RavenHawk Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Well, as stated before, I do like 2040. I think calling it a piece of trash is excessive, but hey, we all clearly have very different tastes. Is it one of my favorites? Absolutely not... but I don't think it's fine. It has the luxury of taking its time with character development and backstories more than the original did, and I think a lot of their choices (though not all) make sense. It is stylistically (both story-telling wise and visually) very much a product of the late '90s/early '00s. As such, it doesn't have the nostalgia appeal of the original a decade before it, and doesn't have a lot of the improvements of anime from the last decade. I rewatch all of the Aramaki-verse somewhat regularly, with MOSPEADA, the original Bubblegum Crisis, Bubblegum Crash, and Viper's Creed probably once a year+, and the Megazone OAVs, Bubblegum Crisis 2040, and the other BGC spin-offs once every 2+ years. My rankings from back in March of last year were: 1) Genesis Climber MOSPEADA 2) Bubblegum Crisis 3) Bubblegum Crash 4) Viper's Creed 5) BGC Tokyo 2040 6) Megazone 23 7) remaining BGC spin-offs However, I just recently rewatched the MZ23 OAVs and, for whatever reason, enjoyed them more than I used to... so that might have moved up higher on my list now. Out of all of these, I haven't rewatched 2040 in by FAR the longest, so this conversation has inspired me to grab out my DVD set and I'll rewatch the series over the next week or so (there's a lot of new-to-me stuff in my Netflix queue also tempting me). We can compare notes and see how it holds up with our 2019 eyes. BTW, I did rewatch ep. 1 late last night: I had forgotten that Aramaki was credited with not just the mechanical designs for this show, but also with the updates to the hardsuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 This is an MZ23 thread, but just to finish off the recent tangent on BG 2040, I want to say that I just finished rewatching/binging it, and I think it held up better than I remembered. Very very different from the original, obviously, and went slightly metaphysical towards the last couple episodes, but I enjoyed it and thought the ending was fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) Easter egg discovery - took the cover off the Megazone 23 artbook (discussed earlier in this thread) that came with the Megazone 23 Complete Box set and lo and behold hidden on the reverse side unfolds a huge 26.5"x 11" poster of a peculiar looking Garland. Perhaps most notable is the exposed front disc brakes and calipers (huge departure from the original line art). It has the silver front axle shoulders and forearm handles with no side view mirrors like the original Garland. But then has the back-calf flaps of the Proto-Garland (but in silver instead of bronze), and front brown knee-cap/shin armor (again like the original), but then overall shares some resemblance with the proportions of the E=X Garland! While I was at it, here's the 6 Garland's featured on the cover of the book... As mentioned, this is the only difference from the "Manuever Book" released separately and the one included in the box set. Edited January 12, 2019 by Bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) This sums up my feelings towards my ownership of the Freeing E=X Garland... Edited January 13, 2019 by Bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 and this... but I'll stop here because it does look cool...as long as you don't touch it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 20 hours ago, Bobby said: This sums up my feelings towards my ownership of the Freeing E=X Garland... It's super fiddly. It won't stay together in bike mode or robot mode. I have it attached to a stand from a different model kit right now... and dang but it looks gorgeous, as long as you don't touch it. That said, I'm still going to reiterate what I said before: The more I transform it, the more fun it is. It has really grown on me. If it just had leg/knee/ankle/heel joints that stayed in place in robot mode, and the legs stayed in place in bike mode, it would be fantastic, in my opinion. But I do like the gifs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 22 hours ago, Bobby said: Easter egg discovery - took the cover off the Megazone 23 artbook (discussed earlier in this thread) that came with the Megazone 23 Complete Box set and lo and behold hidden on the reverse side unfolds a huge 26.5"x 11" poster of a peculiar looking Garland. Perhaps most notable is the exposed front disc brakes and calipers (huge departure from the original line art). It has the silver front axle shoulders and forearm handles with no side view mirrors like the original Garland. But then has the back-calf flaps of the Proto-Garland (but in silver instead of bronze), and front brown knee-cap/shin armor (again like the original), but then overall shares some resemblance with the proportions of the E=X Garland! I saw that too, but I don't think I really looked closely at it before. I just assumed it was one of those "Here are parts exposed and flaps open" kind of images they do to make things look more realistic (like the MOSPEADA image with all of the made up internals, or lots of scifi manuals do showing the insides of spaceships). Since we have no new MZ23 stuff to report, I thought I'd post a bit about the PS3 game, which I recently picked up for a very fair price. I got the limited Japan-only "international edition." Instead of just a PS3 game case, it comes in a box: Inside, you have the standard game case: But the fun is inside of this additional box inside: First, we have a DVD: It's region encoded, so I haven't been able to watch it yet. (I thought I could play the game and watch the DVD on my son's PS3, but it turns out that his is broken and he had moved on to the PS4 already, so no backwards compatibility or region-free watching). My understanding is that this is the version of MZ23 Part II that was created as an educational video to teach Japanese how to speak English. It uses the Harmony Gold Robotech voice actors for the dubbing. It also supposedly includes the ending from Part I that had new material created for the Robotech Movie, so it's sort of a Robotech-ized