It’s that time again~ Where I post pictures of a figure I got. XD
This time around it’s that special two-pack from Wal-Mart (That I had to get from Ebay b/c my Wal-Mart refused to carry it…no really. I check every week and they never have a single TFA toy. >_<)
And not just any two-pack! But my favorite couple from TFA!!! That’s right. Optimus Prime x Blackarachnia.
It's blue tinted because I don't know how to work my camera.
If you know me well, you know that I can’t watch anything without shipping something – and Optimus Prime x Elita-1 has always been a OTP. So…naturally it carries over into TFA (even if Blackarachnia x Silverbolt is my OTP for Beast Wars…. Why do you mess with me so TFA!?)
Anyway, the figures are great even if Blackarachnia is a little hard to model. But I love ‘Battle Damage’ Prime. Makes him look manly.
OP is whipped.
Still whipped.
But he's still got a giant Ax.
And hey~ It's OP's lady. Gotta' give her the lovin.
Anyway. I’d take more pictures but I’m out of time. So now they’re just cuddling on my desk next to Arcee & Blurr.
Making Arcee a Toys R’ Us exclusive was the cruelest thing I think Hasbro could have done to the Animated Toy line.
That said – I looked for her in Toys R’ Us. I looked for her quite often. But, I work normal hours which means I could never make it to the store on delivery days. So, thanks to other rabid fans and scalpers – I was out of luck.
And I refused to pay $30+ or more before shipping for a $12 figure.
Well, one day I got lucky. I was browsing Ebay and saw one for $10, I went ‘okay’ and went ahead and bid. I got outbid immediately so curious of the other person’s High Bid – I went all the way up to $21. And then – I find an Arcee for $9.50 that ends in 20 minutes. I went ‘what the hell?” and bid. And ended up winning her for $11. I was freakishly happy and if you follow my Twitter you probably heard me squealing. (Thankfully someone who knows who he is outbid me on the other figure. XD)
She arrived in the mail and I am, very very happy. This is a nice figure and well worth it. They really should have printed more of her because she would have sold out no matter what.
But – I’m going to show you pictures of the other Toys R’ Us Exclusive figure first just to hold out the suspense!
Cybertron Mode Ratchet – I actually found him in the store. And he’s a cutie:
Ratchet!
But none of you care about him (as noted by the fact there’s still another figure of him sitting on the shelf in my local Toys R’ Us…) So here’s Arcee!!
She is Hard. Core.
I was not a huge fan of Arcee in G1 – sure I adored her paired up with Springer (OTP!) but she was mostly just there. And that thing with her and Daniel later in the series was just plain creepy. Animated Arcee – now her I liked. She was still meek and modest, but you could tell she was well, useful. Girl was a school teacher! You know she had some brass.
She glitters.
And let’s face it – her Animated ReDesign was slick and probably called back to the original G1 design more than most of the cast. This figure just looks good – and it glitters. *_* (See, this is how Glitter is done Edward Cullen! Take some notes!)
Swords
And best of all – the figure revealed some other fun stuff about her, like the fact her weapon of choice is dual swords. You know she used those on her students.
Awesome Duo
And much the way Animated drives me crazy with screwing with my OTP’s (G1 Optimus x Elita-One & BW Silverbolt x Blackarachnia somehow morphing into TF:A Optimus x Blackarachnia) – it does it again messing with G1 Arcee x Springer to the above. Ratchet & Arcee in Animated are ridiculously adorable together.
Blurr is Jealous
And now Blurr is jealous because he’s no longer my favorite TF:A figure. It’s okay, Blurr! Your’e still the second favorite!
I can’t stop watching it. XD Don’t get me wrong; I love the English opening b/c it was a great Remix of the Classic Transformers Theme – but all the animation is just taken from the series. So it wasn’t all that great.
And now TFA is finally getting ported to Japan – and they get this for an OP:
The animation is spectacular, the song is catchy and good grief they made Sentinel Prime look hard core. Sentinel people!
