G's Festival! Vol. 2

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

I got this book from Iwase & it was already pretty old when I brought it.  That time, I was hoping it would go on clearance so I could get it cheaper but it never did.  I ended up picking up one of the last two left.  Personally, I didn't really want to get it.  The bonuses were ok & it had some info about Fate/hollow ataraxia.  Mindlessly, I picked it up.

I didn't scan any of the pages of the guide book since it takes too much space & I don't want to wreck my book.  Plus, it's a bit bigger than my scanner's scanning area.  So, some of the pics will be cut off.

The book is out of print, so availability is pretty much null.

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

G's Festival! Vol. 2 front cover

The G's Festival! Vol. 2 is more of a fan book than a magazine.  It covers two PC ero-games/visual novels that were just or about to be released during this magazine's release.  The two games covered are Brighter than Dawning Blue & Fate/hollow ataraxia with 42 pages each.  They contain the character profiles, the game company's history, manga strips, the Fate/stay night anime series, merchandises, & rough drawings.  The magazine does contain some nudity, so it's best to keep it out of children's reach.  With some advertisements, the magazine has 99 pages in full colour.  As you would expect, this magazine contains a lot of Japanese text.  Unless you can read Japanese, this magazine could be useless unless you are going for the bonuses & pics.

Front & back of the Premium Box

The G's Festival! Vol. 2 comes with a Premium box.  Basically, it's a box of bonuses.  Each series has two bonuses.  For Brighter than Dawning Blue, it has a B5 jigsaw puzzle & a cell heroine strap fastener of Natsuki.  For Fate/hollow ataraxia, it has a Fate/Pillow ataraxia double side pillowcase of Rin Tohsaka as Kaleido Ruby & Saber on each side & a cell heroine strap fastener of Sakura.

 
Bonus goodies of the Premium Box

There isn't a lot of goodies really.  However, they are quite unique.  The Brighter than Dawning Blue puzzle is completed as you see in the pic & feels like a good quality puzzle.  The cardboard it's made of is hard like those 100 pieces jigsaw puzzles you buy at stores.  Even the backing is good.  The pic is original, but it's basically the same as the front cover of G's Festival! Vol. 2.  However, it's very nice despite the cut lines of the puzzle pieces.  If you want to play with it, you need to cut the edges a bit since the pieces are stuck together from the looks of it.

The cell strap is basically the same as any straps you find.  The white strap has the G's Festival! label on it & the material is very plastic, but pretty good quality from the feel of it.  The metal fasteners are decent quality & the images look like they are done by laser etching.  Although it looks like a sticker, it's really not.  The images on it are very hard to see with the naked eye.  Using my camera, I was able to see how fine the drawings are & it isn't too bad.  The fasteners aren't attached to the strap, so you have to put them on yourself.

The pillow case is something I never come across before.  The material feels like hard silk.  But it felt nice when I touched it.  However, it's cheaply made.  The sheet is very thin & it looks like it can be ripped easily if you force a pillow into it.  Comparing it's size to my other pillowcases, it's actually small & won't fit my pillow for sure.  Possibly pillows in Japan are smaller than North American ones.  However, I had no plans on using it when I brought the magazine.  As for the images, it's very sharp & flashy due to the shiny material of the pillow.  It makes it look like the images were etched in using lasers.  Nevertheless, the detailing of the pillowcase is very clean.  In fact, you can just hang it on your wall really.

Overall Conclusion

The G's Festival! Vol. 2 magazine isn't bad if you are a fan of either or both Brighter than Dawning Blue & Fate/hollow ataraxia.  The magazine is very much a collector's item containing more info about the games.  As for the bonuses, it's really a hit or miss.  They are unique, but the uses for them are virtually zero.  They are very much for the diehard fans.

On a scale of ten, G's Festival! Vol. 2 gets an eight.  Personally, it feels funny to evaluate a book.  The book is written in Japanese, but the pictures, merchandise lineup, & bonuses will attract some attention.  Although the bonuses are very unique & nicely done with the exception of the Fate pillowcase, they aren't really needed.  Those items are good enough for show than use really.  The only exception would be the cell strap & fasteners.  However, I personally don't think I would use any of them for their sole purpose.

The G's Festival Vol. 2, of course, an one-time production run.  The book is out of print now, so getting will be nearly impossible unless you know a good Japanese bookstore.  Market price wise, I don't see any price increases.  Price decreases are likely, but chances are the value of the magazine will be pretty much the same as its original retail price

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera & HP scanjet 4470c.

Last updated on February 12, 2008