Sunday News Bites: July 15th

This week on Sunday News Bites the feature celebrates its one month anniversary by inviting a very special guest into the newsroom…or at least we would have done if we could find one. Instead, we had to settle for Cid from Final Fantasy Moneymaker VII.

New Moneymaking target for Gundam
Thought you’d never get the chance to own Gunpla for every single generic Zaku? Think again, because Namco Bandai is looking to rake in 60 billion yen from Gundam merchandise by the end of the financial year, and if they want to meet this target, they may well have to pull out all the stops. Will we see models for each and every mobile suit, pointless upgrades in 00 to justify new models, or just more of those ridiculously expensive platinum Gundams? Maybe they can make it all just by commissioning a 1:1 scale platinum Gundam with ruby and diamond encrusted detailing.
Cid says: Godammit, I’d love to pilot one of those Gundam things and go out into space!

MegaTokyo makes it to Japan
Japanese and to a lesser extent Korean titles often make it over into the English-speaking world, but this time around it’s a reversal of fortune as well-known series MegaTokyo is picked up by Kodansha. Even if it is just a curiosity for the Japanese to see what those “stupid American otaku” are doing, the news has sparked a full spectrum of reactions from those whose feelings range from the benign to the vehement. Personally, whilst I was mildly entertained by the early strips, I never really bothered to keep up with it, and so this is more a point to note than anything that’s going to get a strong reaction from me.
Cid says: Who cares about some goddamn comic, anyway? Now where’s my tea?

More wallet draining figures
Well, it’s a bit of a slow news week, so let’s go and drool over some newly announced anime and game related figures, shall we? First up is the lovely Donne, who may be an expensively priced 1/8 from a game I’ve never heard of, but still merits acquisition somehow.

Next up is this Max Factory Shana; I’ve wanted a Shana figure for a while but none of them have quite captured the character well enough- and whilst this one isn’t perfect, it does have that lovely hair. I probably won’t get this one either, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Finally, there are these two Fate/Zero figures which I likely not get due to a) the effort needed due to their rarity and b) the danger that I slip back into Fate figure buying mode again and spend stupid amounts of money on Saber.
Cid says: Whoa, those are some hot chicks, but I’d prefer to meet the real thing.

Eva themed…Doritos?
It’s a running joke around here that I like to keep track of the extremes Eva merchandise can go to, and now a new record has been set with these special themed Doritos. This puts this once humble mecha series on a par with blockbuster movies in terms of invading food packaging, and at this stage we can only ask- what next for Eva-themed products?
Cid says: Some franchises have no shame when it comes to their goddamn merchandise! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to rush off to pose for my lastest platinum-plated limited edition FF7 diorama with lifelike materia.

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2 Responses to Sunday News Bites: July 15th

  1. j.valdez says:

    MegaTokyo is entertaining when I read it, but I’ve never kept up with it.

    Eva Doritos? What has become of my favorite anime? Also, where can I buy some?

  2. K.J. O'Neil says:

    Megatokyo. I’m not sure why some people HATE it so much. Yeah, the story is slightly incoherent (Each chapter is a single day? So the leads just met and they’re already acting like they’re in the seventh month of their interpersonal relationships? He might want to rethink that timeframe of his.) However, the people bashing his art… they need to get over themselves. There’s nothing wrong with his art.

    I’d like to see Templar, Arizona exported to Japan myself.

    Eva needs to die. It’s like a running joke now.

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