McFarlane Toys has revealed the first wave of figures from the classic ’80s romantic fantasy comedy, The Princess Bride. This initial lineup includes Princess Buttercup, Fezzik, Inigo Montoya, and Westley disguised as the Dread Pirate Roberts.
An official release date, figure scale, and price ranges have not been announced yet. However, McFarlane Toys did state that pre-orders would start next week. McFarlane Toys
The Princess Bride is Coming Soon! Stay tuned for pre-orders launching next week…
If I had to guess, these figures might be around 3.75″ tall, with Fezzik probably coming in around 6″. The lean appendages and larger facial details make them look similar to the smaller Star Wars toys. Of course, the enlarged detail of Inigo’s sword is kind of a giveaway.
I’d be grateful for that scale in this line. 6″ figures take up a lot of shelf real estate, regardless if they’re in or out of their boxes. The smaller scale also means a lower price, which many collectors will be grateful for right now.
The Princess Bride was released in 1987 and was based on the William Goldman novel of the same name. It is the story of true love, revenge, friendship, and marriage. As you know, marriage is what brings us together today.
The film starred several famed actors who took the seriousness and silliness of the story to heart and managed to create something with director Rob Reiner that has endured for decades. As a result, the Princess Bride is infinitely quotable. Tirelessly rewatchable.
[Source: McFarlane Toys Facebook]
Kotobukiya is introducing another G.I. Joe character to the line of Bishoujo statues. This time around, Dawn Moreno is being represented as she appears in her Snake Eyes II gear.
The statue stands at 9″ tall. Pre-orders are being taken right now at Sideshow. Dawn will ship between March and May 2022. She is priced at $130. Snake Eyes II was sculpted by Takaboku Busujima.
Dawn Moreno is seen here sporting a visor similar to Snake Eyes. Even her combat armor is somewhat similar if the original character had a curvy and buxom body. That would have made for an interesting episode of the G.I. Joe cartoon. I wonder what lesson the Joes would have tried to teach us in that episode’s PSA…
Kotobukiya | Hasbro Kotobukiya | HasbroKotobukiya | HasbroKotobukiya | Hasbro
The fourth character to join the series is Dawn Moreno, the G.I. JOE agent who calls herself Snake Eyes II from the secretive Arashikage Clan that carries out covert missions throughout the world.
The statue was sculpted by Takaboku Busujima (BUSUJIMAX), who continues to share Japan’s beauty with the world. The digital sculpting brings out a realistic look and feels like no other. Shunya Yamashita’s original illustration has been brought to life with several unique details that can only be appreciated in person.
Bishoujo statues are known for their … generous proportions of the female form. Characters from several franchises have made appearances in this line, included gender swaps of Beetlejuice and Freddy Krueger. Yeah, it’s weird, but Kotobukiya’s artists make everything work out. No doubt this is due to some sort of dark naughty magic.
Apparently, the sequel to Snake Eyes made her debut in the IDW comics around four years ago.
Snake Eyes II is a thing. I was unaware. Then again, I haven’t followed the G.I. Joe lore since I was a kid blowing up Cobra troopers with firecrackers.
As we first met them in Back to the Future, Doc Brown and Marty McFly are the newest additions to Hot Toys’ ongoing line of premium 1/6th scale figures. The figures will be out sometime between late 2021 and early 2022. If you were lucky enough to pick up the 1/6th scale Delorean Time Machine Hot Toys released a few years ago, these additions would make for a jaw-dropping display piece.
We spotted these two new toys over at Figures.com. Hot Toys products typically debut via Sideshow, and that’s no different this time around. Doc and Marty are now available for pre-order. Marty is listed at $285 and comes with Doc’s dog Einstein. The Deluxe version of Emmet Brown is $290. Hot ToysHot ToysHot ToysHot Toys
Marty will come with these accessories:
One (1) camcorder
One (1) portable audio cassette player with headset
One (1) black watch
One (1) skateboard
One (1) red backpack
One (1) handout
Three (3) badges
A figure stand with movie logo and character nameplate
Deluxe Doc Brown ships with all this stuff:
One (1) Plutonium case with one (1) bottle of removable Plutonium
One (1) highly detailed remote
One (1) clipboard with notes
Two (2) watches
One (1) portable printer (can be placed within the pouch)
One (1) stopwatch
One (1) stopwatch for Einstein
One (1) climate graph
One (1) notepad
One (1) pack of pens
One (1) pelvic measuring ruler
Eleven (11) pieces of tools (placed within the tools bag) including:
Four (4) screwdrivers
Two (2) pliers
Two (2) wrenches
One (1) flashlight
One (1) square ruler
One (1) duct tape
A figure stand with movie logo and character nameplate
The Hot Toys Time Machine has been out of production for a while. Much like the ’89 Batmobile, it packed in detail and was quite large. The scaled-down Delorean can be found in the wild occasionally, usually at conventions or on eBay. Before you decide to plop down a few hundred dollars, check out the review of the vehicle below.
