Welcome to my home, NDS

So after years of debate and hours of last minute decisions, I finally went and bought myself a Nintendo DS! It really was a late decision too, they just announced the 3DS which is supposed to replace the DS line sometime next year! I considered waiting it out and getting the 3DS instead, but I figured I could sell my DS when the time comes.

I've always been a Sony guy, quite honestly, but I couldn't help but notice all the great games I wanted to play on the DS. The current DS emulation is pretty shaky, and takes away from the hands-on experience of the touch screen. Some great games of interest include The World Ends With You, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and countless others. I'm waiting on the package now (its a used, polar white DS Lite), along with the Acekard 2 flash cart and a microSD card.

I considered the DSi as well, but I just want a pure gaming handheld and don't need any of the new features, all of which my PSP does infinitely better. I mean, a 0.3 megapixel camera? My phone has a better camera than that, and my phone is shit. And the DSiWare downloadable content is crap from what I can see. So all in all, I tried to spend as little money as I could, considering I'm waiting to buy a PS3 Slim is a couple of weeks. I'm packing up on gaming for my looong college summer.

Gundams of the Gundam 00 Movie

The designs of the new Gundams from the upcoming Gundam 00 movie, A Wakening of the Trailblazer, have been out for awhile and talk has been going on all over the Gundam blogging community. I've been meaning to comment on them as well, cause I'm also not too happy about them. First of all...

These are earlier designs of the four new Gundams. Small scale high grades are being produced by Bandai at the moment, so I'll talk about each one individually. Each one seems to have a design flaw that has plagued many models in the past, but they are all right there in your face. I don't know what they were thinking...

Here's Setsuna's new Gundam, the 00 Qan [T]. It looks like a subtle mix of the Exia and 00, with its main point being that massive shield on its shoulder. This one is, in my opinion, the best looking of the four. The thing is, you may see a potential problem with the gunpla. Depending on how sturdy the joints are, that shield is going to make its left arm sag, and possibly cause an imbalance (It'll TIP OVER). We'll see...

Next is Allelujah's new Gundam, the Harute. It's...okay. It's an improvement over the plain Arios, but it seems a bit overkill for an aerial type mobile suit. I mean, look at the size of those things on its back. It looks so tacked on (though its not as bad as the 00 Raiser). That's the main problem with the gunpla too; those things will give it the classic gunpla disease of BACK-HEAVY. Those skinny little legs won't be able to support the weight of its back-pack, though I'm thinking those massive guns will act as a counter-balance of some sort. I don't doubt Bandai's design, but it's just a bit weird...

Here's Lockon's new Gundam, the Zabanya. Again, it looks like an interesting mix of the Cherubim and the Dynames, but it still has that ugly boxy design of the Cherubim. Though, the first thing you'll notice are those massive...Bit things. The whole things just two big squares, looking really tacked on onto its back. These have the potential to give nightmarish frustration on the gunpla too; you see those puny little pegs that hold those blankets on its back? Yeah...those will probably fall off often and not hold them up properly. I don't even want to bother explaining, look at it and figure it out.

And finally...fuck me. Look at those skinny legs, and look at that MASSIVE mutha' fucking weight on its shoulders. How is that NOT going to cause problems? It would only be able to stand up straight and make sure it doesn't budge one decimeter, cause any kind of pose will not hold up for long. I don't really like the design anyway, but I've never liked any of Tiera's Gundams anyway. Oh, and btw, this is Tiera's new Raphael Gundam.

So as you can tell, I don't really like most of these designs and they are riddled with stupid design flaws when considering its model counterparts. Really though, I haven't liked any of the designs after the first season Gundams. But anyway, these new gunpla will lack some serious poseability because of all the awkward weight distrubition. I don't want to give up hope just yet, so let's just hope Bandai comes through in the end.

Street Fighter: Legacy

Yeah, I haven't updated in awhile have I. I'm having a bit of writer's block, and I found a job recently so I'll probably have less and less time to make original posts. Meanwhile...

Check out this amazing fan made Street Fighter film. It's been the talk of the gaming community recently, mostly because it's so much better than all the crap Hollywood has shat out. Featuring talented martial artists and some decent special effects, this thing shouts Street Fighter more than anything with Kristen Kreuk in it.

Mushi-shi

I definitely haven't watching as much anime as I used to; the only thing I've been catching up with is FMA: Brotherhood, which is still excellent by the way. I decided to check up on what was popular in the last few years, and I came across something called Mushi-shi. I've watched roughly half of the episodes so far, and I must say, it is one of the best anime's I've seen in a long time.

Each episode has a different tale, with the only reoccurring character being the main character, Ginko, and the reoccurring theme being about the Mushi. The Mushi are described as being lifeforms that are pure and closer to nature than any other lifeform. They are ethereal, and display an endless variety of otherworldly powers. Because of their form, very few people are able to see and interact with the Mushi. Ginko himself is a Mushi-shi, or Mushi master. He travels Japan in search of new Mushi to add to his research and helps cure people who are ill from exposure to Mushi. 

