Two Pre-Timeskip Figuarts ZERO for October

We already knew what Bandai has to offer for October 2013's Figuarts ZERO. But today they announced the preorder schedule info for these two pre-timeskip One Piece Characters. Figuarts ZERO - Enel and Figuarts ZERO - Perhona (Thriller Bark Edition) will be available for preorder on Monday, 1st of July 2013 at 16:00 (JST). Official promo images has already made available on their website and for your convenience, I also made these available here on my blog.

It's nice to see that Bandai still consider releasing pre-timeskip characters. Sure they can gain a lot of money by releasing current anime and manga characters (and their new appearances) but there are some fans (like me) who would love to immortalize their classic look.

God Enel is one annoying but famous character. It serves as a reminder for Skypeia arc and how Luffy hilariously nullifies his power, giving that famous overly shocked and funny face. Based on these images, the figure comes three different faces (laughing, slurping and shocked) and two left hands (one normal and one with lightning effect). That shocked face looks totally like the one that comes with POP Neo-DX God Enel.

Perhona has already made it to the Figuarts ZERO line-up before, on her post-timeskip appearance that is. But seeing her in a pre-timeskip Figuarts ZERO is also a welcoming sight for sore eyes with all those pink colors and cute horo-horos. I'm sure that there are a lot of Perhona fans out there who is now eager to get this. I don't see any optional parts though and the base probably won't look like that.

Below are the details of these two Figuarts ZEROs

Figuarts ZERO - Enel

• Price: 4,410 yen
• Release Date: October 2013

Figuarts ZERO - Perhona (Thriller Bark Edition)

• Price: 3,675 yen
• Release Date: October 2013

These two figures calls for another preorder battling at those giant hobby shops - Amiami, HLJ, and Hobby Search. So be sure to get ready for your browser and F5 key as soon as the clock hits 16:00 (JST) on Monday. I'm now crossing fingers for the final production release.

Update (2013-07-03): Preoders are now up (and sold-out) at Amiami [ Enel | Perhona ], Hobby Search [ Enel | Perhona ], HLJ [ Enel | Perhona ]

Re-releasing POP Shichibukais

Seems like MegaHouse is slowing down a little. This month's POP preorders aren't fresh new figures but re-releases of the two Shichibukais - POP Neo-DX - Donquixote Doflamingo and POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law. Preorder starts on Wednesday, 3rd of July 2013 at 18:00 (JST).

We saw Doflamingo displayed during the recently held MegaHobby EXPO exhibit and also given that he's a part of the Punk Hazard arc, I already guessed that he will be re-released sometime soon. But I'm surprised of Law's early return to the preorder line-up as he was just released less than a month ago.

MegaHouse's preorder offering for the month of June was POP Neo-DX - Dracule Mihawk Ver. 2, a Shichibukai. And for July, two more Shichibukais. What could this mean? Does this mean that they are going to release/re-release a series of Shichibukais? Is this an indication of an upcoming Jinbe ver. 2? Crocodile ver. 1.5? A Marineford Boa Hancock with Salome? Of finally, a POP Buggy? Then that would be awesome.

A Few More Sundays for Miss All Sunday

Megahouse just announced that the release date POP Edition-Z - Nico Robin has been moved from late-June 2013 to early-July 2013. That means we'll have to wait for one or two more Sundays for the sexed up Miss All Sunday from the movie One Piece Film Z. Well that doesn't really bother me since a couple of weeks of waiting for a very nice POP can be forgiven as long as the final production releases are mistake free.

What bothers me is that Megahouse has been having these delays since the start of 2013. It's thankful enough that POP Edition-Z - Nico Robin will just be delayed until early July. But what if it were to be dragged until late-July? That means it will coincide with the release date of POP SA-Maximum - Armored Franky and POP Neo-DX - Shanks. Paying two regular and one Maximum POPs could hurt someone's budget.

As mentioned, POP Edition-Z - Nico Robin has new release schedule of early-July 2013. Check out the official promo images here.

Hot Toys: Man Of Steel - 1/6th Scale Superman Movie Masterpiece

Hot Toys has presented us with another one of their movie masterpieces. This time it's from the movie Man Of Steel with none other than.. well you guessed it, the man of steel himself - Superman. It's under their 1/6th scale Movie Masterpiece product line, and yes not Diecast. It's clear that those Diecast treatment are meant for armored figures like Iron Man and Robocop.

The face closely resembles Henry Cavill, it isn't 100% accurate like but close enough. For me this is one of the best Hot Toys headsculpt so far. The face maybe Henry Cavill-ish but not his body built. It seems that Hot Toys recycled the body of their Avengers - Thor and dressed it as Superman. His body is so bulky. It's more of a muscleman's body like Arnold Schwarzenegger's which make Superman look short. Biceps and thighs are too huge as compared to the actual movie character. No abs details and the chest is overly huge as well.

