30 Minutes Fantasy - Rozen Archer

 As a part of their monthly Gunpla release, Bandai returns with some really good stuffs including 30 Minutes Fantasy. This time we got more than 2 main Class variants with usual Liber/Rozen type. A fantasy series won't be complete without an Archer guy that provide ranged support for the fighters and 30 Minutes Fantasy answer it with the Liber/Rozen Archer! In this instance, Scheduled for March 2025 release, 30 MF Liber/Rozen Archer will be sold for 2200 Yen, slightly more expensive than the Liber Priest but still cheaper than the Liber Bishop set.

 In this instance I will be covering the Rozen variant instead of the default Liber version for the 30 MF Archer Class. Because the Rozen variant simply look cooler for the archer class. Instead of visor helmet, the Rozen Archer class sport Monoeye type helmet which makes it look better aesthetically as dedicated ranged unit which also reminds me of Necron Deathmarks at the same time. In terms of loadouts just like previous 30 MF Class. Rozen Archer is pretty much identical with the liber counterpart with the exception of Armor configuration which I assume are still interchangeable. Considering the price tag, I really doubt Liber/Rozen Archer would get class up item but will still welcome for one regardless should Bandai consider making one.

Arknights Dungeon Meshi Collab Event - Delicious on Terra

 When it comes to collab events, while not the flashiest, Arknights has pretty good sense of taste in selecting the Partner for their collab. As the Arknights Global server is going to get the Rainbow Six collab banner, CN player finally going to get really some good treat with  Dungeon Meshi Collab which has been teased for couple months already. If we follow the typical cycle of Arknights Global server, we are going to get this event around End of February or March.

SRW OG Riobot Soulgain

 As SRW Fans are anticipating for Flametoys Alteisen, Sentinel make their move first by announcing the release for their rendition of Alteisen's rival, Soulgain! Released as Riobot Lineup, Sentinel's take on Soulgain will be sold for 39600 Yen with June 2025 release schedule.

Castlevania Dominus Collection

 Konami may be a deadbeat Game publisher but there are still some competent individuals in the company that still make proper use of their once of popular IPs like Castlevania for this instance. It is just a matter of time after Castlevania Advance compilation got released that the Nintendo DS Castlevania compilation making it as well! Dubbed as Castlevania Dominus Collection, This compilation is available out of nowhere as Digital Release for modern consoles including Switch being released on 27th August 2024 for 24.99 USD. 

Seriously 24.99 USD is literally a steal for Three Crown Jewels of Castlevania which are the culmination of Igavania before Koji Igarashi ultimately departs from Konami. I have played all of these DS Castlevania and while I never exactly finished Order of Ecclessia, all of these 3 Castlevania are very fun Metroidvania games. Portrait of Ruins is easily the best one among these three with plenty of secrets available and I did like Dawn of Sorrow even if it had many issues that makes it a weaker title compared to Aria of Sorrow. Given the pleasant memory that I have from these DS Castlevania, I am still hoping for Konami to have some decency to make a physical release for this Castlevania collection.

Berserk Figma Skull Knight

 A long due merchandise for one of the popular characters in Berserk! Took more than a decade but we Finally got a Figma for Skull Knight complete with regular and DX version. Scheduled for July 2025 release, Figma Skull Knight will be sold for 13800 Yen and 19800 Yen respectively, gotta pick the DX version if you want the Skull Knight's warhorse.

Skull Knight Figma was quite a big deal because he is one of the character that never get a Figma despite Max Factory take on Guts and Griffith many times. Heck even the Godhand Figfix was released 8 years ahead than Skull Knight. Despite its scary appearance, Skull Knight is one of the most powerful supporting character that helped Guts many times notably from the horrific events of the Eclipse. Skull Knight is just that badass of character because He will give make any regular Apostles shat their pants if they ever forced to fight against him. While his backstory is not fully revealed even after Miura Sensei's passing, Skull Knight appear to have personal vendetta against Godhands especially Void due to some event related to the fall of Ancient Gaiseric Empire. 

Despite there are some premium collectibles for Skull Knight already, Figma Skull Knight is definitely the best rendition for his playable version and his horse appear to have some posability unlike SHF Griffith. As a parting here is the parts details for DX version of Figma Skull Knight.

Toyseasy Metal Souls Tiger Tank

 Usually these sorts of Mecha toys eluded my sight until I got into Transformers series and I would say there are some pretty good Chinese transformers products available! This one is from Toyseasy which had good track record for non Hasbro Transformers and made couple of good Battleship mechs. For this instance it is a WW2 Tiger I tank Transformers which looks pretty cool. Scheduled for September 2024 release this Metal Souls Tiger tank will be sold for 399 RMB.

