Switch Konosuba 2nd VN: Aqua Ending

  The second Konosuba: Love for these Clothes of Desire Heroine route post is here! Considering Aqua still remains my favorite main heroine from Konosuba to this day being the ever lovable useless goddess of all things。 So she gets the preferential treatment and the one who will be featured this time! But to be honest as much as Aqua remains to be my favorite Konosuba Heroine, her 2nd VN route is unfortunately the weakest among the main 3 Heroines. If you expect some romance flag in Aqua's route be prepared to be thoroughly disappointed but you will still be entertained if you just want to see Aqua behave like Aqua.

Gundam UC Engage Future UR Banner Highlights

 Considering there are seriously lack of materials related to Gundam UC Engage future contents, I might as well contribute something pertaining to this matter. Also yes, it is right! UC Engage have Gundam Aerial for one of its future banner which the Global server will also obtain at some should they survive that long which is possible as long as Bandai let the Dev kept the game's content fresh.

 In Gundam UC Engage, while you get assorted variants of popular Protagonist Mecha such as Nu Gundam or Unicorn Gundam as Bandai's favorite money maker in this game, UC Engage is do feature cool MSVs Mobile suits as available UR Banner. While we haven't get some of the best MSVs such as FA Hyaku Shiki or those rad MS from AOZ yet. But given the game's track record in JP Server so far, I do believe those MS do have a good shot popping up someday because Bandai do plan making UC Engage as robust platform connecting all Universal Century series in a single vessel. Considering UC Engage provide an inexpensive means for Bandai to promote Universal Century series for worldwide audience instead of seasonal marketing campaigns.

 Down further below are some of the select future banner lists that caught my interests and the ones I plan to save for. The rough estimate appearance of these banner are calculated by subtracting the banner deadline date on each picture with 11/26.2021 date which is roughly the time UC Engage JP is on Service and then subtract another 1 week which are the usual banner duration on JP Server. If you seek for more detailed banner lists you can check on the UC Engage JP Wiki link on this blog's right tab. Perhaps at some point I might also make another UC Engage articles to highlight some cool MS in this game that doesn't make any appearance in main gundam series.

City Hunter

  One of the legendary Shonen Jump Manga in 80s which I just got to finish reading until now, published in the era where Hokuto no Ken series reigns supreme, City Hunter do make good use of the similar artstyle, carving a name for its own. City Hunter is a modern setting Japan action manga featuring the story of a Ryo Saeba, a skilled Sweeper which are freelancers skilled with fireweapons doing oddjobs that tend to involve underworld society most of the time. However despite being one of the best in his craft, Ryo Saeba is a chronic skirtchasing lecher who only takes request from beautiful damsels in distress most of the time and his lecherous antics often results him getting punished by assistant Kaori with comically large hammer. City Hunter is a big name in manga industry simply being one of the pioneer that marks the Manga genre transition from hyperviolence era of mid 80s into Slapstick lighthearted adventures which will spawn big titles such as Ranma 1/2 and Ghost Sweeper Mikami.

  I was first exposed City Hunter series when I was a kid in early 2000s reading some magazine which featured this series as one of its articles. It was only until now that I managed to finish reading City Manga which is to be frank an anticlimactic experience for me. Perhaps because I had read several 90s big title mangas with Slapstick comedy, City Hunter does not particularly resonate strongly with me despite it is being the OG of this archetype. As the main selling point of City Hunter does not have particular strong effect on me, City Hunter's glaring flaw become more apparent which is the lack of main overarching story to build hype for the main character. 

 Thus as a result I feel that City Hunter never really put main strength of Ryo Saeba into good use whose true nature is a man of danger who can act perfectly as a ruthless efficient killer or a ladies man. Instead we got a skirtchaser who act like a buffoon most of the time in manga despite he can easily make any top tier ladies fall in love with him. One thing that is undeniable is that artwork quality of City Hunter is a Top tier classic of its era, an echo of the past that will never return as the mangaka had done his part dutifully. At some point I will probably give Angel Tears a read which is some sore of spiritual successor of City Hunter even the latter is not exactly my cup of tea.

