Some Bad News, Some Good News

So major publisher Kodansha will be cutting a few publications in the coming months, and one of them is Magazine Z.

That is, for the uninitiated, the monthly comics magazine that features Kamen Rider Spirits. Needless to say, I'm a little concerned about this.

Before anyone starts up an ill-fated internet petition (which will most likely be in English and thus pretty useless in this case) or vows to "fly to Japan and protest outside Toei" (which they'll never actually do, and again, would be pretty useless in this case since Toei has nothing to do with this)... some searching around has yielded further news: Spirits will almost certainly just be moved to another magazine.

It's proven to be a big seller in collected form, and at 8+ years strong, it's become one of the magazine's flagship comics. And in a 'zine that's got a Gundam-related comic, that's saying a lot. So I wouldn't worry, although where it's going and what this means for its future lifespan is yet to be known. Without giving too much away, the story is currently at a point where it couldn't just end tomorrow; there's at least another year or two's worth of material to get through. I'm hoping that, wherever it ends up, it'll be able to run its course to the end, cuz I'm not kidding when I say I've enjoyed Spirits more than should be legally possible. It's like it's been written just for me sometimes!

Magazine Z ceases publication after its January 2009 issue, so it's still a ways off, and who knows what could happen between now and then. The magazine also carried the Ultraman re-imagining Ultraman Story 0, although that's since ended or moved elsewhere, cuz it ain't there now. To be honest, I stopped paying attention to that one- Seven turns into a guy that ain't Dan, and that usually is the point where I decide it's just not for me.

And now some slightly better news:

Add another thing to the January 2009 release list: S Replica Kamen Rider Belt Tribute Wave 3! Wait, what? In case you hadn't followed them, the previous two waves featured miniature replicas of the original 7 Riders' belts, and then those from the Skyrider~Roborider/Biorider days. They're not big enough to wear (except around your wrist, watch-style) but they're cool as hell, highly-detailed and fun to tinker with. Because they spare no expense with these. They feel like a high-quality replica (albeit miniaturized) and they're like, a couple bucks each. Not bad.

Wave 3 features the belts of some Heisei-era Riders, although interestingly not in complete, uniform order. Instead, we get at least one from each series between Kuuga and Hibiki, but not always the starring Rider's belt. Relax, there will almost certainly be future waves, so you'll get your mini Kabuto Zecter, etc. The belt line-up this time:



-Kuuga's (Mighty Form)
-Kuuga's again (Ultimate Form)
-G3's
-Ryuki's
-Faiz's
-Delta's
-Garren's
-Zanki's

Plus a secret one. If it's anything like the last two secret ones (Rider 1's "new" version belt with the glass cover over the fan, and Ambassador Hell's personalized Shocker Belt) it'll be hard as hell to get and drive me nuts because I'll really, really, really, really want it. Or maybe it'll just be like, G4's belt. I could live without that one.

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