Reviews

Shadonia Magazine Vol.2

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Awhile back on figure.fm i saw a post talking about anyone who knew or had Itasha cars and for those who know me i have a very mild one. And those of you who are wondering about what “Itasha” is, it literally means “Paintmobile”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itasha

There’s a very large community behind this in Japan and does conventions every year to show off there cars like this

[youtube]H2xHtDA2vd4[/youtube]

[youtube]nkXujSiT6LU[/youtube]

I had a chance to talk to Charline from a French Anime Magazine called Shadona. Shadona brings you the latest news and reviews about Anime and Anime Figures plus the industry behind it all, so if your wondering what this is all about check it out. Just yesterday there new issue of Shadona Magazine Vol. 2 came out and an article was done about the Itahsa cars with some of the pictures i submitted of my car with a quick interview.  Now when i was asked about this i thought it was just going to be something with a few people and get to see others Itasha cars, but no it was just of mine. This was a very cool thing and threw me way off guard. So i like to thank Shadonia Magazine, Charline, and everyone on staff at Shadonia Magazine. Also if you like to see this as well follow this link to the website and check out there work. Oh yea i should also mention, it will be in French so use a internet translator if you can.

http://www.shadonia.com/site/news/magazine/shadonia-magazine-vol-2

Butt Kicking, Flying Pandas, and Thousand Foot Mokojin. What else can you want?!

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If your a fighting game fan then i’m sure you’ve come across Tekken. Now they have released a movie based in the Tekken universe. For some of  you who know of or like this franchise there are some elements might confuse you so here’s the plot!

The story takes place from the games Tekken 5 and 6 where Anna sets up a ambush on Nina who is currently working with the new head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jin Kazuma. Anna on the other hand, works for Jin’s father the  rival organization, G Corporation. Both are seeking information about a student named Shin Kamiya, and Anna dispatches Ling  Xiaoyu to act as a spy, while Jin sends humanoid robot Alisa Bosconovitch for a similar purpose. I’m not going to get any further into the story since from here it really opens up and get kinda good. The movie is done in complete 3D from the Tekken 6 game engine and also features a 3D view mode for all of you who might have a 3D Blu-ray player and 3D TV.

If you just read this and haven’t got this yet it gets better! This comes as a package called Tekken Hybrid. It’s a Blu-ray bundle with Tekken Tag HD and Tekken Tag 2 Prologue. Both games are downloads to your PS3 HD and can play it from there but getting a sneak peak at Tekken Tag 2 is a sweet deal.  There are Trophies you can get from both Tekken Tag and Tag 2 so you don’t get to bored playing a 10 year old game over and over. The updated graphics on Tekken Tag are very nice but you can still see the old character models so its more like a blast from the past for me. Playing Tekken Tag 2 you are only given 4 characters, Devil Kazuma, Devil Jin, Alisa and Xiaoyu. Unlike it’s old version there are more tag moves you can use for the characters and more combinations and variations for tagging, it’s sad that i couldn’t get to really play more into it since your only able to play up to 4-5 stages. If your a Tekken fan or just wanna get it for the movie both are worth it.

Mr. Fukou da, Kamijou Touma.

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Kamijou Touma known as to have the worse luck in To Aru Majustu no Index, now has come in Figma form. I’ve been a fan of this series for awhile now and when i heard Touma was coming to the Figma line i ordered it. But when i got him i ran into a few problems. I’m sure this was just mine that was like this since this happens from time to time with figures of all kinds. But after i pulled him out and started to get him ready for display and picture taking, one of his hands broke off and the peg got stuck in the arm joint. This is a really bad thing since getting that out is really bad. Normally you could email who you bought it though and get a replacement since it was defective. But i’m not like that. I took a small drill bit and drilled out the opposite end of the plug then stuck a needle inside to pop it out. Then i took the broken hand, ran it under hot water till it was loosened. removed the broken piece then did the same to another hand (since i have a ton of them). When i had the new plug in the hand i ran it under cold water till it was solid in place. I know this was to be about Touma but if anyone has this happen before or does happen this might help.

