Toy Review: Robot Damashii Obsidian Fury (Pacific Rim Uprising - Side Jaeger)

Review:  #465
Name:  Obsidian Fury
Brand:  Robot Damashii (Pacific Rim Uprising - Side Jaeger)
Year of Release:  2018
Variations:  none

FIGURE:

Obsidian Fury is a Jaeger (aka giant robot) from the film Pacific Rim Uprising and serves as the anti-Gispy Avenger.

There are ridges on its back and they are sharp and pointy but adds a lot to the detailing.

Speaking of detailing, the sculpt is excellent with heaps of panel lines but as they lack depth, it doesn't give Obsidian Fury the layered look required to pull off as something made from thousands of pieces.

The head is less humanoid than the other Jaegers from the film, as there is a big visor that covers most of the face, serving as a heavier reminder than there are pilots within.

Obsidian Fury comes with two swords and a pair of alternate hands, which are open palmed.

Articulation is really good, especially compared to the NECA figures from the first film.

It has a combination of hinges, double hinges and balljoints for its neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles.

The shoulder pieces are separate and have wiggle room to allow the shoulders to flex.  However, doing so creates noticeable empty gaps which really detract from the figure.

To attach the swords, you pop off the forearm panels, peg the sword in and then reattach the panel.

Unlike Gipsy Avenger where you had to replace the whole forearm, just swapping out the panels makes it easy, less risky to break something important and still looks great.

While the swords were more like chainsaws in the film, it's harder to tell here as it is completely cast from transparent orange plastic hiding the subdued sculpting.

Despite that, the swords still look fantastic and Obsidian Fury can pull off some amazing poses.

If you have Gipsy Avenger, then the two will pair great together in versus poses.

Unfortunately, using the double joints in the knees will expose those unsightly joints, this is one of the biggest negatives in the film.

Obsidian Fury is actually the tallest figure among Uprising figures, being almost on par with the larger NECA figures from the first film.

Along with the rest of the Jaegers, they look great as a set.

Unfortunately, just due to its design, Obsidian Fury lacks color, being completely in black apart from its head.

The thighs are also oddly proportioned and overall looks much more humanoid (or a human in armor) than a gigantic robot.

Nevertheless, Obsidian Fury looks great and is extremely poseable making him a lot of fun.

OVERALL:

Obsidian Fury may be a little pricey but it is a fantastic figure.  It is super poseable and packs in a lot of detail.

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Book Review: The Isolator 3: The Trancer

Review:  #780
Title:  The Isolator 3:  The Trancer
Series:  The Isolator - 3rd volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Comments:  The Trancer deviates quite significant in its beginning, with Minoru undertaking a mission that has nothing to do with the rest of the plot.  Despite that, it was interesting on its own take with the nuclear disaster that devastated Japan a few years ago.  This is the volume where the powers of the Jet Eyes and the Ruby Eyes escalate rapidly, with seemingly no limits.  Not only Minoru’s protective shell has plenty more uses and hidden abilities, we now have villains who can change the states of matter and allies who can turn invisible.  The author tried hard to justify their abilities with science and it works in that sense.  Unfortunately, the author’s tendencies to repeat chunks of plot and inner monologue slow down the pacing to a crawl at points.  A significant portion of the novel is exposition with the plot progressing an inch, until the end where a lot more action takes place but it ends too quickly.  There are plenty of clichés with Minoru’s inexperience with people of the opposite gender, and the tsundere moments from Yumiko.  Despite the flaws, The Trancer is an improvement over the first two novels and is finally starting to become quite interesting.
Rating:  6.5/10

Red Dog (2011)

While Red Dog is based on a true story (which ended up being turned into a novel and then adapted into this film), it doesn't manage to quite capture the emotional impact that it wanted.  There are plenty of scenes where you just don't know whether the film wants itself to be taken seriously or just throw itself out there.  The acting and dialogue can be cringeworthy and there is a scene towards the end where it just felt like the film gave up with overuse of CGI (which you wouldn't expect in this film) and ends up feeling like a joke.  The tale of Red Dog, and the way he had influenced the community of Dampier is supposed to move the viewer and while there are some slightly emotional scenes, a lot of it feels cliche and predictable.

Chivalry of a Failed Knight (2015)

Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a 12 episode anime based upon the light novel series.  It is set in an alternate world where it is similar to reality but with one distinction, certain humans have supernatural abilities and they are called Blazers.  Blazers are able to summon soul devices, which take on the form of a weapon.  The anime follows Kurogane Ikki, a student at the Hagun Academy in Japan.  It starts off with a big media event informing the viewers that the foreign princess Stella is attending the academy and she is a powerful Blazer, using the fire element.  She becomes the roommate of Ikki and the two battle it out during a mock battle.

Of note is that Ikki is the "worst one" of the school, having the lowest F ranking in all but one of his parameters.  Despite that, Ikki proves that rankings aren't everything as he has worked hard and developed unique skills.  The aim for Ikki is to become one of the representations of Hagun Academy to participate in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, an annual tournament to determine the strongest out of the Mage Knight Academies.  If Ikki wins, he will be able to graduate since the current system prevents him from graduation due to his abysmal ranking.

As Ikki and Stella pair up, the anime follows them as they set themselves on the journey to train and become stronger, overcoming obstacles and fighting their way to the top.  Naturally, Stella soon falls for Ikki, which feels forced since there's no real reason for her to.  Despite being a princess, Stella gets flustered easily and soon submits to Ikki, plus she does not have any bodyguards at all to protect her.  There is plenty of fanservice, mostly involving Stella.

