Otaku Base

Santa-san Idol Gallery

2009-01-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

A gallery of idols apparently wishing you a merry Christmas, and garbed appropriately for the occasion in the usual Santa-san fur-trimmed robes, hat and unseasonable bikini.

Unity Yuno (more)

2009-01-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

Above: Unity Yuno

Unity Yuno belongs to eroge "Unity Marriage ~Double Bride~" and for that reason, Goodsmile Company made her partially castoffable -removable bra- (not shown here).

Above: My Unity Yuno box arrived in a bad condition :(

Above: Unity Yuno, "Help! Let me out"!

Above: Unity Yuno

Some photos are blurry and grainy because I was shooting without a tripod using high ISO (for lazy reason :p). Gomen, they could have been better!

Above: ~Oppai da!~

Above: ~Pantsu da!~

Above: Unity Yuno

Omake

Above: Unity Yuno

Unity Yuno

2009-01-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Flickr link

Minamoto Chizuru Uniform Version

2009-01-11T17:47:00.001-08:00

In the 3 releases by Wave today, there are 2 figures that I have know about. so, the first figure is this Minamoto Chizuru Uniform Version. Out of this figure, there are actually 2 parts that really gets the focus of me straight away when I browse the detail page of Amiami. I guess you should also know the place that will take you on. First part is one of her parts that is always in action in the anime - the “eyes”. Aren’t they big?

Hmm……as for her pose that she is in, I cannot really think of anything here but just that she is acting like a dog.

She will be out this coming May with the scale of 1/7 at the height of about 24cm. She will be made using PVC with one part made using ABS (normal since the have already done so in the previous figures). As the scale is quite big, her retail price will also be at the higher end of 7875 yen.

As from the picture above, the second part that caught my eyes is the parts between her legs. I wonder why they have decided to use a pantsu with blue and yellow dots. Is it because to make her look more playful? (haha)

More pics of her at Amiami ^^

Is she in your pre-order list?

Yuki Kanade By Wave!

2009-01-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

The second figure that I have an idea about is Yuki Kanade as she is from the game “FORTUNE ARTERIAL” where I have played it ^^ Not only that she is a very cute girl, her voice is also super cute in the game! Every girl in this game is my favourite….haha.

For the details, she will be out in the late part of June in Japan at the scale of 1/8 at the height of about 19cm. Same as Chizuru figure, she will be made using PVC with one part using ABS. Her retail price is at 5775 yen and 4613 yen after a 20% discount.

From the information provided in Amiami, her cap is removeable from her.

If I am not wrong, all of the “FORTUNE ARTERIAL” girls have already have their pre-orders out by wave. Are you having one of these girls already? Actually, I don’t have any of this girls because I am not really a fan of Wave figure after getting the Suzu. However, I must say that the quality (colouring) of their figures are quite good!

Will you be ordering her?

Girl of Gannar

2009-01-11T17:45:00.000-08:00

Last but not least, the third figure release from Wave today is Girl of Gannar. I am not familiar with her but from the information, she seems to be from the “Etrian Odyssey II Heroes of Lagaard”.

She will be out in the late part of May and made using PVC with one part ABS. She will be coming in a non scale with the height of 16cm. Her retail price will be at 4935 yen.

The part which I find interesting is her pose and also her face expression.

More information at Amiami ^^

Are you familiar with her?

Nendoroid Louise is Out!

2009-01-11T17:44:00.001-08:00

Today, Good Smile Company has release another nendoriod for us to open up our pocket hole ^^ This nendoriod is none other then Louise from the very famous anime Zero no Tsukaima Season 3. I am not sure of why they have decided to come out with this nendoriod but it is sure a cute nendoriod that can let us show our feeling for the day.

Her normal pose will be the one where she will hold on to a wand and a book. However, this nendoriod also come with other parts for us to change and play with it.

She will be out this coming April at the retail price of 3500 yen. The material used to made her is ABS and also PVC where her height will be about 10cm. Stand will also be included in the package.

The other part that come with her is this band wand. More information can be found at Amiami.

The other 2 face expression that comes with it is this crying face and also a innocent face. I will be putting it in my wish list for now.

Below is the opening for Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Is she in your pre-order list?

Sakura Nankyoku Maid Version

2009-01-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

Just minutes ago, Amiami has just release the pre-order of a figure that most of us figures collecters are waiting for. She is the Sakura Nankyoku Maid Version by Alter!

Releasing info from Amiami ^^

She will be out this coming April with the scale of 1/8 at the height of 23cm. She will be made using PVC with the retail price at 7140 yen and 5704 yen after 20% discount.

Isn’t she moe enough to make you feel hard to resist her attactiveness? Haha. I actually hope that she will be able to stand strong in that position for all time as the support that she is given doesn’t seems to be strong enough. If it is not strong enough, they can actually get a transparent stick to enhance her support at the same time not destroying the beauty of her ^^

Is she in your must get list?

Motoko Kusanagi Figure

2008-12-20T02:50:00.000-08:00

Motoko Kusanagi is one of the main character in Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell series. This figure is based on her appearance in the movie Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. Solid State Society. There are two Motoko figures that I like, this is one of them, the other is the one release by Alter last year if I not mistaken, where she’s holding a handgun.

This figure is suppose to be Amazon Japan limited if I am not mistaken, but somehow my local shop manage to get a few of her. I have been tempted to get her for quite sometime but decided to wait for my local shop sales before I grab her, fortunately she was still available during the recent sales.

Wish I had a matrix like background for the shoot, but a black bg is all I have that suits her. She came with a transparent green base with the name of the movie she’s based from on it. She can stand perfectly well without the base though. The one thing that really attract me to this version of her is the trench coat, it just looks so cool.

Detail and sculpt are pretty good, and the paint job as well, but then she doesn’t have a lot of colors ^^. The sunglasses is kinda plain though, and kinda scratch too.

Not much shots this time around, she doesn’t really have a lot of angle that I can shoot from anyway. Well for more photos of her head over to lu-k’s blog.

Well I am glad I manage to get her cheaper due to sales ^^. I find that during sales, it’s the time when I start buying figures that I never though I’ll get or figures that I decide to skip when released due to budget reason. It’s also the time when I spend more on figures than I should xD.

