Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash - Gun(dam)s N' Roses

 So I finally got around to watching Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway Sorcery of Nymph Circe (or the Japanese title 機動戦士ガンダム：閃光のハサウェイ　キルケの魔女 / Hathway's Flash - The Witch of Circe). Going to my local cinema, the audience was mostly older folks - some older than me, and maybe one 6-7 year old kid, though I'm pretty sure it was because his dad dragged him along.

A piece of art I received when I purchased my movie ticket.

Plot wise, there is a bit more going on, but it's mostly focusing on Mafty's preparation for their attack on the Adelaide conference. Though on the way to Australia from Davao, they make the decision to meet up with the so called "Mafty's Army" in Oenbelli, led by Fabio. 

You get to see the Federation's Gustav Karls as absolute menaces when combating "Mafty's Army" at Oenbelli. Since they have no mobile suits of their own, it's essentially a slaughtering of rebels or to borrow an analogy from a certain Pirate Lord - it's like using cannons to hunt rabbits. Later on when Mafty arrive at Oenbelli, the Xi Gundam makes short work of the Gustav Karls - oh, and the Messers help a little bit too.

Even though Mafty was able to acquire the Xi Gundam from Anaheim Electronics, the problem is that most of its equipment was lost in the ocean while fighting off the Earth Federation's Circe Unit. As a result, the Xi has to be treated as a precision tool, rather than a bludgeoning weapon as Mafty no longer has the means to adequately resupply - or even repair - the Gundam. One of the engineers warns Hathaway to avoid using missiles as much as possible, which highlights the dire situation they're in. Keep in mind that unlike the Federation, Mafty is simply a ragtag group of rebels, that doesn't even come close to the Zeon remnants. Whereas Zeon at its lowest point still had connections and means to acquire mobile suits, even older ones, Mafty is not as fortunate. Even during the Gryps conflict, the AEUG had way more resources and troops available, not to mention Anaheim Electronics supplying mobile suits to the group. Combine this with the fact that this conflict is on Earth and not in space, and it's become a game of cat and mouse between Mafty and the Federation, with the Federation slowly closing in on them.

The final battle of the film was a lot more brutal compared to the first movie, and watching this fight, you can tell that Hathaway was holding back in the first fight - When he defeated the Penelope, it was simply to neutralise it and escape with the Xi Gundam. But this time, being haunted by the memories of Amuro and Quess upon seeing the inner core of the Alyzeus, Hathaway Noa went all out with the intention to kill Lane Aim - just to silence Amuro and Quess' voices - if not for a last minute intervention. Some nice little cameos here and there, including the Re-GZ Custom, as well as the Mass Production Nu Gundam, which I think is a nice touch, plus it's a way to connect to Hathaway still being haunted by Amuro Ray. Also, I noticed that one of the Gustav Karls was armed with a ReZEL beam rifle? It was hard to tell, but it certainly wasn't the usual Jegan beam rifle. It nice to have an appearance of Bright and Mirai Noa, though Cheimin is noticeably absent? Hopefully she'll appear in the 3rd film at least.

As for the soundtrack, the opening song (Snooze by SZA) - played more than 35 minutes after the film started - didn't really hit like Mobius did in the first film. On the other hand, the choice for the ending song was a surprise.

Yeah, it was the Guns N' Roses' song Sweet Child O' Mine. 

Just like the previous film, this requies some basic UC Gundam knowledge - at the very least, you need to have already watch Char's Counterattack - though that also does require watching the original Gundam, Zeta and ZZ. Watching Unicorn Gundam isn't required, but in the context of Hathaway's Flash, you realise that revealing the truth of Laplace's Box didn't change a thing, and in fact things got worse under the Federation.

It looks like the film will be finishing its run in Japan soon - more than 2 months after its initial release in cinemas. I believe that it will be released outside of Japan next month.

自分の好きなネットショップ (My favourite online stores)

私はガンプラなど買うとき、ネットショップはめっちゃ便利だ。

Recently, I have decided to put a stop to buying new kits, having recently gotten engaged. I have been meaning to put this together for quite some time now, but for one reason or another, I never got around to doing it.

But I figured I would write about where I have been buying my kits since I started living in Japan. While there is always the option of going to a physical store to buy kits, unless you happen to live somewhere with easy access to major geek hubs like Akihabara, or Osaka's DenDen Town, usually stores are limited to the most recent series, or what has been reissued recently. If you looking for an older kit that hasn't been reissued, you might have some difficulties here. Enter the online stores.

While there are other online stores out there, below are the five that I have used when it comes to shopping for model kits online.

Amazon

Amazon is usually my first choice when it comes to buying regular release Gunpla kits, because most of the time you can get current or recently reissued model kits at a good price (if not cheaper). Whenever something has been sold out at my local store, I take a look at Amazon shortly after to see if it's available there.

However, I must warn you that for very popular or highly anticipated kits, you may find yourself looking at inflated prices, especially if you are looking for a kit on the day of its release. In those cases, I would suggest you keep refreshing for the page and hope someone is selling the kit at retail price, and that you are quick enough to add it to your cart to purchase. Be aware of those scalping model kits (those that sell model kits at significantly higher prices), as nothing seems to be done about it - at least on Amazon Japan anyway.

