Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Camus

The third and final of my Revoltech Detroit Metal City reviews, today's focus is on Camus (real name Terumichi Nishida), the band's perverted, overweight otaku drummer. Probably the most dedicated member of the band, not even fire or snakes will stop his drumming!

Camus has an excellent build, showing off his overweight stature nicely. His costume is a lot more simplistic than his co-members, but has nice broken colour scheme and the waistcoat is a rather fetching vibrant red. The balance issues that were present in Krauser and Jagi are absent here, with Camus able to do a wide variety of poses without the aid of the stand included with the figure. That being said, he still shares the visible joint problem of his friends, particularly in the shoulders, wrists and ankles.

The figure's downfall is in its accessories. Included with Camus are 3 extra hands (3, not 3 pairs), D-M-C display stands, drumsticks, a speech bubble (what it says I am unsure of) that can be attached to his back via a revo joint, a set of expression stickers than can be applied to the figure (or any other Revoltech)'s face, and two highly posable snakes. The figure does not include a drum kit in any shape or form. While what is included with the figure is certainly well done, to not include a drum kit is a huge disappointment for me. It may have ended up being quite large and replacing the other accessories, but if the Figma Ritsu (from K-On!) can achieve it, I don't know why this can't. Obviously all the effort went into the snakes, as they have 4 revoltech joints each (which look quite obtrusive, ruining the overall effect of the snake anyway).

Camus is a great figure, but lacks that little extra spark that makes his band members so special. The lack of any form of drum kit is also a disappointment, as it means a really good DMC stage display can't be achieved without looking into toy drums that are in scale with the figure. Still, he compliments Krauser and Jagi nicely, and at the cheap price he can be found for at eBay is a necessity to anyone looking to own the full band line up.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Alexander Jagi

In the second of my Revoltech Detroit Metal City reviews is the band's bassist and background vocalist, Alexander Jagi (real name Masayuki Wada). While this fact is not shown in the OVAs or movie, he also isn't a huge fan of the music DMC plays, instead preferring to be in a 'visual kei' band - but like Negishi/Krauser he is also afraid of their insane manager.

Jagi, much like Krauser, boasts an impressive sculpt that does his character justice. He is mostly black and white, but the silver sequin/studded parts and red 'eyes' of his costume help break the colour scheme up nicely. The hair on both heads (again, like Krauser) is an excellent two-tone of yellow and orange. The wing piece on the back of his costume can be removed and is also useful for holding his bass (which is the shape of a Gibson Thunderbird). Once attached, the long guitar strap provides plenty of movement for the guitar so a wide variety of poses are possible.

Besides the bass guitar, the figure includes 2 sets of alternate hands, an alternate screaming face, a microphone with stand (something I felt Krauser could have probably benefited from too) and a flame piece that can be attached to the stand to recreate his fire-breathing activities. As far as problems with the figure go, the very much the same ones that Krauser had. While his balance is a lot better than Krauser's (probably due to the absence of a cape) it's still not brilliant, and especially hard if you're using the stand for a flame piece rather than on the figure. Some of the joints are particularly obvious and spoil the overall feel of the figure - particularly in the hips and ankles.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting Revoltech to put as much love into Jagi or Camus as they did for Krauser, after all he is the centrepiece of DMC. However Alexander Jagi is just as good a figure as Krauser, and definitely worth picking up at the price he can be bought for nowadays. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how Camus turns out.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Johannes Krauser II

In the first of a 3 day special, I shall be reviewing each revoltech figure of the 3 members of the band Detroit Metal City, from the manga/anime/live-action movie of the same name. Today's installment is vocalist/guitarist/frontman of the band, Johannes Krauser II. Or, as he's known off stage, Soichi Negishi - the protagonist of the series.

The figure itself is rather basic - smooth with not too many intricate details, but it is an excellent likeness of Krauser. The silver is metallic, and the cape is a nice deep purple (as is the orange toning on the figure's hair). As is the norm with revoltech - articulation is a key player, and here its no exception. While not as articulate as some of the later figures in the line, it still boasts revolver joints on the neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet. The cape is also held together by joints, meaning it can be positioned in everything from a 'swooshing' effect to being held perfectly stable in the air as if Krauser were jumping.

