Rena: Day 1 to Day 30

Here is a series of pictures we took of Rena, all the way from day 1 till day 30, just before her baby shower. You can also check out a gallery of these pics on Facebook via this public link. Thanks to all who turned up today. More pictures will be uploaded shortly in my next post. :)

お早うレナちゃん～

It's been a tiring 2 weeks with Rena thus far, with her favouring the night time instead of the day and as a result she prefers to stare at us with her eyes wide awake at 3am. Well, usually I'm about to end my game on PS3 anyway.... Haha yah my cycle's messed up, but it's good this way since I wake up later while Mabel takes the earlier shift. I'm still learning how to do a lot of things, but I'm already pretty efficient with most of the routine stuff such as preparing the milk, changing diapers, etc.

Still, I'm thankful for the break from work so that I can concentrate on learning these things and also take time to do most of the things with Rena and Mabel. It can get pretty boring at home at times when they're both sleeping, but at least I still my laptop and PS3 with me. I'm finally going back to where I left off in 3DS Max, and I've also gotten Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm on the PS3. These should last me for a few weeks..... I think. I also finally found time to pick up some of the pieces which I have pre-ordered a few weeks ago. They include the 2 other forms of Den-O in all their SIC glory. I really wanted to stop at these 2 figures for this series but turns out that Bandai really wants to suck us dry and have announced the upcoming lineup with the rest of the Den-O forms and even the remaining Imagins. And as you would have guessed, I've already paid up for the deposit..... I don't usually keep SICs but I think they're pretty cool. I've around 10 of them at home, but I think they come with too many assessories which in the end become useless and have to dump them aside.

Here are some pics I took of the 1/60 Perfect Transformation VF-1J Valkryie which I just gotten recently too. I've always wanted one of these but they were too expensive, until they started this new series which are in my opinion, value for money considering the amount of details they have. This new generation of kits feature full transformation capabilities which even surpass their larger 1/48 counterparts, and have resolved a lot of the problems which faced the previous models. On top of this, they come complete with all colors and details, and also includes 2 full sheets of decals which I have yet to start fixing yet. Most probably I'll only use the common ones and skip all the tiny ones as they're really hard to fix without the proper tools.

The super parts form part of the armour for the VF-1J, and although it looks bulky, the parts are extremely well done and for most of them you can even remove part of the cover to reveal the intricate details such as the internal boosters, missiles, etc. My feel? Nice, but in the end no one's gonna see them as they'll all be covered up. Still, the detail is amazing. Transforming to gerwalk and battaloid forms are more complicated and took longer than I anticipated. My first try took me nearly 30 minutes. The whole set comes with additional holders for the stand, additional missile packs, and even anime hands for that extra realistic pose. I'm really tempted to get the stand, but then again it's pretty most costly and may not be worth the buck. I'll be figuring out where to place this kit at home, and also I'll be trying my best to keep this the one and only Macross figure I have. Until of course, they release something more worthwhile..... The long awaited Dragonball movie trailer have finally found its way to Japanese television. There's been a change in the movie name, now officially knowned as Dragonball: Evolution. I'm not sure of why the change, but I'm sure that most of the fans are also now questioning why the abrupt decision. Have they finally decided that they've swayed too much from the source and decided to name it Evolution as a rationale? Anyway, I thought the trailer kicked ass, but hopefully we'll see a US version soon too. Check it out here:

As mentioned in the previous entry, the new Shinkenger pics are out. While I find the kanji motifs very innovative and original for such a long running series, the execution doesn't seem to pull it off very well, especially for Red, whose helmet seems kinda awkard. Well, they always manage to impress in the end, so we'll just have to wait until we see them in action. I'm wishing for a kick ass roll call for next year.

