Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Final Thought

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 With Iron Blooded Orphans finished airing early this month, a while ago i gave the series a quick marathon and finished the last episode recently. After the flop from Gundam Age and Reconquista, i guess Sunrise did try to put more effort with Iron Blooded Orphans. While IBO Second season got some Significant flaw. Nonetheless i think IBO still managed to achieve its main objective, to reboot the interest of Gundam series which it did with Flying colors. But if Iron Blooded Orphans was not a Gundam Show, i think IBO could have gone even more grimdark.

 Iron Blooded Orphans strongest point is its storytelling, which is very good by Gundam standard. Using Child Soldiers as the main characters does make powerful anti-war message after all but the clever deconstruction of Gundam Tropes plays a huge part in my opinion. For a Gundam series, Iron Blooded Orphans ends with rather bittersweet note. But in the process, IBO breaks most of the convention that the previous Gundam titles made and at the same time cements its position as a Solid Gundam series, possibly one of the best Alternate Universe title by far. Apart from the story, IBO got some good fighting scene as well with the brutal nature of the combat helps to emphasize the message that the series try to deliver. The Mobile Armor fight in Episode 36 is certainly some top tier stuff.

 If i have to mention the series flaw. The Second season in IBO felt kinda rushed especially after Episode 36 for some reason. This plays a huge part for the Char Clone of the series causing its character stunted thus lead the final showdown less climactic. I think IBO could have another 12 Episodes to conclude properly. As for the mecha design IBO is rather weak compared to SEED or IBO. Mainly due to poor grunt unit designs and the Cool units doesn't have enough screentime despite it got some moments, but it is just not enough. On a side note, i think some IBO Mecha design are heavily inspired from Five Star Stories especially with that anorexic waist

Now Playing Toukiden 2!

 When i played the Japanese Demo for Toukiden 2 last year, i know that i will be getting a copy for this game. Now i have clocked a few hours in the game and would like to share my impression on Toukiden 2. For Certain Toukiden 2 is a solid game and i think that the game will have good amount of content even without Expansion. As usual i use Spear as my weapon of choice and seriously the Party AI in this game are way too competent. The Open World mechanics is a fresh breath for hunting game genre and if given enough time to polish it, Koei will have a Franchise that will serve as some serious competitor for Monster Hunter. My thoughts may change once i reached endgame but for now i don't really find any glaring flaw with Toukiden 2.

Genesis Climber Mospeada Evolution Toy Legioss

Ever since i watched Mospeada, i have been keeping an eye for the series merchandise. On this year's Winter Wonderfest I did see the Legioss Prototype but it didn't catch my attention because prototype was rather sloppy. It turns out the one who are making the new Legioss Toy is a company called Evolution Toy which appears to make plenty of Super Robot Toys. The Toy is fully transformable and will be released on July this year with 28000 Yen Price tag which is very hefty for the quality of product. Unfortunately their mold for Legioss seems too Bulky and thus make it look very toyish. For now the Legioss Toy made by now Defunct CMS Corp still look better and definitive. Mospeada itself while nowhere close to Macross, it still have some interesting concepts even though the anime series didn't fully realize it. One of these days Mospeada should show up in SRW series.

1/72 HMM Liger Zero Empire

 On this year's Winter Wonderfest, Liger Zero is one of the two products that caught my attention in Kotobukiya's booth and a while ago Kotobukiya have just released details for the product release. The kit will be slated for July this year and will cost around 5600 Yen without tax. Unfortunately Liger Zero Empire will be Kotobukiya Web product only which means importing would be inconvenient. Compared to the Regular Liger Zero, Liger Zero Empire is pretty much a carbon copy of the former with palette swap, a cool one nevertheless. In the series Liger Zero Empire is what happen when Zenebas Empire steal Helic Republic's tech and develop their own version of Liger Zero. Later on Empire did make their own CAS which Liger Zero X is one known variant. In Zoids Legacy, Zero Empire was one of the available CAS variant for Liger Zero and the easiest one to make. Statswise it is still the same with Liger Zero and have the same quirks as well. I guess if this kit sell good enough, Kotobukiya will likely release Zero X too.

