Zoids Original has pushed the Command Wolf RGC back to December. This makes the month even more expensive for Zoid collectors!

    Kotobukiya has announced that they're relaunching the Kotobukiya Direct website. When they do they'll be releasing a few lucky draw anime items to people who are registered. The Zoids-related item being given away is a Holotech Berserk Fury!

    We're a bit late to the punch on this one but MSS has for the past few weeks also been showing off the upcoming MSS Salamander. There is not yet a release date but it appears to be fully finished and colored! Pictures taken by Zoikino show the Zoid in great detail.

    The MSS site has updated with pictures of the Command Wolf, to be released any day now! The pictures include a very clear picture of the art image (presumably the digital version) which looks stunning. You can view the page here.

    The Zoids Original website has updated with the next in line: Storm Sworder FSV (Flame Slash Version). This is featuring a red Storm Sworder (Note: Not the one from Guardian Force~) molded in a very bright red color (and not pink!). The alternate form of this Zoid hasn't yet been revealed but is said to have translucent molded wings. You can view the full page here where it is already up for pre-order for 3,675 Yen.

    The releases of Zoids Original are getting a little concerning, however. Storm Sworder FSV is to be released in March 2014, which is the largest wait we've had for an Original kit. Perhaps this is because they have had more experience to realize how long to expect releases to take (given the delays of all other kits) and are just trying to be more realistic, but equally disconcerting is that the 5th slot in the Original Line Up page has been removed. Perhaps that is just because it isn't being released in the foreseeable future.

    Kotobukiya will be rereleasing four of the older kits in December! This includes Cannon Tortoise, Dark Horn Harry Special, Great Sabre, and Naomi's Gun Sniper. That brings the total pre-order count (by AmiAmi prices) up to 32,050 Yen for December, so prioritize carefully!

    It seems Kotobukiya has announced that Z-Knights will be released in 2014. This is both a good and a bad thing, as the Zoids related series shall continue, but it is not so great if they stop doing animal mechs, which are what defines Zoids. There are already so many human mecha out there I do not see the need to add another to distract from one of the only active animal mecha. Hopefully we will continue to see animal-based HMM designs.

    Kotobukiya has announced that they will now be mixing their sales activity with Zoids Original, and that Zoids Original kits will be sold through Kotobukiya's store. While this is not a Japan wide release it is still a step in the right direction towards better availability!

    Don't forget that the Photo Contest on the TakaraTomy site ends on October 15th!

    On the Koto news front the HMM Iguan as well as the MSS Great Sabre have been released! We're updating our sales links below. September Zoids have been removed and the Zoids Original Geno Ritter is being properly placed as an October release, expected Mid October.

    The Zoids MSS site has added box art for the Shield Liger MK-II, Sinker, and the new Great Sabre, which has just been released.

    A new installment of the Zoids Original Story has been added, continuing the battle between the Geno Ritter and the Shield Liger. You can view the Japanese version of the story online here.

    The Photo Contest page has uploaded images of some of the unpictured prizes, including the Silver Plated Great Sabre and Liger Zero. They are looking fantastic! See the page details here.

    HMM Iguan has been released! But that is not the point of this section.

    According to some magazine interviews in the Great Mechanics magazine it is rumored that Kotobukiya will be taking a hiatus after the release of Gojulas (supposedly -- there are no 2014 releases currently scheduled). It is unclear if they will continue to rerelease old kits or new variations during that time, and how long the dormancy period will last.

    Some mentions giving the Zoids Original line time to stand on its own two feet while Kotobukiya and Mercy Rabbit prepare for "Chapter 2". No inklings on what all that implies just yet but I suspect it'll be months before we have specific information.

    The new Zoids Concept Book has been released! We'll be providing information on it in the next update. In the mean time Kotobukiya has announced that the Geno Saurer Raven Version will be rereleased in late November. You can find a pre-order link down below.

    The HMM Gojulas is also up for pre-order! The price of this Zoid is an extremely painful 24,150 Yen. While it is tempting to order through AmiAmi it is worth noting that a limited CP kit featuring a lighter blue replacement armor (the same, just recolored in a lighter shade) is available if you pre-order through the Koto Store.

    TakaraTomy's official website has posted videos of the limited prize contest Zoids being given away in the Photograpy Contest. They are looking great, and the transparent MSS Great Sabre appears to be similar to the ever-elusive ghost Zoids! See the page here.

    The Zoids Original website has hosted the second story chapter for Geno Ritter, seen here. A page dedicated to profiles for the Zoids and characters can also be read here. So far there is no video for the Command Wolf RGC.

    The Zoids Blu-Ray box has been released! An unboxing was posted on the Zoids HMM Blog (seen here). We hope to have a review done for this by the next update, but there are a lot of things to go over for it in this news post.

