When I first heard that Kaiyodo was giving the Arbalest the Revoltech treatment back in November of 2009, I knew I had to have it. I LOVE the Full Metal Panic anime series and I’m especially fond of the mecha design used for Arbalest in particular. Sadly, since our finances were tight when the figure was originally announced and we were trying to cobble enough funds together to pay for Christmas, I was unable to justify pre-ordering it. Luckily for me, my wife grew tired of my constant weeping and ordered me one as a Christmas gift. Needless to say, I could barely contain myself when it showed up in the mail a month late, but looking so awesome that I nearly wept tears of pure otaku joy.

Nintendo sent out a press release last week announcing that they would be unveiling a brand new DS handheld at the upcoming E3 convention in June. The new handheld will is supposed to provide a realistic 3D experiance without requiring special glasses for the effect to work. According to a follow up post on the gaming website Joystiq, the new DS will use “parallax barrier LCD” screen from Sharp and the screens will measure four inches each diagonally. There are also reports that the new system will feature force feedback, a 3D controller, and will make your penis bigger will have a better battery life.

Rumors also suggest that it may be on store shelves as early as the second half of this year. Personally, I could care less right now because this will be the fifth iteration of this system in as many years. I’m on to you, Nintendo, and I’m done buying your yearly system updates until I see something so awesome that it actually makes me to poop my pants amazement. Of course, that’s just my opinion…

More info:
Nintendo Press Release

Yeah, I know. Most of you aren’t going to make it half way through this video before you turn it off in disgust, but I for the life of me can’t stop laughing over it. For some reason, it just speaks to the nerd in me. Also, it’s the perfect level of silliness for this week considering April Fool’s Day is this coming Thursday as well as being a nice change of pace from last week’s Pink Floyd outing…

BTW, I couldn’t really figure out who the author of the song was. I think I attributed it to the right person, but if I got it wrong and your the original artist, please let me know so I can update my post. Thanks =^_^=

Perhaps in an effort to drive the collective blood pressure of Miku Hatsune otaku into overdrive as the premiere of the Black Rock Shooter anime edges ever closer, Max Factory has officially open preorders for their Black Rock Shooter figma and nendoriod figures today. The figures, and the upcoming anime series, are based off of the popular Miku Hatsune music video that reimagined the popular Vocoloid character in a much more dark and action-oriented light.

I don’t normally recommend fansubbed items on here because I would prefer folks to either buy or rent the retail version whenever possible (or watch an online version that the legitimate U.S. rights holder has made available for free via their website.) Sometimes, though, I come across shows that either have almost no chance of coming to the U.S. or are just to awesome not to share. The second and third parts of The Legend of Koizumi falls firmly in that latter catagory. Not only is it the most manly anime about politics I’ve ever seen, but one of the best works of satire to come down the pipeline in a long time.

I’ve embedded part three of this modern epic after the jump. If you haven’t seen part one or are unsure what all the fuss is about, please check out the original “Spotlight” article I put together for it back in January.