Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is a 39 episode (and one movie) show that aired between 1990 and 1991. A joint venture between Toho and Gainax, it is notable for being based on a concept by Hayao Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli fame) and directed by Hideaki Anno (Gunbuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion). The show is very loosely based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Set in 1889, it tells the story of Nadia - a mysterious girl with unknown origins. While working as a circus acrobat, she meets young French inventor Jean Roque Raltique, who saves her from a trio of jewel thieves attempting to steal her 'blue water' pendant. On their travels to find Nadia's homeland, they meet the equally mysterious Captain Nemo and his advanced submarine, the Nautilus. The pair become caught in a battle between Nemo and the Neo-Atlantean forces, inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis who seek to dominate the world. As the battle unfolds, Jean and Nadia are joined by new friends as...

Finally! Another Gokai machine has arrived! The bad news is, if you were planning on buying a case to get this guy, he's being sold with releases of all the other earlier Gokai Machines, and since Furaimaru only takes up 2 boxes you'll be getting quite a lot of excess figures. However, there are a few ebay sellers that are selling this guy separately at a more than reasonable price, so he's not too hard to find at all without the excess baggage. Anyway moving on, the new addition to the Gokaiger arsenal is none other than Furaimaru, who originally appeared in the series Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger. And when pirates and ninjas unite, the most powerful shuriken arsenal under heaven is made manifest...HurricaneGokaiOh! Standalone the Furaimaru minipla is by far and large the best Gokai machine the line has presented so far, and one of the best in the Gokaiger range (Personally I think he's second only to Gozyujin). He has an excellent range of articulation (shoulders,...

The final season to be produced by Saban, Power Rangers Time Force is the ninth season of the PR franchise and was adapted from the Super Sentai series Mirai Sentai Timeranger. Time Force is held in high regard among Power Rangers fans, and often praised for its darker, more mature storyline. In the year 3000 a police organisation known as Time Force has tracked down and cryogenically frozen every criminal bar one - Ransik, a powerful mutant created in a chemical accident. Bent on crushing humanity in the name of mutant-kind, Ransik hijacks a prison full of convicts and escapes to the year 2001 with the intention of altering history, but not without taking down the Red Time Force ranger (Alex) before he leaves. The remaining 4 rangers - team leader Jenn (Pink), Trip (Green), Lucas (Blue) and Katie (Yellow) follow Ransik into the past. There, much to Jenn's initial dismay, they are joined by Alex's ancestor Wes, son of a rich industrialist. Wes is the only one who can take...

With new paradigm Daleks currently cheap at both Tescos and Boots, I thought it was about time I picked up a Strategist and did a custom I've been planning for a long time now - Dalek #3 from the 2010 graphic novel 'The Only Good Dalek'. Dalek #3 is particularly significant to the latter part of the story (providing one of its main twists) and even graces the inside cover of the book. To begin with I removed one of the side panels much like the battle damaged version in the story. In its place I put some some sturdy plastic mesh to create a sort of framework feel to the Dalek skirt. To give the mesh a bit more bulk and realism, I added some (painted) electrical wire to make the Dalek look properly damaged. The bumps around the removed panel were cut and filed (they were much thicker than I expected, which was a good thing) and repainted over. Finally the grey parts of the Dalek were given a watery-grey (the paint used was Citadel's Boltgun Metal) wash to give it ...

Released in 2011, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? is a 12 episode (plus one OVA) television series based on a series of light novels of the same name. Ayumu Aikawa is a zombie brought back to life by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe after he is brutally murdered by a serial killer. As he continues his day to day life as zombie he meets a magical girl named Haruna, who battles against surreal animal creatures called Megalos. Unfortunately, Ayumu inadvertently steals Haruna's powers, meaning that he has to become a magical girl in her place to fight the Megalos. Not much later he also crosses pathes with a vampire-ninja named Seraphim. With Eucliwood (Eu), Haruna and Seraphim all now living under his roof, Ayumu battles monsters while trying to solve the mystery behind his death. As far as surreal anime comedies go, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? couldn't have a better opening. Zombies, chainsaw-wielding magical girls and a giant talking lobster - need I say more? But once the hil...

For my 50th toy review on this site I come to yet another toyline I've been meaning to look into for a while - Bandai's S.H. Figuarts line. While many of the line's Kamen Rider figures have tempted me in the past, I currently lack the fan knowledge of Kamen Rider to jump on any impulse purchases (this WILL change in the future though), a Super Sentai figure was a whole different story. I originally planned to pass on Shinken Red (as Blue, Green, Yellow and Pink were all exclusives), but when it was revealed that Bandai had plans to do more Super Sentai figures in the line, Shinken Red became a necessary beginning to a collection of (hopefully) all the red Sentai. If you haven't guessed already by the way, Shinken Red is from the series Samurai Sentai Shinkenger . While admittedly the suit is relatively simple in design, the sculpt of the figure is gorgeous. Every detail is perfect, and the matte finish both looks and feels beautiful. Some of the joints are quite o...

Nendoroids have always something I've been mixed on in the past - while they look like excellent super-deformed versions of popular characters that come with a pretty impressive set of accessories, the size and price (around 3333 yen/£26 RRP) has always been a bit of a turn off. However when Good Smile Company announced that they would be making nedoroids of Panty and Stocking (and thus, the first 'posable' toys for the characters) I felt it was time to finally check this line out. And since she was my favourite of the two, Panty was the first one to be purchased. A standard nendoroid is about half the size of a figma/revoltech figure (I forgot to take a comparison picture, but this will illustrate the scale difference), with the bulk of the figure being in the oversized head. While small, the limbs do have some posability. In Panty's case, she is posable at the head, shoulders and hips. While her posability is somewhat limited, the variety of poses you can get ...

Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger is the 28th entry into the Super Sentai franchise, following on from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger and preceding Mahou Sentai Magiranger. The story begins when Banban Akaza (nicknamed Ban/DekaRed) is transferred to the Earth branch of the SPD (Special Police Dekaranger) and arrives in the city of Megalopolis. His teammates are Houji Tomasu (Hojo/DekaBlue), Sen'ichi Enari (Sen-chan/DekaGreen), Marika Reimon (Jasmine/Deka Yellow) and Koume Koudou (Umeko/DekaPink). Under the guidance of their chief, the Anubian alien Doggie Kruger and scientist Swan Shiratori the Dekarangers defend the city of alien criminals, known as alienizers. Midway through the series, they are also joined by Tekkan Aira (Tetsu/DekaBreak), an elite member of SPD's Tokkyou division. The main cast are excellent, each having very contrasting personalities and thus being able to to bounce off each other well and each adding something different to the combined team. Between the 5 (or 6)...