Episode 9, "Initiate! Operation: Invade Japan!"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Kouji becomes increasingly irritable as he adjusts to the Mazinger, frustrated by the Robot Corps holding him back from gaining his revenge on Baron Ashura. While Akokuji and Shiro relax at the Kurogane House, Tsubasa gives Kouji a seemingly simple test, which proves impossibly difficult for him. Meanwhile, eager to prove his/herself, Ashura takes the subfortress Saluud and releases Mechanical Beasts all over Japan.
Completed Projects and Reviews
These are the models I’ve completed and bothered to actually review and reflect upon.
There are a ton of kits I’ve built but haven’t reviewed. If you’re interested just check out my flickr gallery.
From newest to oldest *completion date* …
| MG The O Review The O is one of the most expensive kits in the MG line. Will it hold up to scrutiny? |
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| MG Red Frame Master Grade Red Frame, complete with sparkly red paint and over sized decals. |
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| Weathered Ez-8 Check out my heavily weathered Ez-8 Gundam |
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| 1/48 Gundam RX-78-2 A review of the very awesome 1/48 Scale ‘Mega Size Model’ Gundam RX-78-2 |
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| Finished MG GN-X A look at my finished MG GN-X |
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| MG GN-X Review A review of the MG GN-X from Gundam 00 |
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| MG Nu Gundam A look at my MG Nu Gundam with Clear Parts. You can read my review of the clear parts here. |
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| MG Victory Gundam Ver. Ka A review of the kit including a review of the my build (and some new paints). |
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| MG Astray Blue Frame 2nd Revise Not a full blown review, but pictures from my kit. I recommend the kit for anyone who likes the design. |
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| Night of the Living Nemo Zombies + Gunpla = Awesome |
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| MG Exia Ignition Mode A simple review of MG Exia Ignition Mode. Ignition Mode being all the bells and whistles. |
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| Gouf Custom – Soviet Reprise Examined A refurbished Gouf Custom, painted white and given Soviet markings. I give a short review with my findings from painting the kit white and using a pencil to do the line details. |
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| MG Sinanju Build Review I gave my Sinanju some metallic paint, glossy and dull top coats, and gave it my best at painting the gold trim. All of this with various results. I made sure to review all the ups and downs should you decide to build your own Sinanju. |
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| MG Ball, Ver Ka. | |
| MG Rick Dias |
Current Projects
These are the projects I’m currently working on. While I don’t have a page for them yet you can check out my flickr gallery for updates.
There are a lot of great news sites for Gunpla, Gundam, and other Japanese plamo… but they tend to be in Japanese if you want the hot scoops. My go to sites are
Your best source for English language updates, outside of your local community, is Gundam Kits Collection.
There’s also a hundred different YouTube reviewers these days. You should check out the r/Gunpla wiki for a list of some of the more popular channels.
The most comprehensive list of tutorials out there is over on the r/Gunpla wiki. If there’s something you’re looking for specifically start there.
Episode 9, "Yamcha’s Hard Struggle! The Terrifying Saibamen"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Vegeta and Nappa, now on Earth, use their scouters to find the two strongest ki on the planet- Piccolo and Gohan. Kururin joins them just as the Saiyans find them. Nappa plants strange creatures called Saibamen. Tenshinhan, Chouzu, and Yamcha arrive, and they decide to each go one-on-one with the six creatures. Tenshinhan easily defeats his opponent, which Vegeta finishes off to motivate the others. Yamcha seemingly defeats his, but it recovers and grabs onto him, self-destructing. The blast kills Yamcha, angering Kururin, who prepares an attack of his own.
The formula is simple. Just take one horrible music video and throw in someone with working eyes and the ability to sing…
1) Total Eclipse of the Heart
2) Take on Me
3) Head Over Heels
4) Under the Bridge
5) White Wedding
Never Gonna Give You Up might have made the cut if the singer could match Rick’s singing.
Episode 9, "Created Memories"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Edward regains consciousness in a hospital, scolded by Ross and Brosh for his recklessness. From there, he calls Winry to Central to repair his automail. Alphonse struggles with the implications of Barry the Chopper’s words, eventually leading to a confrontation with Ed. Winry yells at him for doubting his brother’s intentions, and the two make up on the roof, renewing their vow to keep going.
Comments:
It’s no secret: I’m a fan of the first Fullmetal Alchemist series. It’s how I was introduced to the world of FMA to begin with. It’s one of my favorite anime of all time. I even feel like it handled some of the manga’s material better than the manga did. However, in the case of Alphonse’s existential crisis, the manga, and this episode, handled it more naturally, with subtlety. The first series gave us a largely filler episode involving Scar and two Ishbalan children, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great, and certainly didn’t handle it as well as this episode did. Yes, I’m saying that Brotherhood, in this case, is superior to the first series.
Episode 8, "Be Born! Baron Ashura!"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Kouji teams up with Tsubasa and her crew to take on Baron Ashura, who is holding Sayaka and Aphrodai A captive in a giant Mechanical Beast. Dr. Hell recounts’ Tsubasa’s hand in creating Ashura. Viscount Pygman, one of Dr. Hell’s other subordinates appears to rescue Ashura. Tsubasa tells her subordinates to take Kouji and his brother into the Kurogane House.
Comments:
Tsubasa and her group continue to be the most (see: only) interesting characters in the series. New ones keep popping out of the woodwork, but they’re always colorful. This time we got introduced to the guy who made Boss and his two friends shut up in the previous episode (or was it the episode before?), the man with the crack shot. We even got a little background on Tsubasa. I’d be more inclined to enjoy the program if were simply about this group, but unfortunately, it’s about Kouji Kabuto.
Episode 8, "Come Forth, Shenron! The Saiyan Finally Arrive On Earth"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: On the last day of training on Kaio’s planet, Goku practices the Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb) attack and contacts Master Roshi to tell him to use the Dragon Balls to ressurect him. Master Roshi summons Shenron and Goku is wished back to life. As he heads back to Earth, however, the Saiyans arrive.
Comments:
It looks like my excitement last week was premature, since we continue to set up things for most of this episode. This episode wrapped up all the preperation for the series of battles to come, with Goku testing his Genki Dama, Master Roshi and the gang summoning Shenron, and Goku heading back to Earth. I almost completely forgot that there was that scene of Goku testing his new attack on Kai’s planet. I’m glad it made the cut.
