From the Gundam Wiki :
The movie will be released on Blu-Ray & DVD in Japan by Dec 25, 2010 (Christmas); however it's North American release is tentatively slated for 2011.

Unfortunately for me, I was hoping being able to watch the movie before Xmas. They screened it in Japan and in NYC during anime convention, but what about the fans from all over the world? I know some of you reading this blog are from the UK, the Philippines and all over North America. What about us? Bandai should know better! Gundam 00 is one of their most prolific show from the last 6 years and there's a huuuuuge fan base in North America. More enough for 1 screening! They could, at least, push the release date for North America to be the same one! Most of us (I believe) watched, or are watching, 00 with subtitles since the Japanese voices sound way more realistic than the dubbed one. I don't mean any offense to the voice actors doing the dubbing, but Gundam should always be in Japanese with subtitles. There's a thing you can't change.

Hopefully, they'll release the movie early in 2011.....I hope.


The Social Geek.

HIGH GRADE INVASION!

More GunPla kits are on the way!

I've just received a mail from my aunt in Vancouver telling me that RX-93-2 Hi-NU Gundam, SHIN MUSHA Gundam and a valiant(and dirty cheap since he was on sale) GN-000 0 Gundam (Roll out Colors) left yesterday to slowly make their way here in Halifax.

Gundam UNICORN is almost completed and EXIA Avalanche is next on the list! I never been so excited to build a HG model...I'm expecting it to be quicker than my usual 30-40 hours for a MG model.

Oh.
And the 0 Gundam is also a HG model, but I'll show you the main reason why I bought it!

Isn't wonderful? The wing-shaped particle release from the GN Drive is included in the kit!
And for those who never saw the RX-93-2 Hi-NU....well.....here it is too!

I'll probably build a whole article on SHIN MUSHA later this week!

The Social Geek.

Macross Frontier.

Lately, I was looking for something different. I can only listen to Gundam 00 and SEED / SEED : Destiny so often (well, I almost know them by heart now!) that I've started watching MACROSS FRONTIER a week ago.

It isn't as good as Gundam. I can refer to it as my standard for Mecha-style anime. But the part girls and relations take in this anime is different that what I am used to watch.

Take a look at it. You might like it. You might not. But you'll never know before you try it!

Oh. The mechas are AWESOME also. Seeing a TOMCAT-style fighter turning into a robot is a wicked concept. I'm loving that!

The Social Geek.

Flashes From The Past / Patlabor.

When was the first time you saw Mecha-genre anime? I can recall mine from back in the 90's. The canadian cartoon channel used to air Patlabor : Mobile Police once in a while and during Xmas time play one or two of the OVAs. I kinda forget about that until last year, I started watching the serie again, from the beginning and put the OVA where they belong in the whole storyline. It was probably what help me go through a rough period I faced last year when one of my friend died.

It does sound lame. Instead of looking to my friends or family for support in time of distress, I watched anime and stayed home. But it felt great. It reminded me of all the great time we had and how awesome my childhood was with my friends watching awesome robots. I didn't understand everything back in the day from Patlabor, I was mostly looking for the action scenes. But now, with age, I see the whole story unfolding before my eyes, the more intricate facts that I couldn't grasp then.

I'm still a Gundam fan at heart, but Patlabor is so well directed, the art is simply amazing and I could compare it to a good bottle of wine. It does age pretty well. The dates are a bit out-of-phase now, but I disregard it like I would disregard the dates on a Jules Verne story.

Today, I asked Mark from BIGPFEIFFER to order me a MG kit of the Ingram from Patlabor. I would like to see one looking at my Gundams with the signature police shotgun. It would add a bit of diversity to all those beam sabers and other futuristic weapons.

And visit the guys from BIGPFEIFFER on their website. If you're in the Halifax region, they'll help you find whatever you need in anime goodies. I can say now that from now on, I'll try to buy less stuff from online retailers, Sakura Media, Amazon.ca or whatever else and order from those guys. They have a wicked service and are friendly as hell. It's not a free ad, just pure honesty.

On that?

I'll keep you posted on more later this week.

The Social Geek.

Monday. What A Great Day.

