Well I have to say that I now understand why this month’s Hobby Japan focused so much on Zaku’s and tanks instead of the newer, cooler stuff. The 2nd DVD of MS Igloo 2 was released at the end of January, in time for the Feb. issue.
I didn’t really think that MS Igloo was that big a deal but after watching all of it last week and today... I can say concretely that it is one of my favourite Gundam series if not my favourite.
I started thinking… there’s so much diversity when it comes to Gundam. You really do have stuff that’s made for kids but you also have stuff that’s made for adults. At the core of it is some really good Sci-Fi. There seems to be something for everyone.
I’ve always preferred the more realistic Gundam series, so naturally my favourites were 0080 War in the Pocket, 08th MS Team and now this one.
Basically stuff that doesn’t have all that new type, cosmic awareness crap, give a prototype weapon of mass destruction to an overly sensitive teenager who has zero combat experience and just takes off in it whenever he feels like. Not to mention all the bright colours. On war machines. I mean… these aren’t sports cars… Do you really want to draw so much attention to yourself on the battlefield? OK whatever, Gundam is/was largely aimed at the younger generation.
Anyways MS Igloo is right up my alley. It doesn’t even concentrate on pilots! It concentrates on the Engineers. The guys who make and test these weapons. No new types and no kids. And if kids are there… they are under control and disciplined. Very good.
I enjoyed MS Igloo a lot but I enjoyed MS Igloo 2 even more. I mean the level of animation in this show… I don’t think I’ve seen it before and I’ve seen a lot of CG stuff. I mean… you can see the pores on the character’s skin! That is detail.
MS Igloo takes place during the One Year War, so anyone familiar with the storyline of the original Mobile Suit Gundam will feel at home here.
The main impression that I got from this… is that it’s a war story. There are no love interests even. Just human stories of their times on the battlefield.
And most importantly it puts the story squarely where it belongs in my opinion. On the mecha.
I now have a new respect for tanks. The E.F.G.F M61A5 Main Battle Tank, YMT-05 Hildolfr and I’m particularly stoked about the upcoming RTX-440 Ground Assault Type Guntank. From the previews it’s shaping up to be something really cool.
I wonder… maybe it’s time for me to try my modelling hand out on tanks and weathering? Someday!
If you haven’t seen MS Igloo yet and you consider yourself a fan of mecha you owe it to yourself to check it out. It’s very machine oriented. So if you’re that type of person you’ll probably love this series. I did.
Screen caps at my flickr.
My journey into the secret world of plastic robots.
Monday, March 16, 2009
MS Igloo
Saturday, March 14, 2009
VF-25 Messiah - Nakajima Megumi custom
Ranka Lee's voice actor, Megumi Nakajima recently had a contest sponsored by Hobby Japan. Apparently she designed a custom scheme for the VF-25 from Macross Frontier and the folks at Hobby Japan built it for her. The contest is a trade!
Scan courtesy of Tokyo Hunter. I read all of this a while ago in my own Hobby Japan but he's already gone through the trouble of scanning the image already, saving me the trouble. I find this way to be more efficient than scanning it myself. There's always someone on the internet that's beaten me to the punch. Most of the time at least.
Participants can win her custom designed VF-25 by sending in one of their own! Participants are to send pictures of their own VF-25's to Hobby Japan which will then be judged by Megumi and some of the Hobby Japan staff. The winner then gets to trade for this one.
What do you folks think? Does this sound like a fun contest to you? I'm not sure if I want a pink Messiah but maybe if I were a fan of Megumi's I would? And giving away a model that I spent so much time to build? Well trading... but even still... I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm not sure if I could do it. It would be a nice souvenir. Maybe if she made it herself...
And another thing... I know these women are very pretty and feminine and want to express that when asked about what they want their mechs to look like but... really... does it ALWAYS have to be ALL PINK?! Surely there are some other feminine colours.... Hell even a little bit of white tossed in there... Anyone remember Lacus Clyne's Zaku? Or even Strike Rouge for that matter.
Oh well. Here are some more pics of the young woman in question. And I do mean young. Only 19 years old!
*grumbles* I was young once! *shuffles away with cane and corn cob pipe* *sits in his rocking chair and carves a small Gundam statue out of wood*
She seems very... pleasant.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
MS-06SHAKU Zaku II - Yumiko Shaku custom + Universal Century Uniform Fashion Show... for women?!
She's actually been doing advertising for a Japanese realty company called Homemate which is how I was first exposed to her. I saw her on a commercial here years ago and thought she was really cute, but apparently she's been in the entertainment business for years and having her at the U.C. Fashion show was quite a big deal because she's so popular.
Yeah... U.C. Fashion Show. Take a look.
And because she's so well known she got to be the big boss herself(himself?), Char Aznable. Man... why isn't there more cosplay like this? Wow. I love some of those uniforms! Haha it's a sure way to win me over that's for sure lol.
Anyways, not only is she the same age as me (well I'm older than her by 3 weeks!) but she also had her own custom Zaku model made after her to promote the game apparently.
It's a bit... girly for me. lol. But hey if it brings more women into the arena then I'm all for it. "Make the models your own", that's my moto. Too bad I can't make this model mine. Oh well. It kind of gives me hope that not all women, Japanese or otherwise, look down on guys who are into Gundam or are confused by the interest (check number 23!). Ah... just something as simple as that can turn my day around. I can now dream again. Oh, did I mention that her exercise routine includes doing 300 sit-ups a day? mm...
OK enough of that. Now I will show you why I think she is cute and I would like to hear your opinions on this matter.