The anime ‘Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’ is joining ‘Hello Kitty’ and several others in the franchises of Japanese animation that receives its own wine brand.
Shiraito brewery is creating two flavors to pay tribute to the series including “Grape-Stomping Girl,” a 750ml red, and “Elaina,” a 375ml rosé both for $35.
They shared an image on social media:
Funimation explained on their website, “One of the many stops on Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina‘s magical journey was in the feuding villages of “This” and “That,” famous for their wines. By the end, after some drunken mishaps at the Grape-Throwing Festival, Elaina has her fiery likeness imprinted on her own wine. Life imitates art, because Elaina’s wine is now a real product, courtesy of Shiraito brewery in Itoshima, Fukuoka!”
They add, “Shiraito brewery has produced specialty items for several anime franchises to date, including a line of beers for Grand Blue, wine for Bungou Stray Dogs, non-alcoholic sparkling for Fullmetal Alchemist, plum brandy for Cells at Work!, and many more.”
‘Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’ is based on a manga written by Jougi Shiraishi with artwork from Azure. The anime is made by studio C2C and is licensed for a North American release by Funimation.
According to the synopsis, “Fascinated by the stories of Niké, a witch who traveled around the world, Elaina aspires to take the same course. Her determination of studying books and magic leads to her becoming the youngest apprentice witch to pass the sorcery exam. However, when Elaina attempts to receive training in order to become a full-fledged witch, she is rejected due to her extraordinary talents until she finds Fran, the “Stardust Witch”, who accepts her. After earning her title, the “Ashen Witch”, Elaina begins her exploration around the world, visiting and facing all kinds of people and places.”
Netflix has announced that they have picked up the distribution rights to the South Korean revenge thriller TV series ‘My Name.’ The show is made by Studio Santa Claus with Kim Jin-min handling the directing duties and KIm Va-da handling the writing.
The show follows Han So-hee as a young woman who is searching for her father’s killer in a “revenge-driven” quest. The tagline reads, “No one can know. My enemy, my revenge.”
Han So-hee is joined in the cast by Park Hee-soon, Ahn Bo-hyun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hak-ju, and Jang Yull.
Netflix also released a teaser poster with a release date:
You won't want to miss MY NAME, the new Korean action thriller series starring Han So-hee! Coming to Netflix next month. pic.twitter.com/HDGbxlYVnj
According to Netflix, they have “confirmed the October 15th release date for My Name with the release of its teaser poster. My Name is about A revenge-driven woman who joins a crime ring and becomes an undercover police officer in order to find her father’s killer. Director Kim Jin-min has previously teamed up with Netflix for his much acclaimed Extracurricular, an unconventional story about the darker side of high school teens. My Name, his much anticipated second collaboration with Netflix, makes its appearance with the unveiling of its teaser poster.”
They continue, “It is accompanied by the haunting image of Han So-hee, the likes of which viewers have never seen before. Her portrayal of Jiwoo in My Name takes a 180-degree turn from her other well-known characters as Yeo Da-gyeong in The World of the Married and Yu Na-bi in Nevertheless,. In the poster, she is standing in a dark alleyway with deep scratches on her face and a gleaming dagger in her blood-stained hand, looking as if she had just survived fierce combat. Han So-hee, who performed the difficult action scenes herself, is convincing as Jiwoo, a woman who willingly enters a criminal underworld to avenge her father’s murder and becomes a mole in the police force using an alias. She’ll stop at nothing for revenge and comes face-to-face with brutal truths.”
On August 26th, Toei Animation, Shueisha, my theater D.D., and TV Tokyo launched a new anime streaming service called Animeka. All four companies confirmed that although this streaming platform is only available in Japan at this moment, they do expect to release an international roll-out. The Animeka LLP company was created in April to oversee operations of the service.
At the moment, Animeka in Japan can be found in such places as in the Apple TV app on Apple devices, as well as most LG and Sony smart TVs, Chromecast, Playstation, Amazon Fire TV, and XBox. They offer a 14-day free trial period, with subscriptions costing 450 yen (about $4.10 USD) per month. As well as offering online and offline video-on-demand.