The cape is removable, meaning Krauser can be posed with or without it (which adds a lot more flexibility in terms of poses). Also included are three different pairs of hands, an alternate 'screaming' head, a microphone and Jack Il Dark's signature SG guitar which he receives at the end of the anime (I'm unsure about the manga). The guitar's strap is fairly sturdy but probably would break if too much pressure was applied, and can be locked onto the body nicely if the cape is placed over it. To go with the guitar are a pair of 'speed' hands, which nicely depict Krauser's thrash metal playing. However, these aren't the only hilarious things you can do with the hands, as my pictures below point out.

There's only a couple of bad things about Krauser in fact - the first being his balance. Since he's wearing stillettos, it means it can be very difficult to pose him (but not impossible) without the aid of the stand provided. Not that this is the end of the world, but some times I like my figures to be able to hold their own in terms of balance. This is made much easier if you remove the cape, but then Krauser obviously doesn't look as imposing. The second problem, and this is one that plagued most of the earlier Revoltech releases, is that the alternate hands/head can be quite difficult to put snugly on the joints, meaning obvious sections of revolver joint are left exposed.

Despite my love for Revoltech, I've never really thought they handled humanoid figures brilliantly (for those I turn to Figma), but Krauser is an all round great figure. Plenty of character, only a few minor problems and looks great both on his own and with the rest of the band. If you're a fan of DMC in any shape or form, this is definitely one to look out for since it can be found relatively cheap these days.

SAT-SU-GAAAAAAAAAI!

Series REVIEW: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy is the seventh season in the Power Rangers franchise, succeeding Power Rangers in Space and preceding Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. It is memorable in that it was the first season to bring along a whole new cast and setting for the series (a tradition that has been followed with every PR series since), although it did keep a few links to the older seasons as a point of reference.

Four teenagers (Leo, Mike, Kendrix and Kai) have left Angel Grove upon the space colony of Terra Venture, bound for a new world for humanity somewhere in space. When joined with a mechanic named Damon (who works on the Astro Megaship from In Space) and an alien girl named Maya - five of them (bar Leo) are chosen to pull the legendary Quasar sabers out of a stone on the planet Miranoi (Maya's home planet), becoming Power Rangers. In a battle with one of Scorpius (the main villain for the first half of the series)' generals, Mike falls into a crevasse, presumed to be dead, and passes his Quasar saber (and red ranger powers) onto Leo.

Later, Mike is found to be alive, his body taken over by a being known as the Magna Defender - a warrior in search of the mystical Lights of Orion. The Magna Defender seeks this power in order to take revenge against Scorpius and avenge the death of his son. After clashing with the Rangers several times, the Magna Defender is eventually redeemed and returns Mike to Terra Venture, bestowing the powers of the Magna Defender upon him. When the rangers finally defeat Scorpius, his daughter Trakeena takes over his role, vowing revenge upon the rangers for killing her father.

That's the overall story for Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, but you'd be wrong in thinking that the "Lost Galaxy" has very much to do with the actual series. The Lost Galaxy is in fact a dropped plot point that was barely expanded in the series (instead covering a 7 episode mini-arc) that has very little relevance on the overall plot. What's worse is that the little problems that plague every Power Rangers series seem to be amplified here. Sometimes the Sentai footage never gels well with the American, but here the footage (taken from Seijuu Sentai Gingaman) seems more obvious than ever. The location changes are erratic, and the footage is significantly more dated than the American side of the show. Random powers and plot points are regularly pulled out of nowhere (especially in the first half of the series) and the rangers don't even have any form of introduction to their morphers (in the first episode, they morph via the Quasar sabers). Finally, Power Rangers physics takes a whole new level in ridiculous here. I can get past moons with breathable atmospheres, but when characters are seem floating in the cold vacuum of space without any sort of protection things do become a little bit jarring.