Amazon also does sell P-bandai kits, but from my experience they are way overpriced - sometimes selling at 3-4 times more than the P-bandai prices. I understand that P-bandai kits have limited runs, and that demand is much bigger than supply, but that reasoning can only go so far in justifying the high prices. Fortunately, there is another site that I will talk about shortly that addresses this problem.

Rakuten

Rakuten is a bit of a weird one. It's basically like Amazon, but operates purely for the Japanese market. Though if I were to sum Rakuten up, it would be... overpriced. 

While it is generally more expensive compared to Amazon, the keyword is generally. I have managed to purchase kits and games at prices that have been cheaper than what Amazon offers. Hell, a while ago, I managed to get my hands on an Ichiban Kuji campaign version of the Master Grade RX-78-2 version 3.0 (unopened) at a surprisingly good price, and that campaign was from a few years ago, meaning it's not something one comes by easily. In addition, I was able to purchase the HG Gundam Livelance Heaven at a very reasonable price, cheaper than what Amazon was offering at the time. 

Despite my thoughts on Rakuten being overpriced, I would not be so quick to dismiss it either. You can find some things through this service at some competitive prices, and not just Gunpla. As a result, whenever I'm looking for things to purchase at Amazon Japan, I always have a tab open for Rakuten also. 

Hobby Search

This is something that I check frequently, but I do not purchase from often. I think the last time I purchased from this store was 2 years ago.

They frequently sell reissues of Gunpla, but I find they sell out again rather quickly, so it's clear that this is also a popular online store. For some of the very popular kits, they do a lottery where you register, and have the chance to win the right to purchase the kit. If you've lived in Japan, this kind of lottery system is pretty common where you win the chance to purchase something, rather than winning the product itself outright.

I have bought a few kits from here in the few instances where I could not find a particular kit at a good price at any of the other online shops I use. This is also the store I used to purchase the Real Grade Hi V Gundam, on release day and happened to completely sell out across the country

Premium Bandai (P-Bandai)

Any Gunpla fan not living in Japan (and even those living in Japan) will most certainly groan in frustration at the mere mention of Premium Bandai (or P-Bandai).

For those that do not know, Premium Bandai is an online store that sells products exclusive to its site. In the case of Gunpla, they sell colour or re-tooled variations of regular released Gunpla kits, or release kits of certain obscure mobile suits that may not have that much demand, or showed up very briefly in their respective anime/OVA/film. Examples including the HG Conroy Haagensen's ECOAS Jegan, a very slight retool of the regular release HG Jegan D-Type ECOAS version. These days however, P-bandai also release kits that many would argue should have been a regular release - examples including the HG Gundam Rose or Gundam Maxter from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, or even the HG Gundnode and HG Demi Garrison from the Witch from Mercury line. Even Cucuruz Doan's Zaku was strangely a P-bandai release, despite the mobile suit being one of the main features of the Cucuruz Doan's Island film - and it keeps getting many reissues long after the film was released. Hell, they released the Mercuius and Vayeate from Gundam Wing, with many asking "Why?"

Aside from the odd choices of what is considered a P-bandai release these days, another issue is the timeframe of when you can preorder the kit, which is 12:00 PM JST. For many highly anticipated P-bandai kits, you may have just a few minutes to put your order in before it is all sold out. To make matters worse, even if you are on the P-bandai website in preparation to put your order in, the high volume of visitor traffic may sometimes lead you to missing out. In those cases, your only hope is that P-Bandai will do another run very soon, which is sometimes the case.Even if you are unfortunate and miss out, there are still other options, with many physical stores and online stores selling P-bandai kits after market, though expect to pay a little more.

Kind of related, but I find it funny that I had an easier time purchasing the HG Gelgoog Menace (standard colors) from P-bandai than purchasing the regular release Gelgoog Menace (Lunamaria's custom), despite the numerous reissues since it was first released in March this year. I have searched both online and in physical stores, and have had no luck finding the kit at a reasonable price.

Surugaya

This is something that I have only just started using this year. I am kind of cheating adding this to the list, as Surugaya is also a chain of physical stores where you can buy and sell games, DVDs, figures and even model kits. As each store in Japan is going to have different stock, their website lists every store in the country that stocks a particular product. In addition, for many of their products, you have the option of either buying it second hand (中古) or, if applicable, you can checkout their market place where you can sometimes get products either close to - or even cheaper than - retail price. 

I have managed to even get my hands on the P-Bandai HG Gundnode for almost the same price than if I purchased through P-bandai directly (which I missed out on preorder for), including delivery fees. The P-Bandai HG Demi Garrison (at the time of writing this) is also at a very good price. If you are after P-bandai kits that are either not being reissued, or if you just missed out on the pre-order and prepared to wait a little longer for it to show up on Surugaya, I strongly recommend checking it out over the other online stores that I have listed. There's a pretty good chance that you can get what you are after at a reasonable price.

However, compared to other online shops I have used, Surugaya is the only one I have noticed that does not allow you to pay at a convenience store.

