Yuusha Raideen spotted in X-Men comic

X-Men, issue #107 (1977):

Yuusha Raideen (1975):

That is totally just a drawing of Raideen sitting in this old X-Men comic. I guess the artist - Dave Cockrum - was a fan. :)

Cowboy Bebop CD-BOX Original Sound Track Limited Edition

This is an old CD box set which I bought when it came out, back in 2002 (well, that's what the box says, I don't actually remember!). I'm making this post because it's still a popular compilation which fans want to buy, but it's out of print so the price has risen and it is known that there are lots of bootlegs available, and they contact me asking "is the product I am looking at a bootleg?"

So I thought I would help by taking some photos and making a post here of the genuine item.

The box set was released by Victor Entertainment, and has a catalogue number of VIZL-64. There is a release date on the box of 2002-06-21. The original price was 10290 yen including tax or 9800 yen without tax.

It comes in a long box, the box is cardboard and has a picture of Spike on the front, and there is an imprint of the title of the collection on the cardboard: "COWBOY BEBOP CD-BOX Original Soundtrack Limited Edition featuring YOKO KANNO / SEATBELTS". It's difficult to see that on the photos, but the same words are also in the circle in the top left corner.



Turn over the box, and you see a CD single taped to the box. The tape has the very long title on it again. It's actually taped to a plastic sleeve around the box, and a plastic sleeve around the single CD so don't worry about the tape doing any damage. I managed to remove the single CD to listen to without disturbing the box, keeping the protective plastic on the box, but it was tricky! If you are looking at a second hand copy, the box and the single CD may be separate.




Inside the box is a foldout cardboard and plastic case with the CDs, and a huge 52 page booklet sandwiched between them. The foldout case has a picture of the main cast on one side, but I forgot to take a picture. :P

The booklet has a picture of a handgun on the side. Most of the text is in Japanese (interviews, etc) but the contents page and credits are in English, as well as any of the song lyrics that are in English.



Other details, tracklisting etc, can be found on Wikipedia.

I don't know whether there have been any reissues in different formats, but I know that this is what my 100% definitely genuine limited edition copy looks like! If you are looking to buy a copy, good luck!

Gundam statue erected in Japan near Sunrise studios

Source: Mainichi Daily news

Huge 'Gundam' robot set up outside station near anime's production studio



A 3-meter-high bronze statue of a robot from the popular anime "Mobile Suit Gundam," has been erected outside a station near the production studio that created the anime.

The bronze statue was unveiled Sunday outside Kami-Igusa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line in Tokyo's Suginami-ku, near anime production studio Sunrise. The ward set up the bronze statue as a way to revive the local area, after receiving a petition from about 2,400 residents.

"We want the area to develop through this, just like a youth riding on Gundam," Suginami-ku Mayor Hiroshi Yamada said at the unveiling ceremony.

The statue is cast with one of its hands extended to the sky. On Sunday the station changed the musical sound played when trains leave the station to the anime's theme song, "Tobe Gundam."

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It makes me think that they should get some gunpla maniac to paint it, hehe. ^_^ I also like the idea of trains leaving to a little melody of "Tobe! Gundam"...