Tokka and Rhazar are OUT!!

Better hurry: 7 days left! Small reminder to those who are in United States territories outside the Continental 48 states shipping is going to be a bit of a bitch! In my case these two Mutant morons had a $25.46 shipping cost. Those in Continental us are paying close to $13 if I recall correctly... so far this is the only chance you'll get for this Duo, so get your 70 bucks ready for the figures in addition to the shipping cost... and any taxes where they may apply.
 there's one last thing on the NECA side there is a warning that states all sales are final.  hopefully I'll be able to get Super shredder when he's released and the sadly I will have to fight Walmart...

The Pandemic is slowing everything down...

No movies, action figure and videogame sections in retailers are either barren or full of old stuff. I ain't buying digital. Hell, things have gotten so dull that I'm binge watching Boruto's dad. I'll do Korra once she's on Netflix.
I'm also waiting on Super7 and it feels like an eternity.

Also, it seems depression is kicking back in, since lately I've been more interested in sleeping than watching TV, gaming, etc.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...

And to be honest it's been having an adverse effect on keeping up with the blog.
I guess I'm  off to bed... or something... once we "return to normal" I think I'm going bowling.

Some Toy news regarding the TMNT:

Two things: Tokka and Rahzar will be up for preorder on Friday, the 31st. They will be available for a week and then they'll be "gone forever"... until maybe the eventual pixelize paint job for the turtles in time toy line. Unless, they do Toon versions!

While personally I find the one-week window to be a bit too small, nice to See That neca actually tried something different this time. And while NECA's Randy Falk may be a whiny bitch complaining about customers at times; THIS TIME he deserves some praise. It's not the best solution, but it's a step in the right direction.  like I said before the one-week window is a bit too small for some people especially if they get paid every two weeks. They might be out of the window because they weren't ready for this surprise and didn't put this expense in their budget and by the next paycheck, they're gone. One month is a more reasonable window. hopefully I'll be able to get my set.

The first set of TMNT Ultimates has begun shipping. Well I haven't received a shipping notification others have gotten theirs. I suppose that in the next few weeks people will begin to get them and hopefully they'll come out of the toy chest. Supppsedly, the first wave of Thundercats will be next. I hope this is true because it's been almost a year since I ordered that Lion-O, Jackalman, Panthro, and the weakened form of Mumm-Ra.

Looks like Playmates is flexing that Master License muscle...

With NECA doing 1990 Movie TMNT and Super7 Classicizing Playmates' vintage toys, looks like Playmates is doing MIRAGE TMNT!!! But they aren't. They just outlazied Mattel. This isn't quarterassing... hell not even sixteenthassing . This is thirtysecondassing. They repainted their "vintage" turtles from a couple years back in Mirage colors... the ones from the same line as thr Rocksteady and Bebop that NECA replaced in my TMNT shelf.

Honestly I wouldn't mind Playmates doing Mirage Turtles... but only if they actually looked like the Mirage Turtles. Something closer to what NECA did in the early 2000s.
These are toon turtles painted in Mirage colors...  I'm not going to buy this. I got the SH Figuarts and as of now 3 out of 4 Super7 Turtles pre-ordered. Not to mention the NECA movie Turtles, the old NECA Mirage Turtles painted in vintage playmates toy colors... and to be honest these Turtles look less adult collectibles more overpriced kid's toys.

 I'm going to call it right now: The next wave will be the very same body but maybe different feet and head. They will be labeled as "2003" Turtles.

All snark aside: This is Lazy, Playmates. I KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS! If you're going to do a Turtles line, you need to commit to it fully. This lukewarm approach is lazy and pathetic. People see this as what it is: a desperate attempt to remain relevant in a market that y'all disrespected and now two small companies are making you look bad. If you want to play with Adult Collectors in a post Todd's Toys world y'all need to step up. Look at Hasbro: They have a very customizable buck system where creative reuse can yield multiple characters. You Can take advantage of that with the Turtles with the Turtle body. You can take advantage on it on male humans with Shredder, foot clan, Casey, and Rat King to an extent. Even NECA uses the buck system on the toon line: Rocksteady, Bebop, and Leatherhead share parts.

Iron everything out with Stan Sakai to be the first to have a six inch super articulated Usagi.

Some surprises are good aside the core guys. That's why NECA tossed in Muckman, Super7 did Mutagen Man. None has made a fugitoid... DO ONE!!

Bucket of Mousers... These will sell like hotcakes. NECA customers need Mousers. They haven't delivered. Super7 customers need Mousers. They only have ONE with Baxter. Playmates customers need Mousers... What are you waiting for!?

Am I being phased out of MOTU?

I  mean it as a fan... it feels like the brand is trying to get rid of me, by trying to kill my love for it.
Mattel's death of MOTUC was a huge blow, despite the FACT that MOTUC can co-exist with Origins... Adult Collectors no longer have a MOTU line that is exclusive to them... I should say: a MOSTLY AFFORDABLE Line exclusively for Adults. I make emphasis on mostly affordable because, people will point out the MONDO 1/6 scale limited line.

Origins is geared toward "our children"... I have no children of my own, nor want to, but you know what I mean. *WE* AREN'T the target audience... despite the line having ZERO APPEAL TO CHILDREN. I find the choices made by the Origins team QUESTIONABLE at best, and it's obvious that Mattel's quarter assing ways are a strong influence here. They are reusing MOTUC PIECES geared for 7 inch figures on a 5.5 inch line... or lines if we count the WWE line. I do not see the appeal in regressing into an 80s style in such a quarter assed way.

Yes, *I* fell in love with the original toys nearly 40 years ago... but back then THEY LOOKED AWESOME COMPARED TO WHAT EXISTED ON THE SHELVES!! When I got the Mattel/Playmates hybrid Funko Kombatants, they were a "Novelty item" currently deep within the Toy Chest. Today, they kinda look like crap comoared to other offerings. Playmates' Rise of the TMNT toys look a million times better than MOTUO. They are still Kids toys, but they are incredibly detailed, while looking "simplistic", not to mention accurate to their TV counterparts.

Speaking of other media, I don't need to mention my dislike for the abomination that is DW's "She-Ra". This abomination made me think for a moment or 20 that I hated She-Ra...