R-Type Tactics I・II Cosmos

 Hailing from one of the classic Arcade shooters R-Type series, the Spinoff SRPG R-Type Tactics is making a comeback with HD makeover of its previous 2 Games dubbed R-Type Tactics Cosmos! Irem may be long dead but Publishers still do try make a good use of their IP and R-Type Tactics definitely deserve another chance to make appearance in Modern console.

 No set schedule so far other than 2024 release and NIS America could have done better job in promoting this game because the only trailer that R-Type Tactics Cosmos had is a 30 second shorts that doesn't showcase the gameplay at all. While I never managed to play R-Type Tactics 2 Operation Bitter Chocolate myself, I had great experience in playing R-Type Tactics which is futuristic Strategy game using Hexagonal Grid system that offers a great experience if you like mecha stuff. You will get to lead a fleet of motherships with Squadron of Arrowheads space fighters pitting against Bydo Empire aliens. I kinda regret not able to finish R-Type Tactics before my PSP broke down and definitely will look forward to play this game once securing a physical copy for Switch.

Mobile Suit Gundam UC Engage

  Some new Gundam Gacha game that just made it to Global server by Bandai which caught my attention. Apparently this one called Gundam UC Engage was released mid October last month when I was on my Japan trip and the server have been running around 3 weeks. Personally I never played any Gundam game on mobile before and looking for successor candidate for Final Gear, I decided to give Gundam UC Engage a try on my Android Tablet.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Aya Kujou - The Ronin

 One more week before the moment of truth, whether Final Gear Global server receive the final update or disappear into oblivion quietly. 16th Final Gear mechatalk has come and it is the perfect Samurai Lady, Aya Kujou who make it this time. Glad I am not rushing this one as I grinded Aya's mecha unit properly, taking 3 weeks worth of Grinding for the 4 Substats complete set and then make it in time to obtain her UR upgrade. It was a hassle to grind for a dying game but the end result totally worth for the Final Gear's Yamato Nadeshiko.

Switch Konosuba 2nd VN: Chris Ending

 After a week of playing Konosuba: Love for these Clothes of Desire, finally I am ready to start writing the Heroine routes story for this VN starting with Chris as the first one! Chris is actually one of my favorite heroine in Konosuba after Aqua and I do kinda feel bad for not writing her route from the first VN. Therefore to amend things up, the first Konosuba VN2 route article goes to Chris!

52Toys Beastbox BB-60 Hurrican

 I might not be as active posting products related to 52 Toys nowadays but I do still keep a close tab on this lineup up until now despite I don't have time to unbox my Cartons worth of loots for this series. On their recent addition, 52Toys release another flagship addition as the BB-60 Hurrican! Taking form of Scorpion mecha, this new entry for Beastbox series is one of the the largest addition yet! stretching over 43 cm on full length, Beastbox Hurrican Box Form comes in the size of 7x7cm which are larger than the standard size 5x5cm which most Beastbox had. BB-60 Hurrican is sold for 58 USD and will be scheduled for Q4 2023 release.

 While the Giant Scorpion Beastbox design is very cool and remind people of Zoids Deathstinger, the biggest selling point of BB-60 Hurrican for me are the Pilot figure which this edition gives out 3 pcs. Some of the Beastbox had Cockpit gimmicks before but I think this is the first time that the Beastbox got mini pilot figures excluding mini Beastbox Jojo figure. Who knows that someday we will have the Giant version of some beastbox like Leviathan or its future Land or Sea equivalent. As a parting gift, I will send the size comparison reference of the BB-60 Hurrican box form.

