin here from my review of PoJ

and this was my review of 1/144 Cybuster