Warming up plastic under hot water will loosen it up just enough to bend into place, then when you get it where you want it to be, run that same piece under cold water. This will set the plastic in place. This works for just about any plastic parts and if you have that leaning figure on a shelf collecting dust.

Now about Touma after i fixed him. He can stand on his own feet very well. As long as you can get him to stand he will stand on his own due to the very nice balance. Even with his lack of accessories he does come with a “punching” fist just for his action poses. Also him being very well built makes him able to do dynamic action poses from the series or anything you might be able to come up with.

Aside from all that there is a few things that i’m not sure about him. He’s to plane. What i mean by this, Touma is a normalish high school kid doesn’t stand out or really do much to stand out. I think this figure does that almost to well. I have him displayed in a nice lighted area and seems to blend into the background. There is also things they could have added to Touma. Even though they have his “Image Braker” and his punching action, i feel they should have added in his dragon arm. If you watched the series or have played the PSP game, you see it and seems to play a big role in the show. But in any case, outside those things and maybe a few more that i don’t think it’s that important to put up, Touma is a nice Figma and if your also a fan of  To Aru Majustu no Index, this might be something you want to check out. Later this month Kuroko Shirai well come out with the psp game, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. And at the end of the year Index  comes out, and that’s the main cast right there.

So if you feel like you want some Fukou da fun look for Kamijou Touma and have some fun!

Skirts, Boobs, and Fast Ships; CHECK!!

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Okay quick WARNING!!!

Skirts, Boobs, and Fast Ships is one of the best ways to describe Otomedius Excellent, and here’s why. You play one of 11 girls that is piloting a ship to shoot down enemy invaders (is what i think it is) from either destroying the earth or trying to enslave it.  No really that’s the plot.

I’ve only played this game for the weekend and i couldn’t help but to put this review up now.

If you have ever played the “Shooter” type games like 1942, Raiden series, Gradius, Death Smiles or even Touhou games, then you’ve come across your next fun game. This game is only on the Xbox 360 and when i picked this game up i was expecting something completely ridiculous, and that’s what i got. Here’s what i mean, in the past most 2D shooters was just a one layer game with 2D sprites, this game is all 3D on a 2D platform. So the end result is that it looks really good and also very distracting. Hey i know you just thought i meant about the girls in the game, but what i really mean is that if you don’t pay close attention to your character you’ll be shot down.

Oh yes some of the Bosses. If you are a Konami fan you’ll find some fun nifty things about this game. Konami looks like they decided to put in parts of there other games in this one, so if you pay close attention you’ll see some of your favorite games in this one as well. And also to show more of how ridiculous this game is, when you get your 1st boss it’s a Cat Pirate in your typical Japanese catgirl style. This just made me giggle more than anything but at the same time it was fun.

Now for some fun tidbits. This came you can play up to 3 players offline and also online, so for all you fans of this game you can play with others! If you play off line i found out something fun till they fix it. Normally in most games like this you have your own lives or shared lives. Not this one, as long as Player 1 does not die you can use Player 2 and 3 as your shields or sacrifices.  But don’t think that’s it, Konami also added in new features like upgraded weapons and heaven forbid, Art Gallery so you can see all your favorite girls in full 1080p goodness.

This game i really enjoy and recamend to anyone who likes this style of game or just want to play something completely ridiculous fun. If you end up getting the Limited Edition set you get some fun items as well like a 2 sided pillow, artbook and the soundtrack from the game, oh and yes a very shiny box. I dare anyone to leave this out when friends,  coworkers or even the in laws come over. I have to give a fair warning about this game if i somehow convinced you to get this, Konami seems to have released this very limited so you might have a hard time getting a copy in stores.

