Metal Build Arbalest

 With the announcement of new anime season for Full Metal Panic, we will be expecting influx of FMP related merchandise! As for Bandai, they already contribute their part by announcing the release for Metal Build Arbalest. MB Arbalest is planned to be released on March Next Year with price tag around 21000 Yen. It was a strange turn out of event that Laevatein got released first for this Metal Build Lineup before Arbalest. While Full Metal Panic series animation got delayed for 10 Years due to stupid reason, i think the delay prove to be fortituous for Toy Industry as by now they can release better quality product. I would have got this one if i didn't have my complete set of Uruz Squad with the Aoshima Kit. Perhaps we will be even seeing some figurine for Chidori or Tessa soon.

Sakura Taisen 1

 The Storm of Romance under the Cherry Blossom of Taisho Era! It has been three years since i get into Sakura Taisen and i really enjoyed every moment that i commit with this series. It was no doubt that Sakura Taisen is a legendary series and doubt there will be another one to reach its level. With my complete journey over the first game i think the series seserve a proper article just like the one i wrote for Sakura Taisen 3. For the first 2 Sakura Taisen i played them on PSP which is great experience for being able to play such great series on the go.

Sakura Taisen 1 Heroine CG

Sakura Taisen 1 Ending CG

• Sakura
• Sumire
• Maria
• Iris
• Li Kohran
• Kanna

Kento Ankokuden Cestvs

 Not as good as Thermae Romae but it is another interesting take on Roman Empire period. Taken the setting during Emperor Nero Rule, Kento Ankokuden Cestvs tells the story of a young slave Gladiator named Cestvs/Cestus who under tutelage of former Champion Gladiator fights for his freedom as a Pugilist. While the author did try to balance the historical element and boxing scene, the manga ends up to be Roman Period version of Hajime no Ippo. To be honest the main weakness of the manga is that it uses modern people mentality for the protagonist personality which just doesn't work in a harsh setting for Roman Period Slaves. The manga starts out promising but ends up mostly to be unrealistic as Praetors fight with their fist and the main antagonist is pretty much Raoh's clone. The Ankokuden serialization finished in 15 Volumes but later continue as second series called Kento Shitouden where the main protagonist is already full fledged adult pugilist. One of my favorite game called Gladiator Rising definitely took some inspiration from this series.

Yuusha Keisatsu J-Decker

 Updating this Post to match with my other previous Yuusha series articles. Brave Police J-Decker was my Second Yuusha series after Gaogaigar and my opinion do change slightly after watching most of the Yuusha entries. Being the 5th entry of Yuusha series, J-Decker's formula is highly similar with its predecessor, Mightgaine but comes with Law Enforcement flavor this time. J-Decker is the second Yuusha title after Mightgaine that has its Yuusha Protagonists being created by human instead of mysterious alien robots. But for J-Decker, Sunrise one upped their game and have the Yuushas got some semblance of distinct personality instead of merely justice fighting robots.

Sakura Taisen 1 Kanna Ending Get!

 Its like almost a year already since i got my fix of Sakura Taisen and now i am going back to the first game. Before i touched Sakura Taisen 3 i have cleared 4 out of 6 Heroines ending leaving Kanna and Kohran. For my fifth playthrough i got through Kirishima Kanna's route who is the Strongest member of Hanagumi in physical department. In terms of personality Kanna is tomboyish and down to earth which is complete opposite of Sumire so they are often at odds with each other. But even a tomboy karate junkie like Kanna is unable to resist Ichiro Ogami's charm and manliness. Though to be honest i find Kanna is the least suitable love interest for Ogami in Hanagumi, as they work better as reliable buddies who got each other back. But lets see how Kanna's route plays out in Sakura Taisen 2. Interestingly Kanna's Voice Actor is probably more well known with her role as Monkey D Luffy from the popular mainstream work One Piece.  In near future i will rewrite a proper article for Sakura Taisen 1 since i did the coverage for the third game already and might as well do one for each title. I might even do another Iris Route just to gather sufficient assets for the future article.

Mage Knight Get!