Animeka LLP includes content of a wide range of genres created in the past up to animes currently airing. There are also plans to release spinoffs and documentaries based on popular anime, exclusively to the streaming service.
A screenshot from the translated Animeka homepage and corp webpage:
In recent years there has been much talk and speculation that Japan could be working on a way to walk around certain companies, such as Funimation, and go straight to the consumers with their own platforms. Times have changed since the days of ADV and DiC, and technology has advanced to the point where this latest news appears to be confirming that strategy. There are some official channels on Youtube that have already started to upload their own content with complete episodes in sub and various languages.
Shin-Ei Animation began uploading segments from a subtitled series called Atashinchi (which means Family) in May 15th, 2020. Shin-Ei Animation studio is also behind such works as Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan.
Atashinchi is described as: The Tachibanas are the quintessential Japanese family, unassuming and infinitely relatable. There’s Mother, who isn’t the best cook and is quite lazy, and Father, who always leaves the bathroom door ajar. The high school daughter Mikan seems a bit of a buffoon, and the middle schooler son Yuzuhiko appears to be quite the cold fish at first glance. They’re a bit peculiar… but they were a family everyone could relate to. And they’re back, this time on YouTube!
AnimeLog began uploading content on their official Youtube channel on November 12th, 2020. It is supported by Kodansha Ltd, Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co. Ltd, Shin-Ei Animation Co. Ltd, Tezuka Productions Company, Limited Toei Animation Co. LTD, and Nippon Animation Co. LTD. They provide a disclaimer in their channel description warning that some of the contents may have things some people may not like today. But they also respect “the historical value and background of the time when they were published, and we have no intention to discriminate against any of them, so we have distributed them as they were.” Some shows they upload include Daddy Long Legs, Anne Before Green Gables (English subtitle), Hungry Heart (Japanese, Latino, and Portuguese audio versions, with English sub), Fantastic Children (English dub), and Jungle Emperor.
Here is the first episode of Fantastic Children, a 26 episode 2004 series from Nippon Animation. AnimeLog describes it as this: This is an authentic fantasy adventure for boys and girls to enjoy, with a nostalgic mystery and the titans of the adventure series. The story is a love story of children who travel through 200 million light-years of uncanny space and 500 years of space-time and centuries on earth. Every child has these questions. ‘Where do people come from and where do they go?’ “What happens to people when they die? ‘What about your previous life? And will people be reborn again? But without finding the answers to these questions, we grow up and forget why we asked them. This film provides children, the viewers, with one answer.
What do you think about Japan continually making moves to become more independent to get their content out there into the world? Do you think they will eventually dub different languages on their own terms in the future as well?
‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry is being honored in a huge way through the “Boldly Go” campaign that encourages fans from across the world to submit videos and photos that ask what they hope for in the next one-hundred years.
The Roddenberry Foundation is partnering with Paramount+ satellite company Planet and technology company OTOY to celebrate Roddenberry in what would have been his one-hundredth birthday.
Deadline reports, “The campaign will launch at Paramount+’s red carpet event on September 8, featuring Star Trek actors LeVar Burton, George Takei, Patrick Stewart, and others. Gene’s son Rod Roddenberry, founder of the Roddenberry Foundation and president of Roddenberry Entertainment, will appear on a panel about Star Trek’s legacy. The celebration will be live-streamed for free at StarTrek.com/Day starting at 8:30 PM ET.”
Gene Roddenberry’s son and head of the Foundation described the campaign saying, “The campaign is about inspiring hope and creating an opportunity for people to participate in building a better future. We want to acknowledge and in a way thank the fans for their role in keeping Star Trek and my dad’s legacy relevant. And we want to remind ourselves that we can make a difference, that together we can ensure that the values that fuel Star Trek—diversity, inclusion, and progress— are worthy and achievable. My dad would have loved the idea of combining philanthropy and fan participation into real-world impact. We’ll have more updates on our impact as the campaign progresses.”
Roddenberry was born on August 19, 1921. The first show he produced was ‘The Lieutenant’ which ran for one season that ended in 1964. It was that same year when he launched ‘Star Trek,’ a science fiction franchise that made him a household name. The show would inspire spin-offs, novels, movies, video games, and eventually earn Roddenberry a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.
SpongeBob Squarepants and Sandy Cheeks are two characters who are being initiated into Super7’s line of premium action figures. While these two lack the articulation of the company’s other Ultimates figures, the pair do come with a number of accessories. A few of those harken back from when the series first launched in 1999.
