Past News Archive: November 2005
November 25, 2005
Some news from the anime world. The North American release date for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children has be pushed back again to March 28, 2006; possibly for the limited theatrical release to occur in January. Now I'm starting to lose interest in buying the DVD for my collection because of all these delays.
If you thought the ending of Gundam Seed Destiny was crappy, be prepared to be either happy or more disappointed. On December 26 in Japan on TBS (Tokyo Broadcast Station), there will be a 75 minute Gundam Seed Destiny special on TV. It will be a recap of the entire show with a new clip titled "The Chosen Future". One would predict it will be 60 minutes of recap & 15 minutes of the new clip. I'm guessing it will be 70 minutes recap & 5 minute new material. Since the Gundam Seed OVA "Beyond the Stars" is 5 minutes long, I don't see why this new clip wouldn't be the same time length too. Unless the writers want to tied up the loose ends in more detail, which I hope is the case.
Like Dead or Alive? If you are guy who likes big breast, who wouldn't? I fit in that case of not liking them though. Yeah, I'm strange. Anyways, there will be a DOA live action movie coming soon for those that didn't know. It's old news really, but I learned about this recently. It will be released sometime in 2006. The movie will be filmed in China & be produced by an American company by a Hong Kong action director, Corey Yuen. Looking at the cast, there is only 2 Japanese actors & the rest are non-Asian actors/actress. The actress playing Kasumi is Devon Aoki, who starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Looking at her pics on the web (I don't know who is she really), she is definitely NOT perfect for her role. Comparing her figure to Kasumi's, a lot of people will be disappointed. Playing Kasumi's sister, Ayane, is Natassia Malthe who starred in Elektra. Not an Asian person, but her figure is close to Ayane's. Although the sexiness is there, guys looking for big "boing boings" will be disappointed, which is what the game is famous for. Hopefully, the action & storyline will keep audiences entertained. I'm not going to watch the movie to find out, but I feel the fanboys will be pouring into theatres when this comes out.
Another live action movie you may want to know about is Trigun. It will be produced by Madhouse I think & be released sometime in 2007.
Another anime news is the second season of Ah! My Goddess the TV series. It will air sometime in early 2006; so I'm thinking it's January.
In collectable news, I received some information from my anime store, tamago toys, about the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Cloud with Fenier Play Arts figure. Apparently, this figure that was sold in limited numbers in Japan with the FF7AC Premium box set is being released for sale overseas by Diamond Comics. I don't remember if it was limited numbers or mass production. Anyways, this is going to cheese off a lot of people that purposely brought the box set for that figure. Cause our store doesn't care overseas or North American versions, I've been thinking about whether to carry this or not. If you are interested in getting this figure from my store, drop me an email on my company's email address. Also at my store, we'll be providing gift wrapping service to people wanting to send orders from our store directly to their friends or family's mailing addresses. We haven't announced this on our store website yet since we are still planning this out. Email our company for more details.
November 23, 2005
I don't follow the media much since there's nothing that really affects me personally. Anyways, I've learned that the XBox 360 (both normal & core systems) have been sold out on launch date in my area. I'm assuming it's the same as most parts of North America. Those that didn't get their Xbox 360 will most like need to wait until next month. I'm pretty sure that Microsoft will get some more units in time for Christmas since that should be their highest selling point for this year.
Today, I got a set of the KT Dead or Alive Figure Collection DX from my favourite local Japanese hobby shop at a good price. Recently, I've been getting too much of these crap & haven't got the space to display them. I'm planning to sell off some of my stuff though eBay that I don't like anymore. Also, I could use this as a way to promote my online anime store on the side. Need more expose of the store.
Yesterday, I saw the Fate stay night Prologue -Curtain Raise, anime prologue, in raw form (in other words, no subtitles). It's basically all the trailers from the past put into 1 DVD; totalling about 6 minutes & 23 seconds. The animation looks good & the character designs are very close to the game's. Even those funny faces & sudden movements are close to the game's. Funny thing though is that some of the scenes looks like the anime was produced in the 1980s for some reason. It's probably the designs.
Speaking of Fate stay night, my 2006 calendar of it, along with the AIR one is coming to my place sometime early December. I'll probably make scans of the Fate stay night one if it fits on my scanner's scan area. The AIR one will be too big.
I've added in the Collectables section the Ichigekisacchu Hoi Hoi San Collection Figure Series, completing the Hoi Hoi San section. Also, I have now a complete anime review of Trinity Blood in the Anime section. Hopefully, I can get some more reviews of either anime or collectables before the end of this year.
