Jigoku Shoujo

  One of the classic 2000 Anime series that had quite a following in its time which i only managed to complete its 4 season marathon recently. The series follow after the journey of a mysterious girl named Enma Ai who served on behalf of Hell to send a person directly judged to hell for the begrudged at a price of their soul in afterlife. At first i thought Jigoku Shoujo would be more intense in its horror theme due to its nature but turns out to be still quite mild compared to something like Ghost Hunt. The series could have cranked up the Horror if they want to do as showcased in some episodes but i suppose they want the series to be accessible for teen audience. Jigoku Shoujo spans over 4 seasons though only the first 3 Season can be considered full anime season since it is not easy to get fundings for 26 Anime episodes nowadays.

 While Jigoku Shoujo is episodic in its nature, where Enma accepting errands and send people to hell, each of the first 3 Season of the series had overarching theme in relation to Enma's Past, Present and Future which is tied to particular character that had relationship to Enma in some way. The first season had a Journalist whose ancestor had personal bond with Enma when she was human, while second season feature a young boy whose life drastically changed from witnessing Enma in action and finally third season had a middle school girl who is supposed to be Enma's future successor.

 While Enma supposed to accept request by people who is wronged by perpetrator who are unable to be judged by law, most of the clients are just as insufferable and no better than the people who wronged them especially the teens. Even Enma's subordinates which are bunch of Youkais had better shred of humanity compared to these clients showing that how depraved human nature could be. Just like Death Note, I think Jigoku Shojo just try to show that supernatural power to kill people does no good in the hands of human as they will end up misusing it anyway. 

Despite the animation didn't aged particularly well, Jigoku Shoujo story are still good enough if you want to get some fix of pulpy mild horror anime. There are probably attempts to revive Jigoku Shoujo series but personally i would love to see the ultimate fate of journalist guy from the 1st season.

Kino no Tabi - The Beautiful World -

 

   Another anime series in my backlog that i finished recently and Majo no tabitabi is definitely based on this. There are two versions of Kino no Tabi, the one made in 2003 and 2017. I tried to watch the 2017 version but ended up visited the 2003 one first. Kino no Tabi tells the story about a boyish girl named Kino travelling to all sorts of places with a sentient motorbike named Hermes as her partner. The series explores the ideas throughout the history of humanity through the places that Kino visited, some places are pleasant trip while a few can be a downright anarchic where Kino had to fight for her survival. Both 2003 and 2017 version had its own merit as each have their own separate story to tell with only about 3 episodes that had similarity. Personally i find 2003 version story are more interesting but darker at the same time, while the 2017 gives more screentime for supporting characters that Kino encounter throughout her journey. Personally Kino no Tabi deserves second season because there a much from 20 volumes of Light Novel material that can be covered. In any case this is a superior version of Majo no Tabitabi

Densetsu no Yuusha Da Garn The GATTAI Gaon

 

 It was quicker than expected since i thought it would have taken GSC more than 6 months to follow up the GATTAI Da Garn X, but here comes the Lion Sidekick Gaon! The GATTAI Gaon is scheduled for May 2022 Release with 22000 Yen Price tag, slightly below the GATTAI Da Garn X. Just like its partner counterpart, this version of Gaon comes with transformation gimmick and obviously include capability to combine with Da Garn X to from Great Da Garn X as its main selling point.

 Gaon is one of the last Yuusha to join protagonist team in Densetsu no Yuusha Da Garn, Gaon is one of the handful Yuusha in its series that taken Beast form as part of its transformation apart from Hawk Saber and Seven Changer though the latter is quite an exception. Compared to Da Garn, Gaon is more of a close combat fighter dual wielding Guns and Tomahawk to get the job done but for some reason  Great Da Garn X which is result from combination of Da Garn X and Gaon heavily focus on ranged firepower  with the Big Guns and Missiles.

I have come to notice that Great Da Garn X is basically Da Garn having Gaon as its external armor parts, which is abit derpy but still not the worst of the Main Yuusha Final Form. In any case this version of  Gaon is a must get for those who have ordered the GATTAI Da Garn X.

Kami no Shizuku / The Drops of God

 Another hidden underrated gem which its translation only accessible for the whole series recently. If Oishinbo focused only about wine industry and given modern breath of artstyle, you got yourself Kami no Shizuku! This manga is a legendary series at its own right which explore the world of wine through the rivalry of two men in 44 volumes of manga. The premise of the series is about a Son of a prominent Wine critic found himself fighting for his father's inheritance against a famous young wine critic in a battle of finding wines riddled as "12 Apostles of God" which ultimately will lead to the legendary Wine bearing the title of "Drops of God". 

 The manga explores the world of Wine which lead the main characters travel around the globe obviously including a good portion of time in Wine Birthplace France, to find the God Apostles Wine. The main character, Shizuku Kanzaki might look disadvantaged at first in the fight of 12 Apostles Wine as he is merely a salaryman who is pitted against Issei Tomine, a young Wine Critic who is at the peak of his popularity whose talents are real deal. However Shizuku, gifted with very sharp sense of taste and almost godlike perception when it comes to wines due to his upbringing proves to be serious challenge for Tomine in each of the 12 fights for the Apostles Wine.

Kami no Shizuku main strength lies at the vivid visualization of Wines which the main character portrays in very elaborate fashion. This selling point is what makes the manga a very interesting read even for readers who are not familiar with Wines and it is very enjoyable read for those who appreciate arts in general. The Journey of these Shizuku and Tomine for the Drops of Gods does not exactly end in Kami no Shizuku as the series has another sequel which spans over 26 Volumes that only finished last year. Hopefully it won't take too long for the Finale Part getting translation but in any case Kami no Shizuku is still very good read on its own right.

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.