Both figures will be about 7″ tall and feature interchangeable heads and appendages. Sandy and SpongeBob are available for pre-order now, but the first two figures in this series won’t be shipping out until the Fall of 2022. Phew, that is a long wait.
It’s Super7’s new SpongeBob SquarePants ULTIMATES! figures! Lovers of the show’s high-energy hijinks know that SpongeBob and Sandy Cheeks are the perfect pair to debut the SpongeBob SquarePants line of ULTIMATES! figures. Whether practicing karate, jellyfishing, or taking on an extreme sport, these two are always up for adventure!
These made-to-order, highly articulated, deluxe 7” scale action figures feature a variety of interchangeable parts and iconic accessories that will transform your collection into Bikini Bottom!
Super7Super7Super7
Maintaining the characters’ on-screen appearance while also adding articulation must be a challenge. What do you do when a character’s legs are the size of a toothpick? Super7 looks to be trying to solve the limitation issue. SpongeBob’s legs do move at … hip?
OK, he’ll be a little light on poseability. But he comes with Bubble Buddy! Sandy, on the other hand, has a few more features. This makes me wonder what Patrick is going to be like. Will they try to go with a one-piece body with an armature inside? Will he have only ball socket appendages?
What are your thoughts on SpongeBob’s inclusion in the Ultimates series? What other IPs should Super7 look at for inspiration?
[Source: Super7]
It has been eleven years since Remedy’s survival horror game Alan Wake made its debut on XBOX 360. Then, after a couple of expansions and a spin-off, the series went quiet. Now, out of nowhere, it was discovered that a remaster may be on the way.
The info was spotted by Wario64 on the Taiwanese branch of the Japanese retail website Rakuten. Microsoft’s exclusivity rights to Alan Wake ran out a few years ago. So, seeing the title pop up for a Sony console isn’t strange. What is weird is why remaster it?
Alan Wake was released in 2010 after several years of hype. I remember the first tech demo of the game showing off the lighting engine and massive landscapes. After that, however, the scale of the game’s world was dramatically cut down, leaving players with a strictly linear game.
The game ended up being even more narrow than the previous Max Payne games Remedy had produced. However, there was still a lot of suspense and enjoyability in the survival horror title. Unfortunately, for some of us, the problem was that this is not the game we were sold on for several years.
Narratively the game was fine. The mechanic of using a powerful flashlight to weaken enemies while also trying to conserve batteries was a welcome challenge. The number of moments when I’d survive by the skin of my teeth were many. So many great small moments, but never enough time to explore the vast world you were dropped into.
The spinoff Alan Wake’s American Nightmare solved some of these problems, but it was a far shorter game made for the XBOX 360’s ‘Arcade’ division of games. Nevertheless, it was a solid title and delivered in areas the first game did not. Hopefully, it and the two expansions to the first Alan Wake are included in this remaster.
What are your thoughts on Remedy’s Alan Wake series? Let us know in the comments.
[Source: Wario64]
‘Kageki Shojo!!’ is a manga drama written by Kumiko Saiki that had an original run from 2012 to 2014 before starting again in 2015. It was originally published by Shueisha and later Hakusensha being picked up by Seven Seas Entertainment for a North America release.
An anime adaption was launched in July 2021 by Pine Jam and director Kazuhiro Yoneda. Funimation announced on their website that they had acquired the rights to produce an English dub that will be released on their streaming service.
“Can you rise to the top and take the stage? We’re excited to announce that the Kageki Shojo!! English dub is officially on its way to Funimation, and we’ve got info on the series cast and crew for you,” Funimation explains. “Episode 1 of the Kageki Shojo!! English dub will arrive on Funimation, which means your journey at the legendary Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts is about to begin.”
They said, “The English cast for the series includes Siv Ryan as Sarasa Watanabe and Xanthe Huynh (March comes in like a lion, BNA: Brand New Animal) as Ai Narata.”
The show also stars Megan Shipman as Ayako Yamada, Corey Pettit as Sawa Sugimoto, AmaLee as Kaoru Hoshino, Monica Rial as Chika Sawada, and Natalie Rial as Chiaki Sawada.
The plot summary says, “Ever since she was a little girl, Sarasa has wanted to play the role of Oscar as part of the Kouka Acting Troupe, an all-female acting troupe similar to the Takarazuka Revue. But before she can do that, she has to attend two years at the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts. As Sarasa practices singing, dancing, and acting, she grows closer to the other girls in her year, including her roommate, the stoic former J-idol, Ai. Though Sarasa is great at making friends, her outspoken nature and grand ambitions earn her lots of enemies as well.
