Kotobukiya Non Scale Tengenkadou Gurren Lagann

It has been made apparent that I can't go back now I have broken my long standing run without buying models! Well at least it wasn't for a Gundam or a Ban Dai product. As it appears I have become a Gurren Lagann fan since two weeks ago excellent show with very unique mecha!

Kotobukiya are a well known figure sculpting company so Im sure that this kit will be on par if not better than what Ban Dai has to release!

Anime! Anime! and more anime!

At the end of last year Kenji and I thought that the 2010 season would be dry and boring but it seems like theres potential that I would be following three animes at once around the June/July period. I looked around and lock in three titles that I would definitely be watching.

7th April Launches include

Angel Beats- An anime full of dead people waiting to go to heaven or revolting against God.

K-On!!- The much anticipated second season of K-On!

June release

Sengoku Basara Second Season- Hey who doesnt like the over the top action from Date Masmune and Sanada Genjirou Yukimura... okay I do admit that the wallpaper isnt promo material for the second season!

Cant wait for either of them to start BRING IT ON!!

Max Factory 1/6 Real Image Yoko Littner! I REALLY WANT!!!

This figure is at the very top of my figure wish list at the moment. I recently picked up Gurren Lagann (Ill add my thoughts on this awesome anime in a later post) and was captivated by the rather kick arse and ultra sexy Yoko Littner!

The Real Image by Max Factory is in my opinion the best figure of Yoko out there. It deviates from Yoko's anime appearance to provide a more realistic real person perspective. This figure was one of the hot figures of 2009 and sold out quickly when it was released in December 2009. Unfortunately none of them made their way to Animania. Please help me out on finding one because I can't even find it on Ebay!

General release pic

The next two were found at a pretty interesting blog operated by a female otaku. I gotta say you rock!

1/7 Max Factory Hatsune Miku Review

 She's a cute 16 year old and packs quite a killer voice her name.... Hatsune Miku! Being the mascot and voice of the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software package we have seen some very interesting things from this virtual songstress. From holographic concerts to PSP games she leaves quite a lasting impression. The Vocaloid software has provided an era where budding artists like Ryo can make songs with the software package and create songs which are chart topping hits like World is Mine without leaving their computer! The most successful songs would then be "sung" by Miku herself at one of her virtual concerts.



Lets get onto the review. Wow! Max Factory can surely produce nice figures at a good price. Cheaper than the Good Smile Company and Alter too. The 1/6 Hatsune Miku was a hot seller at Animania and I can tell why! The amount of detail on this figure explains it all. The figure is a steal for a price of $160.

Okay lets get the pictures out! Kenji and I agree with one specific requirement which is the face has to be pleasant to look at and true to the source reference. Miku's, round face and huge green eyes have been reproduced with stunning attention to detail. The scultpors at Max Factory continue this trend with her various accesories. Miku's rectangular hair accesories are pretty cool the red bits sandwiched in between the black borders are actually transparent. The headphones are also impressive the gimmicky gadgets on the ear pieces were painted in an array of bright colours.

Okay lets continue on with Miku's uniform! The details show through to the individual crease marks! The shirt was designed in a reflective silver finish and the fine green "frilly" bits are neat and carefully painted to avoid "spillage". The gimmicks did not stop at the hair the "control panels" on Miku's sleeves are quite impressive. Her individual finger nails were painted in her traditional green. The tie can also be lifted upward. The sash on her waist is moulded with these really cool triangular patterns and of course you cant forget her 01 tattoo!

However Miku's most famous asset apart from her voice of course is her long Sailor Moon like hair. True to Miku's unique mane the hair is the best feature of this figure. Her long, bushy ponytails were sculpted in a semi transparent plastic and reflect light! Quite an interesting choice of mateials I might add!

The figure is mounted on an oval shaped base with the Hatsune Miku logo printed in metallics. The base was a bit too simple in my opinion. Considering the detail that was put in for the rest of the figure but at least it serves its purpose and holds Miku firmly!

And finally to wrap up this review the final face on image! from her funky earphones, cute face, hair accesories, semi transparent hair, metallic uniform to the stockings boots I couldn't find a fault at all in regard to this figure! A better base would have given this figure a solid hands down 10/10!

Final Verdict- 9.5/10

The Bounty Hunter review

Recently a few friends and I went to watch the new movie The Bounty Hunter, and yes it was a chick flick with a few funny and actions scenes here and there but no where near, say the Transporter. Now for those of you who don't mind spoilers keep reading.

In a nutshell this movie is based on a Bounty Hunter who is offered $5000 to arrest and bring in his ex wife. After he finally arrests his wife, she tries her best to escape with a few amusing results, with one of them being when she chained him to a bed while he was asleep then stole his car. During all this they find out that they are being chased by someone, but they don't know who is chasing them or why.

Even though the movie was amusing, the beginning of the movie was boring and seemed that there was all these scenes which didn't only seem unnecessary but they were just there to fill up time, but the movie did pick up at the end.

Overall the movie was OK but not the type you would want to go back to the cinemas to watch again. I also think that while girls will most probably enjoy this movie, guys on the other hand might fall asleep at the start.

Hiroki and Kenji ready for Animania!

A call out for our readers in Sydney! If you are at Animania tomorrow, Kenji and I will be there too! I would be cosplaying as Shinji Ikari and would have this sign attached to my bag.

Do come up and chat with us! It'd be great to hear from any of our readers!

Must Get Composite Version Ka Lancelot Albion!

Okay I said I would keep you guys informed! It's beyond hot I think I jizzed in my pants! Now bring on the Gurren Seiten Hakkoushiki!!!

Pic is courtesy of our man Ngee Khiong!