There you have it, that's the list of online shops I use... or used for purchase Gunpla in Japan. If you are living in Japan and looking to get your Gunpla (or general model kit) fix, I would recommend using multiple online shops to make sure you get the best deal. It can be a bit of a pain having to set up accounts and monitor multiple online stores, but しょうがない, it can't be helped. Of course depending on where you live, physical stores may be an option, but stock may vary depending on place to place, with smaller, rural towns generally having less stock compared to major cities.

The end of Gundam Factory Yokohama

I know I am late for this news, but for those of you who didn't know, Gundam Factory Yokohama closed at the end of last month. What started in December 2020 and was originally supposed to conclude in March 2022, was extended twice, with the first extension planned until March 2023 (due to a certain Communist Pneumonia), which was then extended again to March 2024. In case you also didn't know, Gundam Factory Yokohama contained a moving 1:1 scale RX-78F00 Gundam, the first of its kind, and quite a sight to see. 

I was able to go to last year as a birthday present for myself and while I did return from my business trip in Hyogo before the end of last month, I really didn't feel the need to go again - partly because I had already seen the Gundam - which was certainly one of those once in a lifetime experiences - and most of the products at the Gundam base store there were already sold out.

However, as it was the end of something significant for Gundam fans, a video of the official closing ceremony was live streamed and uploaded to the official Gundam Channel.

However, the video of this closing ceremony will only remain archived until April 14th. I decided to go ahead and download the video for myself. 

I am hoping that the moving Gundam will return at some point. While there is still the Unicorn Gundam statue at the Gundam Base in Odaiba, the RX-93ff Nu Gundam statue in Fukuoka, and the Freedom Gundam (laughs) in Shanghai, China, it would be interesting to see what Gundam they will develop next based on what they learned in the construction of the RX-78F00 Gundam. While I would like to see the God Gundam built, I think that may be ways off yet. If they did the Zaku on the other hand, that would be quite the sight to behold, as there has not been a single statue built for the Zaku, which is just as iconic as the RX-78-2 Gundam, with its rounded form, and intimidating pink mono-eye. 

As a Gundam fan, I can only wait and see what will come next. 

Freedom~!

 While I will get in to details in a later post, I am currently working in Hyogo prefecture until the end of March.

Anyway, I had the day off today due to working on Saturday. So, I decided to go to Himeji. It has been over 10 years since I last visited Himeji for a day trip, but sightseeing wasn't on my agenda:

For those may not (or may) know, the new Gundam SEED movie, Gundam SEED Freedom, released in cinemas in Japan 2 weeks ago. The city that I am currently working in is... well... rural, with no cinema nearby, and the nearest city with a cinema was about an hour trip by train to Himeji. 

I will probably do a full review of this movie at some point, but I will share some of my thoughts on this movie without giving away spoilers. This film does focus a lot on the relationship between Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne. It was refreshing to see Kira being portrayed as a flawed character, unlike his time as Space Jesus during SEED Destiny, with him still being haunted by the Charman* Durandal and his Destiny plan he presented to the people back in Destiny, with Kira wondering perhaps Durandal was right. 

However, I did not come into this movie expecting a masterpiece. I came into this not wondering if it was going to be absurd - no, no, no absurdity was always a guarantee - I went there with the thoughts of how absurd it was going to be. Let me say that the final act did not disappoint on that front. Why? 

Three words: Mighty Strike Freedom. 

I will not give away the abilities of this new iteration of the Strike Freedom, but Gun-fucking-dam did they just go all the way and then some more on the absurdity.

Of course, being SEED, there were a lot of mobile suit designs taken from the Universal Centry timeline and well... SEED-ified - Specifically the Gelgoog Menace, the Gyan Strom, and the Z'gock - though I was impressed with role of the Z'gock in this movie. 

I was also pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the Duel (now Duel Blitz) and the Buster (now Lightning Buster) Gundams.

I have already purchased the Immortal Justice Gundam kit, and I'm looking to get maybe the Gelgoog, and the Infinite Justice type II - which, unlike the Mighty Strike Freedom, was not so absurd in its powers. Though there was one weapon on the Infinite Justice type II that has me wondering if the designers were inspired by Zinedine Zidane for some weird reason. If they do release the Duel Blitz and Lightning Buster eventually, I may get them, as I do like their designs - especially the Duel Blitz.

That's all from me for now. I'm hoping to post shortly about my trip to Kinugawa Onsen last December at some point, as there are some things I want to talk about there.

*If you're wondering why I refer to Chairman Shanks as Charman Durandal, and not his proper name, Chairman Durandal, that's because his voice actor is Shuuichi Ikeda - known for doing the voice of many characters, such as Red Haired Shanks, Seijuro Hiko, and the Red Comet himself, Char Aznable.

An afternoon at Gundam Factory Yokohama

Last month, I mentioned about Gundam Factory Yokohama extending its period to March 2024 next year. Well, on Tuesday, as kind of a birthday present, I went to Gundam Factory Yokohama with my girlfriend. As Tuesday was a public holiday, this was a good opportunity to go.