Yami starting watching Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans

 Kinda late to the party but since the series just ended its second season i decided to give the series a run. So far i have finished the first half of IBO and looking forward to watch second season. For now i will just share my impression about the series. My first impression from watching Iron Blooded Orphans is that Sunrise intend to create a completely different Gundam Show with this show. 

 Compared to the previous gundam series, Iron Blooded Orphans looks more gritty and filled with more raw violence. It also doesn't help that the mecha fight in IBO focus on brutal melee while eschewing beam spamming. The protagonist of the series, Mikazuki Augus is what would result from further exploration of Setsuna F Seiei or Heero Yuy archetype. Mikazuki is not a person that you would look up to being desensitized to violence and apathetic toward his opponent due to his life as Child Soldier. Personally Mikazuki is probably one of my least favorite gundam protagonist but his character definitely plays an important role for IBO to deliver its point.

 From the onset of the series, the main casts in Iron Blooded Orphans already got some obvious flags that they walk on self destructive part as they play the Don Quixote role. Nevertheless their struggle trying to fight against the odds will be worthy to watch. After Gundam Age and Reconquista, i guess Sunrise finally try to do things seriously with Gundam series. If they intend Iron Blooded Orphans to revitalize the interest of Gundam Series then it did pretty good job, at least in my opinion. For now i am more interested on the prequel chance for IBO since the Calamity War had pretty good potential if done right even though 72 Gundam seems like a tall order. Probably in near future i will also acquire some of those IBO Full Mechanics kit.

Sakura Taisen Nendoroid 235 Shinguji Sakura & Koubu set Review

Blooming in the spring, cherry blossom of wishes, This flower can even bloom during a storm 

 Quoting Shinguji Sakura's character song from Sakura Taisen 1 this time i am doing proper review in the spirit of welcoming Spring Season.  I am never too fond of with Nendoroids but since there are not much premium Sakura Taisen merchandise these days i got this Nendoroid Sakura into my collection. While Shinguji Sakura is not my favorite heroine in the series, There is no doubt that she deserves her spot as the lead Heroine of the series and certainly plays a significant part in making Sakura Taisen a legendary series in Japan.

MG 1/100 Justice Gundam

 Wow i might be really sloppy to let this release announcement slip under my radar even though i don't follow Gundam as much as i used to be. Capitalizing the Providence Gundam release, Bandai announced the plan to release MG Justice Gundam on the mid of this year and cost as much Infinite Justice. Despite it took almost 10 years for Justice to get an MG treatment after its successor, it is never too late and to make up for it Justice Gundam got MG Freedom 2.0 Quality. Personally i prefer Justice Gundam compared to Infinite Justice because it was designed as Freedom Gundam's Equal not sidekick like the latter's, though being a closet fanboy of Athrun Zala helps too. Out of all mecha game, Another Century Episode 3 did the best rendition for Justice Gundam as it showcase all of its tricks that it can pull off. If i get back into modelling scene again which is not now as i am too occupied with my job, I will definitely get this guy on my list.

Starting SD Gundam Genesis

 While i am waiting for my Japanese copy of SRW V i am getting back to SD Gundam G Generation series. Recently i got myself a japanese copy for SD Gundam Genesis which i started to play after i completed SD G Gen Overworld. Using Vita TV the Graphic of Gundam Genesis is very gorgeous indeed and yet another step up from its predecessors. Like G Generation Spirits, Genesis only cover Universal Century series only and to be specific the early ones. I like Universal Century in general though i DO hate Gundam Unicorn taking the spotlight.

