Sakura Taisen 1/8 ARTFX J Shinguji Sakura Review

咲いてみせます さくら... さくら..... さくら色

Yami's Megahobby 2018 and One Hobby G Expo Highlights

 Usually the big stuffs for Japanese Toys are shown on Wonderfest but for some reason this Year's Megahobby Expo catches my attention. This event mainly focus on PVC Figures so Bandai doesn't really have presence on this one. As usual FGO dominated the product lineups and the temptations are strong with this one.

Nendoroid 937 Reinhard Von Lohengramm

 I saw the Prototype for Nendoroid Yang Wenli from the new LOGH a while ago but turns out Kaiser Reinhard got the first dibs. Scheduled for This year's November release with 5000 Yen Price Tag, Reinhard von Lohengramm from the LOGH Reboot series, is getting a Nendoroid treatment. Being Overpriced as usual, i think Reinhard could have used a miniature of his Flagship Brunhild as his Nendoroid Accessories but his throne chair doesn't look too bad. Nevertheless the Nendo still capture the Porcelain Doll with Sharp blue stare look for Reinhard so i might get this one in place of Kotobukiya's figure.

 Speaking of the new LoGH Reboot, Die Neue These. Studio IG definitely did try their best to live up to the Previous OVA standard even though it won't reach the original OVA level because the latter had budgets and stellar director to back it up. One interesting thing that i find after reading the LoGH Novel is that the Original OVA actually fleshes out the Novel even further and did a great job on it, which is why the OVA stays legendary. At any rate i think the Tv series will close its 12-13 Episode with the conclusion of Amlitzer Battle just fine considering that was where the First volume of the Novel Ended. And i think IG Studio will use the movie to cover Lippstadt civil war arc which should work just fine with the pacing of that particular Arc. Die Neue These might not surpass the OVA but it gives the opportunity for the series to get Merchandises that the series deserves and i will try to support it as best as i could especially if we get the Flagship Model kits.

Front Mission Evolved

 Tried this Black Sheep of Front Mission series to figure out why it is badly panned and it turns out as expected. To put it simply, Front Mission Evolved only nailed down the gameplay while leaving everything else a lot to be desired. The Original SRPG Front Mission had good gameplay, but it is most known for its Gritty Sci-Fi yet Realistic Geopolitics and Evolve is nowhere close to its Predecessor. I do like the gameplay even if it is short since it had the potential but a Front Mission action game should have more tactical element on it instead of being a run and gun Mecha Game. My main gripe with the series are the customization system and mandatory loadout levels which are easily the worst aspect of Front Mission Evolved. I dont actually mind the FPS sequence but it not anything solid either. I suppose with the departure of the original Devs, it is hard for Evolve to deserve a place among its predecessors as it lacks the Soul and Vision that the previous games had. To be honest if Square Enix put more effort to polish this game, Front Mission Evolved could have been something though i doubt this will be the end of the series. I still had 4-5 more titles to go with this series and definitely looked forward to it and I am still waiting Square Enix to release the Play Arts Kai for Front Mission which they had shown the prototype a while ago.

Persona 5 First Playthrough Complete!

 Ever since i own PS3 a while ago, Persona 5 has been one of the game in my bucket list to play as i followed the Persona series since the 3rd Game. After clocking around 70 Hours, i managed to complete my first playthrough for this game. Persona 5 is definitely a worthy successor of the series even though it feels that contents pruned off here and there in order to keep the game Polished. Overall the story of Persona 5 is darker than the previous games as it touch on uncomfortable subject that Japanese Society had. In terms of gameplay Persona 5 no doubt surpass its Predecessors and managed to raise the bar yet again with its very stylish presentation. But when it comes to storyline, it isstill up for debate. Persona 5 is a Great Game for sure but i find its setting too Depressing and Tokyo simply is not charming compared to Tatsumi Port Island or Inaba. For me, i find the game's theme of rebellion against establishment are slightly edgy and over the top for my taste. In the end Persona 3 still wins with its end game story while Persona 4 have better character synergy when compared to Persona 5. Nevertheless there are still plenty of opportunity of additional improvement that this game can get considering it lacks almost two months worth of content.