From what I understood from checking out the official website (both the English and Japanese versions), it implied that to be able to get in, you would have to purchase the entry tickets online with a credit card. Even after I called up Gundam Factory on the day while making our way there, the staff confirmed that you could only get in by purchasing a ticket online with a credit card. As I don't have a credit, my girlfriend made the purchase online while we were taking the train to Yokahama. However, upon arriving there, we noticed there was a ticket window where you could buy the tickets by others means, aka cash. So that 店員さん who told me I could only purchase a ticket online with a credit card:

Anyway, after getting in, we actually made it just in time to see the RX-78F00 Gundam begin moving. There are several opportunities during your time there to see the Gundam move and pull off various poses and moments, just to showcase the many years of research and work put in to presenting the world's largest moving robot (as confirmed by Guinness World Records)

Also to note, while you get a perfectly good view from the general assembly area where I was, if you are early enough, you can purchase a ticket online to get admission for spot on the loading frame to get a close up view of the moving Gundam. Since it was completely booked out for that, I was rather content with the regular view. 

While the moving Gundam is the main draw of Gundam Factory, there are couple of other things to see and do. Aside from the Gundam Cafe, there is also the Gundam Factory store where you can buy exclusive or limited edition Gunpla, include the RG clear coloured version of the Zeong, the HG clear coloured version of Heine Westenfluss'/TM Revolution's Destiny Gundam among other things. However, the catch here, is that once you have paid for your purchases, you cannot enter the store again for the rest of the day, something that the staff explain to you when you make your purchase, giving you a chance to go and purchase some additional items if you wish to do so. For me, I puchased the Cross Silhouette SD RX-78F00 Gundam. I have several High Grade of the classic RX-78-2 Gundam (including the Revive, Beyond Global, The Origin, and the recently ordered Full Armor Gundam) as well as the Master Grade versions of the Origin version and 3.0, but never have I owned an SD version of the Gundam, and the Cross-Silhouette version looked interesting to try.

 Besides the shop, there is also a museum that actually shows a lot of information surrounding the construction of the RX-78F00, including the technologies used, the research involved, along with the various companies that played a part in the development of the Gundam, including the creator of the Gundam series, Yoshiyuki Tomino himself. 
While I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the various technologies that were on display, I was able to take photos of the evolution of the 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam, starting from right to left. I also was able to take a picture of the diorama of RX-78F00, showing how it scales next to a person.

There was also a room that was showing videos surrounding the development of the RX-78F00, though this can also be found on the official Gundam Channel on youtube. 

Lastly, before we left, I took the opportunity to write a message that the facility encourages visitors to do, whether it be feedback, your thoughts on the moving Gundam, or even what moving Gundam you would like to see next. While not a fan of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, I figured that it would be a great opportunity to showcase even more movement, given that it is a martial arts fighting Gundam. 

[It was a lot of fun! The moving Gundam's amazing!! Next, do the God Gundam!]

After that, we spent some time in Yokohama's China town before heading home. Though checking out China town again after so many years was fun, the moving Gundam at Gundam Factory was the highlight of the day for me.

Gundam Factory Yokohama ２０２４年３月３１日まで延長されました

For Gundam fans outside of Japan that aren't aware, according to Gundam.info, Gundam Factory Yokohama has announced that it will be extending it's stay until March 31st, 2024.

This is great for those not only outside of Japan who are finally allowed to enter the country since restrictions were lifted last year, but also for those within the country to be able to get around to seeing the moving RX-78F00 Gundam in person - a project that came to fruition after years of planning and work. 

Having not been to Yokohama in the last few years, I definitely want to head out there and see the Gundam for myself this year - hopefully some time in March.

Looking back on 2022

First of all, あけましておめでとう. Being the first day of 2023, I thought I would take the time to post and reflect on 2022

The big two things that have happened for me this year is moving to another prefecture altogether, along with taking up a new job. Compared to working as an ALT, there are lot more tasks and responsibilities, and I had to learn them quickly. While it has been difficult to keep on top of my job, it has been fun, and also has given an insight on the other side of an ALT dispatch company, and that there are some people who are clearly not suited to being ALTs, even after they pass the hiring process. 
On the other hand, I have been occasionally asked to work out of town for various periods of time, whether it be to other nearby prefectures, or as recently as the other side of the country. Though it has been exhausting from time to time, it does give me an opportunity to see how other schools handle teaching English, including the team teaching process, with some schools doing it better than others. 

In terms of hobbies, I got back in to the gym. While not I'm not 100% - and probably never will be with my back injury, it feels good to be training again. While working my upper body is no problem, I know I need to put more focus on my lower body, especially my core, though I have to take extra care on the types of exercises I can do.
I also have been purchasing a crap ton of Gundam model kits, and my back log has grown as a result. This is also the year I got back to purchasing official Transformers toys and figures, starting with Blaster. While the quality and articulation is not what I'm used to compared to third party figures, they're still fun to transform. 
On the other hand, I have just about neglected my drawing. I have had very little opportunity and drive to draw these days. 