    Below you'll see the unboxing image posted on the Koto blog and a couple of example screenshots. We'll go into quality in the bottom post.

    When it comes to physical extras the Blu-Ray set comes with a small Encyclopedia, a bit smaller than the Viz Zoids CC Comics. This contains more or less copied information from the original Zoids Encyclopedia with virtually no additional details.

    The case of the DVDs are in a book-like form and each disc gets its own book with the character images printed on the front (congratulations, Thomas! You get to be the very last disc!) and art printed on the sides. The quality is quite nice and contains the stock production art you've seen on other sites.

    If you ordered the Limited Production version you also received the clear HMM Blade Liger, which is cast in all transparent plastic. The quality of this kit seems much superior to the Holotech Shield Liger parts that were released earlier by Koto, and does not crumble like it did!

    Now for the actual Blu-Ray extras. The discs are all in Japanese. So far I've found no trace of a closed captioning track. It has no subtitles, Japanese or English, and no dual languages, as it is marketed only in Japan. The quality is by far better than the DVDs but scaled up you can see a sort of noise-reduction filter applied to the Zoids that gives them a watercolor feel, especially when in motion. You can see this clearly in the example images.

    The image below shows a comparison of the Blade Liger. On the left is the Blu-ray version and on the right is a screenshot directly from the DVDs. Even though a noise reduction effect is on the blu-rays, and sometimes detracts, the quality is still much superior. The colors contrast differently from the DVDs with reds leaning closer to true red or pink, while on the DVDs they appear orange and more saturated. There is no editing or digital touch ups in the comparison photo at all, with the exception of the blu-ray being resized to match the DVD size.

    The on-disc extras include a new CGI opening that we'll be uploading a low-resolution video of with the review next update! High quality scans of the CGI images used for postcard releases on the DVDs are included on Disc 10, along with small cgi turn-arounds of one or two Zoids. The final disc contains creditless opening and endings. Sorry to ramble at great lengths over the Blu-Rays! This concludes today's update.

    First views of the finished MSS Command Wolf can be seen on the official site here! The kit is shaping up to look great, with excellent proportions and nicely painted details. The Zoid is up for pre-order on AmiAmi for 2,200 yen, scheduled for a late October release.

    The Zoids Original website has updated with a complete profile for the Command Wolf RGC. It is shown that this Zoid will not only come with the RGC cannons, but with equipment to make three additional variations. The first is the basic Command Wolf. The second is the Command Wolf Interceptor which uses the LC cannon that is sold with the Irvine special originally. The third is the Command Wolf Zappa Version (Late Model) which is piloted by Commander Zappa from the Republican Trap Commando unit, as soon in the Concept Art Books and Zoids SS. Unfortunately they do not include the unique gun or shoulder armor seen to these Zoids, but it does include a new canopy cover for both the face canopy and the LC gun.

    You can view the full profile in Japanese on the Zoids Original site here. The TakaraTomy company has also upgraded a video on Youtube (seen here) which illustrates all of the movable parts, including a collapsable cannon. So far this Zoid is shaping up to be much better than the first impressions!

    This is a long one. The official Zoids site (Link) is going to be holding a photo contest. This is strictly for Japan residents ages 15 and up but I felt the need to go over the details here. Entries permit photo editing and there are categories for HMM, MSS, and Zoids Original. Entries opened today on July 26th and close on October 15th.

    This news is of particular interest because of its prizes. They will include several plated (chrome) Zoids, several translucent Zoids, and also some model kits. Below is a list of the prizes. I suspect they will be one of a kind, but that is only because I didn't see a mention of multiple winners for each category. There very well may be multiple entries! But you'll want to keep an eye out on Yahoo Japan auctions for them just in case.

Zoids Original Grand Prizes:
    - Plated Mirage Fox
    - Mirage Fox Clear Version
    - Zoids Original set of 2 (Model Kits)

HMM Contest Grand Prizes:
    - Plated HMM Liger Zero
    - HMM Godos (Clear Version)
    - HMM Iguan (Clear Version)
    - Decal set of 10 pieces (Randomized contents, cannot be chosen by winner)

MSS Contest Grand Prizes:
    - Plated MSS Great Sabre
    - "Natural Color" MSS Great Sabre (Painted, maybe? Not sure)
    - MSS Great Sabre model kit

    Kotobukiya has posted pictures of the Fire Fox CP on their website. They've also posted an unboxing of the Zoids Blu-Ray set [Limited] and we'll be seeing this released on August 2nd! I'll be sure to post a similar unboxing once it gets here and do my best to provide you all with information on what all of the extras are.