New Release Photo Review: Figuarts ZERO - Hordy Jones

Following my post about Figuarts ZERO - Luffy (Red Hawk - Battle ver.) photo review, here now are some early production release photos of Figuarts ZERO - Hordy Jones which was released by Bandai last Friday, 15th of June 2013. While I'm somewhat disappointed at the recent Luffy's Figuarts ZERO release, it's not the same case here.

This is the case where you almost feels like you're looking at the official promo images. The overall quality and feel seems to be perfect. The skin tone, color shades and detailing are exactly what we've seen before on the promo images. Surprisingly, even the sash is fully painted detailed which is unusual on production releases of Figuarts ZEROs.

The hair has some noticeable seam lines but isn't really disturbing. Facial detail were done nicely and there's no noticeable paint mistakes. Tatoos were also applied with fine precision. The scar is a little bit too bright red as compared to the promo images, but that can be forgiven. The dog-like scarf is nicely detailed as well.

In short, this release is almost exactly the same as the prototype, and sadly, a lot better release than Figuarts ZERO - Luffy (Red Hawk - Battle ver.). Which made me thinking why Bandai did this. They have the capability to release such a nicely detailed figure and yet they did not apply this precision on Luffy. Is it because Luffy is a sure sold-out character figure that they don't have to give it much attention to sell, unlike villain characters like Hordy Jones. Which also reminded me of Figuarts ZERO - Caesar Clown. That one is also a winner.

It's still glad to see Figuarts ZERO releases like this. Another reason to continue collecting this product line. I hope Bandai will stop those crappy releases and give us quality figures like this in the future. A word of advise - 

"Avoid preordering One Piece Figuarts ZEROs. Don't be fooled by promo images. Wait 'till it's released before getting one so that you can decide better upon seeing the production releases". 

Up until now I'm still trying to figure out how to follow my own advice. I usually get excited with those promo images and preorder right away. That must be my fanboy instinct kicking in :)

New Release Photo Review: Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk - Battle ver.)

The much awaited Figuarts ZERO - Monkey D. Luffy (Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk - Battle ver.) has been released by Bandai last Friday, 15th of June 2013 along with Figuarts ZERO - Hordy Jones. As usual we get some nice early shots of the figure to talk about regarding the quality of the final production release - the ones that you will get out of the box.

For those who are excited and having much anticipation for this figure, I'm sorry to break your bubbles cause I can't say that I ain't disappointed with the final production release. It isn't a very bad release, but it's clearly not as what you are expecting if your deciding factor of getting this are the promo images. Check the comparison image below.

Left: Official Promo Image
Right: Production Release Photo

You can find the all the promo images here, but here's a quick comparison against the its production release. I can't say it's just the lighting as there are clear obvious differences. The first thing that you would notice is the skin color. The promo image seems to be fully painted in a nice flesh skin tone while the production release is very yellowish. It seems that it is the PVC color itself with just some few shading added in to it. That color shading is not as fine as the promo image specially in the abs and the face. The red vest and the blue pants has a different color shade and nowhere near as detailed as that of the promo image, specially on the edges of the pants. The hair is too shiny. The shaprness of the mouth details were lost. Just as most Figuarts ZERO figures, the sash details were also left out. The fly area of the pants has too much yellow shade that it seemed like Luffy just pissed on it.

The effect parts seems to be less transparent but it's still acceptable. It has some clear plastic support rods. I'm not sure if it can be displayed without it like on the promo images. The great news is that there isn't any annoying paint mistakes and we get a new base design. Well it isn't really new since we get the same base style from Figuarts ZERO - Naruto series and Figuarts ZERO - Bleach series, but this is the first hexagonal base from One Piece Figuarts ZEROs.

In general, the figure isn't really bad actually. It's just that we are presented with false advertising. The figure on the promo images (or in other words, the prototype) has been clearly given a lot of attention with regards to the paint and detailing. What's more is that these promo images were post processed to produce a really eye catching and nice looking details. Most of the Figuarts ZEROs has been given this kind of treatment.

I can't say that I should have not preordered it since for 3,360 yen, it's still a good buy. I'm not new to Figuarts ZERO so the quality of this release isn't really surprising for me. I was just disappointed cause I hoped that it would looked a little better and closer to those promo images. This is just another realization that Bandai's Figuarts ZERO product line are a hit or miss. So don't be fooled again with those promo images.

This may be not be a perfect figure, but I can assure you that this is selling like a hot bread. If you haven't preordered but still considering of getting it, think fast and act now while it's still available. Don't hold back too long for it will become a thing of the past.

