IDOLM@STER Blu-ray & Gravure For You! Vol. 4

And keeping with iDOLM@STER Blu-rays, last week I received iDOLM@STER Blu-ray & Gravure For You! Vol. 4 for PS3.

The episodes included are 9, 10 and 11, including the usual features (creditless endings and the extended episode previews from the website), and the extra commentary track is by Nakamura Eriko (Haruka), Shimoda Asami (Ami-Mami), Imai Asami (Chihaya) and Numakura Manami (Hibiki).

The usual postcards with the endings pictures

There's also a bonus dvd included; an one hour long recreation of GeroGero Kitchen (the variety show from episode 4) in live-action. The participants are Nakamura Eriko (Haruka), Imai Asami (Chihaya), Hara Yumi (Takane), Numakura Manami (Hibiki) and Sakaguchi Daisuke (the voice actor of the frog puppet) dressed as a frog and acting as the host and judge.

Like in the anime, the girls are paired in two teams named after frogs.

Hara and Numakura cooking. Unlike the anime counterparts, none of the girls is particularly skilled at cooking.

One of the dishes of the tree frog team is this jokingly named "Chicken breast meat with Aoi Tori sauce". The breast part is a jab to Chihaya running joke of being flat-chested, and "Aoi Tori" (blue bird) is Chihaya's main song (and note that in Japanese, both blue and green can be called blue).

The bonus booklet is the Model Sheet Collection Volume 2. Unlike the previous one, this one is more focused in background and location settings than in characters.

765 office

There's a few character setting for some specific clothes, like Azusa's wedding dress

And for Gravure For You! Vol. 4, the setting this time is in a rose petals shower photo sesion with the "Angel Swimsuit" and in the beach (again) with the "Flora Aloha Girl" costume.

As usual random shoots:

TYPE-MOON manga

A few weeks ago I decided to update the TYPE-MOON related manga that I follow all at the same time at CD Japan, except for the ones that were too recent (like Fate vol. 17) and some of them that they didn't have in stock (like the last 4 volumes I'm missing of Shingetsutan Tsukihime). And to think that while I was living in Japan buying manga was SO easy...

Anyway, the list:

-TAKE MOON Sakuhin Shu Special Edition by Takenashi Eri
-Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei! volumes 2, 3 and 4 by Hiroyama Hiroshi
-MELTY BLOOD volumes 8 and 9 by Kirishima Takeru
-MELTY BLOOD X volumes 1 and 2 also by Kirishima Takeru
-Fate/Zero volumes 1 and 2 by Shinjiro
-Fate/Extra volume 1 by Robina

And now a bit more in detail:

TAKE MOON Sakuhin Shu Special Edition is the limited reprint of the original TAKE MOON volumes that I already have (and I talked a little bit about them here) in one big tankoubon instead of two.

The reason of the re-purchase is because includes a dvd called Carnival Phantasm EX Season, an extra episode that includes some gags that didn't make the cut to the regular OVAs.

Cute ashamed Bazett.

My only grudge is that is a dvd instead of a Blu-ray, and now that I'm getting hooked at watching anime with blu-ray quality, dvd quality is an eyesore...

The manga doesn't includes anything new (besides two pages of Takenashi thanking her fans and TYPE-MOON), but the paper is of much higher quality than any normal volume.

The multicolored Ren's chapter. The quality of the paper is not visible in photos, but the page is more white than usual.

A mini-booklet called TYPE-MOON Artworks is also included, that features color illustrations by Takenashi.

Random page.

Most of the illustrations already appeared (also in color) in the first pages of the previous edition of TAKE MOON.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei! volumes 2, 3 and 4 by Hiroyama Hiroshi.

Until now I only managed to buy the first volume almost a year ago and the limited edition of the volume 4, so now I bought the volumes 2 and 3 and the regular version of volume 4 (because of the different cover).
A pleasant surprise that I found is that in the volume 2, the bonus chapter featuring the cross-over with Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha was included! I missed the chance when was released in the Comp Ace and I thought it was lost forever (or pay an absurd amount of money for it).

Nanoha and Illya.

MELTY BLOOD volumes 8 and 9 and MELTY BLOOD X volumes 1 and 2 by Kirishima Takeru. With this Melty Blood manga is totally over, no new arcs after this. Is a shame because despite I didn't liked that much at first I found it rather enjoyable at the end.

