New Release Photo Review: POP Sailing Again LIMITED - Nami Crimin ver

POP Sailing Again LIMITED - Nami Crimin ver has been released last 20th of December along with the POPs Official Guidebook. Here are some early shots of one of the retail release (thanks to http://blog.livedoor.jp) and Nami looks so sexy as she was in the official promo images. 

This figure is a limited edition that comes only with the said guidebook. No word yet if this will be later sold separately without the book. But why not get her without the it. I think its nice for a POP collector to have that guidebook. She's still available on most online hobby shops so get her while you can. Limited editions like these has a little or no chance of being re-released not to mention it's price value skyrocketing as the stocks get lower. Mine will be arriving at our doorstep soon :)

Check out these photos below to help you decide if you also wanted one. I already covered the unboxing earlier on the Facebook page for you to see the guidebook. 

Official Photos: POP LIMITED Sadie-chan

POP LIMITED Sadie-chan has already appeared as a shop exclusive at the Megatrea Shop. They will start accepting preorders for this product starting 11th of January 2013, Friday at 13:00 (JST). Priced for 8,820 yen including tax and shipping. Release date is on June 2013. It is limited for Japan only, but it will probably be available on some re-seller that ships outside Japan at higher prices. I wonder why MegaHouse decided to make this a limited edition.

Up until now, I'm still having a mixed feeling about this POP. I love the painting details, the hair, the face and costume design, but there's something about the sculpt that I don't like, specially in the rib cage part. It looks like some elastic bent rubber. The breast is also weirdly shaped and I find that the arms are kind of long and thin. Totally out of proportion and I don't find her sexy. If this was a regular release, I might consider getting her, but being limited, I think it's not worth the price. I'll probably skip this one.

POP Sailing Again - Nami is going to be Re-released... Again

Along with the preorder announcement for POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law, MegaHouse also announces a re-release of POP Sailing Again - Nami. This will be the third release of this particular version of Sailing Again Nami. Does this mean MegaHouse is going to release all the POP Sailing Again Strawhats three times?

Preorders starts at the same time as POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law which will be on 9th of January 2013, Wednesday at 18:00 (JST). For those who doesn't have her yet, this is another chance for you. I'm not yet sure if the price will be exactly the same as the previous releases though, but I will keep you updated.

You can check out my personal documented experience and photo gallery of this product here

Update (2013-05-23): Re-release date has been moved from May 2013 to June 2013.

POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law Preorder Announcement

Preorders schedule has been announced for POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law. It is going to be on the 9th of January 2013, Wednesday at 18:00 (JST). Not so suprising since it was earlier announced that this is to be released on May 2013 for 8,400 yen during the Jump Festa 2013 event.

What's surprises me is that they are releasing Law this early in this appearance even if it isn't shown in the anime yet. But probably before May, he would appear in the anime so this will coincide with that surge of popularity. Well this guy is already popular before and even more now that he is looking badass awesome. A must get for me and for every fan of Trafalgar Law.

Figuarts ZERO - Boa Hancock (Battle ver.) and Sogeking (Battle ver.) Preorder Announcement

January preorder announcement for Figuarts ZERO has been lifted and it is going to be Boa Hancock (Battle ver) and Usopp as Sogeking (Battle ver.). Preorder starts on 8th of January, Tuesday at 16:00 (JST). These two figures were shown earlier during the Jump Festa 2013 event. I thought Bandai is going to hold their Battle ver series until all the Figuarts ZERO that were shown during the Tamashii Nation 2012 event has been released.

I was always waiting for Sogeking ever since it was revealed during the prevously held events and now he is going to be released with a nice phoenix flame effect parts. Boa Hancock is a surprise because there are already four or five versions of Figuarts ZERO Boa Hancock. I guess every Boa Hancock figure is a money maker for all figure manufacturers. In fact, this is going to be on my "must get" list. Love that outfit and those effect parts.

Below are the release date and pricing details

Figuarts ZERO - Boa Hancock (Battle ver.)

• Price: 3,990 yen
• Release: April 2013

Figuarts ZERO - Sogeking (Battle ver.)

• Price: 3,990 yen
• Release: April 2013

Update (2013-01-08): Preorders are now open at Amiami (Hancock | Sogeking), HLJ (Hancock | Sogeking) and Hobby Search (Hancock | Sogeking).

