Mad Boy City Gekitotsu Hen Out in January

A new Shinra Bansho installment, Mad Boy City Gekitotsu Hen (Clash Chapter) is coming out in January. Pre-orders are already up at AmiAmi. Protagonist En returns, having apparently gone full handsome man, as well as sisters Amber and Pearl.

If this seems a bit confusing, that’s because it is: Mad Boy City Toubou Hen came out in July, with no numbered volumes to speak of. This would seem to suggest a new biannual, rather than quarterly, release pattern. It’s possible all this could be a one-off and things will change again next year: the past few years have seen some weird, experimental release patterns, with a drop to three volumes a year with a higher card count in Ikki-Kasei no Shou, to three volumes and a best-of with Gensouryu no Hihou, and finally back up to four volumes again with Ryusei no Ouji.

Perhaps related, the last volume of Ryusei had a backing card preview of the next volume, showing off a set of three characters…who then never appear in the next installment. These previews typically depict the next protagonist. But the release date shown was the same…one wonders what happened.

It is worth noting that Shinra Bansho’s artist Mitsuhiro Harakawa has been kept busy with some minor projects like candy wrapper illustration, but most notably did character design for AQUA SHOOTERS! – This is an upcoming figure line from Bandai’s Gashapon division featuring girls with water guns, with the apparent setting being a VR game. Parts are interchangeable. Although intended for gashapon machines in Japan in particular, you can pre-order a box of them, coming out in October.

Shinra Bansho Mad Boy City Toubou Hen – Out 7/16

The latest installment of Shinra Bansho is titled Mad Boy City Toubou Hen (Escape Chapter), and is out on July 16th. Featuring a new story, the setting is a post apocalyptic world following disasters in the year 1999. Our new hero is a man named En, starting off in the oasis of Gill City, ruled by the tyrant King Gill.

It is available for pre-order now at places like AmiAmi. As is recently standard, you can already see previews of most of the cards on the official website.

Although the official site pictures him alongside original Chapter I hero Saiga, this seems to be for celebratory purposes as he does not appear in the new saga. However the official Twitter has indicated this may be related to other projects we may get more info on later this month. (Update: Turns out this is only related to a drawing for signed copies of the above artwork signed by the artist, limited to residents of Japan)

Ryusei no Ouji Volume 4 Out 1/22

Shinra Bansho Ryusei no Ouji Volume 4 will be out January 22nd. It’s up for pre-order at places like AmiAmi, and the official website already has a number of the character cards up for perusal.

Interestingly, red headed step child Sigma has taken top billing for this volume rather than Ginga, who was otherwise this installment’s main character up to now – certainly a first. It seems Illumina, Sigma’s step mother who was actually working for the invading Youma, has been defeated by his hand, but may have had some affection for him after all…

The character pictured at the top is Lavina, a general who was loyal to Emperor Megiddo before he was defeated during his tyrannical turn. She now sides with his children Canaan and Sigma against the Youma. No (known) relation with any similar looking past characters you may be thinking of.

Ryusei no Ouji Vol 3 Out, Vol 4 Confirmed

Shinra Bansho Ryusei no Ouji Volume 3 is out now. Megiddo is gone and his apparent tyrannical ambitions are over, but now the Youma have appeared from their star and begun an invasion. It seems Megiddo’s wife Illumina was plotting with the Youma all along, and her true form is much furrier than you might have expected. Now their adopted son Sigma fights to oppose her. Oh, and Ginga and Mihoshi decided this would be a great time to get married for some reason.

It’s available for order at places like AmiAmi. You can also view full scans of this volume at Palusuke.com.

Also, it has been confirmed there will be a Ryusei no Ouji Volume 4 this January. This was not a sure thing, as the last two years have experimented with three volume release formats and this one similarly had somewhat off release dates – it also seemed like they may have been playing with expectations, as Volume 3 contains some of the typical “final volume” tropes such as the main character on a throne.

Ryusei no Ouji Vol 2 Out Now + Discount Deals

Shinra Bansho Ryusei no Ouji Volume 2 is out right now, and available for order on places like AmiAmi. This volume contains a couple of surprise family ties, with the debut of Emperor Megiddo’s son and Ginga’s magical cloud riding, drink loving mother. Scans of this volume’s cards are also up for viewing at Palusuke.com.

