My Shiny Toy Robots

"Based on the video game of the same name, the show centers on a Gallian Army militia squad led by Lieutenant Welkin Gunther, the son of the well-known Europan War I hero and Gallian army officer Belgen Gunther. After seeing his hometown, Bruhl, under attack, ransacked and eventually placed under military occupation by the Imperial army, Welkin manages to escape the siege using his late father's tank known as the Edelweiss. With the help of Welkin's foster sister, Isara, and a Bruhl town watch soldier named Alicia Melchiott, Welkin leads Squad 7 of the Gallian militia forces to rout out the Imperial forces from further invading Gallian soil."  I've never really watched a war anime before (before this I can't honestly say I'd even heard of any war animes before) but after being recommended this by a friend and watching the first 5 episodes at one of my local anime society screenings I decided to give the whole 26 episode series a go. After watched the wo...

Back to the glorious days of classic Who, and what better story to review than the very first outing of 4th Doctor Tom Baker, who in many people's eyes (including my own...despite him not being my favourite Doctor) view as being the DEFINITIVE Doctor. I present to you the 1974 4-part story Robot . The basic overview of Robot 's plot is that the K1 Robot, an experimental and groundbreaking invention by Professor Kettlewell, is being used to commit crimes by the sinister chairman of Think Tank (the organisation that funded the robot's creation) Miss Winters and the Scientific Reform Society (or SRS for short), who plan to hold the world at ransom with the threat of Nuclear war. Enter the newly regenerated Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, along with the Brigadier and UNIT to save the day. Almost immediately we're treated to the kind of Doctor we'll be getting from Tom Baker. Gone is the dandy scientist that was Jon Pertwee and in his place we have the wacky nomad that...

This is an interesting little game, available exclusive via download on the Nintendo Wii as a wiiware game for 1500 points (thats around £10.50 I believe). In the game you play as small super deformed Pokemon toys which come alive via the use of a "Wonderkey" (like clockwork toys really, just with a fancier name) with the aim of becoming champion of the Pokemon Royal Rumble tournament - a huge melee tournament with about 60 contestants per rumble. Starting out as a Rattata and initially losing your first rumble, you travel around 6 different worlds recruiting more stronger Pokemon to join your cause, rising up the ranks to eventually become champion! Since its both a) a Wii game and b) a downloadable game, the graphics are hardly anything to shout home about, but this actually works to the games favour since it makes the adorable super deformed Pokemon even more cute - especially my personal favourite Raichu :D The gameplay is extremely simple to get to grips with. You h...

Okay I admit, this isn't really "revisting" anything since the episode is only a week old (sorry for the delay too, I've had this ready since last Sunday...but other things came up), but as it is still a part of Doctor Who is has a well deserved place here. We're heading towards the end of the tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant)'s adventures, his companions have left and him and he now wanders the cosmos alone. But what happens when he arrives on Mars at Bowie Base One, in the year 2058? And why does the Doctor have a horrible feeling about all of this... Before we begin I'm going to sum up my feelings on this episode of "Nu Who", which honestly I've always found a bit hit or miss. Luckily this was a hit. No, not just a hit, a freaking bulls eye. This episode is undoubtedly one of the best of the new series and could possibly go down as one of the greats in the general Who Universe. The idea of there being fixed points in time where eve...

After having my mind blown away by the movie at the Sci Fi London Anime All Nighter a few weeks back, I thought it was time to take a look at the 50 episode long series that is Eureka Seven. And boy, was it worth it. The story revolves around 14 year old Renton Thurston, son of miltary researcher and world hero Adroc Thurston, who died saving the world. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with trapar, a substance abundant throughout the air, as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland, a legendary lifter. An opportunity to do so literally falls into his lap when a large mecha, called the Nirvash typeZERO, and Eureka, its pilot and a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash called the "Amita Drive", which releases the immense power dormant within the typeZERO called the "Seven Swell Phenomenon". Afterwards, Renton is i...

