The Burden of a Masterpiece Hardest to Bear!

I think I'll just cut to the chase as I have a bit to say on this week's arrivals.


Monday, supermart_usa, I received My-Otome 0~S.ifr~.

Another OVA like Mai-Otome Zwei, but this one is a prequel set in the days where Arika's mother, Lena, was an active serving Otome (just before she received the Blue Sky Sapphire Gem).

This also completes my collection of the entire Mai-HiME/Mai-Otome franchise on DVD (unless of course they decide bring out something else later down the line).


Tuesday, Fan2Fan, I received Masterpiece MP-9 Rodimus Convoy.

I've heard the horror stories of the experiences people have had with this guy be it from stress marks, broken tabs, snapped off shin panels, cocked-up foot springs and the trailer scraping the paint on the spoiler wing fins. I tried to not let that affect me once I got mine, I really did, but after handling him for a bit I can say I'm actually terrified of even attempting to transform him into vehicle mode in case something goes irreversibly wrong (just changing him from Hot Rodimus to Rodimus Convoy in robot mode made me feel somewhat nervous).

Then you have the issue with his guns which feel like they were made of cheap plastic and also can't be held properly in his hands (c'mon, even Masterpiece Convoy with his finicky hands can hold a gun better than this!).

I think the saddest part in all this is that I find myself liking the trailer more than the figure itself... Unlike the figure this is a sturdy piece of construction that'll no doubt stand the trails of prolonged fiddling.


Saturday, Amazon.co.uk and AmiAmi, I received...

• Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac
• Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II
• S.H.Figuarts Cure Black
• S.H.Figuarts Cure White
  

In truth, I only bought the Almanacs on a whim while browsing on Amazon the other day, but once I received them I was genuinely shocked at the quality that has been poured into these books.

Then we have the S.H.Figuarts of Cure Black and Cure White, the two that began the PreCure (a.k.a. Pretty Cure) franchise and also the two that led yours truly into watching other PreCure series such as PreCure Splash Star, Yes! PreCure 5, Fresh PreCure, HeartCatch PreCure and Suite PreCure.

The figures themselves put me more in mind of a figma in its design than your standard Figuart. If I was to bring up a bad point about them (apart from the stands), it would be those small fragile looking ball joints and wrist pegs (it makes trying to change the faces and hands more scary than it should be).