Motoko Kusanagi
Anime: Ghost in the Shell
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Good Smile Company
Price: 5460 Yen
Released: September 2007
Added to collection: February 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 100mm Macro lens and Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens

Aria ~ Alicia Florence

2008-12-20T02:49:00.001-08:00

I have never watch the anime Aria and all I know about Aria is the setting kinda looks like Venice with the canals and gondolas, so I have no idea who’s Alicia Florence before or after I bought her :P. Well guess I should sit down and watch the anime one of these days, after all it’s feel funny to get a figure that I know nothing about xD.

Anyway I got her when she was restock at Hobby Search recently and ship her together with my Fraulein Revoltech Asuka. It beats shipping a Revoltech alone which gonna be costly, and Alicia is really a nice figures even though I have never really plan to get her, hooray for impulse purchase ^^.

My initial plan was to find a place with water to shoot her, but being the lazy bum that I am and considering I’ve been going out almost every weekend for photo shoot lately I just feel like staying home and sleep late instead xD. So it’s back to indoor shoot with a basic background and also a good chance to test out my new 50mm f/1.4 prime lens.

I just love her hair and the windblown effect, when you look at her you can just imagine she’s standing by a pier with the wind blowing ^^.

This is probably my favourite angle, I just love the pose and the little detail that is put in to the figure.

She comes screw to a quite a larger transparent base, I guess the empty space is for the cat that she comes with. The cat is umm Aria’s President or something, forgive me for my lack of knowledge on this anime.

Another angle that I like.

Failed at trying to make a diorama of her standing on a pier. Maybe some real water would have been better but I couldn’t find anything to hold the water.

For some nice photos of Alicia head over to lu-k post on her.

After some rearrangement I manage to clear up the small table that I use to put my figures shoot props and background on, which means I have more space for my figures ^^. I have to try to limit my purchase nowadays otherwise I would really have too many figures that I probably have to put them all around my room.

Alicia Florence
Anime: Aria
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC and ABS
Company: Max Factory
Price: 5524 Yen
Released: September 2007
Added to collection: March 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4, EF 100mm Macro lens, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens

Rei & Asuka

2008-12-20T02:48:00.002-08:00

A long overdue shoot of Revoltech Fräulein Rei and Asuka. These two are my first ever Evangelion figure, I just have never gotten around to buying any figures from the Evangelion series, coz the one I am interested in is either too expensive or hard to find xD.

The ones from Revoltech Fräulein looks quite good and they don’t cost a lot compare to 1/8 figures, so I decided to get both of them.

Both Rei and Asuka comes with a base and additional hands. Rei comes with the Spear of Longinus while Asuka comes with a automatic rifle and a doll. Not a lot of photos this time around, posing them wasn’t easy, actually posing articulated figure is never easy, sometimes it’s the joint too lose that it won’t be able to hold the pose, or the joints too tight that you feel it’ll break if you turn it harder. Still prefer fixed posed figures xD.

But when you can pose them like this photos, well it’s kinda nice haha. I just wish I can pose them sitting as well, these girls can stand, lie down, kneel but can’t sit properly, something Revoltech should do something about.

Quality wise it’s decent, and the joints are nicely blended in, though still visible but it doesn’t looks as awkward. As I mention earlier posing them wasn’t easy, as most of the joints can come off quite easily, and after breaking my Revoltech Dante elbow from trying to pose him, I try not too move these girls’ joints too much.

Besides Rei and Asuka, I bought Rin as well, kinda wonder if they gonna make another Saber to go with Rin, would be nice though.

Fräulein Rei and Asuka
Anime: Evangelion
Scale and Material: Non-scale pre-painted PVC
Company: Revoltech
Price: 2081 Yen each
Released: December 2007 and March 2008
Added to collection: December 2007 and March 2008
Availability: Asuka availabe at Hobby Search
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4.

Nida Schuetlich

2008-12-20T02:48:00.001-08:00

The forth Shuraki girl finally arrive on my doorstep (actually office reception table xD) last week. Nida is quite different from the rest of the Shuraki girls, she’s a military officer (based on her clothes) and she use a freaking big rifle instead of bladed weapon like the rest of the Shuraki girls. She also seems to looks older than the rest of the girls, she’s actually 19 btw, same as Rize, she looks older probably due to Shunya’s style.

She comes with as usual the battle damage dress, a small knife and her main weapon which is a very big rifle. The rifle itself have two forms, a version that looks like an oversize sniper rifle and a smaller version that looks like an assault rifle.

If military female uniform really look like this, there’s gonna be a lot of guys who’s gonna join the military xD. One word “SEXY”.

The knife comes in two version, a full knife and one with just the hilt that you can place it on the holster. Pretty good detail there, would have been even nicer if the knife can really be placed inside the holster.

The rifle sniper scope have clear plastic, very nice touch. The blade at the bottom of the muzzle is removable as well.

Opps looks like her beret is slightly out of place XD, didn’t realize that until I was typing this post lol.

Now on to the battle damage version. Oh yeah she probably have the nicest lingerie between all the girls (I am assuming Rize lingerie is plain as well).

A shot of her holding the shorter version of her rifle.

Quality wise is top notch as expected from GSC, detail and paint job are just superb, seems like you can hardly go wrong when getting GSC figures. Also her dress is currently the easiest to remove, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to be able to do it.

A shot of all the four girls, arrangement doesn’t looks that nice though. Can’t wait for Rize to be release, should be soon.

Nida Schuetlich
Series: Shuraki Trinity
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Good Smile Company
Price: 6800 Yen
Released: May 2008
Added to collection: May 2008
Availability: available at Hobby Search
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens and Tamron 17-50 f/2.8.

Great Guardian ~ Kanu Uncho

2008-12-20T02:45:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought I have manage to find a Kanu that I like, the Wani Books 1/7 Kanu Uncho, Alter drops the bomb by releasing a superb rendition of Kanu in her seifuku and I can’t help myself and placed an order at PA.

She arrive from PA earlier this month, unfortunately her box were pretty dented, oh well something that I have to live with for PA stuff, their shipping box is just too fragile. As long as the figure is not damage I am fine with it.

This Kanu was sculpted by Mirano, who did a great job in it. I like this rendition of Kanu, the dynamic of her hair and her pose is great. One things Alter could improve is to provide better looking base instead of a blue transparent frissbies. A simple emboss of the series name would be quite nice I think.