The characters aren't much better either. None of the main cast are particularly memorable, which is a complete shame given some of the things this series went on to do with that cast. Power Rangers Lost Galaxy was the first series to properly kill off a ranger (that ranger being Kendrix, the Pink Ranger), which was (and still is) a pretty bold move. Her moment of sacrifice is really powerful, but I found it really hard to care when her character had had wafer thin character development beforehand. Her replacement, Karone (also known as Astronema from In Space) was a lot more likeable as a character, and was by far my favourite ranger in the series - despite her role being minimal.

The villains aren't much better either. Scorpius just looks frankly ridiculous, and its hard to take him as a credible threat (which is especially apparent in the rangers' battles with him, where he just sits there flailing his tentacles). His daughter, Trakeena, has apparently been praised by the PR community for her character development throughout the series - which, granted, is there, but is so horribly rushed. Its not gradual whatsoever - she just jumps from spoilt princess to seeking vengeance to batshit insane. Her goals fluctuate from merely seeking revenge against the rangers for her father's death to taking over Terra Venture (how taking over a space colony is a logical first step for universal domination I don't know) episode by episode. What I will say about Trakeena though is that her final form in the series finale is the stuff of nightmares. Definitely one of Power Rangers' darkest moments. The secondary villains, such as the treacherous Deviot and the honourable Villamax, are a lot better - but both are underused. Villamax moreso, but Deviot starts off very promising and then his backstabbing actions seemed to get sidelined until he meets his very anticlimactic end.

And the zords? Not so great either. A first for the series, the Galactabeasts are in fact "real" animals that have the ability to turn into robot zords. Only when they are in animal form they look like rejects from a low budget Godzilla film. The Galaxy Megazord isn't terrible, but its hardly memorable either (although the Lights of Orion upgrade version looks significantly better) - and I really miss the unified cockpit of the megazord formation. The extra megazords, the Centaurus and Stratoforce Megazords, confuse me, as they're repeatedly shown as being made up of 5 separate vehicles yet are never actually piloted once in the show. Showing that seemed just a bit unnecessary, even if it is Sentai footage.

I also think linking it to past Power Rangers series' was a bit tenuous at times. Sure it was nice to see Alpha 6, the Astro Megaship and Bulk again - but all of these had very minimal roles and weren't that necessary to the plot at all. Karone's return and her taking up the mantle of the Pink ranger in order to atone for her actions as Astronema was the only thing that really worked for the series in terms of throwbacks. I know that the writers had bigger plans for Lost Galaxy, including linking Zordon to the Quasar Sabers and the Galaxy ranger powers, but the end product we got would have probably been much strong as a stand alone thing.

Moving on from the bad, let's talk about the good for a second. When Power Rangers Lost Galaxy does get around to having strong episodes, they are really strong. The best example of this is To the Tenth Power/The Power of Pink, which is still probably the best 2-team crossover episode in Power Rangers history. The return of the Space rangers and Psycho rangers provide that jolt of energy the series so desperately needed, and the synch between the Space and Galaxy rangers during the fight sequences are excellent. Other strong episodes to look out for are Loyax' Last Battle and the three part finale, Journey's End. Journey's End had the difficult task of following the explosive end to Power Rangers in Space, but it was a task that it handled magnificently. The stakes are much higher than most Power Rangers' finales, and the three part format means the story develops at a nice pace. It almost makes sitting through 45 episodes worth it. Almost.

I'm well aware of the writing problems that plagued Lost Galaxy, and I'm also aware that Valerie Vernon (Kendrix)'s departure from the series was due to some pretty serious circumstances, but as it stands the majority of the series is a mess. If the whole series had been up to the calibre of some of the better episodes (such as To the Tenth Power, The Power of Pink and Journey's End) then it really could have been something special. But for now, I think Lost Galaxy is best remembered for the change it brought to the Power Rangers franchise rather than its actual content.

Anime REVIEW: Durarara!!

Durarara!! takes place in the city of Ikebukuro, where Mikado Ryūgamine has just transferred to at the request of his childhood friend Masaomi Kida. Mikado soon learns about the city's colourful inhabitants - including a Russian Sushi seller named Simon, a short fused man named Shizuo with incredible strength, and an information deal named Izaya. He also learns about Ikebukuro's gang society, particularly a large, anonymous group known as the Dollars.

