I’m surprised it took Max Factory this long to turn Kaito into Figma, since him and Meiko were mascots for the first Vocaloid program. Still, better late than never.

Everything you see in the pictures come with Katio figma, including the ice cream.

September 2013 release, 4000 yen. Pre-order available at various online stores NOW.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary, Bandai announced that they are re-issuing the 5 main Bronze Saints in their final God Cloths. In addition, a new figure of Athena in her God Cloth will be released as well. The difference between these figures and the ones previously released are a more accurate color scheme and all of them have newly added “angry expression” face plates.

Release Schedules:
Seiya – September 2013
Shiryu – October 2013
Hyoga – November 2013
Shun – January 2014
Ikki – February 2014

All 5 saints will cost 7875 yen.

Athena with God Cloth will be available on December 2013, for 10500 yen.

Also due out on December is a special DX display stand for all the myth cloth figures to be displayed on. December release, 5250 yen.

Another new announcement is that Saint Seiya Omega will finally join the Myth Cloth family, starting this November with Pegasus Kouga.

From Amiblog, pictures of the Saint Seiya Omega Myth Cloths

Pegasus Kouga

Pegasus Cloth in Object Form

Lionet Soma

Dragon Ryuho

Orion Eden

Last but not least, Bandai announced a new traveling display show called the World Sanctuary Tour (sounds like the most Bitchin’ album name.. EVER), in 10 different locations around the world. The centerpiece for this tour is a replica of the Sagittarius Cloth done in pure gold.

NOTE: Not for sale. Really.

As always, keep connected to Plastic Ronins for the latest toy news and other articles.

(This will be a very long column, so brace yourselves)

It’s the 20th anniversary of Power Rangers, a momentous occasion in the history of franchise which fueled our childhood. When Megaforce showcased all the ranger keys, the writing was on the wall: we’re going to have Gokaiger-esque alumni ranger reunions! It was going to be awesome, as we’ll have people ranging from Tommy Oliver to maybe even RPM crew come back for this milestone.

Yeah, about that last part….

and yes, there are more reports of Disney-era Power Ranger Alumnis not getting contacted from Saban. What’s even worse, this generic letter greeted those that were contacted:

To many Power Rangers fans, this must feel like getting a rug pulled under their feet. Saban did their best to promote 20th anniversary of Power Rangers, they even showed the trailer for Megaforce with all past rangers charging towards the battle. Hell, everything about Megaforce from the beginning pointed towards eventual reunion. And all of sudden, they have a budget problem.

This string of incidents proved what many people knew and some feared, which is the fact that Haim Saban’s ego cannot grasp the current trend of entertainment industry. His mentality still seems to be trapped 20 years ago, partying like it’s still 90s ( I would not be surprised if he thinks Phil Jackson is still head coach of Chicago Bulls). To better understand how Saban is out of his damn mind, we have to delve into how industry have changed, as well as how it impacts current Power Rangers alumnis.

As you may have heard from Karan Ashley’s explanation as to why she will not be joining Super Megaforce, Saban is refusing to pay the alumnis the SAG minimum wage. To give the readers better idea, here’s the SAG-AFTRA rate table (in which I’ve photoshopped unnecessary parts out):

Now, for the sake of argument, let’s say that’s the rate Haim Saban rejected. Let’s even suggest that he asked the actors to return for far less money than that, without flight compensation and guarantee of accommodations questionable. In that case, Saban’s asking way too much out of these actors.

Consider this for the moment: As of right now, flight to New Zealand costs a little over $1000 for one stop flight. That’s easily over $2000 round trip, provided Saban declines to even compensate 10% of their flight. Also, since these actors would be there for one episode worth of scene, they’ll be working under 1-day filming schedule most likely (2-day if lucky). That means the actors will be losing well over $1000 just to be part of this project. Not only is it shady business practice, it will be disastrous on these actors’ finance. Not every Power Rangers alumnis remain as actors, and even the ones that do may have second job to support their living. SAG-AFTRA recommends that beginning actors should have a secondary income source, because open roles can be scarce.