The hair is just superb, I just love how her hair spiral and it matches her pose which sort of spiral as well. But her hair is kinda fragile looking though so better be careful with it.

Her hair pretty much covers most of the top part of her face and eyes, which makes shooting close-up of her face a bit difficult due to the shadow. Had to use a bit of fill light to light it up a bit.

She came with her signature weapon the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade, which looks different than the one that comes with Wani Books Kanu. The dragon on Wani Books Kanu is gold in color while the one from Alter is fully silver, I prefer Alter version of the weapon, looks more real.

Overall another good quality figure from Alter, though paint job are a bit rough on certain part but not really visible unless view upclose. Alter latest release have been really impresive lately, but their prices are higher than other company though which makes it difficult for us collectors.

Next Alter figure I’ll be getting will be Chua Churam, another impressive looking but pricy figure from Alter, but she just looks so nice.

Kanu Uncho
Series: Ikki Tousen
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Alter
Price: 6460 Yen
Released: June 2008
Added to collection: June 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM.

Ice Sorceress ~ Blanc Neige

2008-12-20T02:43:00.000-08:00

Added another Blanc Neige to my collection recently, both are from Kotobukiya, while the first one is based on the Shining Tears series, photos of her here, the latest addition is based on the Shining Wind series. Not really sure what’s the difference between both though, as I have only seen the anime Shining Tears X Wind and played 1 of the PS2 game xD.

Blanc Neige comes with a removable cape and a wand, her base design is a simple round piece of transparent plastic, unlike the first Blanc Neige that I have which resemble ice.

She’s a pretty nice figure actually, but I am disappointed at her face sculpt though, the expression is different from the prototype. The prototype have a much colder expression that suited her more rather than the smilling expression in the final product.

With the cape removed can really see how slim she is ^_^.

Quite beautfully sculpted but Kotobukiya really need to work on the hair though, it’s just not as nice as those from GSC, Max Factory or Alter.

Overall another good quality figures from Kotobukiya, except for the expression of course. Seems like I been buying more Kotobukiya stuff lately, like Tama-cham, Yuiko and Blanc Neige, good things is Koto stuff is usually a little bit cheaper xD.

A simple shoot this time using white background, decide to use 3 lights instead of the usual two, with one dedicated to the background only.

Blanc Neige
Series: Shining Wind
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Kotobukiya
Price: 5800 Yen
Released: September 2008
Added to collection: September 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Additional lighting provided by Speedlite 580ex II triggered using a wireless trigger. Camera triggered by using Phottix Cleon wireless remote trigger.

Little Buster ~ Kurugaya Yuiko

2008-12-20T02:41:00.000-08:00

Don’t really know anything about Little Busters! except that it’s a game developed by Key. So why do I have a I figure I know nothing about in my collection? Simple, I like girls with weapons and a girl with katana is just too tempting ^^. So I just grab her from HS since she’s still instock.

Yuiko comes in a very small box due to her pose and a plain white base with the series name written on it. Of course the most important thing is she comes with her katana ^^. According to Wiki, the katana is a replica of Muramasa, but I have no idea why she holds one though.

Toys Works also have another version of Yuiko, but kinda prefer the Koto one though. Both are quite sexy with the unbutton blouse ^^.

Koto hair sculpting still not as nice as GSC or MF or Alter haha, but at least those strands of hair looks ok.

The katana is quite simple, but the hilt itself is quite detail.

Her skirt is removable, it’s split into two parts and attached using pegs. Sorry no photos of her without her skirt haha.

A decent looking figure from Koto, nicely painted and sculpted. The only complain is the katana can break easily, since the blade is partially of out the scabbard, just a bit of force will break the blade from the scabbard. That was what happen to mine, fortunately it was easy to epoxy it back together.

Kurugaya Yuiko
Series: Little Busters!
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Kotobukiya
Price: 5500 Yen
Released: September 2008
Added to collection: September 2008
Availability: available at Hobby Search
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Camera triggered by using Phottix Cleon wireless remote trigger.

To Love-Ru ~ Lala

2008-12-20T02:40:00.001-08:00

Finally found some time to do some photoshoot of my figures =P, still got quite a number to go though haha. Decided to start off with Alpha Omega 1/8 Lala and Yami, couldn’t think of what kind of background or props to use, so I just went back to basic instead XD.

Lala Satalin Deviluke, the princess of Deviluke from the anime To Love-Ru, got her a while back when she came in stock at PlayAsia. I actually prefer Yami more, but Lala is pretty cute too xD. (will be posting Yami photoshoot soon =D). GSC have also release a version of Lala in different costume, quite nice as well, but I decided to get Alpha Omega version instead since I already have AO Yami.

Alpha Omega been churning out some pretty decent figures, previously I got their Code Geass Kallen, and now Lala and Yami. Lala design and sculpt is pretty simple, even the base she came with is simple, a round white base with the word To Love-Ru on it. Well simple is nice too XD.

She looks good in the uniform, hmm actually she looks good in anything she wore in the anime, I prefer the uniform to the white costume GSC Lala is based on though.

Nice hair sculpt, though I would have prefer them to be in strands rather than big bunch up together.

Her eyes decal are quite reflective though, more reflective than the other figures that I have, so have to keep the direct light away from her eyes during the shoot.

Close-up of Peke, Lala costume robot, wouldn’t it be nice to have a costume robot like this haha.

NICE BAG, XD.

Overall another good figure from Alpha Omega, only thing to complain about Lala is she shakes a lot, her leg is made of normal PVC instead of ABS, so it’s softer, I just hope she doesn’t lean overtime. Placed her in my shelf instead of on my table, since she keep shaking like crazy haha.

Lala Satalin Deviluke
Series: To Love-Ru
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Alpha Omega
Price: 6300 Yen
Released: September 2008
Added to collection: September 2008
Availability: available at Hobby Search
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Camera triggered by using Phottix Cleon wireless remote trigger.

To Love-Ru ~ Yami Figure

2008-12-20T02:39:00.000-08:00

Konjiki no Yami or more commonly known as Yami-chan, I have actually have her on PO before I even watch the anime To Love-Ru. She’s just so MOE that I couldn’t help but click the PO button XD. Decided to get Lala as well as seen in my previous post, just so that I could have them together.

