Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Persona 4 - Preorder

After viewing the promotional materials for Atlus' upcoming Persona 4 game, it would appear that garish yellow is the color theme for the latest MegaTen adjunct. Yellow is also the hue that colors everything in the parallel dimension featured in Persona 4.

As the story goes, an unnamed high school student moves to rural Japan to live with relatives while attending school. It's a quiet town but when bodies start turning up, the placid atmosphere is disrupted. A classmate named Chie Satonaka tells hero of the Midnight TV where inclement weather causes static and yellow-tinged images to appear on a television. Once the clock strikes midnight, the tv becomes a portal which leads into a netherworld where shadowy creatures with masked faces dwell. Could the murders be somehow linked to the monsters?

Soejima Shigenori returns to provide character designs and art direction while Shogi Meguro serves up the music. Pricing is set at JPY6980 or US$68.90 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship on July 10, 2008.

Japanese Console + Freeloader Offer - Preorder

USA Wii consoles are still priced at about $400+ at flea markets or over $650 if you purchase a bundle from a chain store such as Walmart. With the recent release of the Wii Freeloader, region-locks are removed from the Wii and a Japanese console can play USA Wii games with a simple swap disc method. To make sure the Freeloader always works, you'll probably have to refrain from ever updating your console's firmware.

NCS Offer: 1 Japanese Wii Console and 1 Japanese Freeloader for the price of US$389.90. Preorders will ship on Thursday of this week.

Doraemon 40cm Plush Toy - Preorder

If there is love in your heart for all things Doraemon, you might consider investing in a Doraemon plush which measures 40cm or 15.74" tall. NCS has generally only stocked Doraemon plushes that are handheld and easy to handle but we're looking at a bigger specimen that ships this summer in Japan. The upcoming 40cm plush is stout and hearty but still weighs under 2.3 kg (roughly 5 lbs) so it can be hefted by children and adults alike.

Preorders are welcome to ship on or around July 26, 2008 at US$49 per plush. Due to the large size of the toy, NCS recommends only shipping by UPS Ground within the United States.

Revoltech No. 50 Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann - Preorder

In The Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann animated series, the mechs are known as Gunmen. There's hasn't been enough TTGL toy merchandising in Japan so it's Kaiyodo's duty to induct a Gunman into the Revoltech toy line.

The beauty of the Revoltech toys lie in the "Revolver Joints" which allow for full freedom when posing the figure. Once a joint is positioned, it'll ratchet into place and stay there until you change its position. The Gunman measures 12cm or 4.72" tall and features a total of 19 joints. Thanks to the many points of articulation, the robot may be positioned into battle stances galore or even into thoughtful repose. An extra helmeted head, a golden drill weapon, and four extra hands are included in the product packaging. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May 2008.

Ikkitousen 1/7 Scale PVC Kanu Unchou - Preorder

The Japanese toy market goes into stretches where a certain character is sculpted to death until sales level off. We've seen it happen with Koyori (aka Bosoms), Mai Shiranui, Iroha, Nakoruru, and others. The Evangelion girls are a special situation because they've infiltrated Japanese culture and they'll never die. For the past few months, Kanu Unchou of Ikkitousen fame has been getting a lot of attention. Manufacturer Amie-Grand throws their hat into the ring with a new 1/7 scale PVC figure which features a tanned Kanu in a simple stand-up pose.

The figure measures 23cm or 9.05" tall and comes disassembled in the factory container. Assembly is simple however where interlocking joints are snapped together to form the full figured Kanu. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2008 at JPY13,800 or US$135.90 from NCS.

Die Another Day Special Edition DVD - Clearance

If you've never seen the following things in your life:

» A Korean lad with blue eyes and a diamond studded face
» A Korean lad who undergoes a transformation to become British
» A super-agent sailing across a wave of ice
» An invisible vehicle in which sits a super-agent
» A car rolling across the ice on two wheels
» Madonna as a fencing instructor
» Halle Berry as an agent named Jinx

Wait no longer because they're all in Die Another Day. You'll snicker laugh, you'll cry, but most importantly, you'll have a good old time.

Sale Offering
Every copy of the Die Another Day Special Edition DVD is new and is packaged in a slipcase. Pricing is set at US$10.90 per copy which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail within the United States. Larger Photos.