Prisma Illya Nendoroid 1680 Illyasviel Von Einzbern

 

 Out of Fate series character, i didn't expect Illya would take long for her Nendoroid to get released despite she enjoyed relative popularity in the series. In any case the magical version of Illya is now available for preorder for February 2022 release schedule with 5000 Yen Price tag.

Personally i do enjoy Illyasviel character in original Fate series even wishing for her own route in FSN instead of Heaven's feel. However i stayed away from Prisma Illya due to its excessive underage yuri fanservice. I actually thought the Nendoroid would come with crazier expression for Illya but GSC version is relatively tame considering Illyasviel do have some silly moments in the Prisma Illya which even carried over during the FGO collab event. In FGO Illya is one of the rarer SSR Caster servant due which her banner only shown up like twice up until now. At any rate i think Chloe and Miyu had a good chance to follow up considering it take illya to open the floodgate for the Prillya fans

Majo no Tabitabi

  Some Fantasy Slice of life that i watched recently which i find to have interesting premise but had rather annoying main character. I was interested with Majo no Tabitabi when i read some articles about dark fantasy and this series to be mentioned. Overall the series is lighthearted most of the time as it tells about the story of a young witch traveling around the world but it do have some darker episodes where some of the sinister element kicks in such as the child serial killer. Personally i am not too fond of the main character Elaine since she is too selfish and immature for a person of her position. Considering Witches in the Majo no Tabitabi setting are position that wield significant influence in that world and Elaine probably will cause many misfits with her immaturity. Majo no Tabitabi selling point is the encounters that Elaine had throughout the journey because the magic system and everything else are rather shallow at the point of  the anime airing. At the current state Majo no Tabitabi is rather mediocre fantasy series but it still have some potentials to be tapped should the 2nd season popping around.

Arknights Nendoroid 1635 Kaltsit

 

 GSC is quite quick on this one, being shown in Arknights CN 2nd Anniversary broadcast, Nendoroid Kaltsit is now available for preorder. Scheduled for January 2022 release, Nendoroid Kaltsit will be sold for 6900 Yen. For its price tag which fall on the pricier side of Arknights Nendoroids, Kaltsit doesn't come with much accessories to justify the price and i don't think M0nster miniature figure worth extra over 1000 Yen cost. 

In Arknights, Kaltsit is a 6* Medic Operator who serves as the Top Executives of Rhodes Island who manages things behind the scene while Amiya serve as leader figure and Doktah handle missions deployment. By far Kaltsit is the only Medic Operator with summon gimmick in which she can deploy creature called M0nster as powerful melee unit. In the Storyline Kaltsit treated Doktah rather coldly due to Doktah's Pre-amnesia actions though she is popularly depicted as Doktah's ex-wife within the Fandom. Kaltsit will be available as recruitable operator at the end of this year in Global server which certainly match well with the release timing of the Nendoroid. As for myself, i will be still waiting for Nendoroid Doktah and Skadi to follow up since they were revealed at the same timing with Kaltsit.

Arknights Figma 525 Chen

 

 Another significant milestone for Arknights! While the series is not the first Chinese Mobile Game series that got figma treatment which i think Girls Frontline gets the credit, it is still a commendable achievement by the industry. The Operator who gets the first dibs on the figma treatment is no other than the popular Dragon Waifu, Chen! Figma Chen will be scheduled for December release with 8000 Yen price tag.

Figma Chen came in minimalistic accessories which only include her Twin Blades and 3 Face plates. Unfortunately she doesn't have blushing face expression considering it is never featured on the official storyline. The Nendoroid version still comes with more accessories but i suppose the Figma Articulation should be decent enough. I suppose there is a good chance for other Arknights operators to follow up despite majority of the Top Operators had rather difficult designs to be implemented as Action Figures. From the existing operators that got Nendoroid treatment already, Exusiai, W and even Texas came to mind for good candidates to follow after Chen due to their simpler clothing design.

SRW OG HG Non-Scale Alteisen

 Bandai is utilizing the SRW IP for their Model Kits Product and this time Alteisen joined the party following after Cybuster. Scheduled for December Release, Bandai's version of Alteisen Model kit will be sold for 4000 Yen Price tag which is about 800 Yen cheaper compared to Kotobukiya's last version of the Old Iron.