Not long after I got Alpha Omega Yami, GSC release a prototype of their version of Yami, with the option to change her hand into a blade to boot, and I see myself pre-ordering another Yami, which is due in March hahaa. Sometimes it’s so hard to resist buying multiple version of the same figures when they all looks so nice =(

Alpha Omega Yami is simply MOEeeeee, her puffy cheek, the taiyaki she’s eating and the book she’s reading, it’s just perfect. She’s sitting on top of a bath house chimney (not sure what it’s called haha). There’s actually a round base for the chimney but I don’t find the need to use it and the figure looks better this way IMO.

The chimney even have stair which is removable, but Yami don’t need stairs to get up there xD. The bag of taiyaki is removable with two loose taiyaki inside that you can take out.

The strands of hair flowing out are made of softer material so they are more flexible, and probably less prone to breaking if accident happens.

Her puffy cheek makes me feel like pinching it when ever I see her, I have her display right next to my CPU at the moment XD.

A close-up of the book Yami is reading.

A close-up shot of the bag of taiyaki.

I am more satisfied with Yami quality than with Lala, only problem I have with her is that the hole for the peg is a bit small, so I had to enlarge it a bit so that the peg can be fully sloted in. A few of my friends that own Yami have the same problem as well.

Golden Darkness/Konjiki no Yami
Series: To Love-Ru
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Alpha Omega
Price: 6300 Yen
Released: September 2008
Added to collection: September 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Camera triggered by using Phottix Cleon wireless remote trigger.

Another Kanu Uncho figure

2008-12-20T02:36:00.000-08:00

I got this figure of Kanu quite sometime ago, just never did the shoot till now. Wanted to do some Japanese style setting but it’s was not easy to make, so I just scrap the idea and go for a simple setting XD.

This Kanu is sculpted by Yasuhiro Uchijima and release by Wani Books. There are so many Kanu figures out there that it’s quite hard to choose which to get. This one caught my eyes more because of the gothic lolita dress and she really looks good in it ^^ even though I don’t think she ever wear this in the anime.

Click for larger image

Kanu Uncho is one of the character from the anime/manga Ikki Tousen which is well known for its fan service XD. She’s based on Guan Yu, a general from the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdom era of China, which makes her one of the more powerful character in the anime.

Click for larger image

The most impressive part of this figure is probably the hair, just love the way it flows. This also means is quite easy to break them if you’re not careful. There’s a small peg on the hair strand that connects it to the main part of the hair, but it’s pretty much very loose.

Click for larger image

Similar to Guan Yu, Kanu also carries a “guandao” known as the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade (Guan Yu’s “guandao” is known as Green Dragon Crescent Blade). It’s been a while since I watched the anime so not really sure if the anime version of the weapon looks like this. The staff itself is made of soft plastic, probably to make it easier to put it on her hand.

Click for larger image

The sculpt is pretty good with nice detail on the dress, but she’s mar with some shoddy paint job on some part. Fortunately most of them are not that obvious or are hidden.

Click for larger image

A very sweet looking figure of Kanu but the QC could have been better though. Oh it seems I didn’t do any shot of the base, well it’s nothing much really, just a simple white base which I never use ^^. Instead I use a small bamboo mat which looks much better XD.

If these photos are not enough to satisfy your thirst for Kanu head over to shino’s blog for more pics of her.
Kanu Uncho
Anime: Ikki Tousen
Scale and Material: 1/7 pre-painted PVC
Company: Wani Books
Price: 4762 Yen
Released: September 2007
Added to collection: September 2007
Availability: available at Hobby Search
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF-S 17-85IS USM lens

Figure - Kanu Uncho (Summer Vacation Version)

2008-12-20T02:34:00.000-08:00

Dragon Destiny Ikkitousen Pre-Painted Figure: Kanu Uncho (Summer Vacation Version)
Orchid Seed

Official Ikkitousen Figure
3 different clothing style
Removeable clothes
Height: approx. 17cm
Limited availability

As a Super A ranked fighter from Dragon Destiny, Kanu Unchou seldom showed anyone the unguarded side of her. However, as summer approaches, she threw off all inhibitions and her uniform for her bikinis and hot pants. The figure is designed by Ishiyama Satoru, a designer who has worked with numerous Kanu Unchou figures already and the pack comes with her three sexy outfits, A bikini, hot pants and bra, and a race queen suit. Together with her clothes, accessories like her golden heels are included.

Scale Models: Kanu Uncho Figure

2008-12-20T02:32:00.001-08:00

This 1/7 scale model of Kanu Uncho from Ikkitousen retails at 8925yen = SGD$124.95. Made by Griffon, it's stuningly nice and probably the very first model that I've seen whereby she took off her underwear... whew. In any case it's still so nice but due to econmic downturns, am unable to afford it. Out next March.

Mikuru-chan Figure

2008-12-20T02:28:00.000-08:00

Newest Mikuru-chan Figure

I shocked when i know about this figure... i want this figure after i have 2 Mikuru-chan figure at my sweet room... some1 buy it for me...

Nagato Yuki Figure

2008-12-20T02:22:00.000-08:00

Nagato Yuki 1/8 Figure, created by ALTER. Will be release 3rd month of 2009 with price 6,090 Yen.

What do you think about this figure ?! /gg

FYI, this figure will be release on 2 edition.

It's SHOW TIME for The Limited Edition Time !! /gg

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis in White Dress 1/7 PVC Statue

2008-12-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis in White Dress 1/7 PVC Statue

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Misae Mikimoto 1/8 Scale PVC Statue

2008-12-13T22:30:00.003-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Misae Mikimoto 1/8 Scale PVC Statue

2008-12-13T22:30:00.001-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis Burning Scarlet PVC Statue

2008-12-13T22:28:00.000-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo: Ignis 1/8 Scale PVC Figure

2008-12-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo: Ignis 1/8 Scale PVC Figure

Jingai Makyo Ignis Figure

2008-12-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

A closer view of her katana.

Mandatory pantsu inspection.

The burn marks at the end of her clothing looks really good, impressive :D

This is my major disappointment, the preview shows a clear glass (or plastic) base. And now they changed it to a black base with butterflies?!

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis 1:7 Scale Statue

2008-12-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis 1:7 Scale Statue - Sale Price: $44.30

From Entertainment Earth

Chaoes Gate Jingai Makyo Ignis 1:7 Scale Statue - Price: $ 51.99

From Amazon.com

Everybody loves a redhead. Meet Jingai Makyo Ignis. She's an expertly crafted 1:7 scale figure depicted with wildly flowing red hair, a barely-there black outfit with tall boots, and a self-assured Iaido pose guaranteed to please anime fans the world over. She's armed with her katana and stands provocatively on a display base.