Now, some people out there are saying that the actors are being inconsiderate (shame on those people), and cites Jason David Frank’s possible involvement as why these actors should be able to do it. Those people need to keep in mind that Jason has steady income that allows him to travel. He fought in MMA bouts, set Guiness World Record, starred in few movie projects, signed autograph at conventions, so on and on. It’s true that he loves his fans, which I give him major respect for. But given how he would often talk ill of Haim Saban, I don’t think even he would’ve participated in this if he figured this would destroy his bank account. (Of course, all this is under the assumption that JDF travels to New Zealand. Not many people still know the extent of his involvement)

So how does all this factor into Saban’s inability to escape from his past? Well, everything actually.

First of all, he seems to forget that most if not all TV roles require SAG-AFTRA membership. Either that, or he knows but tries to strong-arm them into accepting non-union term, in which case the actors will be penalized for accepting non-union role while being union member. This isn’t some low-budget student film. This is Power Rangers, a franchise that sold many toys and videos from beginning to present. Saban cannot possibly convince me they don’t have budget to bring in the past actors, not with all the corners they cut so far.

Also, this is my personal guess, but I’m sure actors realized they need to be unionized. Go to youtube and search for any panels with MMPR actors and they’ll tell you how badly they were treated during their years as Power Rangers. I remember Barbara Goodson (voice of Rita Repulsa) talking about how she had to fight for the actors’ rights, because the actors were non-union at that point. I can’t say that all non-union roles are bad, but with Saban it seems like it inflicted enough pain that the actors do their best to prevent it from ever happening again.

Last but not least, Saban greatly underestimates the impact of social media. After Rhett Fisher’s twitter and Karan Ashley’s youtube video went viral, the Power Rangers fandom was in uproar. Soon after, more news from previous Power Rangers actors flooded in. Couple of Power Rangers SPD actors have confirmed not being contacted for Super Megaforce, as well as Red Ninja Storm’s actor confirming same issue. The overall response from the fans have been anger and disbelief for the most part, as they were promised anniversary reunion as far back as Power Morphicon 2012. In 90s, the fans weren’t able to hear about travesty Saban committed until during MMPR panels years after. He might’ve gotten away with it in 1993, when social media was non-existent. Now, with facebook, twitter, and youtube easily accessible at the fingertip, Saban won’t be able to keep any scandal down under.

I think Saban needs to get out of his time capsule and simply comply to the fans’ wishes, especially now. Nostalgia is the only thing keeping Power Rangers relevant, especially in the TV network where a talking yellow sponge is ratings king. Most of the fans supporting Power Rangers are not kids, but the adults who can think logically and have access to internet. That goes double for the past ranger actors, even Disney-era rangers. They aren’t teenagers with attitude anymore, but grown-ups with priorities. Shouldn’t Saban treat fans and the actors with dignity? like a grown-ups?

Better yet, when will Haim Saban grow up?

SOURCES:
The official Power Morphicon Convention facebook page
Rangerboard.com
Youtube – Nightmere1001
SAG-AFTRA website
Rhett Fisher’s Twitter
Son of the Bronx

100 years ago, humanity faced their worst enemy: The titans. To prevent further casualties, they built 3 walls to block titan advancements. 100 years later, the outer wall was broken down by a new type of titan. This is the story of the children that lost their home during the titan invasion, from their tragic childhood to their days of fighting against titans as part of military.

Episode 1 and 2 mostly consist of Eren, Mikasa and Armin’s childhood. Their peaceful lives were shattered, when a new type of titan destroyed 50 meter tall Maria Wall. This titan, which has no human skin and taller than other titans, created hole for other titans to enter the town of Shinganshina. Due to the sudden attack, many sections of the town were destroyed, including Eren and Mikasa’s home. They rush to home, only to find their mother trapped in the rubble. Hannes, local stationary guard, comes to the destroyed house as well. At this point, Carla (Eren’s mother) asks Hannes to take the kids to safety. He does, after being unable to fight a titan. While running away, Eren witnessed his mother being eaten by the same titan Hannes couldn’t fight. From this point and up to middle of episode 2 shows the fall of Shinganshina, and refugees’ blight. Episode 2 also showed the failed attempt at re-taking Maria Wall area, and that was the deciding point for Armin, Eren, and Mikasa to join the military. Episode 3 starts at training academy, where drill Sergeant Keith Shadis does a decent R. Lee Ermey impression. This is also the part where we meet Sasha Blause, with the infamous ‘Potato’ scene. After that, Eren becomes popular among recruits for his past experience with titans. However, all of that falls apart when he couldn’t balance himself on Three-Dimension Movement practice gear. He eventually figures out how to balance act on the tethers, and the episode ends with Eren and Mikasa swinging across the forest like Spider-Man.

