Friday, January 30, 2009

Review Service: toyslogic... part 3 (final conclusion)

the policy of toyslogic require e-mail of pictures as evidence to proof that there was an error in their delivery, and i did just that. my complains didn't get a respond right away, so i decided to wait a day or two before i gave them a telephone call. it seems like it was the only way to get them to answer me.

i told them my problems and this is their solution...

for the mis-package in my order of fate/hollow ataraxia figure collection volume 2 set of 6, they apologize for the error and send me the 3 missing figure for free. i also get to keep the 3 duplicate as extra... nice ^^

i now have a complete set... (and a review of this set will be post soon).

as for the mis-package in my order of final fantasy trading art mini figure volume 3 set of 5, they can't get me the missing figure of rikku (from final fantasy x) because they aren't able to get any in stock. all they can do is give me some money back. as a result, this set is incomplete. i hate to say this, but im gonna have to try ebay for the missing figure... -_-

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Kite

title: kite

total episode: 2 ova

release date: 1998 february 25

summary: she maybe cute, she maybe young. she may seem innocent and naive, but don't be fooled. she's a cold blooded killer, and if you're on the wrong side of the law, you maybe her next target. after being orphaned at a young age, her parents victims of a brutal double murder, sawa was taken in by the detective assigned to her case. not content to just watch as the imperfect justice system lets more and more criminals go loose every day, he's decided to train her to be his instrument of justice. after all, who'd suspect a pretty student of being a deadly vigilante.

review: any movies or animes that is label "R" rated (contains some adult material, use of language, violence, sex or portray of drug use) with a good story to back it up deserve an "A" in my book, and this anime is a prefect example. kite is best described as "dark" and "intense". it is pack with almost constant action and the action is very bloody. the best part is that you really have no idea what is going to happen next. the subplot involving pedophiles ensures that you will explore some of the darkest of human emotions and desires. so viewers bewarn, you must be 21 and older to watch this. and yes, there is hentai material.

personal note: there is 3 different dvd version release
- kite (20 minutes deleted footage for "PG-13" rated reasons) = for minors enjoyment
- kite: director's cut (2 minutes flashback footage deleted)
- kite's uncut (original 85 minutes long). = i recommend this version for purchase

rating: 9.5 out of 10

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

title: BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

total episode: 26

release date: 2004 october 06

summary: tanaka yukio, known as koyuki, is your typical 14-year old, feeling detached from life and with a liking for western rock music. one ordinary day, after returning from school, he saves a grotesque dog belonging to aspiring young musician minami ryuusuke, who yearns to form a rock band named BECK. from that moment on, koyuki must undergo a journey through his adolescence and struggle for fame and fortune.

review: as far as story goes, the only setback is that it progresses at a slow pace. this however can be seen as a plus-side because that is how daily-life drama is supposed to be. anyways, the drama instilled is very believable and easy to relate to everyday life. koyuki’s transformation from a pathetic loser schoolboy to a awesome band member is highly credible, and the relationship between koyuki (the main character schoolboy) and maho made me watch to the very end. the music "moon on the water" is a very catchy song, i think it is a real treat for those who enjoy heavy rock. as for the ending, i think it is a major disappointment. just when the climax is about to be reached, i was presented with a sketchy slide show which seems to have been rushed. it is imperfect, but the series can be and still remain an all-time great.

rating: 8 out 10

to stream this anime (english sub: click here)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Mini Comic: a university's crush

cast:
-professor katie "writing instructor"
-alex (me)
-classmates

setting: classroom

summary:
first, i would like to say that this mini comic is still in a "work-in-progress" and this event is based on a true story. the class started with a light lecture by professor katie and then all of a sudden, she told her entire students that she recently got engaged. at the top right corner is supposed to be a panel that shows a close-up look on her sparkly ring. as expected, we're all happy for her. especially the girls, i guess they found it to be romantic. but deep down, i'm sure this was our true reaction. i mean, come on... we were young male adults and she was a pretty good looking professor, so i'm sure that i am not the only one who felt that way.

anyways, happy chinese new year. hope you guys enjoy the humor from this mini comic.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Review Service: toyslogic... part 2

the final half of my order has arrival on january 23 and again there was an error in my package.

toyslogic continue to disappoint.
two out of three of my order has error. as a customer, i am not satisfy with their service. i am not looking forward doing business with them in the future.








i purchased final fantasy trading art mini figure volume 3 set of 5, even my receipt indicated that i did order a set of 5 and still i receive a set of 4. they mess up my order twice, its ridiculous.