Once again, the postman stopped by my door at lunch time! Thanks again to my aunt in Vancouver that can find me whatever I'm looking for (and also to Terry at Sakura Media in Metrotown Center in Vancouver for ordering whatever funky I'm looking for!) I just received today 2 new GunPla kits!

I told you this weekend that I was waiting for some. Well....UNICORN ain't completed, SINANJU either and now......EXIA Avalanche and KSHATRIYA just showed up.

I know, those are HG models and I usually only stick to MGs....but you have the money to buy the resin KSHATRIYA? I don't. So if you do and you would like to see it in that blog, well, send me a message and I'll be glad to give you my adress so you can send me one! And Avalanche? Well....it's only made in HG and I love this model so much that I couldn't NOT order it...

Tonight? Well...I'll be busy completing UNICORN so I can start putting EXIA together and maybe, by this weekend, both are going to be completed!

Now, next problem......
Where am I gonna put even more Gundams.......

The Social (Gundam) Geek.

Forecast for the 1st-3rd July 2011 : It's gonna be raining otakus in Moncton!

I know. I'm a bit early about it. But being a geek does mean to be craving for conventions. An not a sci-fi one, we're talking about an ANIME convention! Well, if I don't go, I'll be damned!

It's just a quick post to let you know that the 3 Strange Adventures stores ( Halifax, Dartmouth and Fredericton) have pre-sale tickets for the event! And if you buy them before May 31st, it's only 25$ for the 3 days!

See you there!

The Social Geek.

Sunday Shopping!

So, once in a while, I like to go hunt down stuff in weekend markets. It's really amazing what you can find on those day. Well, today was an exception. I did find something that just........how could I say that......made me smile more than usual on a Sunday? That might be the best way to explain it.

I don't know if you remember, but couple weeks ago I was talking about BIGPFEIFFER, a retailer down in the Harbour Market in Dartmouth. Well, I stopped by their stand, and I felt in love(sigh!).

I never really was into vinyl figurines, not really, then I saw those two....

You all know that I'm a HUGE Neon Genesis Evangelion & Gundam 00 fan. If not, then now you know! I always thought that Rey was hotter than Asuka...I can already hear arguments coming down my way after you just read my last statement. But NOW! I can prove you wrong! I just bought that wicked figurine of Rey, and well......if it wasn't a figurine, I would do some pretty nasty stuff! I'm such a loser. But yeah, she's hotter than my girl, and I do think that my girl is pretty hawt. You can't say I'm wrong on that! Anyway...

I was about to buy it, leave with my loot-of-the-day and make my way home, then another figurine caught my eye!(DAMMIT!)














If you all remember, in the first season of Gundam 00, Nena Trinity looked alright, if you compare her to the DD standard of every girl in the show. When she reappear in season 2, she's back in line with some nice assets (if I can say!) Well...they also had a Nena figurine...(They still have one! Hurry up if you want to get your hands on it!!) She's making her usual "peace" sign and holding the Purple HARO in a tight post-mission outfit. Lovely....FML! Why those girls aren't real?

Geek Vs Nerds : Facts of Fictions.

This year, at HalCon, I had a great time having a little chat with one of the guys from Geeks Vs. Nerds. I never heard of the show before, but when he introduced me to the concept, I just felt like I found what was missing in my life all those years...

G vs N is a comedy show first, a podcast and a great debate too. The whole thing is about figuring out who's the best? One of the show is about Stormtroopers vs. Red Shirts : Who's the most useless? or Han Solo vs. Malcom Reynolds : Who's the most badass?

It's really sci-fi oriented. I recommend you to listen to the podcast since all the shows are free and please donate to those guys. They do an amazing show. I'm having quite a laugh everytime I heard their arguments. You do like that. Arguing about nerdy stuff. I do. You should. If not, why are you reading this? Han shot first. Got it?

http://www.geeksversusnerds.com

Listen.
Enjoy.
Listen again.
Enjoy more.

The Social Geek.

Building Blocks. RX-0 Unicorn 1/100 MG

Since it's Saturday, and I don't have ANYTHING planned on today, I'll be sitting at my work desk for most of the day. Sinanju is kind of frustrating right now, the pin for the waist snapped on me and I'll have to buy some small drill bits to pin it with the upper body. Anyway, since building CROSSBONE put me in such a good mood, I'll start building UNICORN today. It's a really good looking kit, the box is gorgeous and the manual is amazing.



