All About ZHiME & Artbooks

Finally, the post I've been wanting to post for more than a month. If you haven't already noticed w/ a couple of my last posts/pics (aside from the My-ZHiME S.ifr post). I got some items before and after Christmas. But most were after Xmas. None were gifts, since I would got more 'practical' stuff this year. Anyways, just some the very late and latest stuff I got, since I don't get too much anime-related stuff each month now. Yup, you know me....artbooks galore!

My-ZHiME Graph Premium (!)
Ryu Final vol.1 (E)
Appleseed EX MACHINA 2D SE (R1)
Kite Liberator (R1)
Purgatory Kabuki vol.1 (E)
Change 123 vol.7 (J)
Black Lagoon vol.7 (HK)
Until Death Do Us Part vol. 6 (J)
Manyuu Hikencho vol.2 (J)
Hiderou Horibe Colors Artbook (!!)
All About Capcom
Art of Gyakuten Saiban
Yoko Portraits Artbook (!!)
Cloud 1 + Special DVD
Uno! Uno Makoto Artworks (!!)
Crisis Core FFVII PSP + Shinra UMD Case

So that's the list. I'll probably post some pics or scans from some of the artbooks in the future just for the hell of it. No promises since I'm a busy man. If anyone wants info on any of the items, lemme know. Some comments I want to make, Change 123: Absolutely love the cover since Fujiko's always been my fave. Kite Liberator: Pretty meh, didn't like how some things were left unresolved, didn't mind the abrupt ending. CCFF7: I got a lot of other games but only bothered showing CC cuz if one doesn't remember, I got the Japanese version last Sept., not too long after it's release. Finished it in Dec. I probably won't play this till much later. Only reason why I got it is to listen to the Eng. voices and I guess support SE ...again.

Anyways, The biggie and the one I'll go into detail is Otome Graph Premium book. The book is a major disappointment. There's hardly any new work at all. Maybe one or two that I think I haven't seen that are worth a mention. All promo images are various artworks seen from past mags, which is why I didn't take a photo of any spread from the beginning of the book (where most new artworks usually go in these kind of books). Like the previous books (Idol, Scoop, Graph), Premium gives quick details and brief summaries on some of the characters and the Series. In this case, My-ZHiME and My-ZHiME Zwei. There's a little bit on S.ifr for those wondering. Aside from the usual interviews w/ staff and cast, there's some stories and some panels of comics that are quite funny & entertaining. The best thing in Premium is some of the production sketches, most are old and ripped from the DVD booklets and novels (ie. Destiny, since zero non-Japanese fans purchased them....except me :P). There's a neat section detailing on the Meisters and their elements. The pics for that section are from Hisayuki's site & Graph if one has a good memory. Best part of the production sketches is the My★Maid section (For those who didn't know, My★Maid was announced not too long after My-HiME ended, it was the supposed sequel, this name was then changed to what we know now as My-Otome), which shows what some of the characters looked like had they decided to go in this direction. You can see the evolution. Arika's roommates were suppose to be this Sara Gallagher look-alike, Chris/Cris and Shiori (who kinda resembles Shion). The maid outfits/robes had their respective element symbols (ie. Mai's signature flame symbol, Natsuki had an ice symbol). There's also a cool sketch of Mai in a Vega (from Dendoh) style outfit. It's not really Vega but more like a hybrid of Vega and Sara's (Otome) outfit.

So in the end, Premium is probably the crappiest of the four as you don't get much new and exclusive artwork for you buck. Being the greatest HiME, ZHiME and Hisayuki fan, I took the plunge for you other fans. Latz.