 Debuted in SRW Compact/Impact, Alteisen piloted by ATX Team Leader Kyosuke Nanbu, remains to be one of the major presence in SRWOG to the latest iteration. In SRWOG series, Alteisen originally dubbed as Gespenst MkIII, is a Personal Trooper that boast tremendous firepower but had glaring flaw at the same time with its control issues which Kyosuke only able to pilot effectively due to his daredevil personality. In terms of design, Alteisen had a certain charm with its Bulkiness which came in right amount. To this day i still haven't exactly figured out the mecha used for Alteisen mecha design but chances Scopedog inspired the Alteisen Design considering Chirico Cuvie contributed alot for Kyosuke's Archetype. At this point, i think Daizengar or R-1 had better shot to be the next SRW OG Mecha to be made compared to Weissritter and others. Also Huckebein definitely will never come to light.

Ushio and Tora the animation

 

 Ushio and Tora is one of my favorite youkai themed Shonen manga to this day as it is one of the few series that managed to capture the essence of Shonen Genre through the adventure of a youth named Ushio who is tagged along with a Youkai called Tora. Few years ago, Studio Mappa which is in charge of recent popular anime adaptations such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Shingeki no Kyojin made 39 episodes adaptation for Ushio and Tora which i finally gave a watch recently.

 As expected, the anime adaptation of Ushio and Tora didn't really live up to the original counterpart, primarily due to skimping too much of the story material from the manga in order to make the series to fit within 39 Episodes.  This is inevitable since Japanese anime industry in the present state didn't have that luxury to make lengthy anime series anymore unless the animated series brings in big money. So in essence the anime version of Ushio and Tora only cover the Hakumen no Mono arc and ditch all of the side stories which are actually interesting and contributing significantly for the buildup of the final showdown. In any case despite its glaring flaw, the Anime version of Ushio and Tora still did its part decently on the story it cover and Ushio and Tora still remains the best Human Yokai duo team to this day. I feel Onmyoji Arena could have put a good use for this series as collab material.

Macross 7 1/7 Nekki Basara

Older Macross series in general tend to be neglected apart from the DYRL series. But out of the blue, Megahouse just decided to announce PVC Figure for Macross 7 featuring Nekki Basara and Mylene from Fire Bomber Band!  Nekki Basara figure comes in 1/7 scale and will be scheduled for December 2021 release with 15800 Yen Price Tag. 

  Macross Plus might be the best overall title from the series but Macross 7 will still remain to be my personal favorite. The series might have rocky start with the repetitive first half, but it redeem itself from 30th  Episode onward and concluded with a satisfying end. Being the lead vocalist of Fire Bomber, Nekki Basara himself is the legendary figure in a Macross series being the Main Protagonist who sets himself apart among his peers with his larger than life attitude and very capable VF pilot despite not being part of military outfit. Basara might be one dimensional on certain aspects, but he had achieved many amazing feats through his singing which are probably even not doable by most Macross Protagonist which is why he is able to carry Macross 7 mostly by himself. With the current popularity status of Macross 7, i doubt Ray and Veffidas will join Basara and Mylene in 1/7 Scale figure to complete the Fire Bomber Crew, but i love to see more merchandise for this series.

Arknights 1/7 Skadi Elite 2 Version

  It feels rather random that Kotobukiya able to make a figure out of Arknights series but they did and their first pick is no other than the Orca Waifu operator, Skadi! The 1/7 Scale figure is a straight faithful interpretation of Skadi's Elite 2 Illustration from the game. Kotobukiya 1/7 Skadi is scheduled for October release with 17000 Yen price tag which is just about the price for a medium range Scale figure nowadays. 

 In Arknights, Skadi is a Bounty Hunter from Aegir with mysterious past who debuted in Arknights first event quest. Recently the Chinese version had revealed more of her past and introduce her alternative 6* Supporter class which had a nuance of Cosmic horror. Interestingly Skadi's artworks in Arknights is made by an Indonesian illustrator named Alchemaniac, a testament that Japanese does not monopolize the 2D style animation anymore. 

 There is a good chance for me to get this figure since Skadi is my main reason of playing Arknights despite her underwhelming performance as Guard operator compared to other 6* Guard OP and i still keep her as the secretary to this day. With her level of popularity, i believe Skadi Summer and Alter version have a good shot of getting a Prize figure or Nendoroid and i think fans will even welcome more of Skadi's alternative class.

Ano Hana

 One of the few popular anime series in early 2010s by general anime community that really live up to its reputation. Usually Coming of age series are associated with joyful stuffs in general, but Ano Hana went with tearjerker and a really good one too. If you are able to finish this anime without shedding some tear, then kudos to you! considering Ano Hana is comparable with Clannad when it comes to this department.