But anyways enjoy this colorful opening / game play trailer of Otomedius Excellent!

[youtube]BZhTwMXBI34[/youtube]

Battle for the Holy Grail on PSP

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Have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined,  the Fate/Stay Night series, a JRPG, and Rock Paper Scissors?? You get Fate Extra.

I’ve had about a week to play this and i was going to write about this after i put more time into it but i really think that i need to write about it before i have my 1st real battle.  BUT 1st the plot!

PLOT; Waking up in a strange virtual world with no recollection of the past, the main character is forced in fight for survival in a war they do not understand for a prize beyond value; the opportunity to have one’s wish granted. With only an enigmatic “Servant” by there side, the protagonist will have to face both friends and foes in battles to the death in order to not only gain possession of the mysterious object known as the “Holy Grail”. But also to fine the answer to the most important question of all; “Who i’m I?”

 So a quick run down of the game since i don’t want to give to much away. Rock, Paper, Scissors; the basic battle system goes as such. But don’t think that it’s easy, you have Attack, Defend and Break. Break “breaks” Defend, Attack “breaks” Break, Defend “breaks” Attacks. You get 6 commands to enter before the round starts and you have to choose what you think will be the best strategy, when you land 3 hits you get an “extra attack”.

When you start the game i got this Persona feel to it since you have so many days to complete some tasks or objectives. But unlike the how the Fate/Stay Night went, there isn’t just 7 Masters but there are alot. And it goes into a Tournament style set up where you get 6 days to get info about your opponent and find there weakness. If you find out enough about them it makes it easier to read there moves.

Nifty things about this game is that there are multiple ways to play, endings, and story lines. So if you did something wrong, wanted to not use skills when you should have or just didn’t want the Servant that you picked. You can choose different ways to play and the replay value is very, very, very good.

If your a Fate/Stay Night fan, JRPG, or just Type Moon in general, pick this up. It might be hard to find since it kinda limited release but well worth it if you can find it. You can get it off the PSN and Download it to your PSP if you can’t find a copy in stores, but you miss out on the cool things you can get with the Limited Edition. Art Book, Soundtrack and a very shiny box!! But do check this out, a very clean looking game, fun game play and it’s a Type Moon game!

[youtube]B291R5dxDgo[/youtube]

Anime Banzai 2011 Saturday Coverage!

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So due to a lot of things going on in both Ktdata and my life, we couldn’t cover all 3 days of the Utah Convention, Anime Banzai 2011. But we did manage to talk with the staff and got there okay to do the coverage of the convention.

So a little back history on Anime Banzai. Banzai started back in i believe 2004/2005 at the Salt Lake Community Collage. Then they moved from the collage to the Hilton Hotel near Down Town SLC. And from the last 2 years they moved again to the Davids Conference Center in Layton. Each year they tried to add new things, try new guests and tried to make the convention more fun for the fans. But from what i saw in some of the years past Banzai did start to lose there edge on there conventions a few years back. I’m only saying this since i went one year and i didn’t really think it was that great and so i never really thought to want to go again. It’s more to do with there guests or panels. But within the last 2 years Banzai did bring there convention out and gave it some new life by moving it to Layton. And this year we had lots of fun walking around talk with everyone and getting a chance to get to know some of the vendors in the Artist Alley.

I think some of my only concerns i have with this year was some of the dealers. I’m the kinda guy who likes to look for collectibles. I know Banzai has no control over what they sell, well for the most part, but when i’m walking through the dealers room i’m seeing mostly the same things from everyone with a few different things… But the one thing that really concerned me was one dealer a few bootlegs he was selling off. I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble for this, but this does bring up a concern for the fans i think. If they are selling bootlegs i would like to at least tell the people that they are not the real items so at the very least they don’t go to friends and show them sometime awesome they got and they have to tell there good friends that they bought a fake item. That would just be horrible to have to tell your or being told by a friend. But other than that they had a lot of great things and sadly i didn’t have enough money to get much of anything.