After the last few years have given us Pokemon films that were either abysmal or average at best, here is the latest in a long line of Pokemon films (the 12th in fact). Arceus and the Jewel of Life is the last in the trilogy of Diamond & Pearl generation films. This movie sees Ash, Brock and Dawn in the of Michina. Little do they expect to once again be found in a conflict between Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. They are saved by a young woman called Sheena, who can communicate with a Pokémon's heart, and explains the whole conflict was because of Arceus being close to awakening. She also tells them that her ancestor Damos betrayed Arceus and s ... tole the Jewel of Life, sending it into a rage and a slumber. Sheena plans to return the Jewel to Arceus. It is nice to finally see some solid continuity between the movies, as this ties together all the previous meetings the trio have had with the legendary trio of Sinnoh. As per usual, the film opens with a stunning battle sequence ...

For my second Doctor Who review (Whoview? I quite like the sound of that...) I've chosen my favourite 5th Doctor (as portrayed by Peter Davison) story, one that proves that the Doctor's plans dont always go perfectly and the lifestyle he and his companions lead does often come at a loss, the grand return of the Cybermen....1982's Earthshock . Set in 2565, the story sees the Doctor and his companions arriving in the middle of an investigation into the murder of a team of scientists in a complex of caves. They are being murdered by androids (who look strikingly similar to the Rassilon robots who would later appear in The Five Doctors ), working for the Cybermen. Their plan is to destroy Earth to prevent the signing of a treaty of galactic powers against the Cyberrace. While their original plan of blowing up the Earth with a bomb fails, they then attempt to use a freighter to crash into the Earth, destroying all life upon it. However with the Doctor and moreso Adric's ...

"Bulleting down through the atmosphere at better than 15 times the speed of sound, RAVAGE considers the data he has already amassed on the small, soft creatures that inhabit this planet. They seem weak and fragile, yet they are the ones that destroyed MEGATRON. That is a fact he will keep in mind as he penetrates their most sensitive installation. Against such an unpredictable enemy, stealth will be his watchword. " After what in reality was a fairly disappointing Soundwave toy (I know I said he was really good in an earlier blog, but I admit to being in ROTF hype mode and was just exciting that the toys were out), is his former cassette minion Ravage any better? We'll find out... Like most Revenge of the Fallen toys its got some nice mechanical detailing, and a cool little "snapping jaws" gimmick. The spikes are made of that rubbery plastic so they aren't sharp and won't snap off that easily either. Articulation is fairly good (well, for a cat) - ba...

"Driven crazy by years locked in an AUTOBOT prison, WASPINATOR is determined to take revenge on the robot who put him there - BUMBLEBEE. Now, after bizarre experiments conducted by BLACKARACHNIA, he finally has the power to make his vengeance a reality. He has come to Earth hunting the AUTOBOT speedster; and he will not stop until BUMBLEBEE is a pile of smoking scrap." Beast Wars Waspinator was one of the first Transformers I ever had, so imagine my excitement when I found out he was not only going to be in the Transformers Animated series, but also get a toy. Then imagine my disappointment when I found out his wave wasn't going to be released in the UK. Then imagine my excitement when I found him and his wave mate Samurai Prowl (who will probably get a review some point next week) in Home Bargains of all places for HALF PRICE! Good times readers, good times. So anyway onto the review, Waspinator is a deluxe class figure and as you have probably already realised t...

Here with have yet another of my blog (so many, yet half are only 1 or 2 posts so far :(, I need to step up my game!) where I'll take a look at an anime series I've just finished watching and give my undoubtebly expert (haha!) opinion on it. So for this time we have the 2006 official Tenchi Muyo! spin off Sasami: Magical Girls Club . Let me begin by saying that this is not the kind of series I'd watch normally, but due to its nature as a Tenchi spin off and the inclusion of some of its characters it had to be done, and the other Sasami series Pretty Sammy and Magical Project S were marvelous. This however....wasn't. Well, to say it was a bad show would be a bit too much. I'll go into that a bit later on. Anyway basically the show is based around the titular character Sasami Iwakura, gifted with magical powers since birth and forbidden by her parents to use them. But with the arrival new transfer teacher Washu (also from Tenchi Muyo!) Sasami's life change...