 The premise of Ano Hana is about a group of teenagers who used to be inseparable close friends but drifted apart after a tragedy befell upon one member of the group which costed her life. The main character, being struck hardest with the tragedy made himself into a shut-in and apparently the only one who is able to see the ghost of his dead friend. Throughout the anime, the main character attempted to reunite now estranged group of his old friends to help their ghost friend to move onto afterlife and gain some sense of closure for themselves in order to move on.

Compared to Clannad, personally i feel that Ano Hana hits harder because Clannad still bother to give some good alternate happy ending while the parting message of Menma for the main protagonist is simply a critical hit with no brakes. With the quality of its writing, Ano Hana resonates toward the adult viewers quite well considering it is very good at evoking the sense of nostalgia of the simple and younger days of childhood. With this strong point, Ano Hana easily put itself onto the ageless anime category and the story will still remain relevant in 10 years to come. I think i will visit True Tears at some point since this series is mentioned along with Ano Hana when it comes to tearjerking anime.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby

 Making myself dig even deeper toward the Gacha Hell as i gave Uma Musume Pretty a try, it seems that i should consider quitting as Shikikan. The Second Season of Uma Musume is really good that it manage to make me bother to give the game a try which is still in Japanese until this time. Uma Musume Pretty Derby turns out to live up to its hype as the game dominates the Japanese gaming market by the storm after Cygames released the game early this year. To put it simply Uma Musume is a Hybrid Simulation Bishoujo game which mixes Moefied Horserace, Idols and training simulator which works out quite well somehow and not to mention the production value is Top Tier for a Gacha game. 

 In this post i will try to give some general guide to make the game easier to comprehend with the language barrier, but the game is easy enough to comprehend if you have basic knowledge of Japanese.

Giant Gorg

  A Rare Gem of 80s mecha series and a showcase what Sunrise could do with the genre if they don't make it for Toys Commercial. Giant Gorg is an adventure series which featured Mysterious Mecha named Gorg as the plot device. Instead of typical mecha series that action where the protagonist mecha fights monsters of the week, Giant Gorg falls more on the adventure side. The story of the series take place in a remote island in pacifict where a boy name Yuu tried to uncover the mystery of the island with giant mecha Gorg served as his guide, while fending off private armies of Giant Evil Corporation whose leader had interest on the Relics of advanced civilization relics that lies buried within the island. 

 Giant Gorg is one of the few series that use real-life setting in a mecha which is hard to pull off  considering you only get to see one sided affair between Giant Robot and Modern Military vehicles and it sticks at that level. Nevertheless Giant Gorg did well on the storyline which is quite an achievement for early 80s and the Mecha itself Gorg, exudes a presence of strength to be reckoned despite relying on its own fists most of the time . But obviously Giant Gorg was rather way ahead of its time for 5 years or more considering the consumer market was not ready for this kind of mecha series in early 80s which resulted the series faded in obscurity. In any case if you really want different kind of mecha experience, Giant Gorg worth a try.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Second Season

  I had expected Uma Musume second season would capitalize the momentum made by the first season and made improvements from it, but for once this is one of the few that exceeds expectation. For the second season, Toukai Teio and Mejiro Mcqueen took the lead as the starring heroine role and create even more touching story of friendship and rivalry. With the success of First Season,  Cygames probably had more liberty for the story formula of second season and certainly make something good out of it to match the initial release of the game that had been delayed for quite a long time.

Unmei ni Ijiwaru (Fate is a jerk) - Tokai Teio

 With Teio who is a highly gifted Horsegirl as the Main Heroine, you would expect her story to reach the top would be a breeze but it was the opposite. With the high expectation to live up to and a Promise to fulfill with her rival Mejiro Mcqueen, Teio faced setbacks for the majority part of the 2nd Season. Compared to Silence Suzuka in season 1, Teio's struggle struck harder as faced consecutive hardships that crush her both physically and mentally to the brink that makes her almost retire. And things are not even easier for Mcqueen as she faced possibly even worse hardship. However both persevere in the end and Teio showed a miracle from her perseverance.

 Personally i am not that fond of Racehorse for anime theme as the activity are associated with shadier conduct of Elites to impoverish the lower class. While Uma Musume Pretty Derby probably overglossing certain aspect of the Entertainment, the second season could make a very touching story that resonates to many people to persevere through hard times like the current pandemic. In any case Uma Musume Pretty Derby second season is good enough to goad me trying the Gacha game which still only comes in Japanese version. As long as they keep the writer team of Uma Musume 2nd season, I think the third season should be well received and I think it is likely Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka getting the spotlight by that time. 