Mobile Suit Gundam Ensemble 7

 While i still stick to Master Grade for my Gunpla Fix. Recently i have started collecting Gundam Candy Toys again due to overwhelming temptation in my workplace. Therefore i keep observing available variants for Gundam related Candy Toys. While Converge is still the mainstay choices, i have started looking at Gundam Ensemble. Gundam Ensemble Series lineup just started about 2 or 3 years ago but they offer more articulation compared to Converge for the same 500 Yen Price tag a pop. Proportion wise they are more similar to the recent Gundam Silhouette SD Gunpla lineup which i kinda dig since it reminds me of MS Saga series. Now the Gundam Ensemble had reached its 7th lineup which offers Re-GZ, Gundam MK-II with G Defenser as well as Geara Doga with Heavy Armament. Not particularly flashy but solid enough to warrant a purchase from me. I think Ensemble series will be long running one since Bandai made a good winning formula with this one as long as the available Mobile Suit for the lineup are interesting enough.

Gashapon T-Arts The Drawer Review

 One of Gashapon that i happen to own as i am finding accessories for my growing 1/12 Figure Collection. Takara happen to make some of their Gashapon to complement Figma sized figures like Pokemon Gacha Machine. While this one is not as flashy as the former, the Drawer Gashapon makes a nice addition for anyone planning to make some room based Diorama.

PS Vita Konosuba Aqua Ending

 When i played this Fanservice Konosuba game on my Vita, i already aimed for Aqua from the beginning. Aqua is my favorite Heroine because for some Reasons you can't really completely hate her character. At times she is very high and mighty but then become downright pathetic at an instant. Seriously i never expected to have so much fun to have a fictional character like Aqua get tormented so much even though it is mostly her own fault. Aqua would be a perfect Heroine if she casted off her Rotten personality and i think that Potential makes her my favorite Heroine in the Series. So in this post i will within my best capacity to retell Aqua's route story for those who can't get a copy of this game which definitely contain Spoilers for sure.

MG SEED 2.0 overall thoughts

 I have finished assembling MG Freedom 2.0, Providence and Justice Gundam two weeks ago for my Company's store display. Since i get my hand to fiddle around the kits, might as well share my brief opinion about them. For these three kits, i just do a straight build then do some panel line and apply decal with Matte Top Coat as finishing touch. Overall these Three Master Grade look impressive and maintain decent articulation without any Polycaps in the frame. However MG Freedom 2.0, Providence and Justice all share same main issue for being a Backpack heavy Gundam so don't expect some dynamic action without Action Base assistance with Justice Gundam being the worst of the three. Surprisingly I find Providence Gundam being my Favorite MG out of three despite i am a big Athrun fanboy. I think this is because i feel that Providence had the right amount of weight while Freedom feels rather scrawny where as Justice has serious back issues. By assembling these 3 SEED MG i got better understanding of these three mechas and i never expect Providence had that many DRAGOON Ordinance attached to it. While it is not much here are the rest of the shots i took for these three kits which i will take more when i built them for myself.

Metamorforce God Gravion

 At last Sentinel made official release for their God Gravion which completes their Mecha Toy lineup from Last Year's Winter Wonderfest. To be released on August this year, as expected God Gravion will cost a leg to get one with 40000 Yen Price Tag. Gravion is one of the most approachable work made by Obari and it is the homage of Yuusha Series by concentrating on their strongest point. If this toy was in 20k-30k Yen Price Range i would have got it in a heartbeat but 40k is just too pricey. I don't think the sculpt will have any problem but Articulation might be compromised. I suppose building a toy from scratch is no easy task but charging an exorbitant price tag for a non mainstream series seems to be a bad business plan. I am curious what Sentinel had in store next time after releasing Gravion.