The new information for Kamen Rider Decade has been pouring in much earlier since we're expecting Kiva to end in January. The story revolves around the nine previous universes of the Heisei Kamen Riders merging into one where Tsukasa Kadoya (門矢 士) transforms into Kamen Rider Decade to protect his own dimension by defeating the other Kamen Riders. Masahiro Inoue (井上 正大), who has portrayed Keigo Atobe in the Prince of Tennis musicals, has been cast in the lead role for Decade as Tsukasa Kadoya/Kamen Rider Decade. Also involved is Ryouta Murai (村井 良大) who has been cast as Yuusuke Onodera/Kamen Rider Kuuga (小野寺 ユウスケ／仮面ライダークウガ), Anna Mori (森アンナ) as Natsumi Hikari (光 夏海), and voice actor Renji Ishibashi (石橋 蓮司) as Eijiro Hikari (光 栄次郎). Gackt has been brought onto the production to perform the series' theme song titled "Journey through the Decade." Check out a clip from tv advertising the show:

From the results of the poll (right frame) so far, most people feel that Rena looks a little more like her Dad. Honestly, I can't really tell, but I don't really care much anyway. I just want her to be safe and sound, and above all healthy and lively. This is just a way to prove to Mabel, who insists that Rena looks more like her. Well, as long as you're happy I'm fine. :) Until next time, Ja~!

Rena's first video

First clip I've created for Rena, using photos and videos we've taken at the hosptial and at home. Rena is 9 days old as of the making of this video. Not too fantastic cause I did this in a single seating. :) Song used is "What 'bout my star" by Nakajima Megumi and May'n. Already planning for the next one, targeted to be done by the baby shower. :)

On a totally separate note, we have the first official poster of the new 2009 Super Sentai Series, named Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Note that the helmet designs are based on the elements of 火、水、木、土、天 to represent Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink respectively. Click on the image to view it in full size.

ついに試験が終ってしまいました！

Hi and welcome to my newly revamped blog! I've finally taken the time to put up a customised banner, and also changed the colour scheme for most of the page elements. I can't say I've gotten used to this new colour yet, so expect some more tweaks and changes to be made. For me, I've got a little bit more of free time at least for now, since my JLPT 2 test is finally over! The test wasn't as hard as I thought, though I would still need some luck in passing it as some of the questions really had me stumped and I had to resort to guessing. Well, the wait for the results in March goes on....... On the role of Rena's father, the nights are long and the days are short, mainly due to her lively nature during the night while she sleeps through most of daylight. Kinda like me actually, except that I usually call it a day before 1am, while she becomes active during that time. The changing of nappines and preparing her milk have become routine now, and it's all worth it just to see her smile. :) Haven't been visiting the regular toy shops for a while now, so my orders have been piling up waiting for collection. On top of the list are the 160 Macross VF-1J Valkyrie and the SIC Den-O Axe and Rod forms. The other SICs are also on their way, along with the new series of the Kamen Rider Legend figures. I really don't have much space for all these, since the last batch of Sentai toys have taken up all the remaining space. I will really need to do something soon..... From Wiki: Genesis Climber Mospeada (機甲創世記モスピーダ) (literally "Armored Genesis Mospeada") is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan. MOSPEADA stands for Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Armor, one of the transformable motorcycle-armors the series features.[1] The other primary mecha featured in the show is the three-form transformable fighter called the Armo-Fighter AFC-01 Legioss, which is very much similar to the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

I first saw this classic series when I was just a kid, but the memories of the transformable bike remains till even now. Honestly, I rewatched the series a few years back and it wasn't really as fantastic as I thought it would be, but the bike itself makes up for it. Will I be getting this figure? Chances aren't high due to my other stuff and commitments, but we'll see. :p

The toy trends of late have seen some of the established series releasing miniture head displays. Most of you know that I've been collecting the larger Kamen Rider heads (no, not the live sized ones or I would have went for the Halloween parties already), although I have a few of the smaller ones it's hard to complete the collection as they have secret pieces which cost a fortune when put together. Here you see some of the new heads from the latest series, the fifth to be exact. Nice, but too expensive for me. Did I mention they come in random boxes?

Some thing more affordable and also more attractive for me are the Gundam heads. They have just been released around last month, to coincide with the new PSP Gundam Vs Gundam game, which I have also been playing just before Rena came and gave a halt to gaming. They are of the same size as the ones I'm collecting, which are pretty big and detailed. I'll most probably just get the few I really fancy, such as God Gundam, Strike Gundam, Destiny Gundam, and the original RX-78.