The quality of this anime is extraordinary. This is really the first time in a long time that I actually paid attention throughout every single episode of an anime. Each episode focuses on a different Mushi, and the people it has affected. The creativity behind the stories is just amazing, it really is quality at its best. Stories range from a Mushi that makes one's eyes burn in the light, to one of a Mushi that brings great harvests in exchange for a person's life. The show is very emotional, and makes you connect to the people that are affected by the Mushi. By the end of each episode, your heart strings will have been pulled quite a lot; the beautiful and somewhat sad soundtrack adds to this effect.

The art style is also very good, adding to its effect and creativity. It really adds the emotional and surreal feel to the Mushi and the environment. I particularly like Ginko's design; he is very simple and relaxed but everything about that seems to make him an enigma. All in all, I highly recommend that you watch this anime right now; its definitely better than all that shounen crap that's still popular. 

C.Jin's MG Wishlist

Like I said, I've made my own Master Grade wishlist, which is basically a list of Mobile Suits that would really like to get Master Grade models made for them. And who knows, some of these might possibly get the MG treatment in the near future. Considering how popular some of them are, its definitely not impossible. I recently saw a dream come true with the Wing Gundam getting a MG, so hope is still gleaming.

Also, I want to know some of your own wishlists, so share them if you'd like!

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1. Gundam Heavyarms Customs
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It's a fan favorite, everybody wants it and Bandai knows it. What's taking so long Bandai? This beauty of a Gundam debuted in the Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz OVA, and has been praised for its dark appearance and overkill arsenal of weapons. The 1/100 no grade was good for its time, but its aged badly and really in need of a Master Grade. Possibility of a future release? Slim but existent. 

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2. Wing Gundam Zero

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And speaking of Gundam Wing, where is the Master Grade for the original Wing Zero design? Sure, the Endless Waltz Wing Zero was impressive but this design deserves some justice too! It's predecessor got the MG treatment quite recently, maybe the Zero will follow shortly? Speaking of which, here's what I believe is a modified work built from the MG Wing Gundam (according to Ngee Khiong)

Excuse my fangasm but that looks bloody incredible. It's just as a Master Grade should look like. Use this mod and get working Bandai!

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3. Gundam X/Divider

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Gundam X, the anime and the Gundam, is so underrated. I've always liked this design, and I really think they should treat this main Gundam with a little more respect. The Gundam X Divider always holds a place in my heart because the 1/144 model of it was my very first Gundam model. The moment I add the MG to my collection, I'm just going to feel so complete. And you may have noticed that I included both versions of the GX; well that's because I think parts for both versions can be included in one big kit. It may cost a little extra, but its definitely worth it.

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4. Akatsuki Gundam

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Look how fucking shiny it is! That's the 1/144 scale model you're seeing up there by the way. The main appeal of this Gundam is its gold plating, and who wouldn't a shining Master Grade of the Akatsuki? It's such a must in my book.

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5. Tallgeese

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Gundam Wing had some great designs, too bad they never got to making any Master Grades for them (Wing Gundam got one JUST now). The closest we have to a view of a MG Tallgeese is a work from fitchenfoo.net, image posted above. Looks amazing, doesn't it? I've always respected the Tallgeese and I love its white, simple design. The day Tallgeese gets MG treatment, I'm throwing a party. I swear.

MG Wishlist MS Survey

There is an ongoing survey on bandai's main website where fans vote for the Mobile Suit they most want to be given the Master Grade treatment. As reported by ngeekhiong, there has been a recent update in the Dengeki Hobby magazine. The top 5 are now as follows:

1) Gundam 00 Raiser
2) Gundam Double X
3) V2 Gundam
4) Turn X
5) The O


Voting is apparently still going on until April 30th, and you can vote here: http://bandai-hobbyproshop.net/gunpla30th/regist.php. The winner gets a chance to get MG treatment! Awesome.


Personally, I have a lot Gundam I wish to see get the Master Grade treatment, but I wanna post that list separately. But yeah, I could care less about the 00 Raiser, but the Double X and Turn X are definitely interesting choices for MG's. The Wing Gundam just got MG treatment so that dream came true. I'm about to make my own list, this should be fun.

Black Rock Shooter: Black Blade Ver. PVC Figure

I've had a recent fascination with anime figures as of late, ever since I was introduced to Vocaloid. I never bothered with figures before since I've always been a Gunpla guy, but they are seriously starting to interest me now. The problem with figures, though, is that they are always limited in supply and usually quite expensive when compared to Gunpla.

But besides all that, I really like this Black Rock Shooter original design that's been really popular recently. They're even planning an anime in the upcoming months. This particular figure caught my eye, with great quality as expected of GSC.

The price range is between $70-90 in the stores I've checked and is slated for a June 30, 2010 release. Gotta watch out for that date...