Without a doubt, this is probably the most intense series of this season. The first episode alone had so much tension, from the townsfolks pausing to witness the new titan to panic at the evacuation dock. Everything worked for episode 1 and 2 when it comes to presenting the grim reality of titans invasion. The atmosphere of animation dimming down as titans crush the town, mixed with heart-pounding musical scores, amplified the intensity by 11. Speaking of animation, I like how it looks. The studio added their own flares while sticking to the source material’s style, kind of like how Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was handled. For first impression, it was extremely marvelous.

As far as action goes, there isn’t much in first 3 episodes. There was that brief moment in episode 1, where survey team takes on a lone titan. But that only lasted less than a minute, with no actual battle scene. However, given what happens in the manga, expect a fast-paced battle against titans soon. One thing I do want to note, I love the concept of Three Dimension Movement gear. The way it’s constructed is very logical and practical, such as using the grappling trigger as sword handle at the same time. It also makes sense in terms of fighting against something that’s big as a building.

Character-wise….oh boy. Eren is angry, Mikasa is a Terminator, and Armin is this show’s equivalent of Speedwagon. Most of the supporting cast doesn’t stand out much either, except for one Sasha Blause. Holy crap, is she fun to watch! I guess I need to explain why Sasha is the best character in this show so far. In this training corp, there are two kinds of people enlisted: people that joined to save face, and the people that actually witnessed the horror of titans ravaging their hometown (such as Eren). You can clearly tell by how they act in front of drill sergeant. Sasha is neither of that group. She has the honesty to admit what she did, without any fear of getting yelled at. She manages to keep things upbeat in this episode, even after being punished for potato eating. These traits pretty much makes her stand alone in this group of youth. It’s like that one friend who wants your left-over food with no shame, but you can’t hate that glutton because there’s honesty in that person’s demeanor. Yeah, it’s like that.

My concern with this anime, and big one at that too, is how this anime will keep up with manga’s release schedule. So far, only 45 chapters have been released, and the anime covered up to Chapter 2. Worse, the manga has not finished its run yet. Which makes me wonder how they’re going to compensate for the unfinished business. It’s not like Jojo, where it’s easier to take a break between different story parts. Besides, I’ve seen animes based on in-progress source materials, and those animes did not end their television run well (Soul Eater and Berserk). One ended with trainwreck ending, and the other just stopped before it really got interesting. I would love to see Shingeki No Kyojin handle the issue well, but only time will tell.

So far, I love the series. As if the premise isn’t unique enough, the animation is crisp, and pacing is decent. Even the issues with characters are minimal since this is only 3 episodes in, and Sasha pretty much covers the shortcomings so far. As I said, how they handle manga’s on-going schedule will be the deciding factor on whether it gets Anime of The Year in my opinion. But for now, swing in and watch this series.

Verdict:

In Iron Man 3, a terrorist called ‘The Mandarin’ threatens America with various acts of terrorism. When one of the terrorist attacks affects people that are close to Tony Stark, he puts on his new Mark 42 armor and sets off on a path of revenge.

If that description seems too short for you, that’s because saying any more would results in catastrophic spoiler.

Once again, I will have to tag spoiler on this review. Trust me when I say this is for the best, since the spoiler parts are what make this movie so fucking awesome. Yes, that’s right! Iron Man 3 is a Must-Watch Movie, period! It’s so good, I went back to my Iron Man 2 review and changed score, simply because this movie made Iron Man 2 look that bad. So if you have watched the movie already, or you don’t care about spoilers because you’re allergic to surprises, then go past the spoiler tag. Otherwise, stop reading this review and go see it right now.

Are we good?

…

…

Okay then.