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 1

 

 Japanese animation had a knack of turning literally anything into cute girls. If they can turn Cosmic Horrors into cute anime girls, then racehorse is an easy task. Early this year Cygames gacha game, Uma Musume Pretty Derby stole the the spotlight featuring Horsegirls named after famous Race Horses as collectable waifus. Curious with the series, i gave the anime a try which was actually released back in 2018. Overall Pretty Derby is your typical Sports flavored cute kemonomimi girls doing cute things anime but the production value is high nonetheless and the take on Racehorses turned into cute girls works out surprisingly well. Uma Musume storyline follows the standard formula of the typical Japanese Sports Battle Manga where the gifted main protagonist which is Special Week for this one aims to be at the top of the sport, complete with overseas rival to be beaten, reflecting the collective unfulfilled wish.

 While i find Uma Musume fusing Idol business with Horserace to be rather weird combo, i do actually enjoy the race part since the passion is well conveyed. The first season probably took a safe route as the creator focus abit too much on main heroine, Special Week and her relationship with her best friend Silence Suzuka. As Special Week feels too vanilla due to her main heroine role, Personally i root for Mejiro Mcqueen, Grass Wonder and Teio which the last one really reminds me of Grani from Arknights. As of now i am moving on the second season which apparently feature Mcqueen and Teio in the spotlight and i think i could expect better with more liberty given from the 1st season success. If will definitely give a try if Uma Musume Gacha Game ever got official translation.

Yami Playing Monster Hunter Rise

  The main reason of my inactivity of past two weeks and i am really glad to be back into Monster Hunter verse once again with MHGU being my last MH Game in past few years. At first i didn't particularly care about this game, but being goaded by my old hunting buddies i had no choice but reciprocate the call. Being the truly new MH Title for Nintendo Switch, Monster Hunter Rise offers a solid new start for one of the best selling Capcom series to date. MH Rise begins with a very good first impression along with the best Questgiver waifus to date. In MHR, the Hunter starts in Kamura village which is pretty much improvised Yukumo village slapped with tons of Ninjas theme. There are so much to tell about the gameplay improvement mechanics but MHR, but notably those QoL enhancements from Monster Hunter World so no more stupid flexing pose when drinking potions! Also you get you own Dog companion called Palamute which you can ride to travel around the maps quickly which certainly make the Palicoes felt overshadowed.

 Overall Monster Hunter Rise provides a solid gameplay experience for Monster Hunter which sheds a lot of redundant baggage from previous generations. No doubt Monster Hunter as series is one of the few that managed to have consistent improvements throughout its iterations which is a great achievement for Japanese Console Gaming industry that has been slowly in deline. The only flaw for MHR would be its current limited roster especially on the low-mid range which is probably due to the game was rushed ahead 3-6 months ahead of its development, but at very least Capcom are still addressing this issue with constant update. While the G-Rank expansion will be coming eventually, MHRise content still worth more than its retail price despite its current roster is still about half of MHGU. At the moment i have cleared all village Quest and now slowly moving on the Hub Quests. Looking forward to get the Teostra set in this game once again!

Disgaea RPG

 While i thought my mobile game plate is quite full with 3 Gacha Game already, somehow i still managed to shove another one in, and this time it is Disgaea RPG based from Nippon Ichi's acclaimed SRPG series! I decided to give this game a try since my sister hyped about this game which got recent english port early this month. I remembered that Nippon Ichi back then was in dire strait when trying to release the Japanese version but fortunately made it through. If you are a fan of the console Disgaea series, you will find it right at home with Disgaea RPG as it still carry the spirit of Disgaea series despite its gacha format. The game is still a grindfest but still less then a chore for those who don't have time to grind in the console game anymore. I picked Valvatorez as my starter SSR since Disgaea 4 is my favorite among the title and waiting for Artina, Tyrant and Almaz eventual release.

While Disgaea is rather late getting into the Gacha mobile market, the gameplay has decent and its potential is sufficient enough to stay for a while. I don't really expect Disgaea RPG to be a top selling Gacha since the audience it caters is rather niche and the SSR rate are not particularly generous either dropping at 3% with no pity rate. At very least the game is quite dolphin friendly if you just want to spend a bit and not full on whale. 

The main reason i decided to throw some lot with Disgaea RPG lies with the potential it possess. The game has possibility to consolidate all of Nippon Ichi RPG series with Disgaea at its core, would love to see Makai Kingdom or Phantom Brave to make cameo appearance someday. Disgaea series remain to be one of the RPG series that has superb 2D sprite and this gacha game could make good reuse of the assets because a single game could only put in so much unit without getting bloated. From what i looked at the Japan version, Disgaea RPG managed to survive for two years so far so at very least i believe the english version will be around for a year.