i e-mail them immediately about the situation, and i expect an exchange.

as of now, i am waiting on their reply... until further notice, this blog is to be continue...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Fate/Hollow Ataraxia: figures collection volume 1 set of 6

this picture contain all the characters released in volume 1 which round up to the number of figures to 6. these figures are "trading arts mini", the characters themselves have been chibised turning them into SD characters.

my first impression was that it was somewhat wide for a 2 inch mini figure. i was also surprise by the color of the stand that came with it, i would of prefer a clear stand or just plain black. the figures require some minor assembling.

figures review...
(click on picture to enlarge for a better view)
saber is a very awesome heroine because she is one of those strong focus emotionless-type and i don't recall her ever having such a big smile. therefore, this figure seems kinda out of character. and whats up with her and the melons?

i was disappointed when i realized the melon from her hand can't be remove and equip with other neat items that came with. there are some minor smudges on the black painted area (the stripes on the melon and the melon's seed). other than these flaws, its a cute figure.

ilya design was easy to begin with so no point praising "toys planning" the manufacturer for her sculpt, but i do like the expression she has on.


karen hortensia design was the best out of all the female in this volume. her red wrap-over is removable, giving her a second alternative look. i find this to be very sexy, especially when her butt-crack is showing.

shiro emiya is the main character of the story. he is serious yet helpful, hardworking, and honest teenager.

this figure truly lived up to his character, he truly is working out a sweet.

avenger, the 8th servant. his true name is believed to be "angra mainyu", an evil spirit of zoroastranism. i really like the tattoo work on this figure. the only complain i have is that "thing" he is stepping on. if its a surface, i wish it would be a different color so it won't look like its part of his leg.

the legendary sumerian king gilgamesh, born into great wealth with more divinity than most demigods. He is so out of character sitting on top of a soccer.

verdict: overall this an okay set to collect. i suggest to place this set above eye level for a good view because its hard to see most of the figure's face when their head is tilted down.

The Twelve Kingdoms

title: the twelve kingdoms (as known as: juuni kokuki)

total episode: 45

release date: 2002 april 09

summary: one day in japan, a strange man named keiki swear an allegiance to an unhappy female high school student named yoko nakajima because he recognized her as his master. from that moment on, her life began to change dramatically. yoko and a couple of her classmates were taken to a fantasy world made up of 12 kingdoms. lost and separated, yoko will be traveling a harsh journey of being hunted and mistreated. an ordeal she must face in order to survive in the world of the 12 kingdoms and uncover the destiny that lay in store for her.

review: this anime takes a few episode for it to get really interesting. i would like to mention that the first few episode will get somewhat annoying because of a particular character, but that is just part of the story so bare with it. i would also like to mention that this anime is one of mine all time favorite, especially episode 15 arc. i find the story to be very creative for a fantasy anime, and each character is very unique too. the anime focus mostly on character's personality development. as a result, it gives the audience a better understanding and a reason to care about each character. there is only two minor problem i have with this anime: 1) some episode contains filler of review (as in flashback), its like watching a re-run showing the same scene over and over again. it gets somewhat repetitive and i don't need to be reminded what happen or occur. its time consuming and as a result, i view the artist as being lazy. 2) the anime feel so incomplete after watching the entire episode. even though the anime end at episode 45, it leave you with a huge "cliff-hanger". i mean, "what happen to the rest of the kingdom"? they shouldn't have named this the 12 kingdom if its gonna end like this. for some unknown reason the artist/the creator decided to cut-short or dis-continue . i do wish they resume the anime, it has so much potential to become great.

rating: 8 out of 10

to stream this anime (english sub: click here)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Review Service: toyslogic... part 1

im a first time customer of toyslogic and already i had a bad experience with them.

i purchased some figures from them on january 9, 2009 and had it shipped on usps. my orders are being shipped separately because the other half of my order are pre-order, so that will take a little longer to come to me since they don't have it in stock. as a result, they are probably gonna charge me twice for shipping and i dont mind paying shipping twice as long as i get what i wanted.

the first half of my order arrived on january 20, thats 11 days. i don't mind the wait as long as i get what i wanted.

i was so happy when the first half of my order finally came. it felt like christmas all over again. toyslogic did a good job with the packaging, they placed newspaper insider the package as cushion to prevent the actual box from being damage.

i open each blind box to make sure that there was no missing pieces, and that i have a complete sets just as i ordered:
- fate/hollow ataraxia figure collection volume 1 set of 6... all the figure was there, it was a complete set... (a review of this set will be post soon).
- fate/hollow ataraxia figure collection volume 2 set of 6... was not a complete set, i receive 3 of the same figure and it was not what i ordered. there been a mistake, so i e-mail toyslogic immediately about the situation and i expect an exchange.


i am now waiting on their reply. until farther notice, this blog is to be continue...