To start off, there are multiple elements that tie in together towards the end. Tony suffers from anxiety attack, caused by what transpired in The Avengers movie. This causes him to build tons of armors, including Mark 42. On the other side, we see Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) from A.I.M.. Killian introduces Extremis, a techno-virus that can enhance human capability to unlimited potentials. Then there’s The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a mysterious terrorist leader that hijacks TV broadcast network to show his choppy propaganda.

Iron Man 3 works because Director Shane Black (kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and his crew managed to blend in great Hollywood action with Iron Man comic book elements.The fact that they used Killian and A.I.M as the surprise main villain was like a pleasant sucker punch. Best of all, they handled Killian’s back-story with subtlety and realism. For a character that was an afterthought in Extremis comic book arc, Aldrich Killian proved to be a solid villain in this movie. Not just him, but his Extremis soldiers were quite formidable, sometimes downright frightening. I also like how their entire operation was hidden behind ‘Late Night with The Mandarin’ TV show.

Speaking of The Mandarin, I love how they handled his character. I’m not sure if this is Shane Black’s attempt at tickling conspiracy theorists’ funny bones, but it worked in the big picture. When Mandarin was conceived in 1964, he was more or less a caricature of Magic/Communist China. So how do you make sense of the character without offending massive amount of Asian community? Keep him as a caricature, but with realism. It’s revealed in half-point of the movie that ‘The Mandarin’ is a British actor with drug issues, who was hired by Killian to scare American public and hide the real political agenda. This actually works, because it’s believable. Oh sure, some people may say ‘Well, Repulsor system is a hokey-pokey sci-fi’. But you know, Repulsor is more believable than magic rings. The hired actor gimmick works better than generic terrorist warlord that was shown in trailers. It’s that little surprise that’s refreshing and suits the overall scheme for the villains.  I would also like to mention that this is probably Ben Kingsley’s best role in a long while. How he shifts from serious warlord to a druggie actor is just unbelievably swift and hilarious.

Shane Black stated that he wanted to make this Iron Man movie come out as a hybrid of comic book and Tom Clancy-style thriller. I can now see why, especially since Tony Stark fends off extremis soldiers without Mark 42 suit at one point. The scene where he fights off female extremis soldier with just what was in the kitchen was amazing and intense. This showed Tony using his intelligence instead of the usual blast-everything routine. Now, I’ve heard some people say they didn’t like this part and other similar parts because it didn’t feel like Iron Man. I would like to direct their attention to Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted, where Tony Stark was on the run from Norman Osbourne’s government. While not as extreme as WMW, this movie had similar tone to it in the middle. Therefore, I did not mind the thriller part at all.

As mentioned, Ben Kingsley was wonderful in his role. But the other actors did great job as well. I don’t even need to talk about how glorious Robert Downey Jr. was in this movie, because at this point he cannot do this role wrong. Everything else around him could fall apart, and he’d still be standing tall. For this movie, I loved the interaction between him and Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins). It’s like that adorable father-son moment, except it’s adorable and full of sarcasm. This is also the part where movie delves into and eventually leads to resolution of his anxiety issue. The process was enjoyable because of chemistry between RDJ and Simpkins. As Tony Stark said ‘because we’re connected’, right before he drove away from the kid. Everyone in the theater lost it at that moment, it was that good.

Regarding the armor designs, I do want to get the one negative out. Even though I say negative, it’s actually a nitpick. I still do not like Mark 42′s color scheme, it just doesn’t work. All it needed was few more red, on the chest area at the very least, and it would’ve worked wonders. But instead, they opted for gold-dominant color scheme and it looks like it should’ve been side armor instead of main armor.

Left: Original / Right: Photoshop

See what I mean? Sometimes, a small splash of color can make a huge difference.

And that’s where the negativity ends with 42, because everything else works.

In action, Mark 42 is amazing. Not only can the armor pieces put on Tony one by one (thus producing some hilarious moments), but it can also be operated remotely with Tony being far away from the suit. This allowed so many unique action sequences, including Tony taking down armed guards with just one gauntlet and one boot applied. That alone makes 42 the best in terms of functionality, and it reminds me a little bit of how Extremis Armor works in comic book.