Konosuba: Love for these Clothes of Desire

 It has been several years since I wrote articles for my Konosuba VN playthrough on Vita. Surprisingly to this day these posts remain to be popular for Realm of Darkness visitors. I have been disconnected with Konosuba series for quite some time considering the series are not exactly active on animation scene for a while. And it is only until my recent trip that the opportunity for me to reconnect with Konosuba series present itself in the form of the Video game sequels. Among Konosuba games that I acquired in Japan, the one that will be featured in this post is the 2nd Konosuba VN Game which is the sequel of the Vita VN dubbed "Love for these Clothes of Desire" which I was able to secure a Nintendo Switch copy. This post will serve as primer for those who planned to play this VN in near future and provide some general guiding informations on what to expect from this particular Konosuba game. I will try to make this one Spoiler-free as much as possible and lastly don't expect Character Ending CGs on this one.

The World's finest Assassin / Ansatsu Kizoku

 Another Isekai manga that I read recently that was written by Redo of Healer author and this one is slightly on the upper curve for Isekai series if slightly generic at the moment. The World's finest assassin or Ansatsu Kizoku is an Isekai series which had a Professional Assassin reincarnated as the main character. Betrayed by the organization whom he served a lifetime as the finest Assassin, the main protagonist is given a second chance by a Goddess to retain the life experience from his former life along with some powerups in exchange of assassinating a Hero once the Demon Lord is slain in order to prevent the world's end. Thus the main protagonist is reborn in aristocrat family as a typical Isekai mary-sue only to face even more overpowered adversary taking the Hero's mantle.

 On Surface level, Ansatsu Kizoku is another Isekai series that tried to mimic the same success of Eminence in Shadow which turns out quite well with steady support for anime adaptation. Some difference is that the Harem size of the protagonist in Eminence in Shadow is smaller and the main protagonist is being less Chuuni. The author of Ansatsu Kizoku actually also happens to be Rance Series fans and just like Kaifuku Jutsushi, this series also had plenty of the worldbuilding aspects based on Rance series with a slight dash of Tears to Tiara. Considering the Demons that serve main adversary in the setting are based on Rance Mazokus which are near immortal being that can only be slain by Hero's special power. The Hero in Ansatsu Kizoku itself, is pretty much combination of Charlotte Dunois and Arios Theoman whose bond with the main protagonist will determine the ending of this series. As of now Ansatsu Kizoku works just fine as an Isekai series but time will tell if it will have enduring popularity that most Isekais unable to attain.

Ready Player One

 Couple years ago, this particular movie called Ready Player One attracted my attention because it had Gundam and it was the only western movie at that time and even until now that could get Gundam make a cameo appearance playing some significant role. While it is just an RX-78-2, it is still something very noteworthy nonetheless because there were never any that had such long screentime. Long Story short my recent trip to Japan allows me to see Ready Player One for what its worth.

Ready Player One is an action flick which feature am MMO virtual world known as Oasis. In the movie, The Oasis is massively popular online space where many people around the globe gather as their main source of entertainment until the hunting race for the legacy of the Oasis Creator which will determine Oasis Future begin. The main Protagonist, a prodigy with disadvantaged background took part of this Hunting Race undergoing a lifetime journey from Zero to Hero in the process pitting against Soulless evil corporate that partake the race for their sinister end.

 To be frank, I don't really care about the story or the main characters of Ready Player One at all because they are as bland and cliched as it gets, considering they are tailored to facilitate mainstream appeal. I just feel that the overly idealistic or desire to win Big embedded in American Movie psyche can get overbearing at times, but at least this movie still doesn't have the worse part of distorted worldview just yet back then. But I think this is the best that this movie could compromise because they have Spielberg on the helm.

 But if you can filter out the cliched stuff, Ready Player One is actually a wholesome treat for Pop Culture Fans and this one had plenty of the Japanese cameos with some big players ranging from Capcom, Kaijus and Mecha nonetheless which is a refreshing experience considering Japan Pop Culture tend to be overshadowed on Hollywood Productions. So if your power level high enough, you can really enjoy Ready Player One solely from the Cameos only just like me. I heard there are some plans for the Sequel and lets see how much Cameo that the future movie can bring onto the table.

