Yami's Summer Wonderfest 2018 Highlight

  Twice a year, Wonderfest always bring some high class temptations for toy collectors as usual and i am doing my part to highlight objects of interest. While i find Winter Wonderfest tend to have better lineup on prototypes, i find this summer to be equally good probably had to do with my focus shift less to Mecha nowadays.

Shawshank Redemption

 When i think about Count of Monte Cristo, i was reminded of this Great American Classic, Shawshank Redemption. This movie is essentially alternate take on Monte Cristo's theme and a good one at that. The word of "Wait and Hope" holds true in this movie as the main character, a banker who unjustly convicted for the murder of his wife need to endure hardship in the life imprisonment of Shawshank Prison complete with corrupt prison guards and bad inmates. What makes Shawshank Redemption particularly good is its buildup throughout the movie that leads up to one of the most satisfying ending that i had ever watched in movie. The ability of the main character to endure Hardship is something that can be looked up to. I think i should read the Monte Cristo Novel one of these days.

Alter 1/8 Edmond Dantes

 Type-Moon's take on Alexandre Dumas character from the classic series of Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes is finally getting official release announcement already. It is rare for Male Servants from FGO getting a figure and Avenger Class Servant Edmond Dantes is joining the fray! Slated for February 2019 release, Edmond Dantes comes with 12800 Yen price tag which is surprisingly cheaper than average Alter figure. In FGO, Edmond Dantes is portrayed as edgy character hell bent on revenge considering his design is based on certain Danganronpa character. I find find Edmond Dantes animation is very cool in the game and he makes a good pairing with Gudako apart from Karna though King Hassan will probably throw a fit. I am quite interested to get the figure since it is still within my price range and rather eager to get an Alter figure into my Collection despite skipping Tessa. Hopefully i can roll his character on his coming Limited Gacha next year

July 2018 Loot

 Since i work in toys industry, i am getting most of my stuff through preorders these days and i just got some of them this month. I have featured most of them in this blog since they are in my hit list already save for Gundam Converge which i started to collect again after a long break. Out of these items, i probably hyped Sentinel's Mospeada the most because the series scarcely have toys. Probably Yang Wenli is the first to get reviewed out of the bunch being a PVC Figure. Whereas it will be a long time before i review the new F91 MG but i do look forward to the new features that the MG had over the old one.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

 I am glad that i am able to get into Lost Planet! at first i thought this is your run of the mill shooting game but as expected from a japanese game, it is a Third Person with heavy dose of Mecha Actions. No Wonder /m/ did recommend this game for PS3. The story of Lost Planet is your typical Alien Sci-fi trope which i won't bother but the action bits are actually quite well made. For me the Mechas from this series called Vital Suits are the main selling point and the designs are surprisingly cool. PTX-40 Hardballer is probably the fan favorite considering it is the Posterboy, but GAB-25 is my personal favorite because Crab Legged Robot that can transform into Tank with Drill are big win in my book! While the mecha action in Lost Planet are realistic most of the time, the Final Boss Parts feels so much like Zone of Ender. I think Lost Planet is what prompts Square Enix to try their luck with Front Mission Evolved but unfortunately it didnt nail the balance that Lost Planet had for the Gunfighting and Mecha Action. What lacks for me in the first Game is probably the absence of the RPG element which could spice up the game but i will see if the Sequel will incorporate any of it. If i had Wii i will definitely give Tatsunoko vs Capcom a try because PTX-40 happen to show up in that game too.

Fate/Extra Saber Nero Route

 It is almost six years since the last time i picked Fate/Extra and this time i settled my old debts with this game! Back then when i had finished Archer and Caster Route,  I had a hard time to commit for third playthrough just because i can't put up with repetitive gameplay of Extra. However as i play FGO and picked up Nero Bride few months ago, i decided to commit my third playthrough with Nero once again. Back then I avoided Saber Route back then because Saber Nero made poor impression to me as i find her design seems like another cheap cash-in saberface clone, but her character turns out more than meet the eyes.

1/7 Teletha Testarossa Maid Ver

 We rarely get any good PVC Figure for Full Metal Panic Heroine so Alter's take on Tessa is a blessing. Unfortunately their 1/7 Figure which was shown few weeks ago for her falls on pricier side. Slated for February 2019 Release, The maid version costs 17800 Yen though most shop tag it for higher price. This version of Tessa wearing Maid outfit while holding P90 SMG is probably based on an episode from the new season for Full Metal Panic. Personally i prefer Tessa over Chidori for some reason but probably because she tries her best to gain Sousuke's affection. Unfortunately i will skip this one since my price range is around 14000 Yen so i will wait for another rendition for her Figure. Most likely Chidori will get her figurine as well. Speaking of the FMP game, Tessa had a wedding ending in her route so that one probably will go to my headcanon.

PS Vita Konosuba Megumin Ending

 Considering the Figma Aqua announcement release, i guess i might as well post the rest of Kazuma's main party route from the game as full article in anticipation of their upcoming Figmas. No Doubt Megumin is the most popular heroine in the series and therefore her route and scenes in the game are full of Fanservice as many fans root for Kazumin pairing. While i am in the Aqua camp,  i can see why Megumin become the favorite heroine in the series. Because aside from her Obsession for Explosion, Megumin is probably the most relatively normal girl out of Kazuma's dysfunctional party and nothing beats a budding malleable loli! At first i thought her route had the riskier fanservice after i saw the circulating fake CGs of her route, but definitely Kadokawa won't allow those kind of thing at this stage.

