Skip to content

Imagine

“… this is a book about how people imagine themselves and one another — a book about how we imagine our world. In Rwanda … the government had adopted a new policy, according to which everyone in the country’s Hutu majority group was called upon to murder everyone in the Tutsi minority. The government, and an astounding number of its subjects, imagined that by exterminating the Tutsi people they could make the world a better place, and the mass killing had followed.” — Philip Gourevitch, “We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families.”

You expect to feel sickened when reading an account of the Rwandan genocide but the overwhelming feeling I had while reading Gourevitch’s book was anger. It’s impossible not to be infuriated over how culpable the international community was with regards to Rwanda.

The international media initially shrugged off the genocide as an extension of age-old enmities while failing to mention that those enmities didn’t occur before 1959. The international community initially looked away and when it did act, it managed to extend humanitarian aid to genocidal racists. The one superpower which could have ameliorated the situation deliberately went out of its way to avoid taking meaningful action.

Screwed up seems to be the phrase that best fits the situation in Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide as well.

A man who committed an act of genocide is allowed to return to his home where he just might bump into the relative of someone he slaughtered.

The pen-pusher who failed to act when he was in a position to save thousands of lives not only avoided censure but actually went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The stories in the book end in 1998 on a hopeful note but that hope was drawn from an incident involving the wholesale slaughter of schoolchildren.

You would like to imagine that these events would never happen again but of course, they do and the world does the same thing again.

Imagine that.

Posted in Books, Reviews.

Comments Off on Imagine

By Gobi – Monday, January 15, 2007

What’s in a name?

Mag-Warriors Battle Scorch

A photo of Mag-Warriors Battle Scorch.

In his free time, Mr Scorch enjoys reading poetry and creating lovely pressed flower arrangements.

Posted in Pix, Toys.

Comments Off on What’s in a name?

By Gobi – Friday, January 12, 2007

Busou Shinki linkies

The latest updates to this list can be found on Fanmode.

Official site.
Konami has separate sites for the figures and online components. I’d strongly recommend checking the online instructions for the figures (e.g. Xiphos’ instructions) since they’re more detailed than the terse instructions included in the package. The Diorama Studio screenshots by fans are also worth a look.

Konami America’s official site.
It includes a translated assembly guide.

Forget-me-not.
A Busou Shinki digital comic. Check out the character bios.

Konami video promo.
It’s 5 minutes long and covers the different aspects of the line. The Diorama Studio software is showcased halfway through.

Battle Rondo.
There are two preview movies on the official site which showcase Busou Shinki’s game element. Check the system requirements, download the 973MB client (the game and the Diorama Studio share the same client) and register for a Konami ID. (You may also have to install Japanese language support on your PC.) Then check this unofficial Battle Rondo FAQ and the GameFAQs message board for help.

Diorama Studio.
Diorama Studio lets you play with CG models based on Busou Shinki on your PC. I’ve put together guides to show you how to download and install Diorama Studio, display Japanese text on a non-Japanese edition of Windows XP, create a Konami ID and pose a CG model, create a diorama and add access codes found in Busou Shinki sets.

Japanese wikipedia entry.
It has a good overview of the line with links to entries for a few of the designers.

Fan imageboard.
There are separate sections for general figure photos, kitbashes, diorama screenshots and illustrations. There’s also an archive for older photos. (Site down.)

Asai Masaki’s site.
Also known as “Apsy Masaki”, the MMS figure designer is a veteran figure modeller.

Figures

The reviews I’ve linked to below are in Japanese but they each have copious amounts of photos which are indicative of the figures’ features.

Wave 1 (released 7 Sep 2006)

Angel Arnval (design by Shimada Fumikane)
Reviews: momodani, Blindbox, Kuronuko Yamato, Gamu.

Arnval Dengeki Hobby Magazine repaint (released May 2007).
Reviews: Kuronuko Yamato, Len, nekokamisigma, Mojya.

Devil Strarf (design by Shimada Fumikane)
Reviews: momodani, Blindbox, Kuronuko Yamato, Gamu.

Strarf Dengeki Hobby Magazine repaint (released May 2007).
Reviews: Kuronuko Yamato, Len.

Wave 2 (released 28 Sep 06)

Dog Howling (design by BLADE)
Reviews: Kuronuko Yamato, Goe, third_love.

Howling Dengeki Hobby Magazine repaint version (released Sep 07)
Reviews: Len.

Cat Maochao (design by BLADE)
Reviews: Blindbox, Kuronuko Yamato, Goe, third_love.

Maochao Dengeki Hobby Magazine repaint version (released Sep 07)
Reviews: Len.