And who else wasn’t giddy at the thought of Arcee vs Blackarachnia? Or that freaking pan in on Ultra Magnus looking all sorts of bad ass? Heck, even Prime sparkling looked cool. Take that Edward Cullen! Then again, it’s freaking Optimus Prime. He could walk out in a pink Tutu and still make you cower in a corner. He’s just that rad. Even as a newbie maintenance bot. Yeah.
Man I love Transformers Animated. XD
Just about the only thing the Japanese opening is missing are the twins…who are strangely absent. Huh.
Maybe they’ll show up in a second opening…Come on Japan! Give us a new opening per season! XD
So, I got off work early today and tried to get some errands done. Buy a new purse (as much as I loved my disney donald & daisy purse…it was starting to fall apart…sadly.) mail a package and try and get a tiny dent in my Christmas shopping done.
Well, my Christmas shopping took me to a toy store (because my friends and family like toys as much as I do! Yay!) – Toys R’ Us. And I managed to knock two people off my list.
And well, you know me. Can’t go into a toy section now a days without looking at the Transfomers section (Especially with a 1 in 1000 chance of seeing that exclusive Toys R’ Us Arcee figure). And what did I see? Tons of movie figures (Doesn’t surprise me; the movie figures are kinda ugly…though I did sort of like Barricade). Tons of the younger aged toys (the ones for 5 and under) and the big expensive ones.
Transformers Animated Deluxe? Gone. There was one figure left – Oil Slick.
So I bought it.
I love his Chain Barrel Weapon
It worked out well for me because I liked Oil Slick in his very brief appearance in the show, and of course he invented Cosmic Rust. Which is cool.
His Motor Bike Form Is Cool
And the Ram Head on his bike/arm is way cooler than the Cybertronian looking one from the series. I love the horns.
Well, after securing Oil Slick – I went back to browse the movie figures and realized that most of the somewhat attractive ones were gone (Dead End had promise.) So I resigned myself to leaving the store.
And saw the giant stack of Ultra Magnus & Bulkhead Leader Class figures. And there, wedged between them was a movie deluxe figure. I nearly squealed – It was Bumblebee!!
It took me forever to get him out of car mode. XD I suck.
I’ve never actually caught a Deluxe Bumblebee in a store. Out of all the BayVerse bots, Bumble bee is the only design I actually like. He’s cute, I like his mask and his door-wings are darling.
Anyway. I squee’d and snatched it up. So now you can adore his cute as well:
He is freaking adorable.
I need to stop looking at figures. XD This is getting as bad as my obsession with Gashapon figures…
Well, it’s December and Christmas is rearing it’s head (which is acceptable now b/c its’ after Thanksgiving. Seeing Christmas stuff out before Thanksgiving has always bugged me…”) and we were out driving and I saw this :
That’s a lot of lights.
We literally turned the corner onto the street and I gawked. This house was huge and decked out in lights from top to bottom all the way around. I’m sad only one picture really came out.
A gift from Mike that he wasn’t expecting to arrive for another week…and well it’s impossible for me to wait to open anything. And I was greeted with his wonderful Jet Form in a box.
I will not discuss how long it took me to get him to robot mode. The 5+ on the box hurts my pride.
More pictures!
He took off his helmet! Look at that pretty face.
And this is how he looks right now on my desk.
For a size comparison.
Just for fun, I slid Blurr2 right up next to him. Ha ha. Not exactly accurate to scale. XD
Tee hee. Hot Rod is so short.
Hot Rod3 however is probably closer to scale. And he’s not happy about it.
And that’s about it. I hope you’ve enjoyed yet another waste of time looking at my toys.