 After playing couple of stages, My first impression of G Generation Genesis is rather negative. Mainly because Genesis followed the same formula with G GenPortable which means straight retelling the story of Gundam series. Having seen this practice done many times over in Gundam Games do makes you sick of it. I guess Bandai is just being lazy because they could have made alternate take on Gundam series with this kind of game. But nope, instead they wasted effort on which the original work done a splendid job already. The gameplay mechanics do get better though as you need to put more effort on getting stuffs like Ace Pilots or Warships and Warships had more use compared to the previous iteration. While it appears that Gundam Genesis has no Custom BGM feature, The Devs at least put more effort on the BGM department this time. While i am seeing myself will not really enjoy this game i will at least finished the Unit Collection. I just hope Bandai is considerate enough to release another Gihren's Greed Iteration on Vita someday.

Union Creative Monster Hunter Revo Kaiser X Blademaster

 After a year since the prototype being shown in Wonderfest, the Teostra Kaiser X action figure is being prepared for a release! Slated for August this year, the Kaiser X Blademaster is going to be sold for around 8000 Yen Price Tag and comes with Teostra Charge Blade as weapon of choice. As much as i hyped the Action Figure back when the prototype being shown i am kinda hesitant with the product as the final version of the Kaiser X being shown. Whether it is Bad photography or something else i feel that Union Creative doesnt do enough justice for the product in some way. So i guess i am changing my stance for the Kaiser X from Day 1 purchase to wait-and-see because i got to see the Final product myself before making the decision. In MH4U Kaiser X armor is one of the more accessible and popular Endgame Armor. The armor set itself is an offensive versatile set and it was my main armor of choice for my Lancer character.  Back when the online community was in its heyday you tend to see lots of players using this set though most mix the Kaiser X piece with Ukanlos X for easy Sharpness+1.

Metamorforce "Bari"ation Baikanfu

 Straight after this year's Wonderfest, Sentinel immediately announce the Pre-order for Metamorforce Baikanfu! I think we are finally going to get a worthy replacement for Bandai's Soul of Chogokin Baikanfu which is rather dated by this time. Metamorforce Baikanfu will be released on June this year with hefty price tag 42660 which is about twice as expensive as the Former SOC. In exchange we are going to get Baikanfu with Obari Proportion which puts the toyish look of the Soul of Chogokin to Shame. From the prototype it seems the Metamorforce Baikanfu will retain most of the SOC selling point including the cool Pile Formation Gimmick which is Matryoshka equivalent in Mecha. The Sentinel Version of Baikanfu seems to be promising because Masami Obari himself give the greenlight on the project and even design the box cover for the product. I just hope the Articulation wouldnt be compromised too much due to the Pile Formation Gimmick.

Even us dont deserve to know his name!

 About the Mecha Itself Baikanfu is from Anime Series Machine Robo Revenge of Chronos. As an anime series it is terrible but it got very awesome Hotblooded Protagonist Rom Stoll with Awesome Kungfu Robot which really shines in SRW MX. where he hijack villain's screentime from time to time while denouncing them not deserving to know his name. I might get Metamorforce Baikanfu despite the hefty price tag because i have been planning to buy the SOC Baikanfu for a long time already and an cooler updated version happen to appear just now. Lets see when Sentinel will announce preorder for the rest of their products shown on the last Wonderfest.

FAF Wildwurger + Wildfalken Twin Bird Strike Pack Review

 If you follow my blog long enough, you will know that Wildwurger is one of my most favorite SRW OG Mecha. Considering that i havent been doing much coverage for Mecha stuff lately, might as well writing a review on my recent addition to SRW collection! Got this somewhat rare stuff from Mandarake with somewhat reasonable price if not for horrible credit card ninja fees. You can also check my previous review of FAF Wildwurger Here

Yami's Winter Wonderfest 2017 Highlights

Kinda late for one but here are some of the prototypes shown in the Event that i find noteworthy. This year's wonderfest got too many moeshit stuffs but at least the mechas are not dying yet. Firstly from Kotobukiya finally Raftclans is going to join the SRW plamo lineup which means one of my SRW kit wishlist ticked down and definitely keep a watch on it.