[Figures] EMC 1/8 Alice PVC [Queen’s Gate]

2008-04-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

The official site for Project Alpha X Omega (αΩ), which is the collaboration brand between Alter and Megahouse has updated their listing with a very nice PVC figure for the Excellent Model Core Alice from Queen’s Gate.

She is scheduled to be released in August and will be retailing for 5,775 yen.

This loli-licious figure is also said to be cast-off enabled. Yummy ^_^

[Figures] Moetan - Pastel Ink Popup Binet

2008-04-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Moetan - Pastel Ink Popup Binet
Released: April 2008
Price: 8000 yen
Manufacturer: Goodsmile Company

Yay, another great figure from
GSC. This time, it's the moe moe
pastel ink from moetan. She is just
lovely ^^;. Awesome paintjob and great job
on all small details.

There is though several problems with
this figure. First of all, all the small
things she comes with, I had alot of problems
with that. Those long yellow bands that is
suppose to get stuck at her wrists
are just so annoying. I think, I sat with them
for about 10 minutes. Then, there is some random
thing sitting to her left behind her, that I had
a few problems with too.

Anyway, she comes with this big beautiful base with
alot of small details that I just love, just look
at that book. She also comes with another hand and
another blue boring base, which I really think as
waste of space, time and money for GSC to produce.

Now, I want my small nendoroid moetan and I got 2
of the cutest figures so far, I just want to hug and
cuddle with them. A warning though, don't as the
non-nendoroid would prob

[Figures] Kuro no Franco

2008-04-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

A new model just arrived in my ALTER figure set of dangerous girls with guns. Just with that said, figure addicts have certainly guess today’s article will concern Nitro+ eroge Zoku: Satsuriku no Jango tumbling heroine : Franco Il Nero (or Kuro no Franco).

Another very expected figure for all folks who have already been seduced by first character of a burning trio, the full-fan-service Donne Anonime.

Based on what I have read among comments on dannychoo.com when this figure was introduced, this girl is named after the main character of a famous spagetti western titled “Django”. Django is also the heros name, while Franco Nero is the actor real name. Funny reference, since Nitro+ game seems to be a pastiche/parody of the original work. It is amusing to learn that.
By the way, the only western stories I enjoyed were from the Franco-Belgian comics featuring Lucky Luke, the cowboy known to « shoot faster than his shadow ». I grew up reading his adventures. Ever heard about him in your region?
But well, westerns can become much more interresting with beautiful 2D girls with guns and lovely yet fatal smile ^^

Yeah I confess, the first thing I checked was what is the most visible: that white pantsu. And I am bit sorry to see slight black stains. No big deal however, since it could have been worse, like bigger sculpt marks…

I really like Franco long blue/gray hair. ALTER seems good at making long thin hair locks.

Her black suit with orange lines looks like lava, which I think is awesome. But this is too bad the pose hides most of this damn short suit. But this pose is obviously amazing, so does the damage stone wall serving as a base.

The pistol barrel is also a bit bent, and I do not want to try to center it on more since I thought I would break it. However, there are nice ornamentations graved on it.

Love the lines drawn by the sculpt. Not just a great dynamic pose, but the way all is flowing in harmonious direction is definitely the best element of this figure. Sculptor Tanaka Senu, who already did a great job with Donne Anonime, expressed once again his talent here with Franco. Cannot wait to enjoy his work on Lily now!

My copy has a huge pink paint stain on the top of her left boot. But I assume this is the mass-production risk. Somehow, it is fortunately not visible at first glance. Let us just say it is some blood from her male enemies who died from nose bleeds and have left some on her boot ^^;

The way she is supported by this small piece of plastic seems cheap. The whole tremble when I move it. Maybe I did not drive in enough… but it seems I cannot go any further.

I am fond of what mate D_Blade said about this figure, which sums up very well its spirit I think :

« Enjoy looking at my pantsu for the first and last time… Because you will die now. »

Followed by this cute wink and lovely smile-with-a-fang, it suits the situation perfectly.
The pink heart under her white boots confirm that she might be a nice yet provocative girl, and very dangerous at the same time. Exciting! ^^

Once again ALTER released a high-quality figure, despite some mass-prod-related imperfection I was not used to see anymore, and an unsteady support. Hard to say if this will survive through gravity over time…
But I am not saying that Franco is a failure though. Quite the contrary. She is an excellent figure by her sculpt and paint job. It is just it could have deserve more care such as Donne Anonime. Maybe I was expecting too much, since I really love the design of this striking, ardent and playful ace gunner.
Anyway, with Miss Nobody, those two ladies make an awesome duet, soon completed with Lily.

Product Information

Manufactured by ALTER
1/8 scale completed pvc/abs figure
First released in April 2008 in Japan
List Price of 6,800 JPY

[Figures] 1/7 Kanu Unchou PVC (Swimsuit Ver.)

2008-04-22T22:27:00.001-07:00

Taki corp has announced another PVC figure of Kanu Unchou from Ikkitousen. She is wearing a swimsuit which is cast-off enabled.

She is scheduled to be released in June and will be retailing for 7,140 yen.

Taki Corp has never been known to make good figures. In fact, I think they are actually more famous for the poor quality products. LOL

[Figures] Revoltech Lazengann Up For Preorders

2008-04-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

Revoltech’s new lineup is Lazengann from the series Gurren Lagann. Just to refresh your memory, Lazengann is Lord Genome’s personal Gunman.

Revoltech Lazengann is scheduled to be released on 15th June and will be retailing for 1,995yen.

Makes a good addition next to the Revoltech Gurren-Lagann to be released on 15th May.

[Figures] Tohsaka Rin, Gorgeous in Red

2008-04-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

Having just got back from a trip overseas, Rin called me on my mobile just minutes after I have landed. She had wanted to visit the beach to test something out, which I had wondered what it was. Could have been one of her usual spell casting practices.

Energy was literally drained from me by the time I reached the beach and Rin was nowhere to be seen.

“Sorry to have let you wait” A female voice called out.

I turned and looked towards the direction of the voice; And there standing was Rin looking gorgeous in her red swimsuit.