Update (2013-04-03): Official Release Dates

• Figuarts ZERO - Boa Hancock (Battle ver.): 27th of April 2013
• Figuarts ZERO - Sogeking (Battle ver.): 20th of April 2013

Jump Festa 2013 - One Piece Bandai Tamashii Nations

Bandai Tamashii Nations were also present at Jump Festa 2013 which was held last weekend, December 22-23 (Saturday and Sunday) at Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Japan bringing us excitements with their products. And as usual, my interest were drawn by their One Piece Figuarts ZERO line-up. Below are the photos of Bandai Tamashii Nations One Piece merchandise.

Jump Festa 2013 - One Piece MegaHouse

Jump Festa 2013 was just held last weekend, December 22-23 (Saturday and Sunday) at Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Japan. It was another surprising event for MegaHouse's POPs as they unleashed some new figure prototypes, show the painted/completed ones and made some announcements about prices and release dates. They also brought some non-POP One Piece MegaHouse products there, so let's gawk at these photos below.

Celebrating Christmas with POP Sailing Again Straw Hat Crew

It's almost time for Christmas. My favorite time of the year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for following and supporting my blog as well as my Facebook page. So in return, I'll give you these nice shots I made with my POP Sailing Again Straw Hat crew in front of our little Christmas tree. As you can see, POP SA Franky is missing since it isn't released yet. Hopefully he will make it next Christmas.

This post has been setup for you to be able to download and use the photos as wallpapers on your PCs or on your HDTVs. I made 16:9 and 4:3 desktop aspect ratios so you can download whatever is best suited for you.

Merry Christmas to All :)

Official Photos: Figuarts ZERO - Ain (Officer Costume ver.)

Bandai is is really keeping up with their Figuarts ZERO Film Z releases. Unfortunately, most of them are Premium Bandai Web exclusives like those Film Z Battle Costume ver. Adding to those exclusive figures is this Figuarts ZERO - Ain (Officer Costume ver.). This is the second Figuarts ZERO of Ain. She is wearing her officer costume this time unlike the one released earlier. A Toei Animation Online Shop and Mekke Shueisha Shopping Plaza exclusive, which means that outside Japan, it is going to be about twice the original price.

Set to be released on July 2013 for 2,940 yen. It is already available for preorder on those online shops so if you happen to be staying in Japan (and can read/understand Japanese websites), you can visit those sites and order up. Otherwise, you will have to find seller that will ship outside Japan but that will cost you. 

For me, I'll just see my chances of getting her after the release date. I'd like to find out first if it is worth the price and the trouble or not. Like I said, it is going to be the around twice the original price outside Japan, which is actually about the same price as an average POP. Who knows, MegaHouse might release better POP version of her, then that would probably be worth every penny.

New Release Photo Review: Figuarts ZERO - Ain

Released at the same date as Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Film Z Kessen Costume ver), Figuarts ZERO - Ain was also made available by Bandai last Saturday, 15th of December 2012, and here are some early images taken from one of the retail release.

Same as my impression as the Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Film Z Kessen Costume ver), Ain is also looking pretty nice. Well she isn't as gorgeously looking as on the promo images (as those images were post processed), but she looks close enough. Paint application is finely done. It also comes with a translucent red base stand, it seems like all the Film Z Figuarts ZEROs will have the same. As for a Figuarts ZERO, the quality of this one is quite acceptable.

Ain retails for 2,625 yen, and like Luffy, I also didn't preordered this one before, but she is going to be on my display shelf soon. If you are also interestedI, this figure still available on major online stores.

New Release Photo Review: Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Film Z Kessen Costume ver)

The Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Film Z Kessen Costume ver) has been released last Saturday, 15th of December 2012, along with Figuarts ZERO - Ain, and here are some early images taken from one of the retail release. For me, it's looking good and really not bad for a Figuarts ZERO.

The mold has some imperfections, but believe me, I've seen worst. The paint is done nicely and there's not much very obvious paint issues visible. It comes with a translucent red base stand this time unlike other One Piece Figuarts ZEROs which comes with translucent black base stands.

I didn't preorder this earlier because I'm kind of worried about the outcome of the retail release, but now I'm thinking of getting this one some time soon. Not a bad addition to anyone's Figuarts ZERO collection. It is retailed for 2,310 yen, and is still available on most hobby shops. 

Official Photos: ArtFX+ Wonder Woman (The New 52 Edition)

The sixth addition to the ArtFX+ Justice League (The New 52 Editions) is the one and only female heroine Wonder Woman and Kotobukiya just released the official images of the painted prototype. A teaser photo of her was shown two days ago on Kotobukiya's Facebook page so her revelation was expected. As it turns out, her looks isn't very much appealing to me.