Fate/Apocrypha thoughts

 Tried to watch this one out of curiosity with the Apocrypha Servant appearance in FGO and to be honest this is easily the worst Fate anime adaptation so far. The Premise of 2 different team of 7 Servants class duking at each other for Holy Grail looks promising but failed in execution. I think Apocrypha is trying to showcase how a Holy Grail War could greatly derailed due to Magus that tried to play foul but simply failed. While the Servant casts are quite decent, it can't be said with the masters which are mostly boring and unlikable with only Mordred's master being the only exception. However the biggest offender for me is the main character which is one the worst Mary Sue i have seen so far being coveted by several servants for no good reason. At any case My favorite Servants would be Apocrypha are Chiron, Achilles and Karna which i hope the first two will make its appearance in FGO soon. Siegfried surprisingly is quite good in the series despite its lackluster performance in the game. As one of the Fate Anime, i don't think you will lose much from skipping Apocrypha.

MG SEED Buildoff!

 It is another of those time where i got assignment to assemble some kits and this time it is for my Company's new store Display. My company recently opened branch is a more gundam oriented toy store and thus it needs Some display for Gundam kits. There are couple of displays to be made which i happen to help them draft and i got assigned to build the MG which are the original ZAFT Trio Gundam: Providence, Justice and Freedom Gundam. I feel the SEED version had better charm compared to the SEED Destiny counterpart since it is not ridiculously overpowered thus maintain its semblance of Real Robot. I think this will be a good practice for me when i get these gundam for my personal collection and certainly i look forward the new engineering that Bandai bring upon this Gunplas.

1/7 Jeanne Alter Dress

 Jeanne Alter is one of the most popular FGO Servant out there so she definitely gets a lot of merchandise! In Shinjuku Arc, for once Jalter cast off her cold demeanor and puts her feminine charm into play, wearing gorgeous dress for a dance in the final parts of the story. Her dance scene no doubt this captures a lot of FGO players affections toward Her. In no time Max Factory took the opportunity to capitalize Jalter since last year and they finally announced the release for her Dress version PVC Figure. Released on March next year with the price tag of 16500 Yen. For that kind of price you could get an Alter Quality figure already and i doubt Max Factory's Sculpt would be as good. For 16500 Yen price tag of this figure i think you are mostly paying for the premium of having one of the most popular character in the series in her most gorgeous form. Despite being pricey as usual i will get this particular Jalter Dress figurine for a reason. I made a bet with myself that i will be getting this figurine if i managed to pull her in the recent Da Vinci which i did at the cost of 90% of my SQ reserve. I think my FGO SSR Roster is halfway done by now with the addition of Jeanne Alter and my priority for next SSR would be Archer or Caster class.

Legend of Galactic Heroes Novel

 Finally managed to get the LOGH novel into my collection which i had already planned even since a western publisher picked the series up. Legend of Galactic Heroes still remain the best anime i have ever watched and i am doing what i can to support this Masterpiece. I recall the Novel had around 10 Volumes and so my collection is still halfway to go, the publisher is working up to 8th Volume now and i hope they will commit till the end. I think each volume of the Novel worth about 10-15 episodes of the original OVA. For now i have just finished the first volume which roughly cover until the conclusion of Amlitzer/Amritsar battle. Compared to the Novel, i think the OVA fleshes out more at some aspects for instance the OVA expands on the Schenkopp Recruitment and the Iserlohn Capture part. Reading the novel makes me appreciate the OVA even better since they perfected the novel which has been really good already. Anyway i think i will enjoy my experience reading through the novel.

Plastic Memories

 Got interested with this anime since Sora Amamiya starred on this one before her role as Aqua in Konosuba. Turns out Plastic Memory is not so bad but still an unfinished product since it abandons its world building halfway. As a teenage romance, the series did a great job but due to the lack of world building, the tragedy parts doesn't really hit the mark. The essence of the Plastic Memories is about making the most out of the available opportunity even if it is a short one. If i would make the comparison, Plastic Memories is somewhere in between Chobits and Noboru Sora. I think there are plenty of things that the animating studio wanted to explore with this series but i think i this is one of those anime that got budget constraints thus limited option. I think i will give the PSVita game an opportunity considering i do like Sora Amamiya's role as Isla in this series.