After viewing the promotional materials for Atlus' upcoming Persona 4 game, it would appear that garish yellow is the color theme for the latest MegaTen adjunct. Yellow is also the hue that colors everything in the parallel dimension featured in Persona 4.
As the story goes, an unnamed high school student moves to rural Japan to live with relatives while attending school. It's a quiet town but when bodies start turning up, the placid atmosphere is disrupted. A classmate named Chie Satonaka tells hero of the Midnight TV where inclement weather causes static and yellow-tinged images to appear on a television. Once the clock strikes midnight, the tv becomes a portal which leads into a netherworld where shadowy creatures with masked faces dwell. Could the murders be somehow linked to the monsters?
Soejima Shigenori returns to provide character designs and art direction while Shogi Meguro serves up the music. Pricing is set at JPY6980 or US$68.90 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship on July 10, 2008.
USA Wii consoles are still priced at about $400+ at flea markets or over $650 if you purchase a bundle from a chain store such as Walmart. With the recent release of the Wii Freeloader, region-locks are removed from the Wii and a Japanese console can play USA Wii games with a simple swap disc method. To make sure the Freeloader always works, you'll probably have to refrain from ever updating your console's firmware.
NCS Offer: 1 Japanese Wii Console and 1 Japanese Freeloader for the price of US$389.90. Preorders will ship on Thursday of this week.
If there is love in your heart for all things Doraemon, you might consider investing in a Doraemon plush which measures 40cm or 15.74" tall. NCS has generally only stocked Doraemon plushes that are handheld and easy to handle but we're looking at a bigger specimen that ships this summer in Japan. The upcoming 40cm plush is stout and hearty but still weighs under 2.3 kg (roughly 5 lbs) so it can be hefted by children and adults alike.
Preorders are welcome to ship on or around July 26, 2008 at US$49 per plush. Due to the large size of the toy, NCS recommends only shipping by UPS Ground within the United States.
In The Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann animated series, the mechs are known as Gunmen. There's hasn't been enough TTGL toy merchandising in Japan so it's Kaiyodo's duty to induct a Gunman into the Revoltech toy line.
The beauty of the Revoltech toys lie in the "Revolver Joints" which allow for full freedom when posing the figure. Once a joint is positioned, it'll ratchet into place and stay there until you change its position. The Gunman measures 12cm or 4.72" tall and features a total of 19 joints. Thanks to the many points of articulation, the robot may be positioned into battle stances galore or even into thoughtful repose. An extra helmeted head, a golden drill weapon, and four extra hands are included in the product packaging. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May 2008.
The Japanese toy market goes into stretches where a certain character is sculpted to death until sales level off. We've seen it happen with Koyori (aka Bosoms), Mai Shiranui, Iroha, Nakoruru, and others. The Evangelion girls are a special situation because they've infiltrated Japanese culture and they'll never die. For the past few months, Kanu Unchou of Ikkitousen fame has been getting a lot of attention. Manufacturer Amie-Grand throws their hat into the ring with a new 1/7 scale PVC figure which features a tanned Kanu in a simple stand-up pose.
The figure measures 23cm or 9.05" tall and comes disassembled in the factory container. Assembly is simple however where interlocking joints are snapped together to form the full figured Kanu. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2008 at JPY13,800 or US$135.90 from NCS.
If you've never seen the following things in your life:
» A Korean lad with blue eyes and a diamond studded face
» A Korean lad who undergoes a transformation to become British
» A super-agent sailing across a wave of ice
» An invisible vehicle in which sits a super-agent
» A car rolling across the ice on two wheels
» Madonna as a fencing instructor
» Halle Berry as an agent named Jinx
Wait no longer because they're all in Die Another Day. You'll snicker laugh, you'll cry, but most importantly, you'll have a good old time.
Sale Offering
Every copy of the Die Another Day Special Edition DVD is new and is packaged in a slipcase. Pricing is set at US$10.90 per copy which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail within the United States. Larger Photos.
Last summer, Hot Toys of Hong Kong released the Chubby Star Wars Matryoshka Series 1 and captured the hearts of Star Wars fans across the globe. Since success begets success, Hot Toys has started preorders for the Chubby Star Wars Matryoshka Series 2.