We did end up getting what we now call the, “Grab Bag of Crap!” So let me break this down so i don’t get the few people out there going to start flaming me. So we got 3 of the grab bags from 2 dealers and i knew i may not get anything that great and sometimes just crap since one dealer told me that, “we just put in things that don’t sell” But we did get some really cool things from these grab bags! Check out the videos when we get them up as well.

Okay now for the Cosplay. I think one of the things i like from any convention is the cosplay that everyone comes as. And this year i saw some really good ones and like at all conventions, bad ones. So i just think that if it makes you happy do it, we’re all nerds, geeks, or what not, let us have fun with what we like in our hobbies. But that’s still not going to stop me from raising an eye brow. (no offence mind anyone)

This time around we couldn’t get in as many interview as we did at GEEX here. That’s really due to all the panels or other things going on and also trying to track down some of the cosplayers that i see from time to time. So sadly we had a hard time getting our interviews and panels timed out right, and also we didn’t get press passes so we couldn’t just walk into them film for a while then move on. But for everyone we interviewed and would like us to post something about you just leave us a comment or a email and/or if you just want us to take something down, just let us know. There are some interviews we did that i didn’t get a picture of you, i am sorry that i spaced it but if you like to leave a comment and let us know if there is anything you want us to add.

Now for the break down of Anime Banzai 2011. I found this year to be fun! (at least for the only day we could go for) And i think they are going the right direction for a Utah Convention since we’re in a state that doesn’t like different things so much. Anime Banzai is a good thing for the local fans and i just hope in the next few years they get better guests, better panels, and of course, a bigger area! Next year i’ll be sure to ask about the press passes much, much, MUCH sooner so that in the last week before the convention i’m not sending out an email asking if we can get press passes. lol But once again to the staff at Anime Banzai, thank you for letting us cover your convention and i hope we can next year as well.

We will try to get the interviews up as fast as we can but till then you can see what little pictures i could take of some of the cosplayers we saw around.

 

 

 

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Review

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It’s time for the fall season releases of anime, and i feel that i should mention, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai or known as I Don’t Have Many Friends. I picked this one up on a whim since it sounded funny, and that’s what i got and a bit more. At 1st starts with a highschool boy named Hasegawa Kodaka who unfortunately for him looks like a delinquent. Mainly due to his hair and just the way he looks, but really is a nice guy just looking to meet friends. So as you would think one thing leads to another and misunderstandings keep getting worse till one day he meets a girl by the name of Yozora Mikazuki. This event leads them into forming a new club called, The Neighbor’s Club. This was formed for the soul purpose of making friends and gaining social skills.

Yea i know it sounds kinda “meh” but i’ve come to laugh at this one. I find it to be a nice comedy, romance anime genre. So this show i would at least give it a shot.  Also if you want more info about it check out ANN.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=12983

Rain Coat Monkey Suruga Kanbaru Figma!

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Here we have the 4th Figma in the Bakemonogatari line. And of all 4 of them i think this one shows the best show case. One of the better features i found on Suruga is that she comes with her basketball so this can go well with very sporty shots, and  a cloth rain coat and this does have some good and bad features as well.

The Good!

It can go on just about any Figmas with very little to no problems. And it looks good too, so i’m hoping Max Factory will make more Figmas with cloth as part of the figure.

The Bad!

It’s all one piece. I thought that the rain coat might open up with velcro, but i was wrong. So as i’m getting ready to put it on i almost ripped the seams thinking it was velcro. Boy would i have been mad lol.

As for Suruga as a figure, i like it and her monkey arm or bandage arm was a nice touch and i just think that she has alot compared to other Figmas since if you think about it you almost get 2 figures for the price of one since you get a “shadow” face and a whole new arm with that rain coat. So it’s almost like a new figure with her. There will be one more and maybe the last Figma to come out from the Bakemonogatai line that’s due this December. I hope to pick it up as well since i’ve come this far from this line. But also it seems that from my past posts, i get talk about the panda car and i think i’ll be keeping that with this Figma line. Enjoy!