Nendoroid 951 Yang Wenli

 The Magician Yang now returns with his new appearance in the form of Nendoroid! GSC spares no time after Die Neue These airing and we are getting the merchandise as fast as they could produce. Scheduled for December Release with the price tag of 4500 Yen. The accessories are nothing flashy like Reinhard's Throne but Yang's tea set will fit well with Reinhard's baked Pie. Speaking of Die Neue These, i think Yang's Voice Actor Kenichi Suzumura did relatively better job compared to Mamoru Miyano but to be fair it is hard to replicate Ryo Horikawa's who nailed on Reinhard's dignified mannerism spot on. When the first season of Die Neue These ends, i think i will do a brief review for the series. As for now the only thing left for the LOGH Merchandise is the flagships Model Kits which Kotobukiya probably will pick it up.

Konosuba Figma 399 Aqua

Well after a long time wait for Konosuba fans, the useless water goddess Aqua made her reappearance in Figma form! Scheduled for November Release this year, Figma Aqua comes with the price tag of 6800 Yen. In terms of accessories it comes with the face expression and props are same with Nendoroid with extra effects for her staff and God Blow effect parts. I would hoped for more pathetic expressions for Aqua, but i guess the current one is fine as it is, too bad her happy expression is Online Shop exclusive. Considering Aqua is my favorite heroine in the series this one is instant get for me. I think Megumin finished figma will follow up within 2-3 months and probably we will see one for Darkness early next year. I just hope Megumin's doesn't cost too high than Aqua's

RE/100 1/100 Jagd Doga

 This particular year we see quite a lot Char's Counterattack Gunpla product, probably it has to do with the 30th year anniversary. After MG Jegan and RG Sazabi, Gyunei's Jagd Doga now shows up in 1/100 RE Scale. Jagd Doga probably cant get MG treatment due to lack of popularity but it can still use RE/100 Lineup for that. Scheduled for September Release, RE Jagd Doga comes for 4500 Yen Price Tag. With the same price with MG Geara Doga i guess the MG treatment for Jagd Doga would cost even more thats why Bandai put this guy into RE/100. I would expect the kit to be rather bulky so its articulation are rather hindered. Back then i was not a fan of Jagd Doga when i was new to Gundam series. But i eventually become more fond of this MS since it is High Performance Elite unit without being ridiculuously overpowered but the Pilot is still a douche. In any case this guy is a get for me.

Iron Blood Orphans Full Mechanics Afterthoughts

 Got couple days off this week so spent that time to assemble some of my Gunplas left in the backlog. I had few Iron Blood Orphans Gunplas in my collections and picked to build the S2 IBO Gundam since i might as well assemble complete set. In terms of value for money, Full Mechanics is one of the best Gunpla Lineup that Bandai had. For 3000 Yen you got a 1/100 Gundam with inner Frame and Good quality sculpt that beats Master Grade of Equivalent Price. These Kits put the Back heavy SEED MG that i built a while ago to shame and certainly an MG treatment for IBO series can improve thing further more. For these three Kits, each Gundam are heavy on certain parts. Lupus is Leg Heavy, Vidar is on the Side Waist and Bael is obviously heavy on the back. While i am Vidar Fanboy, in terms of the Model Kit, i find Barbatos Lupus is the best one with its balanced design where as Vidar feels had too many things going with its armaments on the waist. I still wonder why Bandai doesn't utilize the IBO series enough since the Full Mechanics can still go strong with Kimaris Vidar or Astaroth. I will be looking forward for an opportunity to paint these kits which will definitely make them even more impressive.

Custom Robo Arena

 This is another one of those old backlog game that i managed to deal with. Custom Robo Arena is one of those hidden gem in NDS especially if you like some 3D mecha action. Typical of the game of this genre, the story is never the strong point but it makes up with the gameplay. Custom Robo Arena gameplay is similar to game like Medabots and Danball Senki where you customize your robot toy and duke it out with other robots in one on one fight. In terms of size comparison, The Custom Robos size are somewhere around a Perfect Grade Gundam size so they fit roughly between LBX and Medabots. In this game my favorite Custom Robo variant is Lightning Sky which can transform into plane mode and the one thst I used the most is Tempest which resembles to a transformable Arc Beetle from Medabots. As of now I have finished the game with only Grudge Battles left which I will pick it up again when interested. Custom Robo could easily have a sequel on 3ds but I guess it comes to lack of interest but I hope the series will reappear someday. 

Front Mission Wander Arts Zenith

  Front Mission is one of those series that seriously lacks merchandise like some other Gritty Real Robot Series. Square Enix did make an official release announcement for a Front Mission action figure dubbed Wander Arts lineup. The first one to make it into this lineup is no other than the workhorse Wanzer of OCU faction, Zenith. Bring Arts Zenith comes with two variants, Urban and Desert Camo and design wise it is based on the first game. Scheduled for September Release, Wander Arts Zenith comes with the price tag of 9000 Yen. This would have been still acceptable if the size is comparable with Robot Damashii or SRC but it is a 12 Cm toy for almost 100 USD price tag. The sculpt looks great but this is one of those products that the manufacturer shoot itself in the foot due to the absurd price tag. I suppose either Square Enix lack of expertise in sculpting mecha action figure or it just want to spite the original creator of Front Mission series. Almost a decade ago Square Enix did make another Front Mission toy with 15 Cm Size and it was only half of this Bring Arts Price tag. While i was eager to get a Front Mission based toy, this is a skip for me and i will just wait more reasonable version of the toy even if it is model kit.

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