Rabbit WaffeBunny EX Weapons Set (design by Kasahara Tetsuro)
Reviews: Gamu, Kuronuko Yamato, Blindbox, Goe.

Wave 3 (released 7 Dec 2006)

Knight Xiphos (design by Shinofusa Rokurou)
Reviews: momodani, Blindbox, Kuronuko Yamato, Gamu.

Samurai Benio (design by Shinofusa Rokurou)
Reviews: Kuronuko Yamato, Blindbox, Goe, Gamu.

Santa Tsugaru EX Weapons Set (design by GOLI)
Reviews: Kuronuko Yamato, Blindbox, Goe.

Wave 4 (released 22 Feb 2007)

Seed Juvisy (design by okama)
Reviews: Gate, Blondy, Blindbox, Kuronuko Yamato.

Flower Zyrdarya (design by okama)
Reviews: Gate, Blondy, Otaudo, Blindbox.

Cannon Fort Bragg EX Weapons set (design by Yanase Takayuki)
Reviews: Blindbox, Goe, Gamu, Kuronuko Yamato.

MMS Naked (design by Asai Masaki)
Reviews: Hiro, momodani, cat75770.

Wave 5 (released 31 May 2007)

Siren Eukrante (design by Magaki Ryota)
Reviews: Blindbox, Len, Goe, Blondy.

Mermaid Ianeira (design by Magaki Ryota)
Reviews: Len, The G, Goe, Blondy.

Dophin WaffeDolphin (design by Kasahara Tetsuro)
Reviews: Gamu, Kuronuko Yamato, Sushi Jirou.

Wave 6 (released 30 August 2007)

Tiger Tigris (design by Shimizu Eiichi and Simoguchi Tomohiro)
Reviews: TakaLab, The G, Matuya, Len.

Calf Vitulus (design by Shimizu Eiichi and Shimoguchi Tomohiro)
Reviews: The G, Len.

Builder Grapprap (design by Kito Eisaku)
Reviews: Goe, Len, Blondy.

Posted in Busou Shinki, Toys.

Comments Off on Busou Shinki linkies

By Gobi – Friday, January 12, 2007

MMS

Busou Shinki MMS

The Busou Shinki line revolves around the 15cm-tall MMS female figure designed by Asai Masaki (a.k.a. Apsy Masaki). It’s slim, elegant and unlike a lot of female action figures, actually looks feminine.

Make no mistake, though, this sylph is an action figure. MMS stands for “Multi Movable System” which is Konami marketing-speak for “it has joints” and the figure is indeed well-articulated. The head swivels, the bottom of the neck is ball-jointed, the shoulders are hinge-swivel combos, the biceps swivel, the elbows are hinged, the wrists swivel, the chest is ball-jointed, the thighs swivel and the knees and feet are hinged. In addition, some of the extra hands include a hinge joint. Most of these joints have been designed to allow a good range of motion so posability is quite good.

The posability is further improved by the cleverly designed hip joints. There’s a conventional ball joint for each hip but it’s supplemented by an additional U-shaped piece that swings out to allow extreme poses. The reason for this approach can only be to avoid ugly hips but it must be pointed out the figure does look awkward in some poses when the hip joints are swung out.

The overall design seems mostly sturdy but I would recommend exercising caution with the hip joints when placing the figure in extreme poses. The instruction sheet also advises caution when handling the knee and elbow joints although I don’t think it’s strictly necessary to point out knees and elbows don’t actually bend in those directions.

The MMS figure is meant to be easily disassembled to facilitate the swapping in and out of accessories, costume parts and weapons. For instance, to change Xiphos from plain MMS figure to knight, you have to first remove the head, the bust, the arms at the bicep, the hands and the lower legs.

Take note the biceps, wrists and thighs have plastic washers which may have to be removed when equipping certain parts to ensure a better fit. The washers for the wrists are especially tiny and will no doubt be the first pieces to be lost in this set. Some fans prefer to store these washers in the compartment at the bottom of the figure stand when not in use but I suggest using a separate plastic bag.

Right now, the only way to get the basic MMS figure is to purchase one of the 3500 yen sets but Konami will begin selling the core figures as MMS Naked on January 25 for 1800 yen each.

Posted in Busou Shinki, Pix, Toys.

Comments Off on MMS

By Gobi – Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Elsewhere on the web

Toys big and small.

The Chryssalid reimagined.
Is Julian Gollop remaking UFO: Enemy Unknown?

The slowest 400m race ever run.
The Observer named it one of the 50 heartbreaking moments in sport but I see it as one of the most moving displays of humanity in sport. Devastation, grim determination, heroic effort, a father’s love … so much powerful emotion in that brief clip.

Posted in Web.

Comments Off on Elsewhere on the web

By Gobi – Monday, January 8, 2007