I should mention here that there are 2 MOTU series coming and I'm extremely worried about them. Especially the one that is not "Kevin Smith's continuation of Filmation".  By seeing the modern trends in late 2010s and 2020s cartoons, yeah, I'm VERY AFRAID OF HE-MAN!

THEN THERE'S THE PERENNIAL RESIDENT OF CINEMA DEVELOPMENT HELL, MOTU: the movie, which seems to release a bit of news that feels like it was tailored to piss me off. Between cast, comments about the director's "vision", etc.

He-Man has been a huge part of my life, and it feels like the Universe is trying to take him away from me as it did with my Mom. And honestly, it's a bit... no, it's a very, very scary thing!! Not in a "they ruined my childhood" way, but in an "I am not worthy of He-Man because you're a garbage human for not loving the current year stuff." I guess I could describe it as if I was being gaslighted.

Joss Whedon vs Ray Fisher: a rant.

During the last few weeks, months, or literally, straight after the Snyder cut announcement, Ray Fisher has been attacking Joss Whedon. He's made some generic accusations regarding Whedon's "abusive and unprofessional behavior"... but he can't go into details because of a "Non-Disclosure Agreement".

The saddest thing in all of this is that Fisher COULD BE TELLING THE TRUTH but he's looking extremely unprofessional by attempting to weaponize cancel culture against Whedon... Or a pathetic attempt to promote the Snyder cut by trashing Joss Whedon and his version of Justice League.

Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Bay, Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, William Friedkin, Roman Polanski, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa, David O. Russell, Bernardo Bertolucci, Lars von Trier, Darren Aronofsky, James Cameron just to name a few Infamous directors that were "abusive and unprofessional". They would eat up Fisher alive for breakfast and make him beg for Whedon. No, I'm not defending Whedon or these guys. The problem with Fisher's accusations os that they are vague. Meanwhile Producer Jon Berg, who was also accussed by Fisher of "enabling Whedon's behavior" claims that Fisher was being a diva and was hellbent on NOT saying "Booyah!!", A catchphrase by Cyborg as interpreted by Khary Payton. My guess is that Fisher thought of the phrase too silly and belittling to his vision of the character. Not to mention being already angry of his reduced role in Whedon's version in comparison to Snyder's.

Some people try to bring the somewhat sexist anime-esque scene where Flash bumps onto WW and both are knocked down and his face lands on her chest area. Allegedly, Gal Gadot didn't want to film this scene and a stuntwoman was brought in. Of course this is a third party telling the story. AFAIK there have been no official remarks by Gadot.
Then again, getting her ass pawed by an old man wasn't so outrageous for her to "throw a tantrum". But if THAT scene is why Whedon is "unprofessional and abusive" that he should be cancelled, is laughable at best. I get that the scene is immature and a bit sexist, but in the grand scheme of things is not  like having live birds attack her for rejecting his advances... (Hitchcock did that during The Birds... google it) That he threw a tantrum threatening her about not finding a job in Hollywood after this? Most likely, and why aren't we cancelling Christian Bale for his Terminator Salvation Meltdown? If a director's "you'll never get anothwr job in film" tantrum is all Fisher got, well, that's pretty much nothing. Pretty much EVERY DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH DIRECTOR goes through with that tirade.

Others claim that Whedon bitching about what Snyder had made is the "unprofessional" part of the accusations.
To be fair, to be forced to redo an entire film, while making studio mandated changes that require massive reshoots, ANYONE WOULD BITCH ABOUT THE SHITTY JOB MADE BY THEIR PREDECESSOR! Yes, it would be a  bit unprofessional, but again, trying to salvage a turd in a short period of time... OF COURSE, HE'S GOING TO BE IN ASSHOLE MODE! It's not fair, but people don't always behave their best during crunch time.

There have been better references to Whedon's assholery that are more concrete than what Fisher is offering. Right now it looks more like Fisher is butthurt that the DCEU crunbled before he got his solo movie... despite most likely being the one telling the truth.

So, long story short:
-Fisher made some vague accusations against Whedon.
-The accusations are most likely true.
-The accusations may also be greatly exaggerated.

Questions I have:
-If "Accountability > Entertainment" shouldn't "Accountability > NDA" too? Or putting your money where your mouth is doesn't count?
-Where is the cast in all of this? If what Fisher says is true, then why haven't they spoken about it?

It came from the Toy Chest: Poing Super Combat the cartoon version.

Everyone remembers Fisto's Forest. No it's not an euphemism for his genitalia. Also, he is NOT an Eternian proctologist. Big tanned ginger... which we know it's a lie, since Natural Gingers only have 2 settings: Casper White and Lobster Red. He also has a huge right hand, which is incredibly cool to the touch or hot, depending the time of day...  because it's a metal fist...  hence the name Fisto.

Articulation 
Fisto has the standard Super7 club Grayskull articulation...
Minus the right fist for obvious reasons and the abs, because Super7 doesn't believe in a Shirtless Fisto.

Fisto: "Hey, Nefty know the Capital of Thailand?"
*KLANG!*
Fisto: "What the Huh!?"
Nefty: "Bangkok? Not today!"
Adam: "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Fisto: "What the heck is wrong with the Prince?"
Nefty: "Don't look at me! I'm not part of this Toyline!"

I find the lack of ab crunch highly disappointing. I'm not going to comment on the lack of articulation on the fist...  who am I kidding you know I'm going to comment on that!
Angel cartoon we've seen that his first operates like a normal hand just metallic and oversized. Sadly the toy follows Mattel toy route. Shame that he can't open his fist...
4.0

FILMATION Fisto: "What in Lou Scheimer's name are you!?"
MOTUC Fisto: "I'm you, but better."
FILMATION Fisto: "Big Belt, Big Sword, Big Fist, are
you compensating for our shortcomings?"

Paint and sculpt 
I have no complaints on the sculpt aside the lack of ab crunch. Be wise he was pretty much okay aside a little bit of a derp eye. He's very accurate to his cartoon look so no complaints there.
4.5

Conan: "What in Crom's named!?"
Fisto:"We're men! Manly men!"