The first 6 volumes included the main story (Sion vs Wallachia) and the volumes 7 to 9 included all the half-joke scenarios (Miyako, Mecha-Hisui, G. Akiha...)

Miyako was the main heroine in the second arc.

MELTY BLOOD X was not based directly in the Melty Blood games, so in an original arc starring the Back Alley Alliance formed by Sion, Riesbyfe and Satsuki. Is a non serious arc like the Miyako one, were the main characters are forced to climb a pyramid-like house made by mistake by Sion.
Even if it was not based in any story arc from the game, it included some characters that didn't appeared in the previous volumes.

The short appearance of the tsundere White Ren

Actress Again final boss Dust of Osiris.

Fate/Zero volumes 1 and 2 by Shinjiro.

It covers until the battle royale of Saber, Lancer, Rider, Archer and Berserker. I don't have nuch to say besides that the male characters looks quite ugly, and some females (like Maiya) looks weird as well.

Berserker vs Saber

And finally Fate/Extra volume 1 by Robina.
Robina did a Fate/Extra one shot for the Type-Moon Ace 6 (that is included in this volume) and that escalated to a whole series. The pace is pretty quick, in one volume they are already fighting against Archer, and for now I like it better than the game.

Main characters are the male MC and Saber.

Archer, Caster and female MC appears in some extra pages, quite unhappy for not being the main characters.

To Heart merchandise

Today is Serio's birthday, one of the very few fictional characters that I remember their birthday, so I will take the chance to do a review of all the To Heart merchandise that I own.

First, the original PC game and the PSE Edition that already reviewed here.

The Japanese dvd's of the first To Heart series. Seems that the American edition by Rightstuff was remastered and restored, so once I have enough money I'll buy that edition too.

One of the two cels that I have is this chibi Serio from the extra mini-episode #5. More details in my newly opened Cel Gallery.

Cd's. Piece of Heart drama cd (already reviewed) and To Heart anime OST.

Serio plush, released in 2003 by Sol International, was the first plush that I purchased.

Serio plush in the maintenance swimsuit, again by Sol International.

My favorite characters after Serio are the Kurusugawa sisters, so I also bought a Kurusugawa Ayaka plush...

... and a Kurusugawa Serika.

The To Heart figures that I own: 1/8 Cold Cast Kurusugawa Serika Swimsuit version (Kotobukiya, sculpt by Tokunaga Hironori) 1/8 Cold Cast Kurusugawa Ayaka (Kotobukiya, sculpt by Tomoki Maeda), 1/8 Cold Cast HMX-13 Serio (Kotobukiya, sculpt by Shirahige Tsukuru) and 1/7 Cold Cast HMX-13 Serio Nude version (Art Road, sculpt by DILL).

Actually, I have a second 1/8 Cold Cast HMX-13 Serio that I bought for only 1000 yen.

Serio trading figure (by CM's Corporation) and gashapons (by Yujin).

The To Heart artbooks that I have: To Heart Visual Fun Book and To Heart TV Animation Vol.1 and 2

To Heart Visual Fun Book is mostly based in the PSE Edition.

Includes a few short manga by Azuma Kiyohiko (Azumanga Daioh!, Yotsubato!...)

Some of the few Serio pictures.

To Heart TV Animation Vol.1 and 2 are based in the anime, including picture synopsis of each episode.

Pictures coming from magazines.

The lovely poster included.

Pins. The 3 below came as bonus in the first print of Kotobukiya models.

A mousepad, the Lycèe card that I received from Archerwannabe and the tags from the 4 plushes.

A shitajiki by Akikan (circle Credit), that was well known years ago by his Go! To! Heart!! works. Was an extra from a Serio dakimakura that I don't have T_T.

Serio shikishi by Kikuta Kouji (circle King Revolver).

That's all. Happy Birthday, Serio!

Christmas presents

Just a brief entry to list my X'mas presents: the Studio Ghibli movies Tonari No Totoro and Gake No Ue No Ponyo.

I'm a big fan of Ghibli movies, but for some reason their dvd releases in Spain have been troublesome (for example Totoro was released this month in dvd format for the first time).

When I was in Japan in 2007, I visited both their studio, located in Koganei, and their famous museum in Mitaka:

Ghibli Studio

Ghibli Museum