MS23, I suppose. Finally, the box also contains a special book: The book contains a lot of images of the 3d models used in the game: As well as character designs: Interestingly, it also contained some original Artmic artwork/design sketches which, offhand, I don't remember seeing in other books: I've seen this out there for over $100, and I don't think it's worth that. However, if you're patient and wait for one of the decent deals (I paid around $30), then I think most people will be happy to add it to their collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetJockey Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 1/6/2019 at 10:05 PM, RavenHawk said: This is an MZ23 thread, but just to finish off the recent tangent on BG 2040, I want to say that I just finished rewatching/binging it, and I think it held up better than I remembered. Very very different from the original, obviously, and went slightly metaphysical towards the last couple episodes, but I enjoyed it and thought the ending was fitting. I decided to get the 2040 DVD eventually. I don't enjoy shows as much when I stream a low quality version. I'll probably wait till Black Friday though. No real rush as I have so much to watch. I might wait till when the Figma is released to watch the whole series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no3Ljm Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) From Arcadia site: Megazone 23 display on the upcoming WonderFest 2019 Winter event. - 1/24 Proto Garland - 1/24 Hargan - 1/24 Transporter Edited February 4, 2019 by no3Ljm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 1 minute ago, no3Ljm said: From Arcadia site: Megazone 23 display on the upcoming WonderFest 2019 Winter event. - 1/24 Proto Garland - 1/24 Hargan - 1/24 Transporter Here's hoping for some good pics (and that the Hargan and transporter are looking close to finished)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetJockey Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 I hope we get a few surprise Eve figures too. It would be nice if they had a version for all three Parts previewed. But I know that's asking for too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treatment Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Welp! So far from taghobby's collection of wonfest-spring 2019 for Arcadia... https://www.taghobby.com/archives/347288 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Just bought the E=X Garland from freeing for $100 did I do good or is it still not worth the price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 The FEWTURE Garldan is also at WF with a July release date... but same old prototype from years ago. Will this be the year it really happens??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 6 hours ago, jenius said: The FEWTURE Garldan is also at WF with a July release date... but same old prototype from years ago. Will this be the year it really happens??? At this point, with Arcadia showing a solid track record of products in general, and continuing to show a commitment in line, and with all of the Fewture delays, do you think people are really going to spend money on the Fewture one? 8 hours ago, VF-Zer0S said: Just bought the E=X Garland from freeing for $100 did I do good or is it still not worth the price? I talked about my experience with this one a couple pages back. I got mine for $115, and am very happy with it. I think it looks gorgeous in person, but the loose bits and transformation are frustrating at first. However, by the time you get to your third transformation, I think you start to enjoy it. I think it's well worth the $100 you spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Thanks man. I’m thinking about canceling it though and putting the funds else where. The price is good but if it’s boxed away because it’s a plastic hand grenade I’d rather wait for Arcadia and just put the $100 on the new 1/24 line. Check out amazon japan for the new listing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 minute ago, VF-Zer0S said: Thanks man. I’m thinking about canceling it though and putting the funds else where. The price is good but if it’s boxed away because it’s a plastic hand grenade I’d rather wait for Arcadia and just put the $100 on the new 1/24 line. Check out amazon japan for the new listing That's fair. Mine is in a display case next to the Arcadia Garland, and scales with it just about perfectly (not the rider, but the Garland itself). I don't know if Arcadia will ever get as far with their line as making one of these, so it's worth it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmtsuper Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Where can I get the Freeing E=X Garland at about 100 USD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 37 minutes ago, lmtsuper said: Where can I get the Freeing E=X Garland at about 100 USD? I got mine on Amazon (US). It was going for close to $300, so I added it to my watchlist. Every few days it went down by like $10, then someone would buy one and the price would go up again. Eventually, it got down to $115, and that's when I placed my order. Glad I waited, because I was previously kicking myself for not ordering when it got down to $160 and then went back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no3Ljm Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 1 minute ago, RavenHawk said: I got mine on Amazon (US). It was going for close to $300, so I added it to my watchlist. Every few days it went down by like $10, then someone would buy one and the price would go up again. Eventually, it got down to $115, and that's when I placed my order. Glad I waited, because I was previously kicking myself for not ordering when it got down to $160 and then went back up. That's a good price. But even so, you never know, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Just now, no3Ljm said: That's a good price. But even so, you never know, right? I'm sure it can be gotten for cheaper (with more patience, or more diligent searching online), but I'm pretty content with my purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 On 2/12/2019 at 11:19 AM, lmtsuper said: Where can I get the Freeing E=X Garland at about 100 USD? It was on