Accessories 
A modified version of the vintage Toy sword but with a way too wide grip. I have to be brutally honest this bike was the most disappointing part of the figure. I kinda wish he came with a smaller version of this:

I know sizes vary on Filmation, but seriously, Fisto was secerily lacking in the accessory department. Hell even the tree with Skeletor's projection would've helped. If Man-e-Faces can come with tons of stuff, why was Fisto so bare bones?
2.5

Fisto: "I have to sleep on a separate bed from my Wife...
For obvious reasons. I accidentally sleep punched my ex-wife
to death. Luckily this was when I worked for Skeletor."

Overall:
Regrettably, I have to give Fisto a 3.67 as his final score. I blame the reduced articulation and lack of accessories for that. The sad part is that he's a really great figure; heck I'd dare say that he's one of the better Masters of the Universe figures by Super 7.

Only 3 more items until the end of MOTUC coming out the Toy Chest...

Cosmic Karen wants to be Samus...

In the words of the Fresh Cuck of Bel Air:
Aw Hell Naw! You read right: Academy Award Winner, Cheese Theft wants to play the role of Samus Aran and she's pestering Nintendo.
If I were the Big N, I would kindly tell her no. Sure, she's a mich better actress than Ronda Rousey. Seriously, who told her she could act!? But Brie Larson would be a horrible choice for Samus.
This is the part where Tumblr gets all the pitchforks and torches to call me misogynistic and the usual insults.
Her performance in Captain Marvel shows that she can't carry her own movie and relies far too much on  the supporting characters.  Being Samus would require her to use her body to act non-verbally and unfortunately, Ms. Larson's body language often speaks in various degrees of confrontational/unconfortable... but not in a good way. How can I put it in the least offensivr way... her body language and attitude seem like a weak person trying to act tough. In that sense, Ronda Rousey could play a much better Samus. Rousey may not be the toughest woman on Earth, but as a MMA fighter, her toughness seems natural... despite not having acting skills.

Then there's Metroid's complete isolation, where Samus is all alone exploring a hostile planet full of alien creatures that don't speak any human language. Any spoken parts would be Samus thinking/talking to herself, or narration.
Despite being an "AcAdEmY aWaRd WiNnEr", Larson wouldn't be able to pull it off.

"AcAdEmY aWaRd WiNnEr" Nicolas Cage. Why bring Cage into this: an Academy Award does not shield an actor from bad performances. Unfortunately for Ms. Larson, she can't carry a whole film on her back where the only real performances would come from her and the occasional humanoid Space pirate that would get blasted by her.
Most of her performance would be her in a MOCAP suit to build a CGI Armor for Samus and Maybe an Iron Man-esque HUD display scene

This picture of Larson dressed up as the sexist Zero Suit Samus is what has people in a bizarre campaign for her to play Samus. The "Please God, kill me now" expression she has is literally the reason why she SHOULDN'T. If she can't look comfortable dressed as Samus on a "candid photo" that she CHOSE TO UPLOAD to her Instagram page, how can she do it on a movie?

With all that said, she COULD pull it off... if they pull a Prowse where stuntwomen do the physical acting, while Larson focuses on the close-ups and non-difficult shots.
Since we rarely see Samus WITHOUT her Armor, there is really no difference between mocapping a stuntwoman and Brie... other than the stuntwoman literally carrying the whole movie. Any Flashbacks to pre-hunter Samus would most likely involve a child actress playing the role of orphaned Samus being raised by the Chozo. Maybe Brie could play Samus as she gets some Federation Military training. Not to mention that most of the movie would have to be filmed on Green Screen.

No, nononononononononononono... I can't be defending REEEEE Larson... Who am I and what did I do to Nefty!?

As much as I dislike Brie Larson, there is one thing that worries me more than her being cast as Samus: How badly will America screw up Metroid...

Apparently I'm (in)famous enough to get SPAM!

Normally I don't delete comments, I leave that to my Moderator, Spike. But recently, I've been hit with Way more spam than normal. Apparently, this means growth on my readership... YAY!! But still, at the same time I don't want my readers to click on links for Swedish made Penis Enhancers, or how Single Ladies want to Fornicate my brains out for bitching about, say, Death Stranding.
Or better yet:
"Hi, I just found this blog by accident, but I can't believe how insightful and witty you are. I will return to read my new favorite blog!" On a post that's literally a video review... (haven't done one of those in ages)

It's kinda weird how blatantly obvious the spam posts are.
Also, Midnight Sun is coming tbis August... Specifically, August 4, 2020...

No, seriously, Stephenie Meyer's original Twilight from Edward's POV is coming soon... I honestly can't wait for the second book. No, I'm not joking. Think about it.  That's the book where Edward and Bella spent a lot of time apart. Despite the Twilight Saga sucking ass, it would be interesting to see what Edward was doing in that time.

Catch ya on the flipside!

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a new story, not a remake.

They finally admitted it. FFVII Remake is not a remake but a new story... They should have been honest from the start. I would've bought it anyway. The bait and switch tactics pulled by square enix were a huge turn off for some.
Been there, done that, nailed it, moving on!

 So, here's the thing: We know that Sephiroth is trying to alter the past. What we don't know is if he's physically in the past or if he's sending his Consciousness to his past self... by his past self I mean JENOVA. Post-Advent Children Aerith MAY be sending cryptic hints to Remake Aerith. Zack may or may not be alive. The issue with this chess game between Aerith and Sephiroth is that it's TOO similar to the Eraqus/Xehanort chess game. One of the bigger cpmplaints about FFVIIR's story was that there was a bit too much Kingdom Hearts in the latwr parts of the game.

New FFVII Story implies changes, but at the same time Kitase DID SAY that the story wouldn't stray too much from the original. How far will they go is a mystery. How much will we have to wait is another one... Honestly, I don't wanna wait...

As I was saying: waiting 14 years for a sequel would royally suck. They claim soon, but this is Nomura we're talking about.

But back to the story: They can ADD stuff, like the cut part of the Kalm incident (detailed on the Japan only Mobile game involving the Turks.) Like Nibelheim, Kalm was obliterated by Shin-Ra and rebuilt with Actors paid by Shin-Ra to act like everything is awesome and Shin-Ra rocks! That would give us players something to do in Kalm other than listening to Cloud's BS.

Roche taking a more recurrent role. As much as Roche sucks, he was criminally wasted in the original.
Random Fact: Yuffie was originally a 20-something Ex Soldier turned Bounty hunter, who was  allegedly obsessed with capturing other "rogue soldiers" like Cloud or Sephiroth. Maybe some elements of Proto-Yuffie could live on through Roche. That could make him a more recurrent threat in addition to the Turks.