Also, if you are into staying way ahead of things, Volume 3 is already up for pre-order, available in September. You can also see some preview character sketches in the link.  Update: Hobby Link Japan now also has it up for pre-order as well.

Finally, there are a number of noteworthy discounts on previous Shinra Bansho installments at AmiAmi worth highlighting:

–Kessaku-Sen, the latest “Best Of” collection from this past December, is available at 54% off. Every card is a prism card, and this puts it down from its premium price to below the usual average. Since it features a wide range of characters from previous chapters, it’s a good choice for those just looking to dip their toe in collecting or otherwise get started.

 
–Shinra Bansho W Rubber Mascot keychains are on sale at Hobby Link Japan. These came out around the time of Shinra Bansho’s 10th anniversary a few years ago, and feature artist Akatsuki Gomoku’s versions of various characters.

 
–Gensouryuu no Hihou Volume 3 from October is on sale for 54% off, chopping it all the way down to a measly 980 yen. Since this was going for a normal price to begin with, this is about as low as you’ll ever see a new box go for.

Shinra Bansho Ryusei no Ouji Out 3/13

The next chapter of Shinra Bansho Choco, Ryusei no Ouji, is scheduled for release this March 13th. Pre-orders are available now. Notably, this is a month earlier than normal, a date not seen since the release of the original Chapter I.

Speaking of which, this particular installment bears a rather strong resemblance to the very first chapter: these are all new characters, but you have four themed tribes (dragon, tiger, turtle, phoenix), and an armored antagonist throwing their world into chaos. The titular Meteor Prince, Ginga, looks more than a little like the original protagonist, Saiga. In other words, it’s a full-on throwback to the basics, making it as easy as possible for newcomers to get into it.

A number of the new cards and designs were previewed at the World Hobby Fair, which you can find photos of on the front page of Palusuke.com.

There’s also been some overhauls to Shinra Bansho’s web presence to go along with this:
–ShinraBansho.com has been redesigned to more of a general info page, rather than changing per chapter every year.
-This includes the new Infinity Archive, which provides clear, sharp images of every card from every previous installment. The size is similar to Palusuke’s card scans linked here on the site up to now. This also includes some packaging and promo art.
-There is now an official twitter account.
-Art from this post is available from a commemorative Ryusei no Ouji wallpaper.

See Shinra Bansho Kessaku Sen’s Line Up, Out 12/5

Shinra Bansho Kessaku Sen is coming December 5th. Translated as “Masterpiece Selection”, it consists mainly of reprints of classic cards from the last eleven years. Pre-orders are available – the price is a bit higher than regular boxes, but this is because every card has a new, shiny prism pattern, making it a box of all “rares”.

The official website has been updating every weekday to reveal who made it into the line up. Below, I’ll be updating this post to match, providing the names and a link to the original card of each character as they come out.

Chapter I – Saiga
Chapter I – Alma
Chapter I – Edgar
Chapter II – Fuinmaha Seiryuseiki
Chapter II – Bonemaster
Chapter II – Masterion
Chapter III – Ryuga
Chapter III – Deathtoll
Chapter III – Creare
Shingoku no Shou – Maxius
Shingoku no Shou – Zeronix
Shingoku no Shou – Sieg
Ouga Rasen no Shou – San Morte
Ouga Rasen no Shou – Dirculm
Ouga Rasen no Shou – Meryl
ZX Factor – Kai
ZX Factor – Karin
Shichiten no Hasha – Sai
Shichiten no Hasha – Takechiyo
Shichiten no Hasha – Mujina
Daimao to Yattsu no Pillar – Ark
Daimao to Yattsu no Pillar – Heero
Daimao to Yattsu no Pillar – Faust
Kuja Senran no Shou – Apollo
Kuja Senran no Shou – Noin
Kuja Senran no Shou – Belzebuth (and Asmodeus)
Tenchi Shinmei no Shou – Balanciel
Tenchi Shinmei no Shou – Moebius
Ikki Kasei no Shou – Kagato
Ikki Kasei no Shou – Ryuujou Kenshin

NEW – Ginga (NEW)
NEW – Mihoshi (NEW)

These two new characters will be in the next Shinra Bansho chapter.

