It seems that we’re in classic anime streaming season, with Zeta Gundam already available Hulu are now streaming the original Macross series in its 36 episode entirety. Admittedly this is the English dubbed version but the dub in question is from the recent ADV release, so it’s at least moderately competent and hopefully won’t cause haemorrhaging in your inner ear. It also goes without saying that the original Macross TV series is a classic anime show and is massively influential in terms of gaming. Despite numerous Macross games being available, the usage of transforming mecha in gaming primarily stems from this series (much more so than Transformers believe it or not). The original Macross was also given it’s own campaign in both Macross Ace Frontier and Ultimate Frontier on the PSP recently. We’ve also included the Japanese opening video below as well as the climactic section in the 1984 movie Ai Oboete Imasuka (mostly because we love the film beyond the capacity for rational thought).

Over at Hobby Stock there is some nice photo coverage of the current Wonder Festival. Apart from cool stuff like an SD White Glint kit, Kotobukiya also announced their intent to make a kit of SAV-07-D Belgdor from the original Virtual On. Belgdor is an interesting design both functionally and aesthetically, as it was the most real robot VR in the game (as it used solid ammunition amongst other things). It was also one of the weaker units too but that didn’t stop the versus community from coming up with a variety of techniques to keep Belgdor competitive, with the usage of rowing being notable. Belgdor also received various updates in both Oratan and Force; from Grys-vok, to Stein-vok and finally the Vox series. No word on a release date or pricing as yet but like the other Kotobukiya kits it probably won’t be that expensive.

Over at the AmiAmi blog they’re covering the Tamashii Features event, which is basically an orgy of Robot Damashii toys all neatly arranged for the discerning mecha fan. Out of the many toys on display, the Yutaka Izubuchi designed RGM-79SP GM Sniper II caught our eye. Not only because it’s a lovely design but also due to its presence in the excellent Dreamcast game Rise from the Ashes. Thankfully, Bandai are producing both colour schemes of the mobile suit (as it originally appeared in Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket). No word on a release date as yet but the good news is that it won’t be prohibitively expensive. We’ve also included a video of the GM Sniper II in action from the Rise from the Ashes Premium Disc below…

Update: GA Graphic also have a nice report up for the Tamashii Features show.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the Variable Action Zephyr from Hao Taikei Ryu Knight, a very successful anime series from the mid-90’s. The Zephyr was also recently featured in the quite excellent Super Robot Wars Neo. Interestingly, due to its already rather distorted proportions, the Zephyr wasn’t rendered in SD in Neo compared to many of the other featured mecha.

Due to the nature that this is a toy, all pictures shown are of the item out of the box. Click on to read more…

The official Armored Core 5 site has been updated with a trailer for the game. The more observant of you will notice that this trailer was already shown when the game was announced a few weeks ago. However, this version lacks the shaky hand cam issues and as such you can see the new Over Weapon transformation a lot more clearly. In any case, no word on a release date as yet but it will be gracing both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 upon its inevitable release. You may also want to keep an eye on From Software’s YouTube Channel too, if you’re already Armored Core inclined.

Everyone remembers that larger than large (though not quite full scale) Gundam that was in Tokyo last year, right? Well, even though it hasn’t grabbed nowhere near the same amount of attention, the equally as impressive (and 1:1 scaled) Tetsujin 28-go has nonetheless managed to attract a million visitors since it first went up in Kobe. Quite the incredible feat since it’s only been up for three months. But most importantly, all those visitors have been a tremendous asset to the city’s economy, which has been suffering ever since the Great Hanshin earthquake in ’95. One can find positively anything and everything related to the big blue robot: shirts, vending machines, street lamps, curry dishes, even local taxi cabs (which are filled with plenty of Tetsujin 28 manga to enjoy during a ride)!

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the latest in Bandai’s Armor Plus toy range; Tekkaman Blade. This titular mecha was also repackaged abroad as Teknoman and, due to the series’ high production standards, enjoyed a large amount of popularity across the world. Earlier this week, Capcom finally released Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All Stars (which you can buy here) and it features Blade as a playable character. So Bandai’s release of this toy is timely indeed.

Due to the nature that this is a toy, all pictures shown are of the item out of the box. However, we’ve also included comparison shots of the recently released Soul of Chogokin Spec Tekkaman and Pegas set (sold separately). In any case, it’s worth clarifying here that this toy is one of the few that falls under the category of “impossibly awesome”. Click on to read more…

We mentioned the PS3 version of Thexder Neo not that long ago but today it’s been finally released across the world via the PlayStation Network store. Now, we really quite enjoyed the PSP version but the remake was somewhat misunderstood by much of the Western gaming press – as they most probably had no recollection of the original games. The PS3 version is basically the same as the PSP game though (bar being much prettier), so I doubt they’re going to be won over but at least Square Enix have bundled the original NEC PC-8801 version along with the shinier remake to at least clarify matters. In any case, if you have a PS3 then go buy Thexder Neo (unless you are one of those people that’s dead inside and/or has flippers for hands).

The upcoming Gundam Assault Survive received a new promo recently and it shows more about how the mission and area layout structure differs from the Gundam Battle games. The game engine also has received more work as has the art, as for the latter many of the explosions look more beefy compared to the Gundam Battle variants. The game is still scheduled for a March release and you can pre-order it here.

Over at Play-Asia they’re doing another of their bargains, with the classic Dreamcast arcade port of Choukou Senki Kikaioh (or Tech Romancer as it was known abroad). This particular version also features the online matchmaking service, though whether that works these days is anybody’s guess. Kikaioh was, in many ways, a spiritual successor to Cyberbots (as it also featured Jin Saotome’s Blodia as an unlockable). However, what made the game quite interesting was how it hired Shoji Kawamori to pen a fictional pantheon of mecha designs, spanning both the real and super spectrum (the above picture is a sketch he did of the titular Kikaioh if you’re wondering). In any case, the game also features a lovely unlockable anime opening (shown below). Make sure you also have an arcade stick for this, as you’ll really need it.

Update: Play-Asia have sold out their copies for this – which was pretty quick!