Apart from the Tank Main cannon turret, Metal Souls Tiger comes with Axe as the melee weapon of choice. This guy would easily join Decepticon faction if its design belongs to the Transformers series. Tiger I is one of the more famous tank from WW2 which make it a huge plus point for prospective collectors. If I had more disposable incomes, I would take a look at Toyseasy Aircraft Carriers which look very impressive.

Fruity Robo Yilichuangwan Apple Twinguns

  4 months after the Pineapple Slasher Model Kit got announced, Yilichuangwan is ready to reveal their second Fruity Robo mecha Model Kit! This time it is called Apple Twinguns which is Green mecha which sport plenty of long ranged weapons. Scheduled for Q4 2024 release, Yilichuangwan Apple Twinguns will be sold for 99 RMB just like Pineapple Slasher.

At first glance I thought this Apple Twinguns was a Watermelon themed Mecha that somehow got a pear looking character as the pilot. But turns out it is an apple in the end. While no information revealed on the Gattai gimmick so far. Apple Twinguns will most likely retain the transformation gimmick and turn into the right arm part of the Fruity Wargod. I have seen the Pineapple Slasher transformation showcase and the prospect of getting the Fruity Wargod is very promising and worth the wait. Hopefully the local toy distributor in my place could keep letting in these Model kits until completion.

Konosuba KDColle Megumin Light Novel 10th Anniv

 Kadokawa is certainly quick to follow up this particular Konosuba Scale figure edition, As we got ourselves Darkness and Aqua in special costume treatment, Megumin along with Yunyun got their share with the reveal early this month joining the celebration for 10th LN anniversary. Scheduled for April 2025 release, KDColle Megumin will be sold for 9000 Yen.

For Megumin, we got ourselves the Crimson Demon cutie embrace her Archwizard dream to the fullest! As Megumin sports a trendy goth outfit that shows her progression as full fledged Witch with Chomusuke tagging along. Not as attention catching compared to her teammate in my opinion but still certainly worth to put the effort to collect all of them. I am still hoping that Wiz and Chris could get their share as well considering they are popular enough to be reserved a route in Konosuba VN games.

Bitlot Gundam

 A rather random new Gundam Candytoys product lineup that popped out of nowhere but an interesting one nonetheless. Dubbed as Bitlot Gundam which I still don't know the exact reason for the naming, It is a Gundam Candytoys lineup that feature Gundam Mobile Suits and Pilots in the similar proportion. Scheduled for January 2025 release Bitlot Gundam will be sold for 6800 Yen in a box of 10.

 Bitlot Gundam features Mobile Suit Candy Toys in a more human like proportion which remind me of some particular Gundam fanarts which had the Gundams antromorphized and behave like regular people. While this Gundam Candy Toys is rather different compared to the mainline stuffs by no means it is the weirdest one that Bandai ever made considering there were Gundam Candy Toys with oversized limb which obviously didn't last long. The main selling point of Bitlot Gundam would be the Pilot characters which will is one of the more affordable versions for the all time popular Gundam pilots which surprisingly got some good degree of customization. Personally I will look forward for this lineup to survive until CCA series so we can get affordable version of CCA Amuro and Char.

Warhammer 40k Tacticus - Captain Titus Crossover Event

 

 Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 is coming in few weeks and no doubt it will be the biggest 40k Game that will get released yet! I thought the hype for this game couldn't get any bigger since some fans have waited more than a decade for the continuation of Captain Titus story but recent turn of events prove otherwise. It appears that Snowprint Studio is very well aware to the opportunity and through their content creators just announced the planned collaboration with Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 by releasing Captain Demetrian Titus as a character in Tacticus!

Earnestcore Craft Robot Build RB-12AH Anubis & Horus

Earnestcore is on full swing with their creativity once again! After going the Cyberpunk Route with Auto Nine, this time they aim for Egyptian themed mecha with Robot Build Anubis & Horus named after the God of Underworld and Light from the Egyptian Pantheon. Scheduled for Spring 2025 release, Robot Build RB-12AH Anubis & Horus will be sold for 299 RMB.

For a long time only Zone of Enders cater to this particular Egyptian theme niche with Jehuty and Anubis. But now Earnestcore prove themselves to be very versatile when it comes to their talent in Mecha design. In this Robot Build you get a customizable Black Gold Egyptian mecha with two contrasting style. Whether you can go with Edgy route with Anubis that comes with Scythe or a flashy one with Horus that comes with more Gold adornments. Seriously this sort of products really makes me look forward what Earnestcore could come up with their next product as they even surpass Japan mecha designers these days with their designs. As usual I will end this post with the contents you will get from this Robot Build product.