And despite all that has happened, I feel a sense of emptiness and sadness. It has now been 4 years since I last went back home to Australia, and after what went down in 2021, I'm trying to mentally brace myself for what will happen when I go back. Many of friends have settled down and starting their own families, and I'm left wondering what I'm doing with my life, and asking myself did I make the right decision to live and work in Japan? And even after a year on with what happened that leading up to what happened back in 2021 (which I still don't feel comfortable spelling out here at the moment), I continue to wonder whether I made the right decision to not go back home at that time, despite there being no certainty that I would have been able to enter Australia at that time, not to mention that I would have lost my job at the time, and it would have taken a long time to recover financially from that. I think it will take me a very long time to move on from that, as there have been numerous times over the past year where I have thought about that incident, and I still don't have the answer that I'm looking for - and I don't think I will ever find that answer.

The End of Gundam Cafe

Just a few days ago, it had been announced that the Gundam Cafe chain will be permanently closing all of its locations in Akihabara, Osaka, Fukuoka, Odaiba and Yokohama. Apparently, the Osaka branch will be closing January 10, 2022, followed by the Akihabara, Fukuoka and Odaiba branches closing January 30, 2022. Yokohama's branch on the other hand, will be closing March 30, the same time as the Gundam Factory facility located there.

While I have not been to the Gundam Cafe for one reason or another, I feel I should probably go to one at some point before their closure. Likewise, for any Gundam fan, or person who is curious that lives in Japan, now may be a good time to consider visiting one of these Gundam cafes before they shut down early next year.

Sources:

GUNDAM Café 閉店のお知らせ | ガンダムカフェ 公式サイト (g-cafe.jp) 

End of the line for Gundam Cafe as entire chain announces permanent closure - Japan Today

Target gets Gundam Model kits ahead of Japan?

News has been going around that the High Grade Gundam Breaker Battlogue model kits have been released in Target. A quick search on Target's online shop does confirm this. What's interesting about this, is that these kits haven't been released in Japan yet. In fact, Japan doesn't start getting those kits until November this year.

While the caption by gunpla collector is most likely tongue and cheek, there's also a chance there will be people who will gladly take advantage of a month's head start on Japan, and start scalping these kits. 

Not quite sure if I will purchase any of these kits, though I will admit that the Live Lance Heaven, Command Quanta, and Perfect Strike Freedom look pretty cool. If I do purchase any, it will probably be a toss up between Live Lance and Command Quanta.

(Hi)New Gundam kit sold out in a day

Kind of following from an earlier post about an apparent shortage of Gunpla, I thought I would talk about the recent release of the Real Grade Hi-v Gundam, and how that sold out on the very day of it's release (last Friday). What surprised me the most was seeing images in the above video of people lining up for hours just to get their hands on a regular release Gundam. Just a reminder: this is not an event exclusive, or even a premium bandai limited run Gundam kit - this is a kit that (was) being sold in all stores. 

This kind of thing seems to be in response to a few things: first, as I mentioned in the past, the Wuhan virus has led to more people finding a hobby that they can do at home, leading to an increase in Gunpla purchases. Consequently, supply doesn't seem to be able to keep up with current demand, leading to people missing out, and a lot of people still scalping kits at a significantly marked up price (with the RRP being 4500 yen, and scalped prices are going for around 10,000 yen - in one instance on Amazon Japan, I saw it selling for as much as over 20,000 yen!). Second - and while I didn't follow news of this closely at the time - this seems to be a reaction to the recent releases of the High Grade UC Nightingale, and Master Grade Eclipse Gundam, with both kits also selling out in Japan fairly quickly, and this time people didn't want to miss out - which, unfortunately, happened anyway. Even with limiting it to one kit per customer, stores just didn't have enough of the product for everybody.

According to the Bandai Hobby Site, they will be doing at least two more reissues of this kit, with the first one being in November, and the next being in January 2022. 

As for myself, I was lucky enough to be able to order one through Hobby Search. I was working from home last Friday afternoon, and started keeping an eye on many online shops, including Amazon and Rakuten. By pure chance, I saw that Hobby Search was accepting orders for the RG Hi-v, and was able to put my order through before it sold out a few minutes later. To be honest, I was going to try my luck at my local Yamda Denki store on the day of release, but I was fortunate enough to see a window of opportunity to get the kit online.

Speaking of Yamda Denki, I went there after school today to check out the model kits section, and the amount of product available for purchase has dwindled significantly. Obviously no RG Hi-v, but I noticed that it's not limited to just model kits, but there was also very little variety left in toys in general - and from what I've heard, this shortage is happening for many other products, including printers (my girlfriend and I were looking to get a printer earlier, and the staff warned us of the backlog of orders, even if we decided on a printer there and then.)

This will probably be the last kit I will purchase for this year - aside from the P-bandai High Grade UC Messer F-02, and trying my luck with the Ichibankuji Gunpla campaign that will be starting later this month. But besides those, I've got a pretty decent backlog of kits that should last me well in to next year.

Gunpla shortage?