Official Photos: G.E.M. Series - Uzumaki Naruto

The latest addition to the G.E.M. Series which is none other than Naruto himself has been finally made available for preorder by MegaHouse (check out the preorder announcement here). And as usual before we go ahead and hit the preorder button, we get to see some official promo images. Well, most of the avid fans have probably made their decision on the first sighting of the prototype anyway, but these images will definitely make us even more excited.

As we can see here, he does not come with much alternate parts aside from the four head/face option. One with a Sage mode eyes, one with a smiling face, one without the forehead protector, and one with a dark Naruto eyes. The coat, which MegaHouse officially refer to as Minato's (the fourth) coat, can be removed entirely, exposing Naruto's orange tracksuit. No alternate hand gestures.

At some shots, you will notice the plastic support at the back since at this pose, Naruto cannot stand on his own. I hope he will come with some interesting display base like with some rocks or whirlwind effect. That's just a wish. I am satisfied with this one and he will be a nice addition in my display shelf. 

MegaHobby Station tells that "The worldwide and broad-age NARUTO: Naruto Hurricane Chronicles Series is scheduled to expand more in the future." Which means the we shall be seeing more Naruto Shippuden characters unde G.E.M. series. We already knew about the upcoming G.E.M. Series - Uchiha Sasuke. It's just a matter of time till we see, Haruno Sakura. I hope this will keep going like the POP series will all the lovable characters made into MegaHouse's "Excellent Model" figures.

G.E.M. Series - Uzumaki Naruto is now up for preorder at Amiami, HLJ, Hobby Search and Animarket.

Official Photos: POP Neo-DX - Dracule Mihawk Ver. 2

Another exciting POP release has made it's way to the preorder stage (check out the preorder announcement here). POP Neo-DX - Dracule Mihawk Ver. 2 has been officially available for preorder on hobby shops and official promo images are now up at MegaHobby Station. Of course, I made these images available here on my site for your convenience as we discuss the how amazing this particular POP that we are getting.

The first thing you'll notice and probably excited about is that you can display him with or without the hat. I can't tell from these images if the hat is removable or it comes with an alternate head without a hat since it is the same facial expression. Either way, it's cool to have an option to display him hatless unlike the previous DX version.

Both his arms can be replaced to make an alternate pose with him wielding either his Yoru (his huge black sword) or Kogatana (his pendant crucifix knife). Two different left hand for each sword. It seems there are two Kogotanas, one as a necklace and one as a knife since the chain is loose on the latter. The head is probably on a ball joint as we can see his head facing in different directions based on these photos.

I gotta say that Mihawk is looking kick-ass here, with all the details, colors, proportion and pose. Adding to that is the cool cape that seems to be slightly being blown by the wind. It's like he's looking down to all his opponents from the top some pedestal. I was crying before that I missed the first DX Mihawk, that one is totally expensive and I find it impractical to own nowadays. And this is a god-given opportunity for us. To own a newest and most updated POP Neo-DX - Dracule Mihawk from MegaHouse. Can't miss this one.

As I have mentioned, preorders are now up at most hobby shops. Amiami, HLJ and Hobby Search are already sold out though. But no worries, you can also check out Animarket and Figmation ( JP | Int. )and other POP retailers.

New Release Photo Review: POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law

The "Surgeon of Death" has his second POP version released last Friday, 31st of May 2013, so here we are now with images of the Shichibukai's new POP, fresh from MegaHouse. And as expected from a top tier figure manufacturer, Trafalgar Law looks stunning and remarkable.

Looking at this images, everything I see here is in place. I can't really tell anything that isn't right. This particular production release really looks identical to the promo images. And since this is MegaHouse, you should expect that all of the production releases of this figure should look like this.

This POP has really captured most of Trafalgar Law's facial features. It's really a spot-on on all the three face options. Painting-wise, detail-wise, everything are perfectly executed and none is an eyesore. It's just too bad that though it comes with a lot of option parts, I felt that it isn't complete without Smoker's heart in a cube. It's just a bonus though. Just some fanboys wish.

I really can't say more about this figure, aside from being the best post-timekip Trafalgar Law figure I've ever seen. For 8,400 yen, I say it's worth every penny. MegaHouse really continues to improve their releases and this is one of the proofs. I'll be surprised if anyone will be skipping this release. Are you? Cause if yes, I can guarantee that you'll be regretting that decision sooner than later.

If you managed to preorder POP Sailing Again - Trafalgar Law, then we share the excitement of waiting to get our own copy. I ordered mine for Hobby Search actually, and it should be being prepared to leave the warehouse. It will probably reach me later this week or early next week since it will be shipping via EMS.

If you're one of those who waits for the actual release before ordering, I believe you can still get him somewhere. Make a fast decision though, and don't let it slip on you as it's rapidly getting sold-out everywhere.