The other armors, holy crap! So many versatile armors, so little screen time. Even Iron Patriot got shafted, since all he did was knock down Afghanistan homesteads and get hijacked by extremis soldier. I wish I would’ve seen Iron Patriot in action against extremis soldiers, but at least I got to see Don Cheadle kick some ass. I suppose that counts as consolation prize.

(Also, the post-credit cameo…. Hilarious.)

I went into Iron Man 3 with iffy expectations. I wasn’t sure how they handled The Mandarin, and even more unsure on Mark 42 armor. In the end, I loved it, and loved it more. Deb said it best: ‘GODDAMNIT!, THIS IS WHAT IRON MAN 2 SHOULD’VE BEEN!!’. It had action, character developments, tons of Stark humor, bombastic climax, hell of an ending where we asked ‘So What now?’, and more… SO MUCH MORE! If you’re Iron Man fan, you already saw this movie. If you’re still unsure, get your ass up and go see it now.

VERDICT:

5 Dora the Explorer Ltd Ed watches out of 5

By the way, how many of you secretly uttered ‘Rescue?’ when Pepper blasted Killian away with repulsor gauntlet?

In the future, humankind have expanded their territory to outer space. Predictably, alien race known as Wulgaru began attacking Earth Force bases. Team Rabbit of MJP has been chosen to pilot the latest weapons, in order to defeat the severe alien threats.

Episode 1 starts off with Undina base being attacked by Wulgaru battalion, with Wulgaru units taking apart the base bit by bit. After that, the show introduces Team Rabbit members being dysfunctional, as they get destroyed in paintball skirmish. Despite their failures in training, Simon Gato chooses Team Rabbit to pilot the latest version of ASHMB (Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device) units. In addition, Izuru Hitachi is chosen as their leader despite his teammates’ dismay. At Undima Base, Team Rabbit holds back Wulgaru army long enough to evacuate military personnels. But when Izuru discovers civilians trapped in the base, he instinctively dashes towards the enemy group. Following Izuru, the rest of Team Rabbit support him in battle, resulting in Wulgaru army retreating. Episode 2 starts off with Team Rabbit receiving medals for defeating Wulgaru army, as well as being under the spotlight for press conference. After that they were informed of satellite repair mission, and the fact that their AHSMB will be decked with corporate sponsor logos for this mission. During the satellite repair, they were attacked by white Wulgaru unit. It manages to destroy the satellites and the mission is deemed a failure. In episode 3, Team Rabbit takes a 48-hour vacation before their next mission. When they were visiting swimming pool area, Izuru comes across Teoria (only to be tossed into the pool by her butler). After the vacation, Team Rabbit enters the recon mission, only to find out that it’s a lot more than a simple recon. The temporary commander (we’ll call him Incompetent Douchebag for now) issues attack despite Rin Suzukage’s plea for retreat. Team rabbit gets tossed around left and right by Wulgaru forces, and that ends episode 3.

No, that’s Not Izuru’s mecha.

Is it me, or am I watching Super Sentai series?

Look, it’s not just because of Izuru’s VA (Hiroki Aiba- Ryunosuke Ikenami/Shinken Blue) and Ataru’s VA (Junya Ikeda – Gai Ikari/Gokai Silver). The 5 members of Team Rabbit fit the sentai archetype. There’s the silent-strong type, serious female, quirky moeblob(?) female, comic relief, and the leader. It doesn’t help that their mecha names are color coded, as Izuru’s mecha is named Red-5. The best example for sentai comparison would be Tensou Sentai Goseiger, and yes I feel awful just comparing Team Rabbit to Goseigers. The point though is that Izuru is still inept at being a leader, as he lacks confidence and he would often withdraw himself to drawing manga sketches. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing though, quite the opposite as a matter of fact. I like these five, because they’re just so interesting. Team Rabbit feels a lot more natural than Goseigers, as their chemistry level doesn’t make me want to bang my head on the desk. For mecha series, there are very little conversations between Team Rabbit members. But their interactions do just enough to establish links between 5 members. When it’s not Ataru cracking joke and being weapons geek, it’s Asagi being a cynic. When it’s not one person having serious expression, it’s other person having funny anime expression. There’s something to break the mundane, but they use the timing well to not look awkward.