Amazon.Jp it sold already sorry I should have linked it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 After a week of debate I don’t know which garland to get. The Arcadia or the Factory paint job Yamato. Anyone got a side by side pic? I know the Arcadia is better but the size and color sell me hard on the factory paint scheme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share Posted February 15, 2019 4 minutes ago, VF-Zer0S said: After a week of debate I don’t know which garland to get. The Arcadia or the Factory paint job Yamato. Anyone got a side by side pic? I know the Arcadia is better but the size and color sell me hard on the factory paint scheme. I have both. What are you looking to see? It's identical to the regular Yamato Garland, except for the color and included figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 How’s the durability compare between the two? Cause I found the factory color $70 cheaper than the Arcadia and I was wondering if the durability issues were resolved with the factory color scheme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share Posted February 15, 2019 4 hours ago, VF-Zer0S said: How’s the durability compare between the two? Cause I found the factory color $70 cheaper than the Arcadia and I was wondering if the durability issues were resolved with the factory color scheme I didn't take new pics today, but found these that I posted when my army color first came in a few months back. The factory color has the same build quality and revision to the break-prone swingarm as the army color. So, it's improved, but still something you have to be careful with. In my particular case, the Yamato is definitely floppier, so a little better than what you see in the pics since I fiddled with the shoulder magnets a bit, but still nowhere even as close as cleanly locking into position or as durable as the Arcadia. I have all of the Yamatos and I have two of the Arcadia. To me, the Arcadia is a significantly superior product; I really just have all the Yamatos because I wanted to finish out my collection of that line and because I liked all the different color schemes. Does that help, or was there something else you were looking to see? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-Zer0S Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 1 hour ago, RavenHawk said: I didn't take new pics today, but found these that I posted when my army color first came in a few months back. The factory color has the same build quality and revision to the break-prone swingarm as the army color. So, it's improved, but still something you have to be careful with. In my particular case, the Yamato is definitely floppier, so a little better than what you see in the pics since I fiddled with the shoulder magnets a bit, but still nowhere even as close as cleanly locking into position or as durable as the Arcadia. I have all of the Yamatos and I have two of the Arcadia. To me, the Arcadia is a significantly superior product; I really just have all the Yamatos because I wanted to finish out my collection of that line and because I liked all the different color schemes. Does that help, or was there something else you were looking to see? No it definitely helps, Thanks for the response. I was just digging the color scheme more I guess on the Factory color as I plan on waiting on the Proto Garland from Arcadia. I’m hoping they drop a factory color scheme in future but I’ll pay more and get the Arcadia. All the reviews I’ve seen just make this an easy choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 21 hours ago, VF-Zer0S said: No it definitely helps, Thanks for the response. I was just digging the color scheme more I guess on the Factory color as I plan on waiting on the Proto Garland from Arcadia. I’m hoping they drop a factory color scheme in future but I’ll pay more and get the Arcadia. All the reviews I’ve seen just make this an easy choice. I definitely like the color scheme too. It was the second Garland I got, after the Yamato Proto Garland. I honestly would be surprised if Arcadia ever got around to that color, since I don't recall it being in the movie, but you never know. Still, if it's one or the other, the Arcadia is just a better quality figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Lol, how did you get your E=X to stand on its own securely enough to display? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 15 minutes ago, jenius said: Lol, how did you get your E=X to stand on its own securely enough to display? Haha I cheated. It has a white Pretty Armor figure stand supporting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Just wanting to add this to this thread like before...another holy grail MZ23 item. This is a pre-colored GR-2 Garland from MZ23 Part II also designed by Hiroshi Imizu. Like the previous Garland from page 3 of this thread that he did, it is very small (1/48 scale), and usually sells for upwards of $400-$500 if you can find one and was only available at the 2019 Wonder Festival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no3Ljm Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 For those who's looking for Wave's Garland kits. There's a few at Mandarake. 1/32 Proto Garland - Y2500 https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1107930485 1/32 GR-2 Garland - Y2000 https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1107933514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignacio Ocamica Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Thank you gor the links Noel!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Minor Megazone 23 reboot update: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-03-24/megazone-23-reboot-project-only-remakes-part-i-and-ii/.144973 Basically... it's still in the works. Honestly, I was half expecting that they had quietly scrapped it, or at least put it on the back burner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted April 5, 2019 Author Share Posted April 5, 2019 No Arcadia updates lately, so thought I'd share this. Popped up in one of those Pinterest "We found these pins that you might like" emails tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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