Gundam Figure and Broadcast News
Another day, another update on Gundam figures. Well, that's what it seems like anyway. A number of new details have been released for your consumption, revealing that not only will there be Gundams released from the Gundam Wing TV series, but from the Endless Waltz OVA as well. Endless Waltz will be aired at some point down the road, but only the Anime Gods and Cartoon Network executives know when it'll happen. The Basic set of figures will measure 4 1/2 inches tall, with 14 points of articulation (that's pretty damn mobile for a mech figure), and will retail for $5.99 ($5.99!? Bandai must be nuts... or just really intent on moving a lot of figures):
- The Gundam Wing will come with a Beam Sword and shield.
- The Gundam Death Scythe will come with a shield that can transform into gigantic scissors.
- The Gundam Heavy Arms will have a duel gattling gun.
- The Gundam Sandrock will come with twin swords and a shield.
- The Gundam Shen-Long will have the extending right Dragon Arm.
- The Tallgeese will feature the Long Rifle Cannon.
- The Gundam Epyon will have a heat rod and beam sword (Epyon! Woohoo!!).
- The Mobile Suit Leo will have two versions, being sold separately; the army (ground) and space versions.
- The Tallgeese II will also have the Long Rifle Cannon.
- The Sandrock Custom will come with twin swords and a shield.
- The Gundam Nataku will be the final mobile suit in this line.
The Deluxe series will retail for $7.99 and features a number of different Gundams:
- The Gundam Wing Zero will transform into Bird Mode and have the Beam Sword and a shield.
- The Gundam Death Scythe Hell will feature oversized body-armor that opens up for its battle mode and will have the Twin Beam Scythe.
- The Gundam Altron will have extending Dragon Arms and a moveable tail weapon.
- The Gundam Death Scythe Hell Custom will also be included in the series.
- The Gundam Wing Zero Custom will transform into Bird Mode and have two beam rifles that combine together.
- The Gundam Heavy Arms Custom will feature two gattling guns, plus missile launchers.
Dragonball Z's popularity has grown quite a bit in the past year and is still on the rise, and as such, Funimation has launched a new and improved website here. The site contains a plethora of information on the portions of the series already shown, even containing information on the upcoming Android and Cell sagas. It even goes to the extent of providing info on what episodes each character appears in. They also have a ClubZ section, which requires registration, but features things like Dragonball Z contests, desktops, screensavers, e-cards, and chat rooms for those willing to go to the trouble of signing up. If you're a fan, or even if you're not, stop by and take a look around. They really put Flash to good use on this page, but it also has a standard html version for those who don't want to wait for the Flash version to load.
When you're done browsing around the DBZ site, stop by this Japanese site here (Ed. note: the site no longer exists.) and check out the new 10 minute clip from the Escaflowne movie. The clip is in asf format and comes in two flavors; a low quality version, weighing in at just under 3 megs, which shouldn't take too long over a 56k modem, and a slightly higher quality version, clocking in at just under 4 megs, which will require a tad more bandwidth to stream properly. The clip is simply awesome, so make sure to stop by and check it out. It's entirely in Japanese, limiting the spoiler potential somewhat, but if you'd like to go into the movie completely fresh when it's released, you may want to think twice about watching this clip (it really is an amazing clip though, so you might as well check it out anyway, spoilers be damned ^_-).
Over on the Sci-Fi UK forum, there was an interesting little message about future anime broadcasts on the network. Check it out for yourself:
"There are no plans to increase the amount of anime on a permanent basis. However, once a month we show a double-bill of anime movies on Saturday night (usually starting around 10:00 PM) and in August we are planning a special anime event which will include a whole week of anime movies (some will be premieres) at midnight. Stay tuned for more details."
That's pretty good news for all you Brits across the pond. Also on the topic of anime on TV, for those of you out in California, KTEH will be broadcasting Ranma 1/2: Nihao My Concubine, the second Ranma 1/2 movie, on July 25th at 9:30 PM.
That's all we have for today, so until Moridin sends in some more news to entertain you with, get busy checking out all those great new sites around the web. We'd also have a Card Captor Sakura commercial for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of a certain newsy named Moridin, but our movie server is mysteriously empty, meaning no movies at all for the time being. Anyway, have fun and watch out for pandas.
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