November 21, 2005
The clock is ticking as we approach for the day when Microsoft's XBox 360 is released for sale. There may be people lining up for it since I've been hearing that the supply is not meeting the demands from customers. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Because the re-paint version is coming out very soon, I've put up my review for the Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine in the Hellsing section of the Collectables section. Also added is the Rei Ayanami Figurine in the Neon Genesis Evangelion section. This is first update for this month. I plan to do some anime reviews, but there's too many of them at the moment for me to write up & I don't have a lot of time lately to do these. Hopefully, I'll get some more stuff in December.
November 18, 2005
The news keeps on coming here, does it? As so as my anime collectables. Today, I got my AIR Misuzu Kamio PVC figurine by Toy Planning. I haven't open the package yet since I don't have time & space for it like my DearS Ren figurine, which I still don't know which version it is. It's still in the box it was shipping in.
Today, I picked up a copy of Kingdom of Paradise for my PSP. I couldn't find Legend of Heroes anywhere, so I assume it hasn't arrive to Canada yet. Thank you, Bandai! So I ended up getting Kingdom of Paradise since Ridge Racer is getting hard for me in the Pro Tours & I'm almost done with Bleach in terms of getting all the endings. I had to ask the salesperson at Future Shop for the game since it wasn't out on the shelves. He didn't know if he had it or not too. So remember kids, asking can lead to good things! Anyways, the cover of the game is pretty ugly to me. I'll probably get a review of this game in December since I need to dig into it first. It will be based on my first impression.
November 17, 2005
Got the KOF Pinkys & DearS Ren PVC figurine in the mail today. Comparing the height of the KOF Pinkys in their package with my Rei Eva Pinky, they are the same height at 10cm. I have no idea where people got the 15cm idea from. It's nowhere close to 15cm. I think people got too excited about it & made it up. As for Ren, I don't know what version I got. I haven't opened it since I got no time & space at the moment & it's still under bubble wrapping.
For anime crap still coming my way, I'm down to 1 more, the AIR Misuzu PVC figurine that should be coming tomorrow or next week; latter is more likely. Also, the Street Fighter Pinkys have been "released" according to VANCE. But I've yet to see any stores carrying it yesterday (Asia is a day ahead of me). On the VANCE official website, they put a November 19 date on it. That's probably the last day when the Pinkys should arrive at stores. The November 17 date is probably when VANCE shipped out the Pinkys.
In other Pinky news, this is probably old news for some, but there will be a special Pinky Collaboration. It will be Ringo from Airgear, a manga by Oh! great. This will be limited since with it come out only with the limited edition vol. 12 manga. The manga is scheduled to come out on December 16, 2005. From what I seen from a Pinky fan forum, there's only a shadow of how she will looks like & she will have rollerblades from the looks of it.
November 16, 2005
I'm finished with Dynasty Warriors for the PSP in terms of playing all 42 characters once & having 10 more officers to unlock now. So, I'm thinking about getting a new PSP game soon. Currently, I'm planning to buy Legend of Heroes. I'm thinking if I should get Kingdom of Paradise as well. Both are priced the same & I shouldn't blow all my money for both since I'm not going to play them at the same time unless one or both of them are on sale. Besides, I still haven't open my Death Jr. out of it's wrapping yet. I remember that I still have it, but I'm too busy on Bleach, Ridge Racer, & Dynasty Warriors. Vampire Chronicles is basically a side game for me to take on the road & it's Japanese, so I don't have plans to unlock everything myself. I'm thinking of getting rid of Death Jr. since I hear a lot of ups & downs for it.
In other PSP news, I was browsing through the Canadian Future Shop website to find out the prices of the 2 RGPs games I'm planning to buy & I noticed that they have a Giga Pack white PSP listed. I searched around the net & found a forum stating that the store excepts to get that PSP soon. Personally, I don't know if this is true or the people at Future Shop know nothing about this. According to the Sony PSP website that's exclusively for the PSP console, they have stated that North America won't have the white version for sure. But that was when version 2.00 was available for upgrade in North America. Maybe there was a change of plans. I'll figure it out & post it here when I do my video game shopping.
My Hellsing Seras Victoria came in today from the mail & it looks good from the box. I do see a lot of paint bleeds here & there, but it's still good. Now I need to wait for the KOF Pinky, AIR Misuzu, & DearS Ren from the mail. Technically, I should I gotten the Pinky & DearS first before Seras since those were shipped first. Hopefully, I should get them by the week. I may get the review of the Seras figurine up before November is over.
November 15, 2005
For those waiting for the North American release of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, you will probably need to wait more longer. The release date has been pushed back to mid-January 2006. The reason for this is there may be plans to release it as a limited theatrical release.
You may remember that I posted a pic of a Pia Carrot 3 Takako PVC figurine back in October that I pre-ordered. Recently, I learned that the item has been pushed back from December to February 2006. Why do I have the worst luck? I also learned that one of my suppliers to my anime store is carrying this item. I may plan to stock up on it if there are people interested in getting it. If you are, email me at my company's email address.