 

Prior to watching this video, I didn't think there was much amiss regarding Gunpla (GUNdam PLAstic model kits for those not familiar). Since there aren't many places in my current city to purchase - as far as I know, only my local Yamada Denki sells Gunpla - I simply dismissed the apparent absence of Gundam kits as the store being slack in stocking new Gunpla. However, after watching the above video, it seems to be a nationwide issue. The video does a better job of explaining the causes of this shortage - mostly the Wuhan virus being the main reason for the increase in gunpla purchases. With more people staying at home, more people are looking to take up new hobbies to keep themselves occupied, and gunpla is one of those hobbies that is pretty accessible to all, especially with the types of kits being produced these days. If I knew of this issue earlier, I would have gone out and purchased the HG 00 Sky Moebius sooner. Sadly, I held off on it, and even the reissues earlier this year did not include Moebius in the line up - plenty of other Re:RISE kits were included though, including the Core Gundams and the armor parts and weapons. 

As a result, it means I need to keep a sharp eye on when Gundam kits will be released and hopefully get my hands on them before they sell out or appear on online stores at inflated prices. I'm hoping to be able to purchase the RG Hi Nu Gundam that's scheduled to be released in September. I know my Yamada Denki will be stocking this, and I was lucky enough to be able to get my hands on the RG Evangelion Mark.06 last month by keeping a close eye on my local Yamada Denki. However, I think the RG Hi Nu Gundam will probably be more sought after over the Mark.06, so I should brace myself for disappointment also just in case.

I'm Tired...

Hello there. Yes, it has been nearly two months since my last post. While things have been happening in these last two months, some deeply personal matters also popped up that really killed any drive to do anything besides working. Despite having to force myself to do things recently (such as going to the gym, work on my site, or even post here), it will (hopefully) keep me distracted from what's been happening in my personal life.

As for what's been happening lately in Japan, well it's currently Golden Week. Parts of Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka are under another state of emergency - but without any real penalties or a proper lockdown, along with a change of thinking for many companies to embrace working from home, I suspect cases will dip down temporarily before going up. However, being Golden Week, and people wanting to travel, I could be completely wrong on this. 

Another issue Japan seems to be facing is that despite having ample vaccines to issue out, the medical system doesn't have adequate means to do so. Anyone who has lived in Japan shouldn't be surprised that unnecessary bureaucratic red tape has once again dragged things out, with vaccines lying around being unused.
I have heard some countries have adopted a system where any vaccines that haven't been used at the end of the day will be issued to anyone who happens to be waiting at the doctor's around that time, or are alternatively put on a special list where they can be contacted to come in for the vaccine. If not enough elderly people are taking up the vaccine, I feel that they should start administering it to people who do want the vaccine - which would be great for people who are in jobs that require regular contact with people (especially schools - good luck trying to enforce social distancing at schools - the best that can be done usually is making sure kids are wearing their masks).

As for what I've been doing during this period, my gf and I went to visit her aunt and uncle in Chiba where we had lunch and yakiniku for dinner. They also gave me an old school MG Nu Gundam model kit - this is related to my personal matter, and they bought it for me with the hopes that it would lift my spirits. They mentioned before we visited that they wanted to give me money, but I refused it, feeling it wasn't appropriate to accept it because of this matter - but they went ahead and bought a Gundam kit for me anyway. Perhaps once I've built it, I may write up a review for it for my site. It's a kit from 2000, and since I didn't get in to gunpla until around 2013, it will be interesting to see the kind of engineering that was used for kits back in those days.

三日間の東京の旅行 - Three-day Tokyo Trip

Yesterday, I returned from a 3 day trip to Tokyo, together with my girlfriend. Admittedly we only did bare minimum planning, and as a result the trip was a little rushed, though still fun nonetheless.

We took the Shinkansen from Kyoto station to Tokyo, which took a little over two hours. We were able to get student discount by applying for it at the university, so we both saved a little bit of money for the trip. The other alternative was to take the midnight bus, which would take 6-7 hours, and we would probably get very little sleep on the trip, so we chose the Shinkansen as a result. 

When we got to Tokyo, we headed over to Asakusa-bashi to check in to our hotel - except we made the booking for the same hotel over at Asakusa and not Asakusa-bashi. So after a little bit more navigating around through the Tokyo's train network, and a little bit of a walk, we finally checked in to our hotel just after lunch. For a hotel that cost just under $50, it was a nice room (though not as nice as the one we stayed at in Kobe, but I'll talk about that in another post). My only criticism would be that the bathroom was ridiculously small: so small in that the sink was located next to the entrance way of our room. Anyway, after little bit of a rest, we decided to go to Akihabara.

It had been two years since I had been to Akihabara. Compared to Osaka's DenDen Town, Akihabara is a beast in terms of finding your way around. I remember some of the places that I had been to previously, including some of the game centers, and a few of the anime goods stores. One thing I've found though, is that while there are plenty of stores and buildings around, it is for that very reason that you'll usually get a decent bargain for goods. While in Akihabara, I purchased the Master Grade Exia Dark Matter gunpla for about $40, whereas the usual RRP would be around $50. I also picked up a Figma of Tekkman Evil (or Saber as he was called in the english-dub all those years ago) for about $30, and some MSG weapon accessories also - in order to make Conroy's custom Jegan ECOAS type gunpla once I return home. Interestingly, I also picked up an old Star Wars figure of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker for just over $10. I used to have a lot of Star Wars figures when I was younger, but eventually gave them to my nephews. I found the same figure in Osaka, but cost twice as much, and was fortunate enough to come across this in a Tokyo store. We spent a few hours there, having ramen for a late lunch in the process, before heading to Odaiba.