That's what it looks like once you open the box.

I'll keep you informed on my progress!

The Social Geek.

Thank You.

Just another quick message,

I'd like to thank you all. This blog has been running for not even a month, and I have visitors from all over the world. We just passed the 200th visit about a couple minutes ago and I'm looking forward to keep you informed on what's happening in my geek world!

The Social Geek.

Apologies...and CROSSBONE GUNDAM XM-X1

Sorry folks, I haven't been really social this last week. Like I said in a previous post, I've met a cute and gorgeous girl, I've received some mangas I was waiting for (Thank you STRANGE ADVENTURES comic store!) and finally, when I was about to start writing a new article for the blog you all like, the UPS guy showed up at my place with a sweet surprise!

My GUNDAM CROSSBONE XM-X1 Ver. Ka showed up, all wrapped for me (Thank you amazon.com!). While Sinanju is still in building process, I've kinda rushed the CROSSBONE since it's one of my favorite model. Everything looks like a pirate on him! The cloak, the beam saber, even the gun looks like it's coming out straight out of the 17th Century!



So here it is, next to my beloved FREEDOM and well...yes, ZETA A1+ (I gotta find a way to fix that sucker.....jeez he looks horrible! I might just leave him in his Fighter mode....)

My opinion on the Crossbone Ver. Ka?
I loved every minute of building it and now, its looking at me from the top of my bookshelf and he looks mean. Well...it's still a GunPla, but a mean one!

Next week? I'm expecting EXIA Avalanche and the amazing NZ-666!

I swear to god, I'll keep you posted about it!

The Social Geek.

xkcd : A Geek WebComic

I haven't really posted lately. School is taking up a lot of my time and I did met someone not that long ago, so most of my attention is towards her.

But here's something I've discovered through one of my friend. It a simple WebComic called xkcd. The simplicity in its design is simply amazing, but the whole theme, but the author is bringing the creativity to another dimension by including stuff that us, nerds and geeks, understand to a deeper level. Jokes about logarithms, linux, networking, cult movies and many other subjects just make that comic so entertaining.

http://xkcd.com/

Visit them.
It's not a proposition.
Its an order!

The Social Geek.

MSN-06S Sinanju : How To Turn A Whole Kitchen Table Into A Workbench!

Last weekend, I started building one of the GunPla kits I've been looking forward for quite a while (the other one being the Crossbone Gundam Ver. Ka). Since I have some family living in Vancouver, I can order close to anything I'm looking for(they're getting really hard to find in Halifax, unfortunately!)

So, my lovely aunt keeps going to Sakura Media in MetroTown Center once or twice a month to pick up some stuff for me. I'd have to say the guys there are probably looking forward to know me eventually!

So like I was saying, I've started building Full Frontal (Char?) MSN-06S Sinanju this weekend, and I have to say I'm auite impressed!

Usually, I build all my GunPla at the same old desk I've been building Warhammer figurines for years, but with that last model, I had to switch to the kitchen table! There's so many sprues/runners that I almost cover the whole table.


I didn't liked the look of the stickers for the gold part, so I started painting every gold spot on the model using Citadel Miniature SHINING GOLD and some fine details brushes.

Right now, only the arms, the chest and the legs are build. I'll probably post more pictures this weekend when I'll complete the model!

Cheers!

The Social Geek.

DEATH NOTE.

Sorry if I haven't posted in a couple of days. I was quite busy with work, the Sinanju Ver. Ka GunPla and also I've started going throught the Death Note mangas again.

For those who don't know it yet, Death Note is, from my own respectable point of view, one of the best manga ever created. An anime AND a live-action adaptation has been created for it. The characters are more than awesome.

The biggest difference between DN and the normal manga/anime I'm reading is the fact that there's no robots or mobile suits, no sci-fi context or even major fighting. It could almost be qualified as a drama/thriller if we would look at classifying it in one of the movie brackets.

The whole story is seen through the eyes of Light Yagami, an high-school student who find a notebook, a Death Note. When you write people name's in the notebook, the people you named actually die. So Light start to think about how he could use the death note to punish criminals and make the whole world a better place.