Speaking of my anime store, tamago toys is currently holding another promotional sale. Place an order of CDN$100 or more & we'll give you a 20% discount on it. Go to my store website for more details.
Speaking of Pia Carrot 3, I've pretty much finished the Pia Carrot 3 special section. Currently, I'm going over it to make sure there is no errors in it. Also, I'm not too sure on some parts since it has been awhile that I've played it & my memory of it is a bit blurry. I plan to revise it again in the future once I put it up. I'll probably get it up before Christmas I hope. The next special section is currently being worked on & it's Key's planetarian.
As for the other parts of my site, I plan to get some anime & collectable reviews up. I decided to put up the review of the Konami Figumate Mahou Sensei Negima Trading Figurine Vol. 1 Set now since volume 2 is coming very soon now. Plus, I plan to update the Downloads section in time for Christmas. If you remember what I put here last month, I got all the sections ready. I'm just lazy in putting them up now. Also, if you got some fanart or fan made program skins that you want to put up here, email them to me & I'll take a look at them.
November 11, 2005
Minor stuff really. I made a mistake about the contents of the PSP Giga pack. I learned that the pack has everything the Value pack has. The only difference is the memory stick. You get a 1gig one instead of the 32MB in the Giga pack. Now this would make the price of the Giga pack attractive now.
November 10, 2005
In preparation for tomorrow, I would like to take the time to say Happy Remembrance Day to all. For you people living in the US, Happy Veteran's Day. Remember to pay respect to those that fought bravely in those past wars.
Since tomorrow is a holiday, I didn't get any of my new anime stuff this week. I should get most, or else all, of it next week. Also coming my way before the end of this month are 2 2006 calendars. I pre-ordered an AIR & Fate stay night. Currently, the store I pre-ordered it from has the AIR one in stock. The Fate stay night one is unknown. I have seen the Fate stay night one & I would say it's pretty plain. It's a desktop calendar. The AIR one is pretty big. About 57cm in height, so I'm expecting it to be those big tear off calendars printed on glossy paper. I have no idea if it's the movie, TV, or game version. I'll find that out when I get it in my hands.
In PSP news, I noticed that the Giga Pack is out already; much earlier than I expected. From what I heard, it has version 2.00 firmware; which is strange since 2.50 is out for a long time now. A lot of people suggest getting this pack over the value one because of the 1gig Memory Stick. Although I would choose the Value pack over this one, the Giga pack is probably the best choice since most people would buy the Logitech Playgear & use it over the soft pouch included in the Value pack. Plus, the memory stick is very tempting.
November 7, 2005
Got a lot of new crap coming my way this week & next in the mail. I'm expecting the Pinky KOFs (for my sister), the DearS Ren PVC figurine, Misuzu Kamio PVC figurine by Toys Planning, & the Hellsing Seras Victoria PVC figurine. You may be wondering why I'm getting these from other stores instead of my own. It's basically because of order deadlines & suppliers. A lot of companies will take orders of their products 3 months before it's release date. After the 3 month mark, they can still take orders but availability isn't guaranteed. Even if the release date gets pushed back, the ordering process is still the same. They won't take new orders usually. Since I started not too long ago, there wasn't a chance for me to get them for myself. Plus, there's the issue about suppliers not carry every products that I want my store to sell.
In old PSP news, Sony Japan will release the Talkman game on the 17th of this month. For those who don't know about it, it's actually more of a program than a game. It's a translator & learning tool that helps you with daily conversations. It can translated English, Japanese, Korean, & Chinese. It comes with a microphone that you put on top of your PSP. So, it's has a USB plug. You talk to the microphone & the program will translate it into a different language that you have set it at. Personally, I think this is a great product for people learning a new language or needs help in talking to people when they travel out of town. I may think about getting it if the price is right & the program works as well as it's stated to be.
November 4, 2005
In Anime news, Loveless has been licensed to Media Blasters. The first DVD is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2006. Loveless on Valentine's Day, huh? How appropriate. I'm thinking of making an Anime License section if I got the time. But this is for North America only since that's where I live.
In Pinky news, I learned that VANCE has scheduled the Street Fighter Pinky Chara Chun Li & Sakura for November 17. Hopefully, the date doesn't get push any further since it has been delayed since July. Currently, the RM & D.C. Pinkys have been delayed the longest. I think the RMs have been delayed for over a year now & D.C have been 2 years.
In the Gaming World, I learned that the Xbox 360 isn't too expensive. The price is CDN$499.99; CDN$399.99 for the core only (whatever that is). Looking at the price, it's actually not bad as I thought it would be. Seeing all that hardware technology stuff made me think it will be around the CDN$600 range. I think it's CDN$50 more than the Xbox when it was first released. Personally, I'm not getting this system since I'm not too heavy on games. Also, it's been said that the game discs will not be in HD-DVD format. But it will have that playback capability for movies.