Touch My Katamari 100% Completion

 One of the first few games that i bought for my Vita and just managed to complete it now. Seriously the last trophy is very time consuming and the game doesn't have platinum either. Out of all Katamari series Touch my Katamari for Vita is definitely the weakest. The game are riddled with issues like uninspiring level design and half of the levels locked behind some kind of Paywalls. The game have currency called Fan Damacy which is used to unlock DLC Levels and you can either grind or pay for it. While some of the DLC levels are decent they don't worth real money to unlock since you can get all those Fan Damacys while grinding for Candies for the last item. Some of the more interesting DLC levels are Maid Heaven, Athlete Abyss, Great Journey and Pacman which ironically i unlock most of them near the end of my playthrough. For the candies i mostly grinded on the 50 Objects level since it is the quickest one to complete and earns decent amount of Candy which makes it good level to grind for Fan Damacy too. Personally i find Me&My Katamari still to be my personal favorite and would love to play Katamari Forever someday

Wonderfest Summer 2017 Highlights

 As usual i always do coverage about Wonderfest whenever they appear. Compared the one earlier this year, The summer 2017 doesn't seem as exciting to me as you see more of the Manufacturer's progress on their prototype from the Winter Wonderfest. As always only mecha related stuff that piqued my interest and stay away from moeshits like a plague. In any case Kotobukiya and Sentinel seems to fill my expectation again this time.

Elder Sign Storage Solution

 Fantasy Flight Games is one of the Boardgame Publisher who is notorious for chugging out Expansions after Expansions for their Base Game. This naturally makes the Original Boardgame box unable to contain all of the expansion components at some point and thus people their own storage solution for this issue and here is mine.

 For my storage solution i use Plano Box to contain the tokens, Cloth Bags for Monster Tokens and ordered some custom made wooden boxes for the Cards. So far my current suitcase for the Elder Sign able to hold all of the expansions up to Omens of the Deep just fine but i will need to find another if new expansions coming out. Overall i am quite satisfied with the storage solution that i do for Elder Sign. I had one as well for Elder Sign but havent got any time to give the final touch up for it.

Cross Ange

 Watched this series as part of my preparation for SRW V. Cross Ange is mediocre at best but at least it is still better than Valvrave. Interestingly Cross Ange is one of the series that is directed by Fukuda after a long time break as a producer thus you see a lot of homage from the previous series he directed Especially Gundam SEED considering the main Heroine Mecha is in Freedom Gundam color scheme anyway. The concept of the Ragna-Mail mecha is cool with Motor Cycle cockpit reminding me of a certain vertical shooter game in late 90s. As for the story it is tolerable if you dont take it seriously as the worldbuilding got some nice twist if watered down by excessive fan service. My least favorite thing about Cross Ange is the Grimderp route that it takes in the beginning as the character deaths in the first few episode only serve as Shock Value. Personally i never like the main heroine because her personality too selfish but i guess she kinda serve as strong willed Female Heroine in opposite of Beta Kun Male protagonist. Out of the Para-mail design i guess i like Tusk's since his is pretty much Justice Gundam version of the series and i am Athrun Zala fanboy. If i can find a bargain, i think i will get a Vita copy of Cross Ange game someday.

1/500 Yamato 2199

 Ever since i become follower of Space Battleship Yamato through Yamato 2199, i have been looking for a definitive Physical representation for the badass Battleship and now finally find one! The one that will be added to my collection is the 1/500 Model Kit of the Yamato 2199 made by Bandai. It cost around 10000 Yen but it is 60 cm size model so the price is worth it. The Model kit comes with the miniature model of the Cosmo Ace and Falcon but have no LED gimmick. For this kit with this magnitude, i will definitely put an effort to install the LED for the Cannon, Bridge and the Booster. Apparently the 1/500 Yamato have expansion kit to add more details but i think the Base Model is more than enough for me. Apart from The 1/500 Yamato the other Kit that i will definitely get is Katou's version of Cosmo Falcon. Speaking of the series i think i should give the 2199 Movie and Warriors of love a watch soon.

Helldivers

 Played this game few days ago and instantly hooked into it! Helldivers is a coop top down shooter game but it has a perfect ingredients for its genre. One of the coolest feature in this game is that your results contribute to something greater. The current game is great but it has more potential. The instant i saw this game, i can see how easily it can be translated into Warhammer 40k considering the Over the top Propaganda style of the game and Helldivers enemy factions can be easily translated into Tyranids, Ork and Eldar/Tau Hybrid. I really look forward to this someday and might even get Gauntlets if it ever land on Vita.