Review of Tohsaka Rin from Alter

I had always wanted to get my hands on this figure ever since I saw super rats‘ pictures of her almost 2 years ago (!).

It was all sold out or out of manufacture in most of the online stores and I was very lucky to have spotted her during my spring trip to Japan. Even luckier was that I managed to get the cheapest out of the 3 I found in various stores.

The highest was going at ￥16,800 while I got mine at roughly ￥8,600.

Rin is a 1/6 Alter figure sculpted by Ikuma Kuramoto, who also did the sculpting for the Fate/Stay Night swimsuit girls series (The other being Saber and Sakura) by Alter. For this one, we have Rin looking gorgeous in a red swimsuit, a float hanging from her right wrist while she reveals her hair with her left hand. With such a lovely pose and beautiful bikini, she’s a winner.

Of course with mass produced figures, imperfection follows like a nasty cold. Her hair curls are rather on the sloppy side, and also there are some paint clips on her. But the paint clip’s probably due to me getting her at second-hand. But her curves and eyes will pretty much draw you back to the good points.

^ Notice how the camera automatically focuses on to the cleavage? ^^;

One thing to note though, that she’s in 1/6 scale, which I have to say it currently the largest in terms of scale size in my figure collection. Not that I mind though, as Rin is my favorite anime girl :)

Click on the images to enlarge uh.. the image.

^ Cutesy bum

^ Everyone wants Rin.

[Figures] 1/8 Hatsune Miku Figure!

2008-04-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

Mikatan of Goof Smile Company takes a preview of the newest 1/8 Hatsune Miku figure. Continuing from the Neodroid series, Good Smile has released a 1/8 Hatsune Miku figure.

More pictures after the jump!

This figure is based off KEI’s illustration where he has specially drawn this illustration just for the occasion.

She looks good and shiny. Lots of details there, and I especially love those long legs with zeitai ryouiki :o Below’s the illustration she’s based off from.

More pictures can be found at Mikatan’s blog.

What is your take on this? Do you prefer the Neodroid or the 1/8 figure?

[Figures] Fate/stay night - Nendoroid Hetare Saber

2008-04-22T03:24:00.000-07:00

Fate/stay night - Nendoroid Hetare Saber
Released: Oct 2006
Price: 3000 yen
Manufacturer: Goodsmile Company

Finally got my hands on the
nendoroid Saber. The rest of the team
is arriving hopefully in a few weeks.

Anyway, Saber comes with a lion, 2 faces,
sword, steering wheel (for the lion) and a
transparent base. This is a fun nendoroid to play
around with, and oh so cute! I can't wait for
the other characters, you could probably play
around alot and take really cool photos.

The lion is awesome, though it feels a bit
cheap. But the details on it and the paintjob
is great.

As you can see, some of the photos are darker
as I turned her around. They came out pretty
good.

It was such a good day, warm and only a
few clouds. Let's hope these days continue,
as I want to take more photos of my figures
in the outside world. ^^;

One of my favorite nendoroids so far,
but Saber is pure epic anyway. More
nendoroid to the people, they are cute
and fun to play around with (photosession).

[figures] Goodsmile’s Rara Satarin Debiluc PVC

2008-04-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

This came up on Goodsmile’s site today. Coming in August is Rara Satarin Debiluc from the manga and new anime series To Love Ru ,which when spoken with a Japanese accent sounds the same as “Trouble”, and a nice hand full of trouble she is. Standing in at 1/8 scale and 22cm tall she will retail for 5,500 yen and sure to be cheaper on pre-order. By the looks she will have a couple of interchangeable hand options. None of the usual suspects have her up for pre-order yet thou will update when they do. (More Pics after the cut.)

Oh and for those of you who can read Japanese (and are in Japan as I don’t think they ship international) it looks like AmiAmi has a good sale going on with figures 15-70% off. They even have Ignis the White at 50% off a mere 5,838yen which is a damn good price considering she sold out at full price at most of my sources.

[figures] Alter’s Takamori Haruka

2008-04-22T01:16:00.000-07:00

Coming in September from those guys and gal over at Alter is Takamori Haruka from the Egro Game Beat Blades Huraku. At 1/8 scale she stands in at 18cm tall and will retail for 7,140 yen. She is already up for pre-order at Play-Asia, J-list, HLJ, and KidNemo.

[cosplay] Cosplay calling?

2008-04-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

With his ferocious finger-pointing, Lord Kitchener was never inhibited about his needs.

Similarly, Uncle Sam was also suitably straightforward when saying what he wanted.

And now, a cosplay contingent has also set about calling on people, albeit in a considerably more coy manner. Which, providing it doesn’t involve sporting knee length socks and significantly shorter skirts, may not be all that unappealing.

Provided of course that dissent from other die-hards isn’t too determined.

[japan] Japanese horse riding heroics

2008-04-22T00:31:00.001-07:00

Despite the joys of seeing a horse in full flow, the soporific sport of Banei has remarkably managed to make watching these majestic beasts mundane — mind-numbing even. However, as luck would have it, the plodding pace of the aforementioned pastime is conveniently countered by the breakneck bravery of Yabusame. This latest instalment held at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura.

A sport where men are men,

their mounts are magnificent,

and the crowds, as is common, are congested.

Not that it affects the composure of the contestants of course.

And, as an added bonus of sorts, even the officials are fascinating to look at.

Fetching even.

[Figure] Kotobukiya Launches The First Marvel Statue in November 2008!

2008-04-17T22:33:00.001-07:00

Tokyo, Japan April 14, 2008 – Kotobukiya has announced their first inaugural release of Marvel Comics merchandise today. The item spotlights the smash-hit feature film IRON MAN,?bringing the collectible armored hero to 3-D life just as Robert Downey Jr did with Tony Stark in the film.

Inspired by the original promotional one-sheet for the film, the armored avenger stands tall as 1/6th scale Fine Art Statue (approximately 13 inches tall). Stan Winston Studios fabricated the suit for the film based on designs by comic artist extraordinaire Adi Granov, and every detail of Iron Man’s Mark III armor has been faithfully replicated by the craftsmen at Kotobukiya. Kotobukiya has been working from reference provided by Marvel Studios, the level of mechanical detail is matched only by the personality conveyed by Iron Man’s heroic stance.