But Ikebukuro's population isn't that straightforward, as Mikado also meets "The Black Rider", a headless motorcycle rider who has become the city's urban legend. This rider is in fact Celty Sturluson, a female Dullahan from Ireland who has come to city in search of her missing head (which is the source of her memories). As the series begins each of these people have different stories to tell, but soon their paths become closer and closer, with the stories interlocking into one bigger story which has the whole of Ikebukuro involved.

One of Durarara!!'s most interesting features is its pacing. While initially fairly episodic, each story is intertwined - meaning scenes are often repeated numerous times with different characters as the focus in order to paint a bigger picture. Each character reacts very differently with others, so this setting shows a lot of range between the main cast while keeping things interesting. This does of course mean that this is a show you can't just watch lightly - the character transitions can be relatively quick at times and so a decent amount of attention must be paid to know what's going on.

Speaking of characters, one of the series' main strengths it's seeming lack of secondary characters. There are a few here and there, but mostly each character is integral to the plot somehow and the story somehow manages to stay confined to this core cast. After the first few episodes there aren't too many more characters introduced, and all the series' main plot twists revolve around characters that have been around since the beginning (plot twists being one of Durarara!!'s specialities, there were a lot of things I didn't see coming). There are no straightforward antagonists (although Izaya would certainly come close) and the supernatural elements are dealt with an element of realism. Celty may be a headless horseman, but she proves to be just as human as any of the 'normal' characters present in the series. Since the characters also spend a great deal of time on a chatroom (each with their own online handle that the others aren't fully aware of straight away), seeing how they all interact with each other in that environment also proves to be another of the series' highlights.

The art is excellent, the characters distinguishable and the vivid differences between the neon lights and dark alleys of a big city well displayed. Little touches, such as background characters being coloured in grey-scale while the main ones remain fully coloured help the audience know where the main focus of a scene is.

Durarara!! starts off a little slow, but after about 8-10 episodes in it just keeps going on going, becoming better every time. The characters are hugely diverse and interesting, the plot both engaging and twisting, and the ending is satisfying yet leaves you wanting more. From seemingly invincible fighters to teenagers involved in gang warfare, my initial reservations about this series were completely gone by the time I was half way in. Definitely one to watch.

Toybox REVIEW: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger mini-pla Gokai Machines set 1

After several weeks of the post office not telling me I had a parcel waiting for me (sigh), I finally have my hands on the Gokaiger minipla Gokai machines - the first add on pack to the mini-pla GokaiOh (which I reviewed several months ago). As each of these figures offer something different each time, I will be reviewing them a little differently than usual. Each figure will receive a rating both on its individual mode and its combination with GokaiOh (each mini review will also be followed by pictures). So without further adieu, I give you the MagiDragon, the Pat Striker and GaoLion.

MagiDragon

The first Sentai power the Gokaiger received was the MagiDragon, from 2005-06's Mahou Sentai Magiranger. The MagiDragon is the combination of the yellow, pink, blue and green Magirangers in their magical mecha forms, only here rather than its usual black it is red with a rather fetching pirate bandanna. The model itself is easily to assemble, and while not the most articulated thing in the world it still manages to be a fairly good representation of the MagiDragon. The wings are movable at two different places, and both the neck and head can move up and down. I put a bit of silver on the ears, hands and teeth for that extra bit of detail, but it looks pretty good with stickers alone (the neck on the actual show model is red, while here it is black - rather than paint this I kept it because I felt it broke up the colour scheme rather nicely). Its pretty nifty for such a tiny figure, and it only gets more interesting when taken apart and combined with GokaiOh...

MagiGokaiOh

While MagiGokaiOh isn't the best looking combination in the world when it comes to the show (the dragon sticks out so far from the chest it looks like a pantomime horse) the toy version surprisingly not only captures it perfectly but also makes it relatively enjoyable. The dragon (while still sticking far out of GokaiOh's chest) fits snugly into the chest compartment and the wing parts look great sticking out of the arm compartments (especially since they retain posability, making some wing shielding poses possible). It was never going to win any awards due to the flawed design it was based on, but this mini-pla certainly makes good use of what it's got and doesn't make MagiGokaiOh completely forgettable.