I won't go too much into the story, since I really recommend you to watch AND read it. It is translated in english and available in manga format through VIZ MEDIA. There's only 13 books, and you can probably read each of them within an hour or so.

My Favorite Gundam Opening

In 2007, Sunrise and Bandai started broadcasting what I can easily call my favorite Gundam serie ever. If you're not familiar with the Gundam Universe, you don't have a single clue of which serie I'm talking about...



Gundam 00 relate the story of a group of mobile suit pilots fighting for the eradication of all warfare with the use of the Gundams.

I don't want to get too much into the story, since I'll probably do a full article on the 2 seasons and the full movie once I get my hands on it.

The Social Geek.

R.I.P. Takeshi Shudo

On October 28th, Takeshi Shudo collapsed in the Kansai's Main Line Nara Train Station at around 6:00AM. He was rushed to the Nara Hospital but died the next day.

He was mainly known for his main creation, Pokemon, that marked most of the 90's and 2000's youngling generations.

It dosen't really matter if you liked it or not, everyone agree that Takeshi's work was a great one. His characters were friendly and easily accessible to anyone, from the 5 years old kid to any grown up. I still think that he's one of the main reason why the whole anime fashion is so strong in North America right now.

Pokemon introduced many of us to the different universes that Japanese artists created in the last 3 decades. We can all figure that the main bloom for the whole excitement about Japanese culture goes back to the first years of the Twenty first century, at the exact same time when Pokemon got released in North America in one single boom. Game Boy games, anime series, toys, collectible card games and many more products all found their way to the shopping mall shelves at the same time.

I have to say that Takeshi Shudo work greatly influenced my way of living. If it wasn't from Pokemon, I would probably never had discover Gundam, Death Note, Bleach and many more.

Thank you Mr. Takeshi.
Thank you, you may now rest.

The Social Geek.

AVGN : A Succes Story

James Rolfe is one of those internet character that you can't stop listening to. Since 2004 he release periodically one of the most adored serie of video you could find online : The Angry Video Game Nerd. I first started watching his videos while I was in the Persian Gulf in 2008 and since then, every time he release a new AVGN episode, I'm stopping everything I do and watch it religiously.

Watching him test and destroy all the games I've played when I was young on NES or discovering some of the finest pieces of bullshit ever created in the video game industry is quite hilarious.

I strongly recommend it to anyone. You have to watch the whole serie, since some of the episodes contains jokes you might not understand until you saw the first reviews.

http://www.cinemassacre.com

He also review different board game, and he's a great filmmaker, so take a minute or two and watch his short films.

Cheers!

The Social Geek.

BLEACH : Let's talk about an addiction...

I've only really got into BLEACH about over a year ago. Before that, I had seen couple OVAs, watched an episode there and there once in a while, killed an hour or so with a manga, but never really got into it as much as I am right now.

It all started when I got really sick last year, with 2 weeks of sick leave, stuck at home with a brand new LED TV with a computer hooked to it. I was wondering what could I do to kill the upcoming day, and I was really sick, so no one could come hang out with me...

BLEACH!

I remembered how great it did killed my time when I was bored, so I decided to start straight from the beginning and watch every arc until I had watched every released episode.... Thank god I had those 2 weeks to do it! I was literally glued to my TV, watching episode after episode.

From the beginning where Ichigo discover what a Shinigami is to the present arc where Aizen with his Espadas fights against the Captains and the Vizoreds, the storyline always drags you in, discovering new powers and abilities in every character, revealing their swords or other tricks. The fighting scenes are great too! I'm sure its what make BLEACH one of the most popular anime around.

The additions of anime-only story arc is another great addition, with more side-stories to the whole sage. You have to face it, BLEACH is now more than a standard serie, its a complete saga. With 2 OVAs and 3 movies, it's one of the most profitable anime franchise around. And the multitude of characters does help the viewer/reader to identify himself as one of the protagonist. From the womanizing Shunsui Kuoraky, the sick and weak but fun-loving Jushiro Ukitake, the stern Soi Fong or the strange and funny looking Kisuke Urahara, everyone can find their own favorite, making it one of the most easy anime to get into. The author, Tite Kubo, like to say that Shunsui Kuoraky is a reflection of himself. I doubt that. I'm that guy. Gotcha?

