March 2009 NEWS

It's a been a while since I made any additions to the Photo Gallery in the Toys section. I guess I felt like the pics I've been taking with my old camera weren't really good enough, but after receiving a new one for my birthday decided to give it another go. I'm still not entirely happy with them, but maybe I'm expecting too much from a point and shoot digi cam?

Anyway, you can click on the thumbnails above or the following links to see full galleries of Flashback Generation Murata Shougo and Dive Limited Edition Fujishiro Takumi.

Second only to Dive's Flashback Generation I would say Bones is probably my favorite line. At first I was a little hesitant to accept the inclusion of non Armament characters into the line-up, but since warmed up to the idea. It helps that Ken is one of my favorite characters from the films.

While it's impossible for me to attempt to translate a page that's mostly an image, judging by Lucky Rudy's Blog it looks like this will be a Crows Zero II Night exclusive as well as be offered in Glam's online store at some point.

I'm not sure what to say about these, but I'll try to remain as impartial as possible. At first glance it just screams of something I'd see for sale at the local mall or swinging from a cosplayers shoulder bag. While not my cup of tea, that's the great thing about Crows and Worst collectibles, there's something for everyone.

With so many different lines of toys and characters in the Crows universe there are a lot of really cool things out there to collect. The obvious downside is that you would need a lot of money to keep up with everything. On the other hand, with so much diversity, you're free to pick and choose what appeals to you the most while still amassing a decent sized collection. That being said, there are many items that don't particularly interest me. However, as much as I'm not into some of the lines I can't say I necessarily hated any of them either. Until now. Hey, I said I'd try!

For those fans who do dig this kinda of thing it looks like they will be sold in complete sets rather than blind boxed. That's something positive after all. These are available for order now on Dive with a scheduled release date of early April.

I believe I said the T.F.O.A should step aside and give other Crows and Worst characters a chance to become Flashback Generation figures, but perhaps I spoke too soon? I was secretly hoping for a few more Skulls before Dive switched gears, but I suppose it was time for a change. This was an unexpected direction and for long time fans of Crows a welcome one I'm sure.

Next up is head of the Zeniya Family, Ogawa Kenji AKA "Dosuken". While most English speaking fans know only of Dosuken by his brief appearance in Worst as Chiharu's uncle, rest assured when Crows is fully translated more will be revealed. Preorders should begin some time tomorrow.

Guriko has been announced as the next 10cm in Next Label line. I for one am glad to see Union Creative are picking up where Organic left off and making some decent character choices as well. While I'm certain Harumichi's debut to the line can't be too far off, here's hoping UC will keep the new characters coming rather than repainting the same ones over and over and...

Following in Tesshou's footsteps not only as Head of The Armament, but as the next redux in Dive's Flashback Generation series is none other than the 7th, Murata Shougo. Normally I would balk at yet another remake of a figure already done by Dive, but being Shougo is one of my favorite characters from Worst I tend to be a bit more on the forgiving side. As per tradition Shougo will be offered in multiple variants through the usual dealers.

As you're well aware, I'm a big fan of T.F.O.A, but in a series with so many interesting players I think it's time for something new. The Armament needs to step down. I can't believe I just said that!

Glam and Lucky Rudy announced two new Bone In The T.F.O.A are on the way. First up is a new addition to the 00 Style line entitled Act.3 "Rebel". Also being released is something completely new and unexpected, Ken Katagiri. Not only is Ken from outside of the manga realm, but also the first official character to appear in the Bones line who's not an Armament member.

While I'm a huge fan of Bone as well as Lucky Rudy, I'm a little iffy on the inclusion of Ken Katagiri here. Call me picky, but usually when you label something Bone In The T.F.O.A you kinda figure that Bone should be T.F.O.A. Still, there's no denying it looks awesome and maybe a broader range of characters will end up being a good thing. I'm really digging the added detail to the base, too. It really brings a lot to the piece in comparison to past releases which were kinda...bare bones.

I was never a big fan of the Crazy Heads line. It's not so much the SD styling that bothers me, but more of an overall hatred for anything that bobbles. In the US bobbleheads are considered more of a novelty item than a collectible with most seeing the inside of clearance bins. It's hard to see past that stigma, however I'm starting to warm up to them more and more with each new release.

With the movie a little more than a month away, it's no surprise that Crows Zero II makes its way into the Crazy Heads line. Seen here are the usual suspects, Genji, Tamao and Ken. While admittedly my tastes may be shifting towards adding a few of these to my collection, here's hoping we get a few other characters from the Crows Zero films in addition to the big three. Of course I'm a fan, but I'd like to see some diversification to the line as well.

I was beginning to think I'd never actually get to watch it. I thought maybe it was just a myth, an urban legend of long forgotten lore. I thought I had looked everywhere. No websites had downloads. Asian video store owners gave me puzzled looks. Anime and die hard Crows fans alike were unable to locate it. It was looking bleak. Just as I was about to give up hope, the search has come to an end.

HUGE thanks to asra from the forums for taking the time to upload and share this with the rest of the CXW community. For now you can download Part 1 and Part 2 through the links provided by asra on Megaupload. Hopefully within the next few days I'll have it hosted here. With a little luck (and the help of a translator) perhaps a subbed version won't be too far behind. Enjoy!