Some Recent loots

 Working in a toy company can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time. You got to get first dibs on discounted stuffs or new toys but also got you to commit Impulse buy even more. Here are are some stuff that i bought from my workplace over past few months which include variety range of stuffs. I got myself my first Figma and Yamato Figurine which have some nice discounts. Watching Iron Blooded Orphans also make me get some of the 1/100 IBO Gunplas and probably snatching 1/100 Bael one of these days too. My company also happen to have now rare Full Metal Panic Figurine from Atelier Sai which would complement well with my Aoshima FMP Kit. I doubt i will be able to give proper review this year like my other toys but should have plenty of time by next year.

Full Metal Panic new anime season announced!

 Took long enough but finally Full Metal Panic got the anime continuation that it deserves after a year or two rumor. Titled Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory the series will be airing on Spring 2018. The Animation should continue where Second Raid took of and easily close the curtain of the series if the length will be 2 Cours. It took 10 years for the series to get a continuation due to stupid licensing issue but in a way the delay was a blessing itself. Because the animation quality could be potentially better so we are able to see Laevatein and Belial in full action. It appears that 2018 will be the year for Mecha after all with Heavyweight title like FMP and LOGH airing. Coming along with the new FMP season, we should expect more FMP merchandise flooding in and i hope Tessa and Chidori got a good quality figurine. Though i would look forward more to Aoshima's Laevatein and wonder if Kotobukiya is still going to release Belial model kit after 3 years.

Legend of Galactic Heroes Figurine announced!

 Wow this completely caught me off guard! It seems that the attempt to reboot Legend of Galactic Heroes might be real after all. There is no release date so far but Kotobukiya is announcing some figure for LOGH Characters in ARTFX J Lineup. So far Only Yang Wenli got the Prototype shown but Reinhard and Kircheis is going to get one as well. Up until now Legend of Galactic Heroes still remains the best anime when it comes to Politics and Philosophy as well as an effective commentary upon present society. Kircheis and Yang Wenli will be instant grab buy for me because i will not spare money for this Masterpiece and going to keep on tab for these figurines. Studio IG wil be in charge for the reboot and since they look genuinely serious enough, i will give the series a watch from get go. Depending on how successful the series is, i think we are getting model kits for LoGH Flagship as well.

Tactics Ogre Let us Cling Together First Playthrough

 Another one of those game backlog that i cleared and certainly a superb RPG title, regretted abit that i didn't finish this gem earlier. PSP got plenty of Quality RPG game and certainly Tactics Ogre belongs to the list. For a Remake of PS1 game, Let us Cling Together got massive overhaul which makes its quality on a different level. Yasumi Matsuno maybe more known for his Final Fantasy Tactics or Vagrant Story but he is definitely the go-to guy for a quality high fantasy story and i am grateful to him for making Tactics Ogre.

 Compared to FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre is harder to get into due to rather different gameplay mechanics but it is really a good game once you grasp how the system works. But the main difference between Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics, is that Tactics Ogre Class System favors Vertical Class Build and doesn't really allow Mix and Matching Class Skills like FF Tactics. But seriously Archer in This Game pretty much murder everything. In terms of Storyline Tactics Ogre really shine over FFT if you like complex storyline as the former had tons of those. In any case Tactics Ogre is pretty much the other side of coin that is called FF Tactics. One thing that Tactics Ogre clearly win is that it got really cool Antihero in the game.

 For my first run of the game, i went for the Law Route mainly because i want to recruit Ravness but missed her in the end anyway. Back then i left the game near the end of Chapter 3 clocking around 30 Hours and it took me another 100 Hours for me to finish the game. You can actually finish the game within 40 Hours but farming Recipes and Sidequest delayed me that long. One of the main culprit is because i tried to Recruit Deneb which her Wicce Class is the hardest one to get in this game and she definitely live up to infamy. The main reason that her recruitment is very hard is that you need to farm certain rare item called Glass Pumpkin which is very hard to get and even with shortcut it took hours before you can get the required amount. Selling the Dragons to Butcher for their orbs is not too bad but the Glass Pumpkin takes the cake for the main reason that Deneb's recruitment is the hardest one.

 It will be another hundred hours i suppose before i am done with the game, as for now i am still training my underleveled Characters which are mostly the character exclusive class before hitting on Chaos and Neutral Path. It might be close to impossible for a continuation of this series, but i hope somehow Yasumi Matsuno could make another continuation for such amazing series.