A non-painted sculpt was revealed previously during the SDCC 2012, so I'm not too surprised about the sculpt but the paint colors aren't exactly what I have in mind. Those red and blue isn't as striking as the other figures on this line-up. It looks dull. The face isn't very feminine, somehow lifeless and looks odd on some angles.

The chest part is also a disappointment because Wonder Woman is known to be a busty heroine. Overall looks can be acceptable, but she the only jewel in the Justice League so she is supposed to look way better than this. The thing is that, if you're going to collect all of them (The New 52 Editions), you'll have to include her in your list. Well she isn't too bad actually, it's just that this isn't what I expected her looks to be like. I hope Kotobukiya would do some fine changes on her before the release. 

Scheduled for June 2013 release in the US, probably a May 2013 release in Japan. Till that time, here's hoping that Kotobukiya would consider some adjustments, making her look much better.

Figuarts ZERO Film Z Battle Costume ver Preorders

The exact preorder date for Figuarts ZERO Film Z Battle Costume ver has been lifted and it will be on the 15th 14th of December 2012. No exact timing schedule yet, but I assume that it will be at the same usual time at 16:00 (JST).

It was announced earlier that it will be sold in sets on three (Luffy/Chopper/Franky set, Zoro/Robin/Brook set, and Sanji/Nami/Usopp set) with pricing details for each set. But now, Bandai has released the pricing details for each figure. See the individual pricing details below.

Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 2,520 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Tony Tony Chopper (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 1,890 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Franky (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 4,725 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Roronoa Zoro (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 2,835 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Nico Robin (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 2,835 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Brook (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 4,200 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Sanji (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 2,835 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Nami (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 2,835 yen

Figuarts ZERO - Usopp (Film Z Battle Costume ver)
Price: 3,570 yen

I'm not sure if these will be sold individually, but it is a huge possibility. Maybe on the release date. We'll find out about that later on. This is a good news for those who are not planning to get them all but a few specific figures only. But for now, what is certain is that preorders will be in sets of three.

Update: It turns out that these Figuarts ZEROs are Premium Bandai Web Exclusive, which means that the price will be about twice as the original price outside Japan. I guess I won't be seeing any of these figures in my shelf. I will just have to wait for the POP Film Z versions then :)

Official Photos: MG 1/100 RX-93 Nu Gundam Ver. Ka

The official photos and box art of the MG 1/100 RX-93 Nu Gundam Ver. Ka has been released. As a common feature to all ver. Ka boxes, the design is just a simple white background with a CGI graphic of the model. We've already seen a lot of images of this model and it's a really looking sharp and very detailed version of the Amuro Ray's famous mobile suit as redesigned by Hajime Katoki. The model itself though just an MG, its details are actually very PG-ish. Nice to see that Bandai's technology has gotten very far to be able produce a highly detailed and awesome model kit such as this.

This kit will be available for purchase on 15th of this month (December), 2012 for 7,350 yen. Preorders are available now on most hobby stores. I guess I have to find a way to squeeze my tight budget and get this one even if I still have a lot of un-assembled model kits.

Official Photos: POP Edition-Z - Tony Tony Chopper

The official photos of POP Edition-Z - Tony Tony Chopper has been released as soon as preorders for this figure opens. Chopper looks very cute even if his face looks so kinda serious. His pirate hat can be removed and can be replaced with either Chopper's original pink hat, or a blue bandana with white polka dots that covers his head just like Zoro's.

A very interesting design of Chopper, and even if you are not going for the complete Mugiwaras in Edition-Z, this is still worth getting as his price won't hurt your wallet that much. Especially for Chopper lover's out there.

This figure retails for 3,255 yen and will be released on April 2013. As I mentioned, preorders starts today and it is now available at Amiami, HLJ, and Hobby Search.

Update (2013-04-16): Release date of POP Edition-Z - Tony Tony Chopper has been moved from late-April 2013 to early-May 2013

New Release Photo Review: POP Sailing Again - Tony Tony Chopper (Kung Fu Point ver)

The second form of Chopper under the POP Sailing Again series was just released last Friday, 30th of November 2012. For those who hasn't received his copy yet, and for those who are still undecided of getting this figure, here are some photos taken from a retail release of this figure for you to view (courtesy of blog.livedoor.jp).