Manufactured in cold cast porcelain and coated with metallic paint, the Iron Man Fine Art Statue even features multiple LED lights: eyes, Repulsor Ray palms, and the Unibeam on his chest. The base is ornamented with a sculpted Iron Man film logo on a three-dimensional realization of his chest symbol, and painted in the Mark I color scheme. Each statue is individually numbered on the bottom of the base as part of a Limited Edition.

Sculpted by Kouei Matsumoto, this museum ready statue is the debut of the first SEASON of goods, which will incorporate collectibles from all films Marvel Studios will release in the calendar year, such as THE INCREDIBLE HULK and PUNISHER: WAR ZONE.

Pricing and Availability

Kotobukiya has also announced that the item’s suggested retail price will be set around $174.99 and they are expecting the items to hit the shelves in NOVEMBER

About Kotobukiya

With over 50 years experience in the toy industry, Kotobukiya has grown into Japan’s number one collector toy company, with a peerless reputation for quality and craftsmanship. Many international fans first learned of Kotobukiya from the famous line of Final Fantasy merchandise, and more recently, collectors have been thrilled by Kotobukiya’s high end line of Star Wars and Batman ARTFX Statues.

[Figure] Kotobukiya Launches The First Marvel Statue in November 2008!

2008-04-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Pricing and Availability

Kotobukiya has also announced that the item’s suggested retail price will be set around $174.99 and they are expecting the items to hit the shelves in NOVEMBER

[Figure]Her Triggerheart Exelica

2008-04-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

Click image to enlarge or view on Flickr.

Exelica looked away from him. He moved to see her face, to look at it for the last time, but she turned to keep it from him as her face was already masked in war. His voice was pleading and distraught. There wasn’t time for anything more between them, an imperial attack cruiser was closing on their ship, the Itoshigo, and if their ship couldn’t warp out safely, everyone on board would die. The imperial attack cruiser KMFDM-45 would be in kill range before the damaged Itoshigo could finish the warp sequence. This was where Exelica came in. The crew frantically worked around her, replacing energy cells, loading mines, and installing a full compliment of anti-locking charges into her exosuit. He was crying, but so was she. That was why she could barely hear him beg her to stay with him.

Click to enlarge or view on Flickr

Click to enlarge or view on Flickr.

The chief medical officer of the Itoshigo pressed a cold injection gun against Exelica’s neck and pulled the trigger to administer a stimulant into her blood. The doctor read his scanner. Exelica’s BPM increased thirty percent and the brainwave output jagged, stabbing up and down like a sewing machine needle with the pedal jammed full to the floor, so he walked away satisfied knowing the overdose calculation was correct. He threw the gun in the trash at the launch bay exit and sat in his office with the lights kept off. The crew cut all the hard-lines to the exosuit and hoisted her onto the ejection module. Soon, the increased flow of oxygen would rush Exelica’s brain and her eyes would grow hyper sensitive, sending her into euphoria.

It was a suicide mission. Even if she survived the mission, the boost drug overdose would kill Exelica. In t-minus 9, she would be ejected into deep space to stand between the critically damaged Itoshigo and the imperial death bird.

In five minutes Exelica will be dead and the Itoshigo will have warped to safety. She will have protected the one she loves, but most likely won’t even remember his name when her brain overloads and her heart reaches 350 BPM and stops working.

Click to enlarge or view on Flickr.

Triggerheart Exelica Review

Alter’s 1:8 scale Triggerheart Exelica figure finally hit the street late March 2008 after being delayed from the original December 2007 release. Unfortunately, the falling US dollar made an already expensive figure way more expensive and the monstrous box she comes in is the dagger when it comes to shipping costs. See Moy with the box. All said and done, that’s $200 USD.

Exelica is an awesome figure and as close to a mech as I’ll probably get, and what a sexy weapon at that. Her plug-suit has an attractive gloss as well as being form fitting which does that dual reveal/conceal thing that adds to the allure factor. In fact, I’m happy with all the surfaces as far as how they render the material.

This kind of pose is a challenge to mount I suppose, especially with all of those mech pieces attached to her. The wing pieces and tail piece are actually attached to the arm on the base rather than to Exelica. Exelica sits on a form fitting seat on the arm. She’s not fastened, so she can move about, though the pieces mounted on either side of her keep her in place and the seat is designed where she fits quite well on it. It’s an “interesting” mount location.

Even though the figure costs a ton, the cleanliness of the finish is about par with other Alter figures. On the one hand, Alter finishes better than anyone, so it’s an excellent finish, but it’s a minor disappointment to not see the bar raised as far as mold and paint cleanliness goes on a figure this extravagant.

If price is no object, I highly recommend Exelica. It’s such a beast!

Click to enlarge or view on Flickr.

Other Stuff

The overly white pictures were done by setting my camera with a High-Key setting and overexposing, then adjusting the levels in Photoshop Elements to keep the light colors very light while getting the density of the darker colors to normal. It’s not necessary to use a high-key setting on-camera, it just saves having to adjust values in Photoshop. Actually, I think I un-high-keyed the first three photos with my adjustments. The fourth one is the only one even close to having that high-key look.

I’m getting into more processing than I have before and am slowly getting into it. I mentioned a couple of months ago that I didn’t do much processing at all because it was boring, but isn’t that the way stuff goes? Once you mention something, it changes.

I didn’t diffuse the lights on the white shots and just went with a bare-bulb light source. Having the white paper all around helped soften it up a little, but still I think it makes the light on that first shot a little more harsh.

And if you wish to see a more comprehensive view of Exelica from all angles, foo-bar-baz is about the best place you can go.

Click to enlarge or view on Flickr.

[idols] Dont Look

2008-04-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is idol Hitomi Aizawa.
The business man in the video is a a fan of hers. She shows up at his house in a bikini and stickers her bouncy eyes in his face.
The rules are that he is not allowed to open his eyes or he gets a pie in his face - see what happens.

If your favorite idol showed up in your house in a bikini and does the same to you - would you open your eyes? Bear in mind that you wont get a pie in your face but have your dolphin electrocuted with 62 volts of electricity instead.

More of Hitomi in action below.

[misc] Here Have This: COM&MUNIST Propaganda Poster

2008-03-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I work at a supermarket. Despite having a "real" job, I find it useful to retain a shift on Sunday just for a constant influx of cash (since the real job pays monthly, I am usually broke by the end of the pay period). Anyway, today as I was going home I saw they were going to throw out a bin which had been used to contain M&Ms.