I've mentioned before the Shin-Ra Wutai war should be explored more in Remake... having Wutai ninja hunting Yuffie to bring her back home. Having Barret deal with other Avalanche cells. We know Barret's cell is in a bad standing with most of Avalanche. They can implement things from the Turks game, Crisis Core and things left on the cutting room from the original. They should expand on the Odd Jobs mercenary thing for Cloud.

Personally, I don't want them to stray too far from the original. I know this rebootquel is its own thing, but based in the premise that Sephiroth is trying to rewrite history, it should play CLOSE to the original in order for him to "play his hand". Honestly, my biggest fear involves the deviations becoming too big or too Kingdom Hearts-like. If we had a hint on how far they're planning part 2, we could make a more accurate assessment for our expectations.

As I'm replaying the original, ideas on what remake could do fill up my head and now with the more or less confirmation of it being a sequel,  crazier ideas keep popping up in my head.  But it seems FFVIIRP2 is most likely gonna be on PS5. Hopefully it'll be "bigger than 4 hpurs of the original game".

More Not SDCC news...

Super7's Baxter was a GITD repaint... meh. But Speaking of Baxter... Meow meow meow meow...

NECA has a pretty white for a fly guy...
Supposedly, they Might take preorders for Tokka and Rhazar. Super Shredder will be available only through Walmart due to the original deal.

NECA LOVES to recreate scenes from the movie with their figures... wait does this mean we're getting a Hamato Yoshi AND a Non-Shredder Oroku Saki?

Storm Collectibles had a Bluefin Exclusive special.
Modern Klassic Scorpion and P2 Colors MK2 Raiden...
They all sold out before I found out about them...
Motaro's preorder will be up soon hoping for a q4 2020 release...

Bandai, where is YOUR E.Honda? Or Guile...

Hasbro and NECA REALLY want to squeeze every last penny from my wallet.

The NECA LEAKS WERE REAL DUDES!! Also, there's Muckman and a Rat King 2 pack with Vernon.

Honestly, while Muckman looks cool, I'd rather get the Super7 version if they make one.

Freaking Vernon with a WereRat mode that I can't seem to recall, but It probably had something to do with the Rat King.

 Goddammit, NECA!! I WANT THIS SO BADLY, BUT I'M UNABLE TO GET IT!! No Target and this will most likely mean visit your unfriendly neighborhood Scalper-Man...

Hasbro, how are you going to top this?

Emma Frost's panties.

Hellfire Club 4 pack: Shaw, Pierce, Frost, Selene.

And an extra Jean Head if you want a Black Queen who has multiple orgasms at inconvenient times.



But wait, there's more!!

The Psylocke, Nimrod, Fantomex 3 pack...  this one I'm not feeling so much but that Nimrod really looks cool; the other two are okay I guess...

 crap baskets! A Target Exclusive! Scalper-Man Scalper-Man, will get it and flip it oh crap!
Honestly I'm torn because that's what I NECA all right trying really hard to get all my money and it's like:
 I'm not rich so please slow it down with all these wonderful toys...

Here comes a new challenger!

Storm Collectibles is back!

Odds and ends July 20 2020: Toys

Not the weird Robin Williams movie... but toys, as in one of the main topics here at the House of Rants.

NECA is on "apology mode" due to the two-pack snafu and Toon Metalhead selling out in seconds. I honestly don't know how sincere this apology is, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But this is NOT what I wanted to talk about... Shit! I MISSED OUT ON TOON METALHEAD!!

Sorry about that. Haha very funny, Speck... but a new Toon TMNT figure nay have been leaked

It seems that Mondo Gecko is the newest character to get the NECA TMNT treatment. He looks pretty cool... but, I'm not that hyped for him. Honestly all I need is April and Casey... and Master Splinter... Krang's Android Body would be the final figure. Having Leatherhead stuck with Slash guide the ruins Leatherhead for me.  I think the hassle involved in getting these NECA toys is turning me off from getting them. I mean yeah I know Super7's method isn't that great either but at least I can order them and get them... even if that means having to wait like an entire year or more for the figures. With NECA I'm reliving the worst moments of Mattycollector.

Update

Krang's Android Body has been leaked.
Speaking of Mattel and crap, They have a poll on.. Instagram? To vote for a MOTU ORANGES figure.
The choices are:

What were they thinking!? These choices make no freaking sense!
Blackface Man-at-arms:
I know it's Anti Eternia Man-at-Arms, but WHY!?
This choice makes no sense whatsoever since there isn't an Anti Eternia He-Man figure on this line. Let's call it what it really is a lazy repaint.

Half-assed Mini comics Tri-Klops:
It makes sense to have a mini Comics triclops on a line that supposed to be called Origins. But giving him the incorrect boots it's a load of bullshit! You already made the nee armor, make the damned correct boots! I honestly see this is a huge middle finger to Classics collectors. This was a VERY DESIRED variant of Tri-Klops  and Mattel kept ignoring it until now...

Wun-Dar:
WHY!?  lazy repaint is lazy.

Adam Skeletor:
While I enjoyed Jet Li's The One He-Man; I am scratching my head by this... WHY!? I don't get it. The mini series ended a couple of months ago and it didn't have excellent reception. The push for this figure should have been made WHILE THE COMIC MINI SERIES WAS ACTIVE! This feels to me like another Mattel "strike when the iron has cooled down moment".

Super7 teased a possible Baxter Stockman repaint... What does this mean?

I honestly have no idea:

This was teased as part of the Stay at home SDCC substitute due to the pandemic.
Checked the TMNT toy museum and Baxter had no color variants, as a toy. The cartoon had a different deco. Instead of the white lab coat he's wearing a dark vest and his hair is a dirty blond instead of the fiery orange from the toy. And I'm not sure if they can do that color variation since NECA has the license to do cartoon based toys. The only other Vera and I can think of Baxter would be African-American Baxter Stockman which is a 2012 cartoon thing and IIRC, the Batman TMNT crossover.

Other than those, I honestly have no clue what they can do with Baxter. I mean if he was Shredder then guessing the repaints would be a lot easier:
Cartoon/Archie/Mirage repaints... but it's Baxter!
I guess we'll find out later this week...