Monday, January 19, 2009

PSP: version differences

the psp was first released to the united states in 2005 march 24 and it cost $249.99 because it was a "value pack" offer. after 3 years, the price drop down to $169.99 and i finally purchased one. i got it a couple of days later after christmas of 2008

i purchase a psp for one reason and one reason only... and that reason is to play crisis core: final fantasy 7.

there was a problem when i purchase my psp: i didn't realized there was version differences (i should of done some research), and i felt like i got rip off by best buy because that is where i bought my psp. here what happen...

there was two types of psp that best buy was selling: limited edition ratch and clank psp entertainment pack for $199.99, and psp (piano black) for $169.99

so, i bought the psp that cost $169.99 because i didn't want to pay extra for a psp that came with a game that im not interested in. long-story-short, it turns out that the limited edition ratch and clank psp entertainment pack for $199.99 was psp-3000, and psp (piano black) for $169.99 was psp-2000. whats the differences? psp-3000 has better graphic and has a built-in mic. the mess up part is when i went back to best buy a week later after new year, psp-2000 was no longer on the shelf. it was replace with psp-3000 (piano black) same price of $169.99.



i can't get a refund even if i try cause i already open the box.
two things i learn from this: 1) research before purchase and 2) never shop for stuff during december

Professor Katie

professor katie was my instructor for my writing course that i enroll during fall 2004. she was kinda hot and young for a university instructor. i believe she was in her mid-twenty.theres a few reason i drew her:
1) i drew her because she caught my interest and i like to draw interesting things.
2) i plan to use her as a character on a "one page mini comic" i did a while ago (soon to be post).
fyi, eventho its a comic, it was an event that truly did happen.

Friday, January 16, 2009

My Room

i have named a few title for this piece:
  1. "monday morning", it take some time for me to "siked" myself up to begin my day because im not a big fan of waking up every morning on a monday to start my labor right after an awesome weekend.
  2. "sleeping nake", im messing around with this one just to be funny. i sleep in my boxer, so technically speaking i sleep half-nake.
  3. "my room", i deicided to stick with this title because it is actually base off my room. hey, its a simple title for a simple drawing.
this artwork of mine is from april 10, 2007. i know my artwork isn't perfect, so i do make minor changes from time to time for polishing purposes.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

First Time online purchase

im not a big fan of online shopping, because im afaird of purchasing counterfeit or getting my credit card hack and etc. therefore, i do research to prevent myself from being cheated.

i (myself) just recently purchase some anime figure online at toyslogic, hopefully i made the right decision. i pray nothing goes wrong and that there isn't any damage to the items when the package arrive. i also pray that i get what i see on their site.

these are the following items i purchased.

final fantasy trading art mini figure volume 3 set of 5
this set includes aerith (from final fantasy vii), tidus and rikku (from final fantasy x), plus balthier and fran (from final fantasy xii). each figure is full colored and stands about 2 inches tall.

im a fan of final fantasy, i just like how cute these figure are designed. on the plus side, they're small and tiny which means these figure won't take up spaces.


fate/hollow ataraxia figure collection volume 1 set of 6
this set includes saber (holding a watermelon), ilya (winking and waving), avenger (red headscarf), gilgamesh (sitting on a soccer ball), shiro emiya (carrying two bags), and karen hortensia (red wrap-over). each figure is full colored and stands about 2 inches tall.

i got into this anime from fate/stay night, i believe fate/hollow ataraxia is the sequel. i didn't follow the series after fate/stay night, so some of the character are new to me.

speaking of fate/stay night, i think the story is pretty decent. some of the fight scene is cool, love the characters. especially saber, chicks with sword is always awesome.


fate/hollow ataraxia figure collection volume 2 set of 6
this set includes rin (carrting a float), sakura matou (next to a beach ball), rider (in a black bikini), issei ryudo (in a yellow bermudas), lancer (in a bright yellow t-shirt), and archer (surrounded by cats). each figure is full colored and stands about 2 inches tall.

since im getting volume one, might as well get volume two. small figure is always a check in my book ^^... they're so kawaii

anyways, ill give it a full review once i get them in hand.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Hello, World of Otaku ^^

this page is under major construction, i will have it up and running soon.