I have been to Odaiba previously, but never in the evening. As a result, it was a real treat to see the 1/1 scale of the RX-78-2 in the evening. I had a look at the small trailer shop inside, and was surprised to see some new Gundam Front Tokyo exclusive gunpla, such as a HG Gundam Unicorn Phenex, and a two pack of the Unicorn and Banshee Norn, each with exclusive weapons. Furthermore, the Unicorn was a glossy white kind of plastic, with green psyco-frame. The Banshee Norn also had green psyco-frame, though the weapon included is one that can be found in the Gunpla Builder's part accessories products. Furthermore, because it was more expensive than usual, I decided against buying it.
We also had a look at the Gundam Front museum. It was updated this time in that it also featured Gundam Unicorn and Gundam Build Fighters related things on display. Also, compared to my last trip, the exhibition area had changed in that it was now about celebrating the 35 years of Gundam, including showing all the series and related Gunpla that were released in line with each series - though it was only restricted to the main Gundams/mobile suits of the series (though I noted that there was no love for the second season of Gundam 00). Also, they were heavily promoting the soon to be released Gundam: The Origin OVA.
Finally, we went to the cinema area. Again, different from when I went previously. The main features that I enjoyed were the One of Seventy Two short film, and the Shambloo vs. Neo Zeong fight in Odaiba. One of Seventy Two was more or less a fight involving the Sleeves' upgraded Bawoo (resembling Full Frontal's Sinanju) against the Unicorn Unit 2 Banshee, and the Unicorn Unit 3 Phenex. Both the Banshee and the Phenex take on the Bawoo, before the Phenex goes completely out of control, attacking the Banshee and its mothership also. The Shambloo vs. Neo Zeong fight was very interesting - though frankly I think the Shambloo has nothing on Neo Zeong. After that, we had a quick snack before we caught up with one of my friends who I used to work with back in Australia.

The next day, we went to Disney Sea. It's actually the first time in 20 years that I've been to a Disney theme park, so it was quite an interesting experience. We decided to take advantage of the Fast Pass, and used it for the rides with the longer waiting times - which we were able to check regularly on their site via my phone, which meant we were able to make the most of our time. We ended up using the Fast Pass on the Tower of Terror, and one of Indiana Jones rides. My experiences of rides when I was a kid was certainly different to how I felt about them now. They really weren't that scary - it was more like driving a car; that I had no control of, and was going really fast. But it was very exciting nonetheless. The Tower of Terror, however, was a different story. I've never ridden on any drop-style kind of rides before, so I didn't know what to expect. Compared to what I've seen before, this ride is mostly done in the dark - so you rarely see anything - only the feeling of free fall, which was really scary. It was scary, but exciting as well - it's very hard to describe.
Aside from the rides, we also ate snacks as we walked along, trying various flavours of popcorn, including black pepper, orange marmalade, strawberry, and - my personal favourite - curry flavoured popcorn. We also tried Mickey Mouse shaped churros, and I had maple balls and icecream, along with some coffee to help keep me going. We ended up having dinner there also - it wasn't anything spectacular, but I did particularly enjoy the sauce and the rice that was served with the meal for some reason.
We stayed all day to watch the final show, along with the fireworks before leaving Disney Sea.

The final day, we went to Asakusa and Tokyo Sky Tree. Because it was the weekend, it was incredibly busy at Asakusa. It was a really different experience compared to Kyoto. As a result, I just did not enjoy it as much as when I came for the very first time. I also found that food shops have introduced new rules that whatever you buy from them, you need to eat it either in front of their stall, or around it. My girlfriend explained that this was something that was introduced a few years back, certainly after my first trip in 2008. I'm not entirely sure about the reason however. I also find that some of the shopkeepers to be a bit rude to me, maybe because I'm a foreigner and he had to deal with a lot of foreigners - but he just assumed that I didn't understand when he told me the price of the food (in Japanese). I was searching through my wallet for adequate change after he said the price the first time, before repeating in English and showing the price on his calculator. Ok, fair enough, that I'm foreign, but when I reply with "はい" after you've told me the price the first time, assume that I understand what you just said. It was a minor gripe, though my girlfriend told me that Tokyo station staff seem to be a little ruder compared to those in Kyoto when she asked them questions on which lines/platforms to take to get somewhere. Maybe they're just finding being polite in Tokyo to be too tiring?
Anyway, after Asakusa, we caught up with another one of my friends for pie and coffee at Tokyo station. All three of us certainly had a lot to talk about, including life in my hometown (as she had worked there for a year, and that was how we met), and my friend seemed to be really happy to meet my girlfriend. After about 2-3 hours of hanging out, my friend had to leave for another appointment, and we headed over to Tokyo Sky Tree.