Super7 if you're reading this: Make a buttload of Mousers!!

Initial D: America is not the only one to butcher Anime.

Initial D...

It's mandatory to reference Deja Vu. The Anime/Videogame series based on the Manga, Initial D...
It got a Live action adaptation in Hong Kong.

So, I don't have an attachment to Initial D. Speed Racer is my car anime. My younger brother is more of an Initial D fan. The Arcade game was fun. It had a card system that you could save your car and reload the game with the card. But I digress. While I have a bit of very basic knowledge of the plot, I am pretty much a virgin who hasn't gotten his Initial D... yes, I made a dick joke.

The movie is LOOSELY based on Initial D... according to friends who have READ the Manga. And to be honest, I believe them. The movie, despite being based on Japanese Material, it kinda gave me some Hong Kong vibes. Reminded me a bit of Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle... not in a good way.

The movie has the same problems as any Zack Snyder movie. Anything that is not an action scene is painful and awkward to watch.  The movie constantly freezes and it's neither DVD problems, nor buffering
 it's an artistic choice.

The closest thing to a Saving Grace would be the driving, sadly the editing is not that good.  I didn't hate it but it barely made it to the I kind of like it side...  sadly I don't love it.  I'd rather stick to the anime...  just don't tell my brother.

Curious fact about the movie: The Toyota Trueno jas been discontinued for years. Toyota actually built a couple of Truenos for the movie.

Should NECA pursue the Bay TMNT?

I am pretty certain that everyone's first reaction was like this:

Honestly,  I wouldn't blame you for that the reaction it in fact that's most likely my first reaction. And my second and my third and my fourth reactions. then I began thinking: IF  these were to be made I would probably buy only Rocksteady Bebop and a Krang. I'm willing to bet that I'm not in the minority here. I know that some people will actually want this version of the TMNT. Me? I'll pass, not interested at all!

I don't think I need to explain why I would only pick those three characters instead of getting a whole set...  but I will do so anyway: they look close enough to their cartoon counterparts that could be added to the 1990s movie figures as poor substitutes of what COULD HAVE BEEN.

Just picture the Classic looking TMNT from the current 1990 movie line next to the theoretical Rocksteady and Bebop from the new movie...  it could almost be fun...

But this has as much chance of happening as a snowball surviving in Hell...  the biblical hell, not the town called hell where snow freezes the town over at times.

Usagi Yojimbo FINALLY steps out of the TMNT's Shadows.

Miyamoto Usagi has made multiple appearances through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multiverse. I even reviewed AN action figure from one of those guest appearances. Well we are getting a Netflix animated series about Usagi. I honestly hope that Netflix doesn't drop the ball with this. Sadly the series is going to be CGI which scares me thanks to PS2 Graphics Knights of the Zodiac.

I have red like two or three back issues from Usagi Yojimbo and is seen some of his guest appearances in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I cannot say like I'm a super male. I mean I know about the existence of Miyamoto Usagi and some of his friends but it's mostly through Ninja Turtles that I know about them. Also the premise of talking animal Samurai series is rather interesting.

It came from the Toy Chest: Wayne Gretzky on Canseco Juice and Flasher Terrapin

As I mentioned earlier, I got a Casey and Raph 2-pack. Thanks lil' bro! You rock! Now they will come out of the Toy Chest. Before I start, let me get the stupid NECA warning, because collectors are afraid Randy will take away their toys if they dare complain about the piss poor QC by NECA.

Raph: What are you? Jason's grungy brother Melvin?
Casey: Alright, punk! You asked for it!
Raph: I'm a master of ninjitsu!

Warning: Due to NECA's piss poor QC, you must go through the sacred rituals in order to use these toys.
-Sacrifice a virgin female to the toy gods.
-Test EVERY JOINT VERY DELICATELY. AS IF ONE WRONG MOVE, BOOM! YOU BLEW UP THE ENTIRE CITY. In case of stuck joint use the hot and cold treatment... (google it) check for paint "gluing" the joint shut and EXTREMELY CAREFULLY cut the paint on the joint.
Remember that this is a NECA toy and despite following these unnecessary rituals, they might still break... and it's your fault that NECA made a shitty toy in the first place. It's never NECA's fault and Randy is Jesus 2.0...

Casey: You missed, greenie!
Raph: I wasn't aiming at you, sucker!

Writing these warning makes me wonder, why do I keep buying NECA figures? It's because when they don't break, they kick ass!

Additional warning: Be extremely careful with Casey's hands. They are prone to breaking... They are more fragile than Anita Sarkeesian's ego when she went to the UN to whine about people on Twitter saying that she sucks and a liar for literallt lying... They are that fragile. You have been warned.

Casey: Yikes! You looked better with the hat, six ball!
Raph: Oi! Cricket is too difficult fo' South Car'linans!
Casey: What?
Raph: Stick to Hockey, Keith Gretzky!!

Casey Jones is a vigilante who uses Sporting Goods his weapons. He has anger issues and basically is an older more unhinged Raphael. Encountering the Turtles and April helps him mellow out a bit... in the movie, well, he's a vigilante, teams up with the Turtles and April, where he's just as chill as he was before.

Raphael: the Asshole Turtle.

Casey: FORE!!
Raph: Golf, really? A Low Class Mongrel such as you, plays golf!?
Casey: What makes you think I'm not affluent!?
Raphael: One, your get-up. You can't afford Hockey pads, much less state of the art armor. Your outfit is literally a shirt and sweatpants! You definitely ain't Donald Trump. Two, you're here fighting a 5'7" Turtle in a trench coat.
Casey: You're a Turtle Ninja? I thought you were a ninja frog...