Shizuku is Ikki's sister, whom they heaven't seen in four years.  Her introduction makes her seem a bit... peculiar.  She has strong feelings for Ikki and fights against Stella for Ikki's attention while Ikki remains clueless.  Shizuku is also a competent knight, wielding the water element.  Rounding out the main cast is Arisuin Nagi, the roomamate of Shuzuku.  He uses the shadow element.  He is different in that he is male but identifies himself as female at heart.  Nevertheless, he is competent at magic and is a force to be reckoned with.

As the series progresses, we see that Ikki constantly feels the pressure and mockery of his family and other students at his lack of abilities.  However, this is what drives him.  It also drives the fire in the viewers, especially in battles where his opponent is depicted as petty and one of the worst human beings out there.  You can't wait to see Ikki surprise and destroy them.  Ikki is too chivalrous tough to actually do proper harm so his opponents don't get what they deserve.  Despite mainly relying on his swordsmanship and not on magic like other knights, Ikki has an ace up his sleeve where he can power up for one minute, before collapsing in fatigue.  It's a flawed ability and his last resort, so half the battle is when Ikki decides to use it at the best moment otherwise it would be all over for him.

As Ikki shows his formidable powers during the selection process, proving that he did not fluke his previous victors, the attitudes of his fellow classmates towards him changes from mockery to genuine acknowledgement and amazement.  During the middle, apart from one fight early on, the focus is more on Ikki's interactions with Stella, Shizuku and other girls rather than the more interesting fighting elements.  That being said, the chemistry between him and Stella improves dramatically and there are plenty of great scenes involving the both of them.

Thankfully, the focus once again goes towards Ikki fighting more powerful opponents and succeeding, showing how he uses his powers to identify the opponent's weakness and use that to his advantage.  As you near the end, you come to realize that the pairing of each opponent during the selection matches are unfair.  This is especially the case when you're paired against a previous candidate of the Festival, knowing that your opponent has proven power and can pretty much say goodbye to your chances.

Even with all the unfairness stacked against Ikki, and a fixed match for the final selection match, it culminates into a spectacular finale.  The battle, while short, held a lot of emotions and meaning in it, resulting in an extremely satisfying result.  The fact that so much emotion was packed into the word that each participant yelled for their moves is a testament to how great it was.  Overall, while Chivalry of a Failed Knight has an overabundance of fanservice, there is a strong and engaging story in here.  The fight scenes, when they do come, are great and it ends at an excellent stopping point.  You remain hopeful for a second season, even if it doesn't look like it will happen at this point.

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Book Review: Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops Vol. 4

Review:  #779
Title:  Sword Art Online:  Girls' Ops Vol. 4
Series:  Sword Art Online:  Girls' Ops - 4th volume
Author:  Neko Nekobyou / Reki Kawahara
Comments:  This volume finishes the arc with Lux and Gwen.  The bulk of the volume was quite interesting with Gwen’s ability to cancel magic and her shared past with Lux.  Unfortunately, as you’d suspect, the resolution is predictable and doesn’t even attempt to deviate to try something different.  Gwen and Lux will eventually make up and there are a few cameos from the mainline Sword Art Online series, while Kirito remains as overpowered as ever.  The fight scenes weren’t bad, with a lot of action.  The great thing is that the volume finishes just as the arc finishes, making it a great stopping point.
Rating:  6/10

Toy Review: Robot Damashii Saber Athena (Pacific Rim Uprising - Side Jaeger)

Review:  #464
Name:  Saber Athena
Brand:  Robot Damashii (Pacific Rim Uprising - Side Jaeger)
Year of Release:  2018
Variations:  none

FIGURE:

Saber Athena is one of the new Jaegers (aka giant robot) from the movie Pacific Rim Uprising.

The general design trend of all the Jaegers in the sequel is that they are much slimmer and more athletic looking.  As a result, they don't communicate quite the same amount of huge and hulking feeling of the originals.

The head is on a balljoint and has a large range of motion.  The head has small eye slits on either side.

The Robot Damashii range is of a smaller size when compared to the NECA ones from the first movie.

Now produced by Bandai, they've got plenty of sculpted detailing but is let down by the lack of paint (although the black wash on the NECA ones weren't that great either).

However, one thing the Bandai designs have that is undeniably superior is the articulation.

Saber Athena has a crazy amount of articulation which allows for some truly dynamic poses.

The figure has double jointed knees, hinged elbows and balljointed hips, ankles, shoulders and neck.

Along with the rest of the Jaeger figures, Saber Athena looks fantastic as a set.

In terms of accessories, you get an alternate pair of hands, a pair of swords, and one longer bigger sword.

To use the swords, you need to swap the open palmed hands into the closed fists.  The wrists are on balljointed so swapping hands is as easy as popping the hands on and off.

However, the negative is that the balljoints feel weak and the hands can be a bit "wobbly" or "floppy".  The swords just slot into the fists.

Using the double jointed knees to their full potential will expose the joints, which is a significant aesthetic flaws.

There is a slight sheen to the red plastic used but it is nowhere near the shiny metallic color that it should be, which ruins the feel.

In the movie, the two swords can combine into one bigger one.  The toy equivalent is just a separate piece.

Saber Athena has enough articulation to hold the sword with two hands.

With some careful maneuvering it can strike some decent slashing poses.

The figure is comprised completely of plastic so it can lack some heft in your hands.  It's still a really well made figure though.

Saber Athena is a great figure thanks to its insane poseability.

OVERALL:

Saber Athena is a tad bit pricey for what you get.  However, this is a solid figure and accurate to the onscreen design.  It is superior to the NECA versions from the first movie and if you have the means and are a fan of the movie, then it's well worth a purchase.

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