20th Anniversary of Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Yesterday, April 23rd marked the 20th anniversary of my favorite anime of all time, Mobile Fighter G Gundam! I have loved the series since I first saw the pilot episode on GMA 7 in my teen years, just barely catching it when I got home from school. Sadly, it was not until I was able to graduate from college and score my first few payslips that I was finally able to buy a full series DVD of this series and start my collection. 

After 12 years, here is my Mobile Suit in Action G Gundam figure collection: 

Here's a breakdown of every unit in the pic. (Apologies in advance if some of the units aren't too clear since I only used a phone cam to take this). 

1st row (L-R) Sekiha Love Love Teknyoken Domon and Rain Gashapon, Shining and God (Burning) Gundam

2nd row (L-R) Skull, Nether, Zebra, Rose, Maxter, Dragon, Bolt, Lumber, Viking, Mermaid

3rd row (L-R) Asura, Butler Bensouman, Spiegel (Shadow), Nobell, Zeus with mobile Chariot

4th row (L-R) Jester, Nero, John Bull (Royal), Haoh, Rising, Mandala, Matador

5th Row (L-R) Cobra, Walter, Master Gundam with Fuunsaiki, Devil (Dark) Gundam final form, Ultimate Gundam (Devil Gundam first form), Death Army

Last row (L-R) Heaven's Sword (Raven), DX 7.5" God (Burning) Gundam, Sphinx Gundam, Minaret (Scimitar)

I have a lot of love for this series. I remember that fateful day of just walking inside SM Southmall's Toy Kingdom and picking up my very first MSiA, the God Gundam, with only 500 pesos in my wallet and some change. I remember opening the transparent cover and releasing the toy from its box for the first time, performing poses and exchanging the hands, putting on those orange translucent hands and shouting "God finger" in the recesses of my mind. Ah, what nostalgia! And after that, the rest is history. 

I guess I just really love this series so much that even after 12 years, it still stirs up my blood whenever I hear its music or hear Domon's final attack words. It's so nostalgic and empowering (at least for me) that I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to come through from so many hard times in life without at least some semblance of G Gundam presence in them. 

Anyway, to the series, happy 20th anniversary G Gundam! Hope you'll still stick with me for another 12 years or more and hopefully, my son will grow to love you as much as I have. 

Sore de wa! Gundam Fighto! Ready? Go! (And with that, Gundam Fight! Ready? Go!)

Kamen Rider Kabuto 2.0

The Cast off! Change Beetle! 

Recently just acquired the SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Kabuto Rider Form Ver 2.0 (that was a mouthful!). It sports a whole new body, with a whole new range of articulation and is a lot more show-accurate than its 2009 predecessor. 

To be honest, I was of two minds in getting this since a) I already had a Kabuto in my SHF collection and b) I was cutting back on my SHF purchases down to just essentials i.e. Main rider forms and ultimate forms only. But I said to myself, he's your favorite Rider; get him. So I did.  And boy, was I glad I did. 

The sculpt on him is amazing. It's like I'm holding the actual suit on the show in my hand. Much like Black 2.0, Bandai has talen steps to ensure that the figure looks as much as its real show counterpart as possible. 

Other than show accuracy, the most notable difference from Ver 1 to 2 is the bulkier sculpt. No longer do we have a lanky Kabuto figure with curving knee joints. We actually have a figure that has the bulk to really represent a man wearing armor. 

Articulation is topnotch as well. The Rider Kick pose took me awhile to balance but it was totally worth it to see this figure execute the pose so well. Played with the figure for a couple of hours and it was really fun getting it into various poses. The Impact Effect from Bandai added a great deal to the fun factor too so I recommend picking that up as well as this figure. 

All in all, this is a really great figure, one that I would love to do a proper toy shoot off in the near future. 

Till next time!