 While Frame Arms Girls seems to be the most selling Kotobukiya's lineup at the moment, Their HMM lineup will always be the best when it comes to quality and another 2 Zoids will join the lineup, Liger Zero Empire and Storm Sworder! With the empire side CAS coming out i guess Zero X will have a good chance to follow as well.

 I think the one who takes the crown for the best mecha lineup on this year's winter Wonderfest is Sentinel with their several toy lineups for several awesome under-represented mecha series. While we got Black Sarena and Baikanfu Toys before, it appears that Sentinel is going to one up Bandai with their prototypes especially Baikanfu which seems going to incorporate full fledged Pile Formation. Also it seems that we are going to get God Gravion complete with the gattai gimmick. Lastly that Mospeada power armor is going to be awesome. If the price for these prototypes are not too expensive i might be getting some of them.

SRW OG Robot Damashii Ver Ka Huckebein

 Well well this is quite a surprise, The Vanishing Trooper is back! Considering Bandai's stance towards Huckebein in the past where they try to get rid of them for being a threat to their Gundam. Nothing much revealed about this product right now other than being in development we got good chance for this thing to be released around the end of this year. It is kinda irony that Huckebein got Katoki Treatment considering it was originally Katoki's design in the first place but everything is good with the Blackhole Cannon.

 Out of all Huckebein, The First Huckebein is the one with least blocky design and potentially most powerful in terms of Raw Firepower. In SRW series Huckebein was mostly well known to be powerful prototype Personal Trooper but highly volatile due to usage of Tronium Engine which makes piloting this unit is akin to playing russian roulette. I suppose this announcement was in conjunction with Huckebein's Cameo in SRW V but i hope Kotobukiya would consider to reboot their SRW line soon with their recent success with Frame Arms Girl. This is no doubt the best current version of Huckebein Mark 1 so far and perhaps even one day Bandai would even consider to release Huckebein Boxer.

Saya no Uta Wing 1/7 Saya Figurine

 At long last we finally got a proper figurine for one of the best Horror VN in Nitroplus Library which is no other than for the Mysterious Saya from Saya no Uta! The figure is scheduled for July 2017 with hefty price tag of 17800 Yen but nevertheless it is very beautiful figurine. Nothing perfectly captures the theme of Saya no Uta other than by a stark contrast with innocent and pure looking Saya floating on a grotesque landscape. This version of Saya with Angelic Wings is her final stage in one of the ending where she is ready to propagate her kind supposedly creating a better world for Fuminori. . Back then there were also some decent Saya no Uta figurines as well but kinda inaccessible for General consumer. While the figurine is kinda expensive i might consider to get it to complete my lovecraftian heroine set and place it beside Al-Azif.

 At its core, Saya no Uta is a love story between a deranged man and a Shoggoth that begets the beginning of the end. But the way of this Horror VN is written is just Beautiful yet Twisted as you see the Journey of a man abandoning His Humanity for the sake of his love. Truly a Masterpiece of Lovecraftian Horror by Japanese standard despite it doesn't use much of the theme. Seriously if you havent read Saya no Uta you are missing one of the best VN that shows good VN can be a short one too.

Figuarts Zero Kingdom Shin Review

 Bought this figure in Hongkong last year in an Expo for 50 HKD since i really like Kingdom and thought might as well support the series by purchasing this figure. The Japanese version was around 3000 Yen but this Hongkong version is legit copy definitely. Shin is the main protagonist of Chinese Warring States Period Manga Kingdom, who is a Qin peasant fighting his way through to be the best General in the middle kingdom. He is your typical hotheaded shonen protagonist but a better one.

  This Figure Rendition of Shin is the version where Shin had become 1000-unit General after performing a great achievement during Qin campaign against Wei where he defeated one of Renpa's Retainer. Kingdom is not famous for its drawing but it is a great manga due to the sheer amount of emotions that the manga able to portray. This figure of shin is portrayed taking stance ready to take on any opponent overcoming any odds. Given the popularity of the manga probably someday we will have another Shin Figurine where he had become the Great General. And Seriously Kingdom is one of the best recent Shonen Manga even though it had some shaky beginning.