Mechatalk Final Gear: Rebeyrca - Sharp Claws [Alter]

 Valkyrie, Blitz in! At this point Final Gear's fate is pretty much sealed as the game CN and TW server had received its last update after spending months in maintenance mode. However it does not mean that Final Gear Mechatalk will stop because I still have sufficient materials to be discussed. As I have returned to normal activity after my trip to Japan, The 15th Final Gear Mechatalk will be dedicated to Rebeyrca! The tomboyish childhood friend of Blackark Captain who had meteoric rise to the game's meta when she obtained her own mech and UR Upgrade.

Yami's Japan Trip 2023

 For those who regularly follow this blog, some will find it to be unusual that Realm of Darkness is inactive for almost 2 weeks given the resurgence of the blog over past few months. The reason of this period of inactivity is no other than this blog's very author went on 2 weeks trip to Japan! This blog's inception came from due to my personal fascination toward Japanese Pop Culture in particular mecha genre and to be frank it only took until now that I manage to visit the land of Rising Sun in person. Despite this fateful trip takes quite some time to be realized at long last, The experience is well worth it and It was truly an eye opening experience as I have seen many things in Japan whether it is the Good, Bad or The Ugly.

Konosuba 2nd Visual Novel game

 Konosuba might appear very inactive after the 2nd Season anime but unlike many popular LN adaptations, this series is actually supplemented quite generously with Video games to close the vacuum gap. During my recent trip to Japan, I managed to acquire several Konosuba games to make up my inactivity with this series. Among the Konosuba game hauls, I was able to secure a Switch copy for the 2nd Visual Novel game which is some sort sequel for the first one that I played on my Vita.

 Dubbed as Konosuba: Love for these Clothes of Desire, this VN plot begins with Kazuma's party encountering mysterious jet black slate which starts another chapter of misadventure of this misfit party. Long story short this magic item is capable of creating clothes out of thin air but this slate caused Kazuma's party personality turned 180 one at a time like Darkness turned into a sadist instead of her usual masochistic behavior. In any case I would expect this VN will offer solid fanservice for the Konosuba fans but nothing more and nothing less. Apparently there are plans to localize this Konosuba VN for PC and Switch with 2024 release date, but I would probably finished reading this VN by then. Given the popularity of the previous Konosuba VN posts, I might consider making one for this VN as well but hopefully that won't disrupt the localization plan in any manner. For the teaser here is the Darkness in her S mode.

Dune (2021)

 

 Normally this blog would have been more active given the productivity over the recent period. But for the past two weeks I was on my trip in Japan which will be covered on separate post in the future and I will just focus on discussing the newer movie adaptation of this legendary Scifi series. I didn't get to watch Dune new movie during the lockdown period 2 years ago but this Japan trip provide me the opportunity to do so and make me understand why Dune series is such a big deal in western Scifi genre. To put it simply, Dune is one of the biggest OG and supporting pillar of Sci-fi genre along with Starship Troopers which later inspire successful series like Warhammer 40k.

 The 2021 movie itself is overall solid experience for series newcomers that had hard time to stomach the 80s movie version which probably still lacked the means to bring the series into full flesh due to technology constraints. In any case Dune at its core is a Scifi series that had a Desert Planet inhabited with Giant Worms that produces chemicals which fuels humanity into spacefaring age as the main setting. While I find the author probably influenced too much by Lawrence of Arabia, Dune has a very fascinating worldbuilding that introduces many alien concepts yet still somehow believable which is a key ingredient for a good Scifi series. This is probably why Dune still survived for decades even after the Author's passing and even got new movie adaptation despite the series might not have the best mainstream appeal. In any case I will look forward to the second part of the new Dune movie which will conclude the cliffhangers that first movie left.