Need More Pacific Rim? It’s Ultimate Omnibus is Now Here!

Pacific Rim Omnibus Book CoverAvailable to purchase on Amazon USA

Further expanding the epic mythology based on Legendary Entertainment and Guillermo del Toro’s blockbuster film franchise, the comics division has launched the ultimate collection for readers to delve into! It’s a hefty book, and it also includes the recently released Blackout to get readers up to speed about the lore before season two of The Black.

For the first time ever, the Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus brings together New York Times best-selling Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero (presented by Guillermo Del Toro and written by Pacific Rim screenwriter Travis Beacham) alongside Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift (written by Joshua Fialkov), Pacific Rim: Aftermath, Pacific Rim: Amara (both from Cavan Scott), and the newly released Pacific Rim: Blackout in a deluxe omnibus collection.

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Pacific Rim’s Blackout Before Netflix’s Season Two Release

The recent release of the graphic novel Pacific Rim: Blackout is filling the gap by telling the story about the last days before Australia is evacuated.

Pacific Rim BlackoutLegendary Comics
Available to order on Amazon USA

Prior to the events of Netflix’s Pacific Rim: The Black, the recent release of the graphic novel Pacific Rim: Blackout is filling the gap by telling the story about the last days before Australia is evacuated. The Kaijus are everywhere, destroying everything on site and occupying vast swathes of desert land. We see humanity make its last stand in the cities still standing…

This 100 page work isn’t a brisk read. I had to go through it a few times and rewatch the animated series. Ultimately, it’s about the drama between Herc (one of the Jaeger pilots) and his sister, Liv–to which some parallels exist with the siblings from the animation: Taylor and Hayley. They lost their parents. Herc left the nest and never looked back. He didn’t attend his dad’s funeral, and that led to problems with the rest of the family. It’s a narrative to pay attention to instead of enjoying the spread of mecha upon alien fighting action. The presentation is reminiscent of many Toho films.

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On Why Music Matters in Macross: Past, Present & Future

Super Dimension Fortress Macross logo After catching the livestream of Macross Delta Tactical Sound Unit—1st LIVE in Zepp—Walküre Attack! last month, I was curious. How has the music of this fond anime franchise fared over the years? Mari Iijima defined everything that is the sound of the 90s series, and maintained it! The talents who would take over in the sequels adapted to the times and generally honour this singer’s original legacy. From Sharon Apple to Sheryl Nome, the sound has changed. It sometimes transcend pop and become something that we can equate to Lady Gaga’s shows in our world.

This concert shows why music is important to this franchise’s success. The nature of these performances plays on a musical theory I believe is at the core of the series. Boethius is a Roman philosopher who once said music can be broken up to three components. They are musica mundana (a universal appeal), musica humana (the internal sound heard by the human body) and musica quae (the harmonies projected by singers and instrumentalists).

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Before The Rebuild was Neon Genesis Evangelion … Deets on the Bluray Release

Neon Genesis Evangelion Collector’s Edition Slipcase CoverGKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, with distribution from Shout! Factory, announced it will issue the critically-acclaimed Neon Genesis Evangelion in an expansive Collector’s Edition Set, Standard Edition, and digital download-to-own. The three new formats include the original twenty-six episode television series as well as the films Evangelion: Death (True) 2 and The End of Evangelion. These editions join the previously announced Ultimate Edition, marking the first time this exceptional anime will be available on Blu-ray in North America.

From the Press Release:

The Collector’s Edition is a deluxe 11-disc set presented in a rigid case, containing a 40-page book, 8 art cards, the Official Dub and Subtitled versions, and the bonus Classic Dub and Subtitled versions. This set contains over seven hours of bonus features including animatics, TV commercials, music videos, Japanese cast auditions, trailers, and more. This limited-edition set will be available online through select outlets, and is now available for pre-order on Shout! Factory’s website, arriving December 8, 2021.

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Japan’s Mega (Toy) Hobby Expo Goes Online!

This year’s MegaHobby Expo has been recrafted as a “virtual convention” where visitors from around the world can enjoy new figure and product reveals, participate in interactive events and explore booths from participating Japanese toy and figure exhibitors such as Alter, Hobby Japan, Kotobukiya, Aniplex+, Dengeki Hobby WEB, Licorne, Yoyogi Animation Gakuin, and MIMEYOI.

Mega Hobby Expo 2020 banner 800.jpg
Three-Day Event Hosted by MegaHouse Opens to Global Audiences From 10/30 to 11/1

New and exciting products from the world of anime, manga, and gaming will be revealed when leading Japanese figure and toy company MegaHouse Co., Ltd. presents the MegaHobby Expo Online from Oct 30th to Nov 1st, JST, 2020.

This annual event is now open to viewers worldwide for the first time via the internet! It’s a showcase for a new generation of hobby collectables. Upcoming items from the following smash hit entertainment properties are expected to appear.

Cyber Formula
Demon Slayer
Digimon Adventure
Mobile Suit Gundam
One Piece
And Many Others!

This year’s MegaHobby Expo has been recrafted as a “virtual convention” where visitors from around the world can enjoy new figure and product reveals, participate in interactive events and explore booths from participating Japanese toy and figure exhibitors such as Alter, Hobby Japan, Kotobukiya, Aniplex+, Dengeki Hobby WEB, Licorne, Yoyogi Animation Gakuin, and MIMEYOI.

MegaHouse figures are renowned by collectors for their amazing level of detail and visual impact. The new figure at the MegaHobby Expo can be viewed in advance in 360°. Visitors will be able to then share their favorite angles on social media.

The MegaHobby Expo will be hosted from Oct. 30th to Nov.1st, JST, 2020 at the official MegaHobby website at https://megahobbyexpo.jp. The website and contents will remain online until Nov. 16.

For more information, please visit MegaHouse on Twitter, Instagram or their official website (English)

This Modernizing of Voltron for a New Generation Has This Otaku Giddy with Delight!

maxresdefaultBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Voltron: Defender of the Universe was one of those animated series from the 80’s I absolutely adored along with Robotech. The American producers took the Japanese animated material and successfully adapted them for a North American audience. In both, the heroes have to battle against alien invaders. While Voltron is getting one seriously massive update by DreamWorks to become Voltron: Legendary Defender, which is now on Netflix. This animation company took approximately five years since acquiring Classic Media’s catalogue of titles (which includes Casper and Where’s Waldo?, to name a few) to pump this reboot out. And this amount of time waiting is reasonable to fans in bringing back a love which clearly calls back to other shows like Mobile Suit Gundam.

Any development of the rumoured Robotech live-action movie is languishing. Talks began in 2008 with no word on commitments. According to Harmony Gold’s Kevin McKeever, the Sony Films deal is not finalized.

Voltron certainly saved the day. This reboot is executive produced Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos (better known for their work on Avatar: The Legend of Korra), and they used the same production team to create the style in this series. I am quite enjoying it and binge watched it at least three times since its debut. To improve on what the original series did not do, the producers had a series bible properly developed to outline the development for each of the characters.Pidge gets the most love out. Very rarely do I find myself cheering and I felt like a kid again watching Voltron duke it out with its flaming sword! Lightsaber ho! (yeah, I know, wrong series).

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