Admittedly, we were pretty tired by the time we headed to Tokyo Sky Tree. We were planning to go up the tower, but because of the rather long line, and the cost of getting in, we decided to give it a miss. However, there was a small ice skating ring set up right next to the tower, and we both decided to do a little ice skating. It had been a little while since I last ice skated, so I was little rusty at first, but quickly got back in to the swing of things. My girlfriend on the other hand, had never ice skated at all, so I helped her out and showed her the basics of how to move around, and generally just making sure that she didn't fall over. For someone who had never ice skated before, she got the hang of it pretty quickly, and the fact that she did not fall over even once (without me holding her) is pretty impressive. After a little while, we decided to stop, and take a look around the shops some more, before we finally decided to head back to Tokyo station and head home by Shinkansen.

All in all, it was a fun trip, albeit a little poorly planned on our part. If we had the money, I would definitely like to stay for a week, but no more than that. I find that compared to Kyoto life, Tokyo life is just so damn busy. I also remembered that there was a time that I envied Tokyo for being covered completely in high-rise buildings, but when I went there on this trip, I found it really overwhelming. I commend anyone who is actually able to live in Tokyo and able to manage the busy life, as I don't think I could take it.

I have been meaning to post about my Kobe trip from a few weeks back, so expect my next post to be about that (hopefully).

The Art of Gundam

Yesterday, I went to Osaka to see the Art of Gundam exhibition that's running until the end of this month. For the advertising and the pamphlet that a friend picked up for me a few weeks back, it's mostly centered around the original Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム) series that sparked a massive franchise. Also, it seems to serve the purpose of celebrating 35 years of Gundam.

Admittedly, while I do know what happens in the series, I haven't watched much of that particular series (though I have watched others in the Universal Century timeline that MSG is a part of). Nevertheless, I found it very interesting. Before you go checking out all the various artwork, you start off going in to an introduction session that funnily enough resembles the bridge of the White Base, with Mirai Yashima steering the ship, Sayla Mass at communications, and Bright Noa right behind you in the Captain's chair issuing orders. All is normal, until you start hearing warning alarms, and red lights flashing that the White Base is under attack by the Red Comet himself, Char Aznable, and a small force of Zeon Mobile Suits. Then you hear Amuro over the comm, and see the RX-78-2 Gundam launch trying to fend of the Zakus, while also trying to stop Char from taking a shot at the White Base's bridge. Eventually, Bright Noa issues the command to descend in to Earth's atmosphere, but Amuro and the Gundam can't reach the hangar in time, and decide to ride it out and manage to break through the atmosphere. You would think they were in the clear, until you hear that a number of Zeon ships have been spotted ahead. Amuro, in the Gundam, pulls out his beam saber, and rushes head on to face the enemy ships, ending on a cliffhanger with the Gundam theme song playing, and showing the 35 year anniversary logo. Then you move along to the art gallery sections.

It was actually very interesting to see the various concept designs of the characters, and the mecha themselves. I really couldn't imagine how things would have turned out if some of the older designs were used instead of the ones that all Gundam fans are so familiar with today. There were also scenery concepts, and I must admit that the scenery designs were amazing, despite being done years ago. Furthermore, there were some promotional artwork designs, and Gundam dioramas that depicted key moments in the MS Gundam series. Finally, at the end of the tour, they were showing a movie that summed up 35 years worth of Gundam, along with a teaser trailer of the new Gundam series starting later this year Gundam Renconguista in G (Ｇのレコンギスタ）。In that same area, they were also showing off some of the designs of the setting of the series (taking place after the UC timeline called the Regild Century), including scenery, character designs and mecha designs, including the main Gundam, called the G-Self, and even showed some HG models of the G-Self, and what seems to be a grunt mobile suit. The design of the G-Self was very intriguing, in that it's very rounded in its features overall - however, it looks like it's taken elements from not only the RX-78-2 Gundam, but also the Strike/Impulse Gundams from Gundam Seed (especially when the G-Self is equipped with its flight pack), the head design reminds me of the Exia from Gundam 00, and for some reason it reminds me of the AGE-1 Gundam from Gundam Age, though a little more detailed in design. It certainly is a very unique design. However, the grunt suits that I've seen really did not seem interesting compared to other grunt suits of the UC timeline. In fact, they kind of remind of the plain designs of the federation grunt suits from Gundam AGE. However, it's too early to say how the series will turn out, so I'll save my judgement until the series begins to air.

Anyway, after seeing the artwork, I look around the souvenir shop. I was planning to buy the MG transparent versions of either the RX-78-2 or Char's custom Zaku but, sadly, they were sold out. There wasn't really anything that I wanted that wasn't overpriced, so I settled on some post cards, including one that had Bright Noa delivering his famous slap to Amuro Ray. There was also the Gundam Cafe nearby, but I didn't go for two reasons: 1) it was crowded in there, and 2)I've heard a lot of bad things about the Gundam cafe, including that it was overpriced, and not all that good. I did some other things afterwards, but that's not what this post is about.

If you're in Japan, a Gundam fan, and have some time to spare, I recommend checking out The Art of Gundam Museum in Osaka, as it's running until the 31/8. Details can be found their website (here)