(NOTE: Junya Ikeda should do more anime voice roles)

What Majestic Prince does well is pacing, which some people may disagree. Granted, it starts off slow compared to other anime shows, but I believe this is necessary to develop Team Rabbits’ characters. Given the fact that they’re still teenagers, it would be preposterous to ask them to suddenly become super soldiers. Even as members of MJP (Military Junior Pre-Academy), they still have the shaken confidence of being Fail Five for so long. Based on that, it’s logical for them to feel under heavy pressure. It also makes their growth process steady and potentially interesting if handled correctly. The battle scenes may be short, but they look great and their length feels right. Sometimes long battle can seem like a drag, especially when some of the allotted time can be used for more character developments.

As for mecha designs, I love them. Each unit has its own distinctive personality and functionality. It’s not like modern Gundam, where slight modification equals function change. But here, close-combat mech comes with katana and sniper unit’s head actually shifts to the gun arm to function as scope. Control unit has no arms or legs, and booster unit comes with gigantic boosters. These difference in designs make the battle that much more interesting, as seen in episode 3. At the end of the episode, Tamaki’s unit got into trouble because it lacked close-combat weapon and shielding. It would be interesting to see how the pilots overcome their robot’s weak points, especially when said robots are neurally linked with their respected pilots.

If Gargantia is potential anime of the year, then Majestic Prince is a safe bet. It won’t amaze people, but it’ll do just enough to keep some people interested. There may be great divide on this series due to its slow start. Personally, I’d say keep watching it. I’ve seen shows where they start slow like a turtle, only to explode with awesome moments towards the end. I feel like Majestic Prince falls in that category, where it can blossom into a solid series.

VERDICT:

Plastic Joint is now Plastic Ronins!

This is something me and Ramses have been discussing for quite sometime now. We believe that a change may be needed to expand from the point we’re currently at. There will be few more changes coming soon, but the biggest one right now would be the website name itself. It’s safe to say we outgrew the name ‘Plastic Joint’, so we thought about what could be our new name. To me, ‘Plastic Ronins’ work, because it’s more than just a title – It’s a personal statement. We will not bow to any higher person/group/beings, we will express our opinions with honest attitude, and we’re proud to say this is our website. The new name may be silly to some, but it still carries more weights than say… ‘Plastic Joint’.

Content-wise, nothing will change. Toy news will be posted, and Go-Toku Review will return soon. Not to mention, site layout will get some tweaks here and there soon. But for now, this is the change that we made and we’re sticking to it. So if you have this website bookmarked, edit ‘Plastic Joint’ to fit the change or simply bookmark us again. Thank you for your patience, and keep checking us out for more toy news to come.

That said, let’s get to the first anime for this segment…

Suisei no Gargantia, or Gargantia on the Verduruous Planet, starts off in a distant space. In the future, Galactic Alliance army fight against alien creatures known as Hideauze. A soldier named Ledo and his mecha Chamber participate in raid, only to get lost in the wormhole during the retreat. When he wakes up, him and Chamber wind up in giant frigate ship known as Gargantia. Soon, Ledo comes across Amy, one of Gargantia’s denizens. That fateful meeting would lead to world of discovery for Ledo.

Episode 1 showed the futility of Galactic Alliance’s battle against Hideauze, as ships explode and soldiers perish everywhere. Ledo’s accidental transport to Earth ended with Chamber being inside cargo bay, with Gargantia crew members trying to tear it apart. We also get to see a bit of lifestyle on Gargantia, which looks like more colorful version of Waterworld homesteads. Amidst of this we get to meet Amy, the show’s main female protagonist. She sneaks into cargo bay at night due to curiousity, only to have Ledo kidnap her and run to the edge of crane arm. From there to the first half of episode 2, Gargantia crew and Ledo go into stand-off because Chamber’s reactivation. The second half of episode 2 involves Gargantia’s excavation crew being held up by sea pirates and Ledo pilots Chamber to rescue the excavation crew… by destroying pirate ships and disintegrating the pirates ( yes, like Marvin the Martian). Episode 3 starts off with Bellows, leader of the excavation crew, explaining to Ledo why killing those pirates were bad. The pirate crew’s death also leads to pirate queen’s armada invading Gargantia, only to have Ledo and Chamber throw them far away like Team Rocket.