Articulation
Casey's articulation is similar to the Foot Ninja and Shredder, if you have them. In theory, the articulation is supposed to be good. Reality? NECA Fragility WARNING joints may be frozen despite the rituals this reduces the amount of usable articulation ona a figure by figurr basis. IN MY CASE his feet were mostly stuck. He MAY HAVE a waist swivel... if he does, then mine is frozen as well.
Yes, the elbows are ugly, yet functiomal. Then again, I collect Figuarts and Revoltech (most of them can't come out of the toy chest, because boobs and vaginas... I barely got the QB Elina review) and they have ugly joints.
I wish mine didn't have frozen joints, I guess I should Let it Go... get it? Frozen, Let it Go... I'll show myself out. Also be a bit extra careful well while posing him because he does have a little trouble standing especially with frozen foot joints
IF HE HAD ZERO FROZEN JOINTS, HE'D BE A 4.5 but since mine has his feet partially frozen, a frozen waist, 3.5

Raph: 30 years later and I'm still stuck doing the Jose Canseco bat schtick!
Casey: At least you're not bitching about Joss Whedon making you say Booya!

Raphael on the other hand, is virtually the same as the previous releases of him. (NECA SDCC, Gamestop single card, Walmart 2 packs...) His pads, mainly knee and elbow can hinder articulation a little bit. The cloth trenchcoat can impede elbow articulation a little bit.
4.5

Paint and sculpt:
This is the reason why I keep still buying NECA despite their piss poor QC... They kick so much butt in the sculpt Department! Aside some of the joints being a bit too obvious on Casey, (unavoidable when working on a supwrarticulated figure)   they look like they jumped out of the screen. Obviously Raphael is the superior one here.  THE few noticeable joints make him look like a guy inside a turtle costume which to be fair was what he was in the 1990 movie.
5.0

Raph: I want to see you eat it, Jones...
Casey: I have no alternate maskless head, Raph... Do you expect me to shove it through my maskhole?

Accessories:
Extra hands for both figures
2 Sai
2 different Hockey sticks
1 slice of pizza
1 hat
2 alternate bandana ties
1 golf bag
1 cricket bat
1 golf club
2 overpriced Jose Canseco bats from a 2×1 sale.

So you can see they've got plenty of accessories. Be extra careful with the golf club it feels super flimsy given their thin material it's made out of. It's not made in rigid plastic but still it's extremely thin and it could break off easily. , Rafael's site are made of sturdier plastic but I'm afraid that if he has a shelf diving incident they will break... or the figure might... it's NECA, you never know.
5.0

One of these Raphs looks like a pervert...
The Other is OK despite beong nude.
An open trenchcoat can make a difference.

Overall
Casey gets a 4.5 as his final score. Raph gets a 4.83 as his final score. This means the pack gets a 4.67 as the final score. The mileage truly varies on the figures' articulation depending on how many Frozen joints you get. In my case this is the score for the two pack. I'm not going to lie it's a really Nifty set and I'm grateful to have a movie accurate Casey Jones... it's gonna suck having to buy a future Casey for the Koteas head.

I got to admit, that having Casey allowed me to have some fun taking pics...

Raph: Don't try to cheat using Mikey, Jones...
Mikey: kuso!!
Raph: Maikī, jōnzu o tasukenaide!!
Leo:Otōsan, watashitachiha nihongo o hanashite jiman shite imasu ka?
Splinter: Hai.
Casey: Do I have to do that Wax on Wax off bullshit to learn Karate?
Splinter: Hai... Nah, Supurinteru is kidding! *Elmo laugh*
Donnie: Ima eigo o hanasemasu ka?
Splinter: Yes, Engrish Speak, Guests we have.
Leo: Hmm... Eri!! Elly!! OK, now I'm  in English mode! I'm Leonardo! I lead!
Donnie: I'm Donatello, I do Machines... What does that even mean? While, yes I am A Robosexual, it doesn't mean I have sex with EVERY machine... I also tinker with them...
Raph: Which means you're a machine Molester. Y'already know me...
Raphael! I'm not the leader because of the blue ass-kisser...
Leo: Raph... don't start...
Raph: I'll Start and Finish it, Leo!
Mikey: Are you going to eat that Pizza?
Raph: MIKEY! Jones HAS to eat THAT SLICE!!
Mikey: As my never chill brother mentioned, I'm Michaelangelo. Typo is intentional.
Casey: Nice to meet you...
Mikey: I'm like super chill, dude! Life's a party and unlike Cyke and Logan, I like to stay frosty and have fun...
Casey: Like Iceman?
Mikey: Exactly...

Another Member of the Mythbusters Build team has fallen.

Grant Imahara, has been seen by Haley Joel Osment and Yuna is dancing for him. Cause of Death: Brain aneurysm.
This was a bit unexpected. Last I recall of him was either him getting engaged, being a McSpokesperson, or playing Sulu in Vic Mignogna's Star Trek fanseries. I'm a bit bummed about this because I enjoyed Mythbusters and Grant was a part of that. After Jessi died in a World Record Breaking car crash, no one expected any of the Mythbusters to die... Except maybe Tori... He'll probably die of pulling a stupid stunt...

Or take others with him:

Also, everyone knows Hyneman is an immortal Wlarus/human chimaera... so no worries there.
But this clip makes me wonder...

Watch it all the way till the end and prepare your tinfoil berets...

Tree fiddy Sentinel has a new companion

A female Prime Sentinel to accompany Bastion. Figire is standard female body with a new head and upper torso.
It's an OK add-on but still not a $350 price point item. Right now it's ranging on $250-265... and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Sentinel gets rereleased at $150... calling it now. There's no way that Hasbro will have this mold be wasted as a 1 time use.

Tree fiddy Sentinel has battle damage now.

Is it me or are these tiered upgrades not that great?
The first tier what I had to make him into Master Mold.  the second tier is Battle damage... it's not like you can army build these guys at that price point.

What's Tier 3 going to be? The second tentacle and "different battle damaged head"? It almost feels like they're not even trying. And let's be honest here the previous two Sentinels that Hasbro made are inferior to the ToyBiz Sentinel.  Don't get me wrong, they look cool but the ToyBiz one is cooler. If it wasn't for the electronics and ridiculous price point, this one would kick ass.

Just a head and a hand for battle damage? At that pruce point he should have modular panels nearly everywhere in its body to swap for different battle damage:
Claw attacks, energy attacks, blunt force attacks, just to name a few. In any case, I guess tomorrow we'll see the final tier and if they'll add some stuff.

The Fresh Douche of Bel Air is now the Fresh Cuck of Bel Air...

I almost feel sad for Will Smith, then I remember how much of a douche he is, but still can't get over the fact that even Will Freaking Smith can be made into a cuck.
She slept with a friend of JADEN SMITH...
No wonder she was OK with Willow Smith being in awkwardly intimate settings with Hannah Montana's Rico...