Promare

  Couple years ago a particular Anime Movie by Studio Trigger called Promare popped up out of nowhere with tons of merchandise. The only thing I remember is that the blue haired Main Protagonist got that same attitude like Kamina from Guren Lagann. I finally decided to give Promare a watch since it was part of Super Mecha Champion collabs for some reason while the latter appear to meet its demise in near feature. Overall Promare is what you will expect from a product made by former Gainax animator team which are never short of Over the Top Mecha series with some attitude. And this movie is the testament that Studio Trigger proves themselves to be capable of thriving without the popular IPs squatted by the Gainax boomer Execs.

 Promare is what you get if Guren Lagann series are mixed with Fire Force and X-Men where Kamina decided to be a Firefighter while Simon become the charismatic Freedom Fighter leader for the oppressed people with Pyrokinesis ability.  All in all Promare did its job properly for a Movie length anime though it will take some more effort to have this series still remembered in the years to come. But if we don't have any legal BS, we could expect Promare will have a good tag team with Guren Lagann in future SRW titles. Wouldn't mind some Pop Up Parade for Lio de Galon though kinda hard to expect one given the time windows has passed. Promare definitely will find a place for Gurren Lagann fans as Lio and Galo's bromance is very similar to Kamina and Simon. I even see many influences in Promare that will carry over in Cyberpunk Edgerunners like the Adam Smasher.

Gaosheng Culture EMP-01 Yuanling Huangdi+ MC-01 Yinglong

 We had Chinese Gundam that had mecha Dragon escoret Model kit before. but this one appear to surpass Aobing! Created by manufacturer called Gaosheng Culture and dubbed literally as Yellow Emperor, this is one of the Chinese Diecast Frame Model kit that will surprise consumers on many aspects! Scheduled for Q4 2024 release, EMP-01 Yuanling Huangdi will be sold for 199 RMB.

The Chinese manufacturers really like to go big for their first impressions and It does apply for this Chinese Gundam too. Having the literal name of Primal Spirit Yellow Emperor. EMP-01 boast a 25 cm tall Chinese fantasy themed protagonist mecha with 70 cm long mecha dragon. Again if this stuff is released in Japan, it will easily cost triple the price. Hopefully Gaosheng culture will have proper QC for this product because I am highly tempted to get one because when it comes to Value for money alone, EMP-01 Yuanling Huangdi surpass HG Amplified Ryujinmaru which I kinda waited for the Metal Build. Don't think Bandai can beat this one easily.

Joytoy 1/18 Sorrow Expeditionary Force - North 09 Strike Mecha

 Some 1/18 interlude by Joytoy with their consistent weekly output for 40K! Joytoy are quite famous for their Modern Military 1/18 action figures but I do subscribe to their Futuristic Mechas stuff. Continuing the Sorrow Expeditionary Lineup which feature their Futuristic Mechs in particular combination White Color Schemes. This time the multipurpose Mech North 09 is getting the turn with Q4 2024 release and 80 USD Price tag.

I had the North 04 version of this particular mech which sported Blue color scheme. Compared to North 04, North 09 looks more like a Full fledged combat-oriented unit instead of Support Unit, specializing in Skirmish ambush. In terms of Loadout. North 09 are relatively the same with the previous similar units with some minor tweaks. The lumbering Arm part of the North 04 become a multi purpose Jetpack that somehow can store weapons now. I was highly considering to part with my Tyrant 01 Mech but given the Joytoy is still willing to continue their support for their original lineup. I will put the plan on hold. I hope Joytoy could release more Vehicle products for the Sorrow Expeditionary Force since my 1/18 Squads do need some fancy toys.

Deadpool and Wolverine

 Not exactly a Marvel universe fans myself as the last Movie I watched was Avengers: Endgame. But Hugh Jackman wearing Wolverine classic costume is just too hard to ignore and thus I gave the movie a watch. I did watch Deadpool 2 Back then so I do have some sort of expectation what kind of deal I am getting into with this 4th Wall breaking R-Rated Marvel Antihero.

Overall Deadpool and Wolverine is a pretty good Action movie that manage to elevate the reputation for both Deadpool and Wolverine amidst Marvel Superhero burnout by the fans due to Disney Mismanagement. Two Marvel Heroes with contrasting personalities somehow make a Great duo to save their world in the Multiverse misadventure. Deadpool and Wolverine is probably the first time we see Marvel split IPs reunite once again in the single Movie as X-men and Fantastic Four along with other Marvel make a homage appearance in this movie.

I am watching Deadpool and Wolverine mainly due to Hugh Jackman since I never watched any of his Wolverine movies before. But I have to admit Ryan Reynolds do pull an amazing performance as Deadpool once again. I wouldn't mind to watch a sequel of this tagteam Superhero Duo in the future if Hugh Jackman feels that he is still fit enough to reprise his role as Wolverine again.