Again, nothing worthy of a full review but I just received another two blind-packed Power Rangers Samurai Mega Bloks figures as a present from my girlfriend. This time it was the Blue Ranger and training mode Red stashed away inside. Despite the check list not mentioning so, the Blue Ranger is in fact battle damaged (which is quite obvious from his paint apps) and comes included with a small-but-nicely-detailed Hydro Bow. Like training mode Green, Jayden also comes with a standard spin sword accessory.    

Hyakka Ryōran Samurai Girls (or simply 'Samurai Girls' in the West) is a 12 episode anime series released in 2010. Based on the light novel series of the same name, as you can guess from its name its main contents are samurai, girls and plenty of fan service. The Girls (from left to right): Nia, Hanzo, Sen, Jyubei, Yukimura, Matabei, Kanetsugu   In an alternate version of Japan known as Great Japan (where the Tokugawa Shogunate has remained active yet isolated from the rest of the World), the Buou Academy is a school at the base of Mt Fuji where those from military families train to become samurai. Muneakira Yagyu arrives at the school to take over the Yagyu dojo and quickly becomes involved in a power struggle between the school's student council and Yukimura Sanada, the 13-year old lolita leader of the Toyotomi faction. During a battle between the two groups, a mysterious girls falls from the sky and kisses Muneakira, granting her amazing samurai abilities. As...

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive is the 15th instalment in the Power Rangers franchise, adapted from Super Sentai's 30th anniversary GoGo Sentai Boukenger series. Following on from Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive ran for a total of 32 episodes during 2007. When billionaire explorer Andrew Hartford discovers the Corona Aurora - a crown which when combined with seven jewels can give its possessor catastrophic power, he unlocks the icy Florious and the hot headed Moltor - two brothers who in the past sought the crown's powers but were exiled by the mystical Sentinel Knight. Andrew Hartford then gathers four young people from very different backgrounds - safe-cracker for hire Will Aston (the Black Ranger), film stuntman Dax Low (Blue), child prodigy Rose Ortiz (Pink) and race car driver Ronny Robinson (Yellow) to become Power Rangers, with him taking the place as the red ranger. But when his son Mack uses his father's Overdrive Tracker to protect him, Mack takes the man...

Nothing worth writing an extensive review over, but yesterday I picked up two blind bags from Mega Bloks Power Rangers Samurai line in London after scouring the UK for them over the past few weeks. Luck gave me the "ultra rare" translucent red ranger and the "common" training green ranger (which is wearing that hood/mask that you see for all of two seconds during the morphing sequence) and I have to say I'm quite impressed with these little guys. As well as the parts to make the figure, the packs also include a LEGO  Mega Bloks brick stand in their respective colours. The red ranger was an especially nice figure as the helmet is a separate piece to the actual head, meaning he can also be displayed helmetless (wearing that same hood/mask as Green). By the looks of it this will be a feature on all the rangers, as the Gold and Pink in the assortment are the same. The detail on the weapons is fantastic for figures of this size, it puts the Mega Mode Red fig...

Since its beginning back in April last year, Steins;Gate has been one of those series that while I was completely aware of it, I didn't have the foggiest clue what it was about. I knew it was popular, and I knew it had a very good reputation...but that was about it. So it wasn't until my Huke fan-girl of a girlfriend marathoned the series in two days and then demanded that I watch it as soon possible that I realised it was perhaps EXACTLY the kind of thing I'd be looking for in an anime. So yes - Steins;Gate is a 24 episode (plus one recently released OVA) series that aired between April and September 2011. Based on an X-Box 360 Visual Novel, it featured character designs from Huke, who is also known for creating the popular Black Rock Shooter. Set in the summer of 2010 in the Japanese district of Akihabara, the series follows self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarō Okabe (also known by his alias Kyōma Hōōin) and his friends/fellow "lab" members as they creat...

Now that I've settled myself in for a long stay with the Figuarts toyline, it's time to venture back into some of its older releases. The first figure I decided on was also the first full Kamen Rider series I watched (and will be re-watching for a review on this blog sometime in the near future) and star of the upcoming Kamen Rider X Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen movie. He of course is none other than Kamen Rider Decade, star of the 10th anniversary Heisei Rider series of the same name. The "Violent Emotion" version of the figure is the second release of the character, to tie in with "Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider & Decade: Movie War 2010" and sporting brand new headsculpts. While the Decade figure still boasts an impressive sculpt, the figure isn't quite as flawless as some of the later ones I've bought from the line. It sports different hip joints which are not quite as versatile as the newer ones, the shoulders feel a bit more restrictiv...