The box and comics all call him Jetfire but Skyfire was the first name I knew him as in the show. So Skyfire I shall call him.↩
My first Transformers figure! All my Beast Wars toys don’t count because they belong to my brother…↩
The other title of today’s post should be – I love figurines. I have tons of them. Not all of them anime/manga mind you – but I have quite a few (even if they all are in boxes b/c I’m lazy and have yet to you know, unpack them after we moved houses a year and so ago…)
I digress. Today’s post is about – bum bum bum! GASHAPON!!!1
I don’t usually go crazy over toys, but I really, really like these and they arrived today. In fact – I just finished putting them together about oh, maybe thirty minutes ago?
The Figures:
Above, you see from left to right: Kisaragi Honey (from re:Cutie Honey), Misato, Rei and Asuka (All from Evangelion) And I picked up all of them from Mugentoys.com
Now then. Let’s talk about them!
Kisaragi Honey:
re:Cutie Honey was ironically the first Cutie Honey series I watched. I missed out on all the references, I’m sure. But it was one mini series I adored to bits and pieces (which is odd for me considering there was like one male cast member…very odd for me.).
So, when I saw this figure of Honey I had to have it. Especially when the pose comes from the incredible opening:
Rei & Asuka:
Rei & Asuka from Evangelion are a new one for me. Normally my brother’s the one collecting figures of these two. But – I finally found a set I thought was adorable.
There’s not much more to it than that for this one – I love winter gear and they’re cute.
Misato:
However – the piece de’ resistance had to be this figure of Katsuragi Misato. Misato has always been my favorite character from Evangelion and I have been looking everywhere for a figure that really grabbed me. This one – it grabbed me.
Let’s face it – this figure is sexy. I love everything about it from the pose (the foot on the footstool? Love.) to her jacket hanging off her arm. And she looks amazing next to my laptop on the desk.
Or even on the computer! She looks amazing everywhere~
AHH!!! Oh no! Rodimus Prime2 is jealous that he’s no longer the favorite figurine! Whatever will I do!?
Oh wait! I know:
There we go. Now Rodimus is happy because he’s got a pretty lady on his arm. She’s way better than that Arcee girl.3
Other:
And just for fun, here’s a couple pics of the other Anime/Manga figures I have hanging out on my desk:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief waste of your time. Thank-you.
Gashapon figures are random vending machine figures. Think of those quarter machines in super markets that give you a random little toy in an egg – only they’re actually nice and worth more like $3-20+ dollars depending on the figure.↩
Now, I’d like to set this up for you all – before the movie, I (being the spoiler lover that I am) read up on the plot summary and was instantly excited because I was promised (finally) some talking scenes with both Megatron and Starscream. Plus, Frank Welker is playing Soundwave and Devastator. How could that possibly go wrong?
However, after that I figured I’d read some reviews to get an idea of what I was in for and see how it was being recieved after it’s opening day.
Almost every single review declared it a horrible travesty. It was attacked for being plotless, boring, full of horrible acting and dialogue, offensive, and without any sort of character development. They hated this film. Review after review declaring it a piece of trash.
I laughed after looking at their complaints and had only one thought: They have never seen the cartoon.
All I could think while watching was – this is classic Transformers. At it’s best. Now, it was not without its faults – the Autobots could have had a little more screen time and one or two sex jokes could have been cut, but more or less it was full of everything that made the Transformers cartoon so great.
Let’s begin.
The Plot
In the reviews, they mentioned that this film barely had a plot and it was hard to follow what was going on. I’m not quite sure where they got this – it was fairly straight forward. The Fallen came to Earth millions thousands of years ago to harvest the sun for Energon and was attacked by his brothers for trying to destroy a planet with life on it. Present day, he’s back for revenge and to try again and create energon. The side plot? Get the Matrix (the key to turning on the big machine that makes energon) before the Fallen does.
This is standard Transformers. Season One of the G1 Cartoon was entirely about Megatron trying to collect energon from various sources on Earth from mining gems, to raiding oil rigs or using electricity. All things considered – using a machine to capture the sun’s energy almost makes more sense than what the cartoon did with pouring oil into a clear box.