Pat Striker

There isn't a great deal of things to say about the Pat Striker (from 2004-05's Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger). It's just a police car, so there isn't a great deal it can actually do. However it DOES have moving wheels, so rolling it along the floor/desk/whatever while mimicking siren noises is completely possible, and something I have already indulged in. While moulded entirely in white plastic, the stickers are incredibly easy to apply and effective in giving the car all the necessary details (included the two SPD logos emblazoned on it). Alone it isn't much, but its combination on the other hand is a completely different story.

DekaGokaiOh

When GokaiOh combines with the Pat Striker, gone are its two sword wielding ways in favour of some gun slinging action. The Pat Striker neatly breaks into four separate pieces, with the centre of the car becoming GokaiOh's chest piece and the back on the car inserting into the leg slots. The front of the car can be placed in the arm slots (to recreate DekaGokaiOh's finishing move) or be attached the hands via different fold out slots to be used as hand guns. As the only combination so far to maintain a wholly machine aspect (MagiDragon and GaoLion are animals), DekaGokaiOh definitely has the nicest feel to it. The range of posability on the mini-pla GokaiOh means that he can pull off a huge variety of shooting poses. DekaGokaiOh is hands down the best combination out of the three - simply brilliant.

GaoLion

The first thing to say about the GaoLion (hailing from 2001-02's Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger) is that it's pretty damn big compared to the other two - in fact, the lion is made up from two different boxes worth of parts. He doesn't require a huge deal of paint (I painted the bar attached to the shoulders silver for extra accuracy), and is pretty widely posable - the legs and head move, the mane vents move, and even the jaw is on a hinge. What impressed me the most is that the ShinkenGokaiOh helmet and Rekka Daizantou (which I'll go into more detail about a bit later on) are actually part of GaoLion's torso - something I was not expecting, although it makes more sense that its done like this (less plastic and all). Still, its cleverly implemented, and as a stand alone machine GaoLion definitely comes out on top.

GaoGokaiOh

Being the big guy that he is, GaoLion has TWO differents modes for GokaiOh. The first is GaoGokaiOh, which (as you can probably guess) is the one that directly references the series its from. The transformation is simple - remove the legs from GokaiOh and place him in the shoulder slots on GaoLion, creating a centaur like mecha much like Gao Kentaurus in Gaoranger. Its an interesting mode for GokaiOh, but instantly loses points with me because there's nowhere for the Gokai Sub or Trailer to go. Other than that, its the review above plus the top half of GokaiOh, there's not much more I can say about it. Good, but not great.

ShinkenGokaiOh

Finally we come to GaoLion's second (and more traditional) combination, which is the power up for 2009-10's Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Here is where the lion is split up, with the head taking the usual place in the chest and the hind legs going in the arm compartments. Once again GokaiOh's legs are forgotten and GaoLion's front legs become the main legs. Each section of GaoLion (including the jaw) opens up to reveal one of the Shinkenger's element symbols (and the the shape of their helmet visors) and for the first time, GokaiOh gets a shiny new hat! This new helmet closely resembles the one worn by ShinkenOh and ShinkenGokaiOh also gets ShinkenRed's signature weapon - the Rekka Daizantou! Although not as ridiculously sized as the one in the show, its an excellent representation of the weapon (especially since it doubles as a torso) and a worthy addition to the Gokaiger arsenal. GaoLion's bar piece can also be used to connect the two cutlass swords into a pretty spectacular double bladed staff. Already ShinkenGokaiOh is as imposing as he is on the show, but this mini-pla sadly suffers from one flaw - and that's the arms. Since the lion legs stick out quite far from the actual slots (something admittedly Magi and Deka also share, but it doesn't impede anything), they often get in the way of the elbow and thus make the epic samurai posing ShinkenGokaiOh deserves difficult. So in conclusion - it looks fantastic, but loses a point because it fails at doing the one thing the minipla has over the DX version - posability.

So in conclusion there's a lot to love about this set - a few disappointments here and there, but nothing overly drastic. These are certainly a must have for anyone already owning the GokaiOh mini-pla, because it only adds the fun of the figure and make great display pieces even when they aren't attached.