Pinky:st...Yukata-style

The newest pinky:st line-up feature two festival-yukata-themed figures. These will be available in a standing and sitting pose, and is set to be released October 30, 2006. You may remember that there was a garage kit of a yukata pinky:st, but it is extremely rare to find.

Dirge of Cerberus

Continuing Project "Catch-up," I finally sat down this past weekend and popped in "Dirge of Cerberus" on PS2. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Another chapter from the most popular FF series, Final Fantasy 7, this game centers not on Cloud, but on Vincent Valentine. Straying away from its predecessors, Dirge is the first FF game that is not an RPG, but rather an adventure game much like "Tomb Raider" and "Devil May Cry." True to its essence, Square Enix continues to provide excellent quality graphics and the character design is, unsurprisingly, stunning. Some of our favorite characters join up again giving the same feeling of nostalgia and excitement I felt the first time I watched "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children."

The movement between scenes and the actual character movement is very smooth. Aiming your gun in time takes some getting used to, but you quickly learn how to maneuver. "Dirge of Cerberus" is an excellent FF7 sequel and doesn't dissappoint.

Speed Grapher Vol. 2

Volume 2 of Speed Grapher keeps the momentum going as Saiga and Kagura continue their attempt to elude Suitengu-sama and his club. Both are bombarded with even more euphorians and Saiga's euphorian skills continue to develop...bigger focus lens and focal distance equals a bigger explosion. The mystery behind Kagura is also beginning to unravel as we learn more about the inner workings of the secret club. Just a friendly warning -- I wouldn't recommend watching this volume if you've got to visit the dentist in the near future.

Volume 3 is set to be released October 10, 2006.

Sold!

Going back to my August 24th entry, I'm surprised to announce that Daishi's costume has been sold with a whopping 1 bid. It didn't look too good for the past couple of days, so I was pretty sure the thing wouldn't sell. So congratulations to the winner, you may have lost 500 bucks but at least you'll be the talk of the j-rock community rocking with your Daishi custom-made costume.

And then there were 8...

The outcast planet has been pushed out of the scene completely. Leading astronomers have defined what it means to be a planet and it wasn't good news for Pluto. Now deemed as a dwarf planet, Pluto is not longer part of our Solar System. It's official, go through all your old textbooks and make the update -- there are 8 planets in our Solar System. Pluto, by far, still rocks in my book. Totally different and unique and never follows the norm, Pluto definitely has character.

PLC Auction Insanity

This just in...from the #1 resource of j-pop and j-rock merchandise and memorabilia comes a Psycho le Cemu auction that's out of this world.

House of Anime (jpophouse.com) has announced that a series of Psycho le Cemu's actual costumes (custom made by Cospa) will be sold through eBay. The first costume belongs to Daishi and was worn in 2004. The minimum bid for his chinese-inspired outfit is a whopping $499.99!!! I guess if you can get a group of fans together to purchase it together, it could sell extremely well. I'd be surprised if an individual could go at it alone. But you never know, given my passion for everything Japanese, I also wouldn't be surprised if the bids come pouring in. It'll be interesting to see just how high the price will get by the end of the auction. To check out the details or to bid yourself, click here. Ganbatte and may the highest bidder win (^_^)

Pinky:st Kira Kira

The Pinky:st phenomenon continues to stretch to other realms showing that this craze is still burning. Pinky:st has hit the shelves with over 40 figures including limited edition and special edition figures and has recently taken over the small screen. Pinky:st is now hitting the Nintendo DS with "Pinky:st Kira Kira Music Hour" (or "Pinky:st Sparkling Music Hour"). It is a music-themed game with your favorite pinky models and is set to be released October 26, 2006. For those who grab the limited edition, a special pinky:st figure will be included. This is a definite plus for all pinky:st collectors.

Utopian Awakening

After the MCAT, I was able to fit in some anime, that is, until my body gave out from extreme exhaustion. Sitting on my shelf for the past few days still in its wrapping, it took a lot of will power to stop me from watching this anime. But I perservered and I'm glad I waited till after the test.

"Ergo Proxy" is a cool, dark anime with a tint of innovation and a unique plot. I already had high expectations ever since I heard that it was from the guys who brought us the awesome "Samurai Champloo." The art and design quality is absolutely flawless. It combines the high art quality of "Last Exile," the crisp and darkness of "Blood: The Last Vampire," and the fluidity of "Samurai Champloo." The story is captivating...humans and androids called autoreivs, live together in the last utopia, but a virus called the Cogito Virus is spreading among some androids infecting them with emotion. The main character is a female inspector from the Citizen Information Bureau along with her partner, an autoreiv named Iggy. The basic plot and first episode is nicely presented to depict a deep, multilayered story filled with twists and turns. The mood reminds me of "Speed Grapher" meets "Noir." Hopefully the episodes to follow will be as equally compelling as the first episode.

Sweet Liberation!

I finally took my MCAT this past Saturday. With it having gone and passed, it feels good to have that liberation. Or rather, I have gone from a liberation of MCAT madness to enter into another madness, a madness known as Admissions. It's a long and arduous process that is extremely costly. After studying for 8 straight months, I can finally have some free time. The craziness was nicely capped off with a Sunday lunch at Tara Thai. I hope that my score will reflect those gruling months of studying.

It's Baaack!

The "Play! A Video Game Symphony" tour continues in Virginia tomorrow night, August 4 at 8:30 p.m. I was surprised to see a piece on it on Washington Post's Express newspaper. I'm glad I made it to the Chicago premiere, as it seems no VIP meet and greets are happening in the subsequent concerts. Nevertheless, it should be a great concert. No word as to what special feature they'll do for this concert, Detroit's concert had Castlevania music. No special guests have been announced for this concert, but at least we have Arnie Roth. Virginia-goers won't get the same treats that Chicago attendants got, but it'll still be a concert that's out of this world.