 

Blowing crap outta the skys!! Ace Combat Assault Horizon!

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I’ve been playing Ace Combat Assault Horizon for about a week now and for all you hardcore Ace Combat players will think that, “This isn’t a flight sim anymore?!” That is right, Ace Combat AH has moved to a Arcade style flight game. So the mine difference is that if you so happen to crash into the ground (like i do) you will not just die unless you have taken alot of damage. But the new features is the new “Assault System”. When you are tailing your enemy air craft a green circle will pop on them, as you hit both your bumpers to go into the AS. This lets you get close to them and do massive damage to your enemy. But like the saying goes, “An eye for an eye.” The enemies can also get you in AS as well, but don’t think it’s the end of the world since you can do… Yes you called it, “A Barrel Roll!!” This maneuver is kinda hard to pick up at 1st but as you (forced into) learn the game as you play it will become easier. Just watch out when you get 2-3 enemies on your butt.

 

Now comes the likes, and dislikes about Ace Combat Assault Horizon.

Likes!

– Since they broke off the flight sim i was thinking this was going to play like After Burner or some other arcade style flyer. But it doesn’t, Ace Combat AH did keep all the elements of all the past Ace Combats in this with a very good story. Plus the intro was just freak’n awesome.

– Game play is just fun, with some of the new features like air break while turning makes it so you can do evasive turns was a nice plus, something i hoped to see from Ace Combat at some point.

– Combat system can still be played like the older versions of Ace Combat but if you want to hit them better then you’ll wanna get into the AS.

– And i think my favorite thing about this game is the different modes you can play. Some missions you play as your air craft but others you’ll play as a Apacheor a gunner on a bomber and also play in the seat of a mini gunner on the side of a Helicopter.

 

Dislikes!

– Like the other Ace Combat games it can turn into a circle dog fight and all your trying to do is get behind the plane as they are doing the same. So this can lead into trying to catch your own tail.

– When you get put into the AS and the enemy does get close enough to you and you can’t do a barrel roll it’s over, not to mention it’s very hard to get outta it when your in it. And when you have 2 on your butt your good as dead sometimes.

– I know i put this in my likes but i also dislike the AS. In some missions you’ll do a bomb mission like in past Ace Combats but they let you get into a run in the AS and sometimes that can get just horribly bad. I just found it much easier to take them out the old fashion way. Though the AS bombing runs mission was fun.

Over all the game is a great flyer game and if your a fan of Ace Combat i’m sure you’ll find a place for this in your heart and for everyone else who wants a action game outside the FPS RTS or just want to try something new, get this! It’s worth to check out if your a flyer game fan at the very least.

Interview with the Dead.

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Here we have another Black Rock Shooter (BRS) Figma, Dead Master. With a large bone looking scythe and 2 floating skulls, this Figma does prove to be very nice and very unique. From the BRS Figma line, Dead Master is one of the harder ones to find and thus has become rare among collectors.

Like most of the Figma lines, Dead Master does show to be very possible for various battle scenes or action posses. But alike some Figmas, there is some things about this one that are annoying. The 2 skulls that she comes with have a hard time fitting into the stand that come with. I don’t want to force them in to hard since i’ve had issues of almost/have broke parts of the figures by doing that. Since her hands are very long and boney like, getting her to hold the scythe can be hard and if your also trying to be careful, you’ll have a small fight waiting for you trying to get her to hold that. This isn’t a real issue but more of me just being careful, but the wings on her back i just feel could break off easy. So if you just got Dead Master i would be very careful around her back area.

If your a BRS fan and want to get Dead Master for your collection i would advise to check out http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/ since i’ve seen her pop up there from time to time for about 4000 yen.