Or Jaden hang out with Bieber at bars when Jaden was way underage...
World's most responsible mother ladies and gents...
Seriously, cheating on your husband with a guy who could be your son! Not to mention the guy looking like a caricature of your husband. That's messed up.

But more messed up is taking her back and acting like everything is OK...

Unless Will banged Harley Quinn and is taking Jada back to stop that from coming out, he shall be known as Fresh Cuck of Bel Air from now on.

Tree fiddy Sentinel made it...

That's pretty cool!

They reached their first goal, so the Sentinel will be made. Now they are sweetening the pot:

A Mastermold head for this big, huge, gigantic sonuva bitch... but I still stand by it being way too overpriced.
Let's see how many add-ons will they add to pump up those numbers... so far there are 2 mystery add-ons and they will increase by each 1000 sentinels bought. According to Hasbro we're over 7500.

The bad news is that he has electronics... See, this is the kind of crap that is bloating the price. Axing the electronics would allow for a more affordable Sentinel, which would've translated into even more sales.
But what's done is done. I will keep an eye on this to see what the next unlockables will be.

Now if they add a COTA-94 Sentinel from Earth 30847... I'm gonna be so angry...

Haslab's tree fiddy Sentinel...

It looks beautiful, not gonna lie, but $349!! Well, shit! Looks like I'll have to sadly skip it.
Sure it has a Bastion figure, makes the Toybiz Sentinel, the ML DoFP Sentinel by Hasbro seem small in comparison.

Personally, I feel $350 is a bit too much for this. Especially since Hasbro WILL MOSTL LIKELY RERELEASE IT AT A CHEAPER PRICE TAG. The Marvel universe Sentinel is Literally the same Sentinel as the ML DoFP Sentinel...

MOTUC Granamyr is roughly the same size as this and it's  $200 cheaper... or was since it's discontinued. $350 is way too much... $260 would be a much fairer price for it. Seriously, $350 is way too much for a Sentinel when for dpuble that I can get a doll that I can dress up as Gwen Stacy and I can Sins Past her as if my name was Norman Osborn. I like it but $350 is the biggest repellent this figure has. Unlike the $750 Snake Mountain, I'm not bound in an honor oath to get it.

Also, earlier this week, they dropped a Toxin figure...
Really, it's Monster Venom Baf with a new head and back piece. It's OK, but I mention it to soften the Sentinel Blow.

The NECA Casey and Raph 2Pack: a rant

I saw one in the wild this morning.

Thanks to my Brother, I am getting one. Supposed to arrive on the weekend. So, I let this one go. I had it in hand, but it would've been a dick move... getting two and screwing a fellow collector from getting the one. Hopefully it went to a collector and not a scalper. Of course there's a part of me that regrets having to let it go especially since I had it in hand, but I honestly don't see the point of having two especially since I am a loose collector.

I'm honestly surprised that these are making it to Puerto Rico this early. I was expecting them to show up sometime around September based on past experiences with Walmart exclusives. I still strongly believe that it sucks that we can't order them online through Walmart because going on the hunt with the virus going on it's not exactly a great idea. I'm a bit worried of what's going to happen with Tokka and Rahzar.

NECA will "make it easier" for collectors to get these than it was for Casey and Raph. I guess we'll have to wait and see then...  I wonder what this means for Super Shredder.

NECA SDCC2020 item complaints: what else could they have made?

There are some folks complaining about the NECA 2020 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. "It's too silly!" "They could've done something better!" etc.

To be honest, the current exclusive is the best kind of exclusive. A variant for the Hardcore fans that wouldn't have a huge negative impact on the collection should you skip it. While yes, the movie turtles, Shredder, the Foot, and Splinter WERE SDCC EXCLUSIVES,  they also made it to retail. Not every SDCC EXCLUSIVE makes it to retail.
Also, let's face it: These Turtles wouldn't survive retail.
$125 price tag of THE SECOND OR THIRD WORSE LIVE ACTION TURTLES. (Depends on where you place TNM and the Christmas musical)



Would you pay $125 for the Christmas special TMNT?

The question is: WHAT ELSE COULD THEY HAVE MADE?
- a $200 Go Ninja Go set with the Turtles, Vanilla Ice, Shredder, Keno, and the girl with the red dress?
 this would be a punishing set since at best it's only 4 characters that people truly want. But we'd be stuck with slight repaint of the same for turtles we've already got a couple of times.

I know people were clamoring for the Third movie Samurai 4 pack. WHY!?

Oh, so much one use tooling wasted... I mean there isn't much to do with Movie Turtles... Sure you could do a "Mirage repaint" but that's about it.

They could've gone with the toon TMNT as exclusives but there is a wrong with the same issues with the movie Turtles there aren't that many exclusives that you can use the actual turtles for. Maybe pixelated repaint soft Rocksteady and Bebop based on the arcade game. A pixelated April repaint could work as well

At least it's not a Next Mutation 5 pack

Best/worst SDCC Exclusive by NECA

And is a TMNT item... first let me put some ambient music:


It's now a Target exclusive and it's Not quite Coming out of their Shells tour Turtles, but a "classicized" version of them if Toyguru was in Randy Falk's place.

I'm not a fan of this, but at the same time they're too insane to pass up. Problem is that they're a Target exclusive and no Targets in Puerto Rico...
At least it's a weird redo of the turtles and not a

Go Ninja Go Ninja Go  Go pack of Turtles and Vanilla Ice...
(Go is 5 in Japanese)

But seriously, if you're doing coming out of their shells turtles, Randy, you shouldn't half-ass them like this...

Another Mario Maker 3 Wishlist:

I've been doing some Mario Maker levels. I got I think 8 or 9 levels made. I still feel that there are some limitations to what Mario Maker can do in comparison to True Nintendo-made levels.