Cashing in on the craze are finally the Ultraman heads. They look good too, but are sadly the smaller scale ones same as the Kamen Rider heads in the first picture, which means they will mostly be in random boxes unless I get the entire series, which is again too costly. If I get the chance, I'll just get the Nexus head, the Mebius, Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia ones. The rest? Only if I have spare cash.

From Wiki: Kamen Rider Decade (仮面ライダーディケイド, Masked Rider DCD) is the title of the upcoming 2009 edition of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. Advertisements in Japanese magazines feature the title character amongst the title characters of the previous nine Heisei Kamen Rider Series. Decade, as its title suggests, is the tenth anniversary of the Heisei Rider Series, having begun with Kamen Rider Kuuga in 2000. It is scheduled to begin broadcast the week following the finale of Kamen Rider Kiva and will be featured in Super Hero Time alongside the 2009 edition of the Super Sentai Series. So far, I'm really pumped up for this new series. Perhaps it's also due to the fact that I've not really been enjoying Kiva, and want it to end so that more Decade news and perhaps the teaser/trailer can be shown soon. Kiva's my least enjoyed Heisei rider show so far, but at least the good news in Decade is that we'll see all the other 9 Heisei riders, and perhaps their original human form actors too. More news to come, hopefully sooner than later.

On December 6, several of the cast members of Go-onger announced on their blogs that there is going to be a second Go-onger movie. The next day, Toei announced on it's Go-onger website that the film was going to be Go-onger vs. Gekiranger, and that it was to commemorate the 15th of the Super Sentai V-Cinema VS Series, having started initially with J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai vs. Goranger in 1978 and revived annually with Chouriki Sentai Ohranger vs. Kakuranger in 1996. The film is slated for theatrical release on January 24, 2009.Engine Sentai Go-onger vs. Gekiranger (炎神戦隊ゴーオンジャーVSゲキレンジャー) will feature the return of Juken Sentai Gekirangers. The story features the Three Gaiark Ministers and their Nunchaku Banki (ヌンチャクバンキ) teaming up with the last remaining member of the Confrontation Beast Hall (臨獣殿), Meka (メカ), practicer of the Confrontation Beast Tortoise Fist (臨獣トータス拳) who is after the golden orb that Long was sealed in. To defeat their common foes, the Go-ongers, the Go-on Wings, and the Gekirangers team up to fight the new evil team.
Resident Evil: Degeneration, known in Japan as Biohazard: Degeneration (バイオハザード ディジェネレーション), is the first full-length CG animation feature based upon the Resident Evil series of games. It was announced by Capcom and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan on October 29, 2007. Unlike the previous Resident Evil film trilogy, Degeneration is set within the same universe as the original video games. The teaser included with the Resident Evil: Extinction DVD and Blu-ray Disc confirmed the appearance of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. I've already watched this, and as a Resident Evil fan I thought it was pretty ok, although the main minuses would be that the plot, like most of the games, are full of plot holes and other events which seem to happen for the sake of convenience. I would also have loved to see the zombie dogs, crows, alligators, and even sharks, but only the Tyrant (again) showed up. On the good side, it was great seeing Claire and Leon team up again, and the action scenes were very well done.

"Cover You" is the ninth studio album and first cover album by the J-pop idol group Morning Musume, released on November 26, 2008. So far I haven't got much time to listen though all of the songs, but from what I've heard so far there's nothing really that caught my eye... erm ear yet. Seems that the group haven't been doing well lately, and have also been dropped from the annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦), which is a first for them since a decade ago. Sad for them, but well, they really gotta pick up their tempo again.
That's it for now, but the entries should be coming in fast this time round, since I have more time, and there's more Rena pictures to be posted. I'm also collecting some of my stuff really soon, and will be posting up new pics and perhaps some short reviews too. Check back, and do click on the "Follow this blog" feature you see on the right panel! Ja~