Saber Lily- Golden Caliburn

I was at the Good Smile Company website looking for information on the possible release of a new Hatsune Miku figure. I stumbled across a Saber Lily figure that has already released and retailing at 9000 yen but attracted minimal marketing (Normally Saber figures attract LOTS of attention). I didn't see it at Play Asia or Hobby Search.

This figure is pretty much Distant Avalon with a different facial expression, minus the Avalon and the armour pieces from the figure which was posted earlier by Kenji.

Kenji's Distant Avalon Saber Lily

Iron Man 2 Trailer

Another has been released. May is getting closer!!! Excellent............................................... But woah so many suits its kinda cool in an otaku way!

Hiroki's stand

I have decided to abandon the Musou (Dynasty Warriors) line of games until Xing Cai comes back! Shes sexy and ultra powerful. I would choose her over Diao Chan anyday! Readers of ODU join me in my stand!


WE WANT XING CAI! WE WANT XING CAI! WE WANT XING CAI! WE WANT XING CAI!

Or should it be I WANT XING CAI!

From little things big things GROW!!!!!

Ban Dai sure know how to squeeze the last dollar out of its fanbase. Especially with the UC franchise by now I have lost count on how many times that the RX-78-2 Gundam has been released. Clear colour versions, metallic versions, pearl versions, revisions and even 24 carat gold.

The point Im making is that the largest scale to date has been released to replicate the 1:1 scale Gundam that was at Odaiba last year and set to return to Shizuoka in June this year.

I gotta say its one huge beast!! Following the review on Hobby Search also another awesome site http://www.1999.co.jp/ here is a rough idea to shed light on how HUGE 1/48 scale really is!

Its roughly the size of an adult male torso

Towers above 1/100 and 1/144 models (If only they had a PG for comparison as well)

And yep thats a real cigarette in its hands!

It makes me think of that jingle they have for Australian Super... From little things big things grow!!!!!!

Sic Vol52 Kamen Rider Kabuto Review

I think its quite apparent that my favourite Kamen Rider series is Kabuto. I picked up the SIC Kabuto today (Shock horror Kenny its got metal pieces!!) from Hobby Dream. Its an amazing figure it is no wonder that Chogokin can stay in the action figure business for so long. A Chogokin is at the pinnacle it'd make any one think twice before playing with it although it is very articulate.

First off the details are stunning. Alot of the parts and minor details were also hand painted.

Kabuto's classic finisher pose

Preparing for Rider Kick

This figure also has many neat inclusions like many pairs of hands and most importantly the Hyper Armour parts.

But of course to finish it off... Hyper Clock Up!

Chogokin already put so much into the detail of this figure I was wondering why they wouldnt provide an extra set of red metallic knee caps to remain true to the series. Another minor but important detail being omitted is that the Perfect Zecter (the sword) didn't have the Drake, The Bee and Scorpion Zecters as attachments to create the weapon's final form.

The kit also came with a 1:1 scale  Kabuto Zecter (The thing that enables Tendou Souji to transform into Kamen Rider Kabuto) so I decided to post a rather geeky photo!

HENSHIN!!!!!

Emotion Style Sheryl Nome is out!

I released a preproduction pic of the Emotion Style Sheryl Nome late last year and its finally arrived. No nasty surprises its every bit as stunning as the prerelease pic. Much unlike a Reina figure I had my eye on last year which ended up being much inferior to the release pic.

Gotta love Play Asia they are an awesome business...PLAYASIA BANZAI!!!!! If you don't know about them yet check it out - http://www.play-asia.com

If i see it at Animania its a must buy!

Marida Cruz

It seems like some people out there have an interest for Marida Cruz. Here at ODU we strive to deliver. Im not too sure of her history but theres a rumour which I believe to be true she is a derivative clone of Elpeo Puru and assigned as Puru 12. Well if you look closely she does resemble Puru from Double Zeta Gundam

The original Elpeo Puru from Double Zeta pilot of the Quebeley MKII

Puru 12 aka Marida Cruz pilot of the Kshatiriya

Note the resemblance to Elpeo Puru?

Kshatriya (I admit I dont know how to spell this by heart)

Hiroki's temptation

Okay just when I thought Cecil was a rare case I saw another rather pretty asian girl today at Hobbyco looking for model kits with her boyfriend... the catch was she was buying them for herself! Its refreshing to see a boyfriend trying to rush a girlfriend out of a store when buying models.

HAHAHA to add more spice to their relationship I was evil enough to introduce her to Hobby Dream and tell her how to get there, she literally was dragging her boyfriend out of the store when I told her they already had MG Red Frame Astray.

Anyway for such an evil deed I was confronted with Gundam model temptation. There was this HOT limited edition MG Gundam that I was thinking of buying.

My plan was to spray on the colours in clear so that it looked like a transparent skinned gundam with all the mechanics showing through. I even went to the counter to check if the paints were there to start the project. Luckily I came back to my senses hehehe Hiroki triumphs over temptation again!

Composite Version Ka Lancelot Albion

Okay being a Code Geass nut I drooled when they announced that a new Lancelot Albion figure was being made. The Composite Version Ka tag had me wondering is this a model or a figure. Now that light has been shed I can confirm that its a very detailed figure that stands at 14cm.

 The details from the pre production sculpt looks beautiful. If they can produce this figure with real metallic gold it would become a must buy, the dull crappy yellow on the Robot Daimashi release was the reason I don't have a Lancelot Albion figure.... yet.

 Lets cross our fingers and hope they get the colours right and release a Gurren Seiten Hakkoshiki as well! This figure is going for 5040 Yen and is slated for a June release. More pics of the Composite Version Ka Lancelot Albion will be released by the manufacturers soon until then I will keep my eyes peeled and post them onto here at the first available chance.