I’m not sure what else to say. I guess if you’re not familiar with the original cartoon you may not realize that the hunt for energon is a classic plotline in this franchise.
The Characters
I will admit though, there is something to be said for the lack of Transformers speaking roles. There is a bit too much of humans and not enough Autobots. But, compared to the first film they doubled their screen time so I’m not complaining too much.
Though, I have to clarify that it was the ‘Autobots’ who didn’t get much screentime (Aside from the twins, Skids and Mudflap…they got a little too much. They weren’t as awful as people describe them, but I would have preferred more Bumblebee.) – because the Decepticons got a lot.
Megatron and Starscream had three long scenes together. I nearly wept with joy seeing Megatron strangle Starscream. This is Transformers. This is what the first movie was missing – the Decepticons talking and bickering and Starscream being the groveling suck-up he is. I may be a tad biased considering Starscream has always been my favorite character, but the two of them more than made up for one too many scenes with the twins.
Plus, Simmons returned. I liked him in the first film, and I like seeing him on the good guys side in the second.
The one character I was hesitant about was Jetfire (Also known as Skyfire in G1) because he was being portrayed as a senile old man. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry. Jetfire was great. He was crazy and lovable and declared his father to be THE wheel. His greatest moment? Hearing there was a Prime on Earth. He got this puppy dog happy look on his face that was just too endearing.
Oh, and Soundwave as a satellite? Much cooler than I anticpated. I blame it all on Frank Welker and his sheer awesomeness.
As for the humans – seriously. What series didn’t have annoying kids that no one liked who had too much screen time? >.>
The Dialogue/Acting
“I’ll take you all on!” – Optimus
Transformers is built on corny, pun-filled dialogue. The fact that they railed on such things as Simmons going “Not on my watch!” makes me shake my head. Again, going back to the source – it’s always been a mix of the awful and the amazing. Optimus is the only person who can get away with saying both “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing” and “Let’s roll!”
Awful dialogue blended with moving inspirational statements is the blood of this series. I won’t hear a word against it.
Final Thoughts
I loved this film. The action was amazing – Megatron and Starscream had three amazing scenes together – Optimus kicked ass. There were so many things to squeal about.
And Ravage – did I mention Ravage? That cat was made of win. Made. of. Win.
I wish I could remember where it was, but in one review the author commented he couldn’t understand why such advanced robots with such impressive technology were hitting each other with their fists.
Why?
Because they’re Transformers. They’re not mindless fighting machines, they’re people. And most people will tell you there’s a difference between the satisfaction of decking someone with your flesh and blood fist and just shooting them. Optimus knows this well and he is one kick-ass brawler. Let’s face it – Giant Robots beating the crap out of each other with their bare hands rules.
And we all know that Megatron beating on Starscream just wouldn’t be the same if he shot him instead of slapping him upside the head.
Let’s see…I think that’s it. Revenge of the Fallen is a movie that is most appreciated by those who loved the cartoons, the comics and everything that makes Transformers Transformers.
The Transformers: Megatron Origin is a four-part comic series (also available as a graphic novel) from IDW Publishing, written by Eric Holmes with art by Alex Milne and Marcelo Matere. It tells the tale of Megatron’s rise to power from a humble energon miner, to an outlaw gladiator to the beginnings of the Deceipticon army.
I enjoyed this comic imensely. Not only do we get to see the real motivations behind Megatron and the birth of the Decepticons, but it gives us more depth to see just how far he falls from his original goals. It’s an odd place Origin, if only because during this time and this continutity – the Autobots are essentially the ones in the wrong.
The hard working miners find themselves being replaced by automated, thought-less machines and they rather don’t like being out of work. In a rage, Megatron ends up killing a guard and from there, the miners revolt and cause an upheaval. However they are quickly put down and Megatron goes into hiding (accompanied by Rumble and Frenzy, no less.) It is at this point that Megatron starts to see potenial for more and starts building his army to strike back.