 Mage Knight is one of the boardgame that i had been aiming to add into my collection ever since i get into this hobby and at last i got my own copy. I generally collect either Sci-fi, Horror or Fantasy themed Boardgame in my collection and apparently Mage Knight is one of the best Fantasy themed out there especially for Solo game. Vlaada Chvatil is one of the most famous Boardgame designer out there and out of his creations i owned Space Alert as well despite havent got a chance to play it but at least have played Codenames. Its hard to find a free time to play since i work six days a week but will look for an opportunity to play one of these day.

Super Minipla King J-Der

 As I appreciate Yuusha series more by this time, i am looking for a suitable Collectible Toys from these series. I generally find Super Robot Chogokin to be the best option but certain Mechas  can't make it with the lineup specifications. While King J-Der wont make it in SRC, Bandai manage to get around and release this guy in Minipla Format. The King J-Der Minipla was open for preorder a while ago with price tag around 12000 Yen and stands around 28 Cm tall when fully assembled. The Minipla also come with fully Transformable J-Ark and J-Phoenix, standing as tall as a Perfect Grade, it would be quite an impressive display. So Far the minipla lineup only release toy from Super Sentai and Gaogaigar series. But with this lineup Bandai probably find a way to release Great Mecha toys that are not too mainstream without putting up too much cost from their side. I regretted that i didn't make it with the preorder this time but Hopefully Bandai will open another one. In the Tv series, King J-Der is a powerful ally of Gaogaigar and its role resemble with Captain Shark from Goldran. And now i am still waiting for Bandai to release the rest of the Yuusha SRC for the main protagonists especially Fire Dagwon and Goldran.

Kemono Friends

 I tend to steer away from Moeshit in general but the recent scandal involving Kadokawa piqued my interest on a series called Kemono Friends. As a moe series Kemono Friends was not that special considering Kemonomimi has existed in Japan for a while already but the series is Lighthearted and have some nice worldbuilding. The premise of Kemono Friend is about an amnesiac girl who is accompanied by anthropomorphic Beast Girl named Serval trying to find her identity. Along the way the girl and Serval befriend more beast girls and solving problems along the way. What makes people gettting interested with Kemono Friends is that it was very low budget anime that was expected to fail by Kadokawa but somehow becomes a sleeper hit due to the director's effort. I don't like Moeshit but i from watching Kemono Friends, there is no doubt that the anime was a labour of passion. Then when the Kadokawa planned for the series second season the original director was fired from the project and no doubt it sparked outrage. I don't really like Kadokawa because they pollute the mainstream anime market with Moeshits like Kancolle and they certainly deserve the setbacks caused by this scandal. Then again this kind of scandal is a small pebble for Kadokawa but let see how many of these small pebbles they can endure.

Persona 3 Figma 322 Makoto Yuki Review

 Our Beloved Emo Blue Haired Protagonist is here!

Persona 3 Movie Thoughts

 Marathoning the 4 movies before prepping review for Figma Makoto Yuki. I don't have much attachment with the movie as it fulfills its purpose just fine. Out of 4 Movies, i find First and Second to be Bland while third is acceptable and the final one to be the best as Makoto Yuki showcase most of his badassness in the final one. I suppose in order to fit in a Movie structure, Persona 3 Movie sacrificed too much in order to fit the mold. As a Movie form it was okay but never able to replace the experience that the original video game gave. The Movie mostly focus on the Makoto Yuki's interaction with his SEES Teammates and Social link part barely covered. Compared to Persona 4 Animation, i think Persona 4 did better in anime media as it complement the original game really well whereas Persona 3 Movie is just straight retelling of some portion of the game. Makoto Yuki in the Movie is too much of a silent protagonist and doesn't show his coolness like Yu Narukami did in the animation. The Movie also totally abandon the romance part which was the one of the main selling point of the game. But at least one thing that the Movie nailed right is the Action Sequence as you get to see the Shadows that the SEES team face are not child's play. Even though Persona 3 Movie didn't do as good as P4A i am always a Persona 3 Fanboy because this where the Persona series starts to be awesome. To be honest after seeing the Japanese Seiyuu Performance in the movie, i think Persona 3 is one of the series that i actually prefer the dub.