Tite Kubo is a great storyteller and a great artist too. The whole serie design is simply amazing!
I'm about to go watch the new episode since it got subbed last night (and my japanese is far from what I wish it could be!) and I simply can't wait.

The Social Geek.

High School Of The Dead : When Horror Meet Anime

Early this summer I discovered a great anime adapted from a great manga. High School Of The Dead first aired on July 5th and I think I watched it for the first time the week after. Hopefully for me, since only one episode couldn't give me enough of that horror thrill I was craving for at the time!




At first, I didn't really had great expectation towards an horror/ecchi anime, but quite surprisingly, H.O.T.D. proved me wrong. The whole fight for survival with the clash between the different personalities of the protagonists during the 12 episodes make you ask for more. They all have their own motivations to survive, with the whole apocalyptic plot-line unfolding in the background, sometime including some event that got no links to the storyline but does add to the whole description of how deep the world is engulfed in zombie shit.

The girls does look like what you would expect from a standard horror hentai, but the gore and the unstoppable amount of blood, limbs and even more blood sprouting from every direction makes you forget about those Triple-Ds boobies. There's also a small romance story between some of the main protagonist, nothing too serious, since I think that would ruin the whole concept of fight for survival. You can't get too attached to people in a situation like that. It's also a lot about sacrifice.

Personally, everything revolving around the ecchi style ain't really my cup of tea. It really isn't. But there's always one exception to every rule. HighSchool Of The Dead is that exception.

Enjoy it.
It's worth it!

The Social Geek.

Why Is Neon Genesis Evangelion So Awesome?

Some people hate it.
Some people love it.
Some are just crazy about it.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an award winning Anime & Manga serie released in 1995 (26 Episodes) and is still being released as a manga. It won the Animage price 2 years in a row for its amazing quality.
Okay.
Enough...

Why do I love EVANGELION?

I always been a mecha anime fan (Gundam, Code GEASS, PatLabor...) and one morning I discovered that wicked anime. Right of the bat I got sucked into it. The story is simply amazing and goes way deeper than any other anime of the type ever been. It's not only about super robots beating the shit outta aliens and other creatures threatening Earth. It's mostly about the pilots of those robots(I will start calling them by their names from now on, EVAs) who are 14 years old teenagers with some mental issues. Shinji, the pilot of EVA-01 is sure that everybody hates him, Asuka have some bad memories about how her mom killed herself and Rei.....well.....little to nothing is really known about Rei. It is slowly revealed through the serie what she really is.

The whole mecha design also vary from what the viewer is used to also. Instead of the super-armored gun-loaded infinite-power robot, the EVA's are slim, agile, fast and rely on an umbilical cordon to supply them with power. If they get disconnected from their power supply, they only have 5 minutes until they run out of power. That does add a nice twist to the whole combat scenes!

There's also strong references towards the catholic mythology during the whole serie. The creator said that he loved the connotation it gave to the whole universe, and since Japaneses are not that familiar with that religion, it gave a mystic aspect to the whole universe. I do think its a wicked idea. I do get bored sometime when the same old theme of the devil/demons coming to destroy Earth and rape young virgins......well.....no, that's Hentai. Screw that!

So anyway. The whole character build is simply amazing. The suspense is there all serie long (its only 26 episodes....) and right now, they're rebuilding the whole thing from scratch. The first 2 OVAs are already out and received great critics, and a lot of people look forwards to see the third one. I do. Do you? You should.

I will let you judge by yourself if you really enjoy that anime as much as I do.

On that,
Good night!

The Social Geek.

For once, I can say I love Mondays!

Today, I've received what I have been waiting for quite a time! The postman just delivered to me not one or two, but THREE Gundam Plastic Kits! RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, MSN-06S Shinanju and the famous ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam with some new markers. This week is gonna be quite busy, but I don't really know with which kit I should start with....



Oh, yeah, and in the background is the Zeta+A1 Gundam I just completed this weekend. Two more kits are already on their way here.....how am I gonna build them all?

The Social Geek.