October Surprise: Gensouryu Volume 3 is its Last, Classic Reprints in December

Shinra Bansho Gensouryu no Hihou Volume 3 is out this October 17th. It has been announced to be the final volume of this installment. Pre-orders are up at places like AmiAmi.

This came as a bit of a shock, and as for why, some background: Shinra Bansho releases are typically one story arc per year with one volume per quarter – April, July, October, and January. Last year’s Ikki Kasei no Shou shook things up by releasing 3 volumes, but with a higher amount of cards to collect in each. This year’s Gensouryu returned to the April-July-October releases, so it was assumed things were back to 4 volumes, but…apparently not. Unlike Ikki Kasei, this was never clarified from the start, so it’s unclear if this was the plan all along or if something happened.

We are still getting a fourth Shinra Bansho release though, as this December, Shinra Bansho Kessaku Sen (Masterpiece Selection) is coming. Recently announced, it reprints previous cards with new prism backgrounds, along with two new cards. So far it seems to span the Chapter I-II-III / Ouga Rasen era. Like the one off special edition Feb. 2014 Top Characters Selection release, it’ll go for a higher price point as all cards have prism effects. Pre-orders are already available.

On a side note, two other notable releases:

-Guardess in Eden is a new card wafer series from Bandai also set for December. The cards have special effects that can either be removed with body heat (like from a hand) or added with cold (like from a soda can). The back has symbols representing character relationships and story info. Vanilla wafers for max kawaii. Pre-orders are out.

-Hagen no Zista Card Choco is out in November. The Zista series used to be figures with interchangeable parts packaged with chocolate, then gum, and now…it’s chocolate again, but with robot cards instead. Feature stats, plot, and secret messages to decipher. Pre-orders are also ready.

Asmodeus Figure Dated – Shinra Bansho Back on Puzzle & Dragons – Bikkuriman Update

The 1/8 scale Excellent Model figure of Masenki Asmodeus is coming out this September, retailing for 12,000 yen. Like previous figures, this one will include some new original art, this time featuring Asmodeus and her mother Astaroth. Pre-orders are now live at various places, so keep an eye out at your favorite figure retailer (like AmiAmi, HLJ, etc – MyFigureCollection.net is a good place to check too).

More photos on the official site, with a color sample of the illustration.

As a reminder, the figure of Alma is still set to release in July, and the previous figures of Astaroth, Izuna, and Arcana, remain available in various places.

The Shinra Bansho collaboration is back on the North American version of Puzzle & Dragons, running from June 6th to June 12th (pretty short this time). This adds Hikari’s ultimate form, and also the versions of P&D characters Sakuya, Sonia, and Athena drawn by Shinra Bansho artist Mitsuhiro Harakawa. Details on the official Facebook page.

Finally, the Bikkuriman section received a long overdue update, detailing the ill-fated Shin Bikkuriman and covering the recent Star Wars Bikkuriman collaboration.

Shinra Bansho Gensouryu no Hihou Volume 1 Out April 18th

Shinra Bansho Gensouryu no Hihou Volume 1, as previously mentioned, is out this April 18th. Pre-orders are up at AmiAmi.

Already knew that? Well, then you may be interested to know Volume 2 is already up for pre-order as well: It comes out this July. This would seem to indicate that it is switching back to the 4 volume a year release format, after Ikki Kasei experimented with three a year.

The official website is now open. The title means (roughly) “Treasures of the Twin Dragons”. This volume features the discovery of new continents, both shaped like, guess what, dragons, ripe for exploration. Our new hero is Van Crow, an adventurous guy with good luck and a thing for treasure.

It looks like some of the Round Table Knights from Ikki Kasei are back (that’s Percival with the green hair), and apparently are on the look out for the Holy Grail – time will tell if this has anything to do with the Holy Grail created by Balanciel way back in Chapter III. Also, in an important first for the franchise, Wafer Man has a hat. WAFER MAN HAS A HAT.

On a side note, the Figure section has been updated to include all released and soon-to-be-released Excellent Model Figures. It’s worth noting that Arcana in particular has proven to not be so hard to find after all, and is even now on AmiAmi secondhand.