Starscream Blushes at Megatron
The Love
There are two things I enjoyed most about Megatron Origin: The Artwork. The Writing.
The art of this comic is gritty, detailed and just plain gorgeous. I’ve reread it many a time just to take in all of the detail and structure. In all honesty, there isn’t much I can describe to do the artwork justice. (Well, aside from noting this is the most attractive/sexy I’ve ever seen the Transformers drawn on paper.) The faces are particularl well done, though my favorite is how he draws the energon. The splashes are thick and more remenescent of blood than I’ve seen yet. It drips and clings in a brutal, sensual manner.
A splash of Energon
I’m also quite fond of how he draws their mouths and teeth with accented canines to reinforce the raw, more animalistic nature of the Transformers featured in this comic. It’s quite the treat.
Though, I believe comics are where art and writing need to shine together – and Eric Holmes pulls through with moving, and real dialogue. Instead of going into it too much, I think instead I’ll finish off this little rave over Megatron Origin with some of my favorite quotes from the book.
Quotes
“Looks like these guys got no respect for industrial equipment.” -Frenzy, pg.18
“Heh…you [Starscream] can fly?” -Megatron, pg.50
“So…what if the badge never came off?” -Megatron, pg.62
“Heh. Nobody’s perfect.” -Starscream, pg.70
“Wake up, cybertron. Your era is ending.” -Megatron, pg.75
Megatron the Miner
“I’ve heard it said that we only gain wisdom through suffering. And tonight, I intend to make you very wise.” -Megatron, pg.88
Conclusion
If you enjoy Transformers, particularly if you are like me and love the Decepticons, you should take a chance and pick up this book. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
This is more of a mini-rant/gathering of thoughts than anything. Usually when I write these, I’m addressing something I’ve seen prevalent in a single series so I have a case study, today it’s more of a general note with examples mentioned as I go through. I’m also going to lean mostly towards said Original Characters being involved in romantic relationships with the main cast – oh and here’s the full title of today’s subject:
Using Original Characters That Have a Prominent Role for Series that Already Support a Large Cast
I’m going to start by disclaiming that I’m not referring to plot device characters. For example, if you’re writing a fanfic for Star Trek and they go to a new world – a cast of original characters for them to interact with would be natural. What would not be natural would be a new crewman showing up on the ship or relatives showing up out of nowhere with no basis.
This may sound like a rant against “Mary-Sues” and the like, but that’s not quite what it is. If a show has a full cast of 4-6 people that show up regularly, than yeah – there’s not a lot of options for romance or having them interact with different people. An original character playing the part of a main role could be forgiven in this context.
I have a much harder time forgiving this in series that have insanely large casts. For example – Bleach. There’s no need for an original character in this show. The cast has literally over 50 or so characters already available for use. You want a mousey girl? Try Squad 12′s Vice-Captain Nemu or Squad Five’s Hinamori. The outgoing girl? There’s about six of those. But to make the point short – you’ve got your choice of just about every personality and type already represented at one point or another.
Pick one.
In the sense of romantic relationships, a random meeting of two characters who have probably never met is just as likely to work as a random original character showing up. Use someone who’s already there and create a new pairing. Make it work and you’ll get more readers. So – I guess my point is that you’re more likely to get new readers by making an odd, unheard of paring work well than if you create an original character.
Another example would be Transformers. Yet another series with hundreds of characters in its cast to abuse and bend to your will. And yet you still see original characters show up and steal the show. Though, this is one case where I’ve seen it done well and badly.
In a particular fic, they used a squad of police transformers (all original characters) that worked very well. They were designed well, intereacted naturally and felt like they fell into the universe. I stopped reading, however, when in the sequel one of them had kids with a main character of the transformers cast. (A decepticon if you’re curious) This is where the original character lost its value as a plot device and supporting role and fell into the land of lost interest.
It’s a fine line, really, and I think I just don’t see the point of creating love interests for series that already provide so much material to work with.