MG 1/100 Gundam TR-1 Hazel Kai

 Even though it is Premium Bandai stuff, it is really a surprise that Advance of Zeta stuff made it into Master Grade Lineup. Scheduled for September Release, MG Hazel Kai will be sold around 4800 Yen. I don't know much about Advance of Zeta but Hazel Gundam is a Titans Prototype Mobile Suit based on GM Quel and some traces of Chobham Armor system as well. This version of Hazel Gundam doesn't have anything special yet other than the shield booster though its later iterations are pretty armed to the teeth. AoZ got some really cool design some of them are rather crazy in a good way. I am rather curious why Bandai decide to release AoZ MG out of sudden but i think if this goes well even Hrairoo could make it to 1/100 Scale.

Some Boardgame Expansion Acquisition

 I don't post much about boardgames in this blog but i have been dabbling in this hobby for 3 years already and it drains your wallet as good as collecting Japanese Toys. I like Horror themed Boardgame and Lovecraftian ones satisfied my need quite well. Ever since i played Arkham Horror, i become the closet fanboy of the subgenre. Fantasy Flight Games made some of the more popular and accessible Lovecraft themed Boardgame which i subscribe to Eldritch Horror for some heavy duty stuff and Elder Sign when i need a casual one.

 FFG is quite notorious for chugging out expansion and i am among the helpless fans who keep buying the expansions even though the base game works well by itself. Thus recently i got myself the latest expansion for Eldritch Horror and Elder Sign which are Dreamlands and Omens of the Deep. So far i didn't have time to make full use of the Expansions for both games so far but i should have plenty of opportunity to use them this year especially on Halloween. Perhaps i could post some session report for both games one of these days.

Song of the Long March 长歌行

 A good Feudal Chinese manga is rare and even rarer the one that sets in Tang Dynasty Period. Chang Ge Xing is one of those rare gems coming out from Mainland China showing that Chinese could make some Manhua that outshines the Japanese counterpart. Chang Ge Xing is a story about a Princess who seeks Revenge by Overthrow Tang Regime and a Young yet Powerful Turkic General whose fate intertwined into an epic journey.

 While Tang Dynasty hold special place in my heart for being one the highest point for Chinese Civilization, i follow Chang Ge Xing more than that reason. Kingdom might be another good Feudal Chinese manga but it lacks the finesse of Chang Ge Xing. The storytelling and the art of this manga are simply top tier stuff and it even treads deep on Chinese philosophical value, something really rare coming out of this media. The Character Development of the Two Protagonists are just complex and satisfying, while both start as enemies the Princess and Turkic General are basically two sides of a coin, having so much in common and at the same time complement each other. Both are outsider of their society and seeks the truth of their lineage. One of the best pair from manga series i have seen for a while. I am rather surprised that the author of this series is a young girl in her 20s which makes her certainly very talented if she do everything by herself. I am rather sad that the series is on Hiatus for some reason because Masterpiece like this deserve a proper Conclusion. If you seek a good Feudal Chinese manga that is more than just a Battle Manga than Chang Ge Xing is one of the best one out there. Here is some of my favorite part from the Manga.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars

 Kinda surprised that the Starship troopers going to get another CGI Movie considering Starship Troopers Invasion feels rather Lukewarm. Nothing much known about the new Movie except that it continues after the event from Starship Troopers Invasion and stars Johnny Rico as the protagonist once again. The Movie will be scheduled for release on August this year and i hope it got international release. It feels kinda weird that the sequel movie takes place on mars as the setting considering Bugs are infiltrating the earth already but i guess the new movie will give an explanation on it. By this time the Movie series are nowhere close to the Novel  but i will expect some good action and gore considering the previous did it quite well. The Starship Troopers Novel itself is a good read but mostly for its idea on society rather than the dakka action. I do hope Marauder Armor have more screentime in the new movie.

Liu Jian Piercing I (刺痛我）

 一切的偶然都是必然 - Coincidences lead to Destiny

 Seeing Liu Jian's work of "Have a Nice Day" attract some sensation being featured in Berlin Film Festival while Chinese Government attempt to censor which piques my interest on Liu Jian's work. As i haven't find available copy of "Have a Nice Day", i watched Liu Jian's Previous Work instead which is 刺痛我 or dubbed as Piercing I. Despite its arguably terrible animation, Piercing I has simple yet superb story and it is also a good commentary on Chinese Society in particular on the lower end. The story is about a young migrant worker who met series of misfortune which made him decided to return to his Village. Trying to do the right thing he met with injustice instead and one thing leads to another, his friend coax him to commit theft to get even with the person who wronged him. Trying to convey the message of "What goes around comes around" The movie set up lots of coincidences that leads to Bizarre event but somehow believable conclusion making thing going in full circle. I am not good at describing things but watching this movie feels like watching Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. The Reason why the movie is exceptional is that it shows an undiluted glimpse of the nature of society corruption in Mainland China which is something rare coming out of that place. I am expecting "Have a Nice Day" will have the same vibe of this movie and really look forward to watch it once available.