Today Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya was at the Shizuoka Hobby Show 2023 and had some interesting gaming-related reveals to share for its plastic model kit line.
As revealed on the manufacturer's Twitter account, we start with a plastic model kit dedicated to FromSoftware's Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, which is releasing in August. Nothing else was shared about this kit besides the fact that it exists, not even a picture.
Moving on to the popular visual novel franchise Muv-Luv, we take a look at version 1.5 of the non-scale Type-00C Takemikazuchi TSF mecha piloted by hero Takeru Shirogane in Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After. This new version of the model released in 2013 has an improved range of motion and weapon options.
Next, we get the reveal of the non-scale Type-97 Fubuki in Imperial Japanese Army colors piloted by hero Yuya Bridges in Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. No release window or other details have been shared.
Speaking of the Fubuki, we get the reveal of the Blast Guard version with Type-92 Multipurpose Supplemental Armor and Type-92 Autonomous Multi-Purpose Missile System in United Nations colors. Again, no release windows or details were shared.
Last, but not least, we take a look at the prototype of the old reliable Type-7 Gekishin, which was announced a while ago. A release window has not been shared just yet.
Yet, this isn't all for Muv-Luv-related news from the manufacturer, as the "Muv-Luv Competition Blue Flag" has been announced. This aptly-named contest prompts fans to submit their models based on the Muv-Luv series to win a variety of awards.
In order to participate you need to tweet between 1 and 4 pictures, the title of your model, a comment describing it, and the hashtag #マブラヴコン. You can participate with multiple creations, but they need to be in separate tweets. At least one image per submission needs to show the entire model.
Submissions will be accepted starting on August 7 and will end on October 1. Winners will be announced on October 28 and exhibited at the Kotobukiya Akihabara Museum. It's worth mentioning that you must be able to ship your model and receive them back if you want to be among the winners. The overall size must fit in a 40 cm by 40 cm by 40 cm box. It's also worth mentioning that you can't use the pre-painted TSF action figures by Volks or Kaiyodo Revoltech.
If you're unfamiliar with the Muv-Luv franchise, it's widely considered one of the best (if not the best) visual novel series of all time and one of the first isekai stories that made waves within Japanese pop culture when the genre wasn't as oversaturated as it is now. It mixes a tragic and romantic story with one of the best and deepest sci-fi worlds ever written. It's so influential that Attack on Titan mangaka Hajime Isayama cited it multiple times as one of his main sources of inspiration.
Most Muv-Luv visual novels are currently available in English on Steam (while Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative have also been released on PS Vita) alongside the early access action game Project MIKHAIL: A Muv-Luv War Story. A mobile game titled Muv-Luv Dimensions is coming soon.
Recently, we also saw the release of volume 2 of the Muv-Luv Regenerative magazine on Steam, delving deeper into the world of the franchise.