Hidamari no Ki

 One of Osamu Tezuka's work that i read recently as the fan-translation has been finished. As expected from the Father of Manga's work, the story is good if the conclusion is rather weak. In this manga you get to see Tezuka's take on the end of Tokugawa era through the relationship between a doctor and samurai. Even though i have read plenty of works on Bakumatsu Era, Hidamari no Ki take on the period is still refreshing. You still get to see the cause and effect behind the fall of Tokugawa Shogunate which is rife with corruption and stagnation. Apparently the Doctor was Tezuka's Ancestor which he literally honor him through this manga. Personally i never like the Samurai protagonist because he is too stubborn to a fault but i am rather curious how does he end up in the end. If you want to read Tezuka's work Hidamari no Ki is quite easy to get into.

Genesis Climber Mospeada RIOBOT 1/12 Ride Armor

 I have been looking forward to Sentinel take on Mospeada Ride Armor ever since i saw the Prototype early this year. Just today Sentinel made its release announcement, the RIOBOT Ride Armor will be released January next year for 20000 Yen. The version of Ride Armor that Sentinel will be releasing is Stig Bernard's who is the main protagonist of the series and it seems that the RIOBOT will come with full gimmick. As as series, Mospeada is a wasted potential, but its mechanical design is something ahead of its time and thats what make me find this series noteworthy.

Years ago Megahouse did release 1/15 Scale Ride Armor with full gimmicks around 6000 Yen. But i guess paying three times the amount for a highly detailed 1/12 version is still within acceptable range with Recessions and Japanese Yen inflations being considered into. It was quite noticable that for some reason Japanese Hobby Toys price has inflated over past five years as the Hobby Companies are charging arms and legs for their product. Sentinel is one of the best Mecha Toy making company which is still around and i feel they deserve my support as they keep Moe Cancer at bay. If Stig's Ride Armor sells well enough i think Ray's and Houquet's will follow up. I wonder if Sentinel going to make Legioss some day because i think their sculpting skill should make a good one.

August 2017 Loot

 Forgot to show off this one due to workload but here is my acquisition from last month. Working in Toy Company has its perks, being able to get the first dib on new stuffs or getting rare toys at discount rate. Though i end up having my spending on toys doubled or tripled before i work in my current company. Most of the stuffs in the picture i bought it from my company save for SRC Mightgaine. I ended up buying alot last month because Tokopedia had insane 20% Cashback Promotion which allow me to get Sagittarius SOG for roughly 10000 Yen only. It was pricey but at long last, i have my own Saint Cloth and the only one i need! But in the end i think the best deal i got from last month is Yamato 2199 Figurine which i got for 270k Rp or roughly 2000ish Yen which is a steal for this kind of figure. Probably in few weeks i will be putting up some Review for some of my hauls here.

Megazone23 Freeing 1/20 EX=Garland

 Megazone23 is one of the Top Tier Mecha Ovas out there since some of the best experts in animation field at that time were involved in the Production. I think this is why we see the Series got toys from time to time even though it is very pricey. This time Freeing are releasing 1/20 Toy for Garland Motorbike Power Armor Episode 3 Version. The Toy will be released February 2018 with 29800 Yen Price Tag which is rather hefty. The Toy is fully Transformable Motorbike Power Armor standing about 20 cm tall in the Mecha form. The Sculpt is superb but seeing the prototype, i think the manufacturer need to rework on some parts. The Legs especially on the Thigh Joints are Flimsy and the Shoulder Joint looks really fragile, not something you want from an expensive toy. If this toy cost 15000 - 20000 Yen, i would have got this one but i am saving money for Sentinel's Mospeada Ride Armor. In Megazone23, The Pilot of Garland is not Shogo anymore but a youth named Eiji who is pretty cool guy. In the third Episode you get some of the best Dystopian Cyberpunk Landscape out there which also heavily influence Armored Core 3rd Generation. If you haven't watched Megazone23, do yourself a favor and go watch it!

Yuusha Shirei Dagwon

 7th out of 8th Yuusha series cleared and my journey toward the Yuusha series coming to close end! At the first place i had my interest on Dagwon as i had the toys back then and I think i have found another personal favorite Yuusha title here even though Dagwon was infamous but not necessarily in good way. In Yuusha series, Yuusha Shirei or Brave Command Dagwon is known as the black sheep of the family and thats because it tried to do too many things at once. Dagwon's storytelling formula follow closely to Exkaiser but introduce Super Sentai Elements which yields mixed result.