Hailing from Mother Russia, matryoshka are better known as nesting dolls which consist of a large figurine which cracks open to contain a smaller doll which in turn cracks open to container an even smaller doll. The Star Wars matryoshki keeps the diminishing scale simple at three dolls although it's not uncommon for some nesting dolls to hold 6-8 figures. The characters featured in Chubby Series 2 are as follows (top to bottom):
Stormtrooper/Clone Troopers [Jan Code: 4897011171791]
An Imperial Stormtrooper serves as the largest figure followed by two Republic Clone Troopers. Each trooper carries an armament across its chest and peers into the world with solemn soulless eyes.
Jango Fett/Boba Fett [Jan Code: 4897011171807]
Since Jango is the father figure, he's the primary nesting doll which houses a Boba Fett figure in full armor with blaster rifle followed by a Boba Fett as a child. Even as a kid, Boba had trouble written all over his face.
Luke Skywalker [Jan Code: 4897011-171814]
In the Star Wars movies, viewers watched Luke grow from punk kid to mighty Jedi master. Luke's Chubby turn features his Jedi incarnation as the lead followed by Luke in Bespin uniform and Luke as a lad on Tatooine.
Starfighter Pilots [Jan Code: 4897011171821]
The vanguard of the Rebel Alliance was made up of dedicated pilots who fearlessly flew into battle against seemingly insurmountable odds. The Starfighter Pilots Chubby features the amber-visor-visage of the Red Leader, Gray Leader, and the toddler-like Green Leader.
Princess Leia [Jan Code: 4897011171838]
Leia with the duo-donuts hairstyle is missing from this trio but you'll have to be content with Leia as Boushh the Bounty Hunter, Leia from her experience on Endor, and Leia when she was a guest of Jabba the Hut.
Ewoks [Jan Code: 4897011171845]
The Big Kahuna in the Chubby Ewoks trio is Logray, the wizened medicine man who wears a funky headdress. He's followed by Chief Chirpa who almost roasted Luke on a spit and Wicket, the rascally Ewok scout.
The largest of each nesting doll measures 8.5cm (3.34"), the medium figure is 5.7cm (2.24"), and the smallest stands 4.5cm (1.77") tall.
A new feature for the Chubby Series 2 Matryoshka is magnetic feet so each doll is inherently attracted to metal surfaces. Preorders are welcome to ship in late July 2008 at JPY1426 or US$12.90 per set of three figures.
From the Publisher
The KORG DS-10 is a music-creation software for the Nintendo DS that combines the superior interface of the Nintendo DS and the design concept of the famous MS-10 synthesizer.
The sound sources in the KORG DS-10 come from KORG - one of the world's top musical instrument producers - and no effort was spared in creating these ultra-high-quality sounds. The Nintendo DS's dual-screen touch panel is used to the fullest to provide a feel and operability that is unsurpassed, and combined with the sensory input mode at the touch-control screen, this unit can be appreciated by the complete novice as well as the seasoned professional.
In addition to the two analog synth simulators and drum module, a 6-track/16-step sequencer enables precise control and provides a wide range of musical possibilities. Several units can be connected and played together through a wireless link, and this and other features make the Nintendo DS and KORG DS-10 almost limitless in their application - they can take you places that no single synthesizer can.
The KORG DS-10 will introduce “stylus music” to the world at the International Musikmesse Frankfurt (Germany).
Product Description/Specifications
- World's first music tool software created for the Nintendo DS
- Two patchable dual-oscillator analog synth simulators:
- Four-part drum machine that uses sounds created with the analog synth simulator
- Six-track (analog synth x 2, drum machine x 4) /16-step sequencer
- Delay, chorus, and flanger sound effects available from the mixing board
- Three note-entry modes: touch-control screen, keyboard screen, matrix screen
- Real-time sound control mode via touch-control screen
- Exchange sounds and songs and play multiple units simultaneously through a wireless communications link
Preorders will ship on July 24, 2008 at JPY4800 or US$48.90 from NCS.