There are just so much to like about Suisei No Gargantia. First off, the animation is gorgeous. Not just Chamber’s 3D animation, but background and just about everything that’s on the screen. The way Gargantia is laid out it feels grand, even though we get to see bit sections of it so far. Not only that, but the setting comes with so many little details, such as panels and rusted spots. The character designs are colorful and full of life, so much that it almost makes you forget that this is post-apocalyptic Earth.

The premise is also very interesting. A soldier that only knows how to fight, winds up in a place where peace and co-existence are everyday life. How IG executed character interactions also reinforce the plot, as Ledo and Amy speak different language. This is important, because it adds the sense of realism into this show. It also makes Ledo’s process of learning and getting used to Gargantia’s culture that much more fascinating. Ledo requires portable device that’s directly linked to Chamber, in order to translate what the people of Gargantia say. Likewise, Chamber speaks in their language, acting as an extremely intelligent Google Translator. Sometimes it’s the small details like those that make the show all the more better.

Moreover, the characters are wonderful. Of course side characters such as Bellows, Ridget, Bebel are good and all, but the main characters themselves are just as well-done. Ledo is straight-as-arrow soldier, while Amy is cheerful girl with not a single care in the world. Between them is Chamber (powered by Tomokazu Sugita), a super-intelligent mecha that can destroy an entire fleet in one shot. And that’s where my only concern with this show lies in, Chamber. While he has an awesome design, he’s ridiculously over-powered, as shown in episode 2. Hell, he even admits that he can destroy Gargantia with spending little amount of energy. Worse, Episode 3 showed him tossing 3 Yunboros altogether like they were nothing. How they handle Chamber being overpowered death machine is crucial to overall direction of this anime.

Suisei No Gargantia has potential to be Anime of the Year candidate, provided that they don’t sink midway. With unique premise, great characters and marvelous graphics, Gargantia is definitely recommended for everyone.

Final Verdict:

RYURANGER! TENKASE… RYO!

Ask any Super Sentai fans, and a lot of folks will say Dairanger is one of their favorite series. Hell, our own Eric is huge Dairanger fan, as well as Junya Ikeda (Gokai Silver). So to have Ryuranger become Figuarts, that’s just amazing.

Ryuranger comes with tons of weapons, as well as the Chinese eyes helmet.

August release, 3675 yen.

Welp, it’s that time once again. Please note that the pictures are compilations from various sources, such as Figure-Oh, Dengeki Hobby, and Tamashii Nation website.

That said, let’s get to one thing I’ve been looking forward to badly…

SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Blade – August release 3800 yen

OH YES! It’s the rider figuarts I’ve been wanting since I saw it at Tamashii Nations event. Blade finally has release date, and I for one, am giddy as hell for this figure.

SH Figuarts Cyclone (the original) – August release, 4000 yen

Myth Cloth EX Dragon Shiryu – August release, 6000 yen

Tamashii Web Exclusive Myth Cloth Papillon Myu – September release, 8400 yen

Super Robot Chogokin Shin Getter Robo! – release date TBA

This is something me and Rams have been wondering for while, ‘How long until SRC Getter Robo?’ and it’s finally been answered. Interesting choice as to use Shin Getter Robo though, not that I’m complaining (I fucking loved Getter Robo Armageddon).

New Mecha project form Max Factory, of all company. Starting off with Dougram mechs, this should prove to be interesting.

Tamashii Web Exclusive Gundam Mark V – September release, 8400 yen

Tamashii Web Exclusive SIC Kamen Rider OOO Shauta Combo – September release, 7875 yen

Sci-Fi Revoltech Iron Man Mark I

Good. I missed out on Hasbro version, so this should be fine.

More EVAs, yay?

Also announced on Bandai’s Tamashii Nation Website for August release:

Robot Damashii KMF Alexander

Robot Damashii Ryuseimaru

D-Arts Megaman X Ultimate Armor

D-Arts Venusaur

Tamashii Web Exclusive SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Scissors