I have mentioned Extra modes like Mario v. DK levels (based on the GameBoy Donkey Kong game) or SMB2USA mode... or Doki Doki Mode for the Nihonjin. And the Wario Mode that adds Wario and Waluigi as playable characters.
I have mentioned looking at the SMLand games for inspiration... I'll try to not repeat those on this list:

More themes:
I know SMM 2 added some new themes making the grand total of 10 themes.
But not all the themes from the source games have been used. (Speaking only on SMB3/SMW here)
Ground covers the 1-1 style of SMB3 but not the 1-2 grassy style. Same thing happens with SMW. The Ground level looks like the demo mode in SMW instead of Yoshi's Island 1 or 2. So for the second "ground theme" let's call it Grassland.
Sunken ship: Basically a hybrid between Underwater level and Haunted House.
Cavern: a second style of Undergrounf that uses Lava tiles. Seen in SMW.
Mountain: This half underground half snowy area is based on SMB3's 1-5.

Water tiles: pools/waterfalls
The rising/falling water levels from the forest are a neat addition, but they don't capture the full potential. Waterfall tiles (could also double as quicksand on desert levels.) Can create some high tension situations. The waterfall drags you down as you attempt to climb a vertical level. Pools on the other hand would be standing water. Combinations of these elements could allow players to create wet/dry levels without requiring pipes for a Water sub-area. Before anyone asks, yes, the Super Mario Land 2 sap areas were part of the inspiration.

Theme specific bosses:
We have Bowser and the Koopalings as generic bosses. Boom Booms too! But these guys would be End Stage Boss types, meaning that only by beating them, the stage is cleared. This status can also be applied to A Boom Boom, A Koopaling, A Bowser or Bowser Jr.
Well how about a Boss that is different depending on the area:

KING BOO: an oversized Boo who requires 4 hits on the crown (stomps, throwables) who only appears on Haunted Houses or Sunken ships.

PETEY PIRANHA: An oversized walking piranha plant that requires to be stomped when it's not attacking. Grassland and Ground seem to be his favorite areas.

TATANGA: An Alien invader whose Spaceship behaves like a flying Boom Boom. 6 hits shall send the alien packing. He'd appear on the Sky stages.

MEGA RHINO: An oversized Dino Rhino with behavior similar to a Dino Torch from SMW. This mighty creature hides in the Desert.

DONKEY KONG: Mario's pet ape has a bone to pick with his owner. Only throwable items can appease the ape. He'd hide in the forest. Wario's pet Yeti Wonkey Kong hides in the Snow and Mountains.

DRY BOWSER: a Skeletal version of Bowser haunts the Castle.

Nintendo can figure out the rest.

Alternative springs:
We currently have either Noteblocks or SMW style springs. I would like to see the SMW diving board style.
Big unmovable springs (inspired by the High Jump springs from SMB1) with a higher jump power.

Jumbo stage elements:
We have big enemies, but not Big Pipes, Big Blocks, etc.

Boss Door:
There's nothing more annoying than setting up on killer boss battle that gets screwed up by accidentally pressing up in front of the door that brought you into the boss room. So, this limited to one per level Boss Door would take you to the end of stage boss room. Just make rhem work like the 3d world warp boxes.

Throwable items:
Just as the name implies, more items that Mario can grab and throw, or in SMB1 mode's case, kick. Empty Koopa Shells (or blue upside down shells in SMB1 and SMB3 modes) the Snowballs are quite the innovation, but only useful in snow levels. Also Spiny and Buzzy Beetle shells are wearable and people manage to screw levels and get soft-locled by wearing them. The empty Koopa Shells avoid that. The White blocks used by Buster Beetles would be also a nice addition.

Chain link fence:
A SMW staple, it adds a pseudo 3d element to a 2d game. Some exciting levels can be made using this dynamic of alternating between foreground and background.

Mario Brothers levels as bonus stages for World Maker:
Instead  of devoting a whole new game mode I think these having these as an actually playable bonus stage would be a nice feature to mix things up with the Toad Houses. It's also a nice throwback to Super Mario 3.

And I believe this is all I can think of for now without retreading into prevous rants.

Now Bill Cosby wants to use BLM to escape prison.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!! It's now 3 in a row... Bill Cosby is now claiming that he was convicted due to systemic racism. He won a chance at an appeal and with the recent outcries of systemic racism against black people; Cosby is jumping on the bandwagon.

Cosby's lawyers claim that he was convicted for being black. It wasn't having 40+ accusations of rape and testimony of him stating that he drugged women to have sex with... it totally was racism, because he's black.

This pisses me off. Yes, there is a problem with racism in the US. Minorities end up getting harsher sentences than white people. Cosby got prison time, but his sentence wasn't that harsh, most likely due to his Celebrity status. He was, up until a year ago, isolated from the general population.  Also, due to his old age (and most importantly his Celebrity status), is a likely candidate to complete his sentence under House arrest. His fame has shielded Cosby from the problems normal black people face. Bill Cosby is making a mockery out of the fight against systemic racism just to save his guilty ass.

No Jell-O products were consumed during the making of this rant.

Would it be tasteless if I get to review Ghost Dad?

Kane has gone 2020

Knox County, Tennessee's Mayor, Glenn Jacobs, known to the world as the Masked Wrestler Kane, voted against wearing masks during this COVID-19 pandemic.


This Is Incredibly Hypocritical of Glenn Jacobs... not because of his career as Kane, but he wears masks during this pandemic, yet votes against people using them.

Glenn Jacobs voted against wearing masks
during the Pandemic...
Wears mask during the Pandemic...

It doesn't make sense! Had this been any other wrestler turned politician, no one would have cared about this. But to have a former masked wrestler turned politician fighting against wearing masks it's incredibly silly. The people literally voted for him because he was a masked wrestler. The whole voting for a wrestler because he's a wrestler kind of explains Jesse Ventura as well...

Dammit! Now I have 2 politics related posts in a row... Dear celebrity politicians: stop doing stupid crap that allows me to rant!!

Gay Fish 2020?

Kanye West-Kardashian, aka Gay Fish is running for President of the United States... Normally I try to avoid posting about Politics but this is too weird to ignore.

I don't think this is real. I believe this is a Kardashian-esque stunt by West to draw attention to himself... There must be a new Yeezy album coming. People are asking if this is real or not. Some are speculating that this is a ploy to take black voters from Biden to ensure a Trump victory, since West has been a huge Trump supporter. Others believe that West has grown dissatisfied of Trump and he's trying to pull a Bernie Sanders on the Republican side.

There's technically nothing wrong with Kanye wanting to pursue a Political career. I simply don't believe he's in it for real.