"Damn!" I thought, as I saw the posters pasted around the bin. What drew my eye was a "vintage" communist propaganda-style poster for M&M. It is a promotion being run where the company invites consumers to vote for their favourite colour M&M.

Predictably, Green is a tree-hugger, and all that. But Red…Red is a communist dictator!

I just had to have it. So I asked the manager dude if I could take them. He glanced at it and went "all yours".

I painstakingly cut the tape which was holding the poster captive, and when I got home I carefully peeled off whatever tape was left on the poster without tearing it.

I loved the stylistic choices in that poster and the fact that it was styled in a vintage cheapo type paper complete with printed folds and stains.

It just made it easier too, since the vintage style of the poster meant that the poor condition of the poster (it had been in retail, and then dumped in the dock) didn’t really affect the look. I did clean it up some though.

Whatever dirt is left, is printed on.

Anyhow, here it is. 5.74MB JPEG goodness, 5880×8031 resolution.

I bet someone can vector this and blow it up huge.

Lossless TIFF available on request (36MB).

[figures] Bio Booster Armor Guyver

2008-03-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Bio Booster Armor Guyver is a long running manga series by Yoshiki Takaya that begins in 1985. Currently the manga is at volume 24 and doesn’t seems to be ending anytime soon. The main protagonistis a 17 years old student name Shō, who merges with Guyver unit 1 by accident.

This figure is was release by Max Factory as part of the Bio Fighter Collection line of action figures. It’s fully articulated and comes with additional hands, head and weapon. It also comes with a simple black base with the name Guyver on it which I had forgotten to take pictures of.

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At first I wanted to use red background for this photo session but somehow the red came out too bright, I wanted dark red but can’t seems to get it. So in the end I resorted to black instead but suprisingly I had to use -1 2/3 EV to get the black to look really black instead of just -1 which I use for my previous photo session with Saber. Must be something wrong with the light placement, will need to try out more on that.

Click for larger image

Even though it’s fully articulated, it’s not easy to pose him as some part of the armor are blocking the joints movement. Also the exchangeable parts are joint together using a simple small rod, so it’s quite lose and will usually drop off when you are trying to pose him. The shoulders armor also drop off quite easily since it’s just slotted onto the shoulder ball joints.

“High Frequency Swords”

Click for larger image

Alternate head where part of the face armor is torn off and a corresponding alternate hand tearing off the armor.

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“Gravity Cannon”

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“Mega-Smasher”

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Overall quality of the sculpt and color is pretty good but the articulation definitely needs some improvement. I got this as a b-day present from my ex earlier this year, wonder what I’ll get next year hehe.

Visit my Flickr site for more pictures

Guyver Unit 1
Anime: Bio booster armor guvyer
Scale and Material: action figure
Company: Max Factory
Price: ?
Released: ?
Added to collection: January 2007
Availability: Sold Out
Photo taken using: Canon Ixus 850IS

[figures] El Cazador de la Bruja ~ Nadie

2008-03-24T08:39:00.002-07:00

Nadie is one of those figures that I fell in love with without knowing anything about the character or the anime she’s from. When I saw her prototype, I know she’s one figure I must get, her pose is just too cool. Later on I did look for the anime El Cazador, the final part of the girls with gun trilogy by Bee Train. The anime is well kinda ok, I still have a few episode left before I finish it, but fortunately the figure itself is great ^^. Alter definitely makes the best girls with guns, especially those with dynamic pose.

Click for larger image

Nadie comes with a simple white oval shape base and she’s supported by 2 metal rod, instead of one that was shown in the prototype. I guess with two rods supporting her, there’s less chance of her leaning. She also comes with her gun, a Colt Government Model .45 and a removable cloak.

Click for larger image

Nice detail on the gun. Detailing on the rest of the figure is pretty good too and except for some rough paint job the sculpt and paint works are pretty good too.

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Nicely detailed boots.

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Nadie with her cloak remove.

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Revy gun fits into the holster perfectly, unfortunately Nadie own gun doesn’t.

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I am still trying to figure out where to put her, her pose makes it difficult to fit her into tight spaces, oh well guess she’ll just have to stay on my table for the time being. Dynamic figures are nice, but they do takes up more space as well.

Nadie
Anime: El Cazador de la Bruja
Scale and Material: 1/8 pre-painted PVC
Company: Alter
Price: 6300 Yen
Released: January 2008
Added to collection: January 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 100mm Macro lens and EF-S 17-85 IS USM lens

[figures] Queen of Flame ~ Mai Tokiha

2008-03-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

I have always wanted a figure of Mai Tokiha, the busty female lead in the anime and manga My-Hime but there weren’t a lot of nice pvc of her out there. The really nice one are mostly resins. Then I saw GSC version of Mai few months back at Hobby Search, I kinda like GSC version of her but she’s just a 1/10 scale, pretty small, so I didn’t get her at the time.

Recently she got restock again and at the time Nadie was just release so I thought I might as well get something to ship with Nadie to save on some shipping fees. After some poisoning from Aiko, I finally decide to get her, making her the second character from My-Hime in my collection, not that there’s a lot of My-Hime figures out there.

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Mai is sculpted in her school uniform, come to think of it most, if not all Mai pvc figures have her in her school uniform. I would have like a Queen Mai version of her that appear in final volume of the manga.

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Sculpture wise is quite simple with decent detail. Paint job is a bit rough on some part, but overall is quite decent. Nothing too impressive but not too bad either, some what like Kaminagi Ryoko, simple and nice, even the pose is similar XD.

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Really like her eyes, sharp and clear ^^.

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Final shot with Natsuki in the background, this Natsuki is from Griffon and at 1/7 scale, GSC did release a Natsuki as well, same scale as Mai, but I find her neck too long at certain angle.

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Good thing about her small scale is, I can easily fit in her into my now quite pack shelf, I still have no idea where I am gonna put Emiya, Saber and Nadie, they definitely won’t fit into the shelf. Maybe I’ll just display them on my table for now ^^.

Mai Tokiha
Anime: My-Hime
Scale and Material: 1/10 pre-painted PVC
Company: Good Smile Company
Price: 3619 Yen
Released: June 2006
Added to collection: January 2008
Availability: sold out
Photo taken using: Canon EOS 400D with EF 100mm Macro lens

[figures] Good Smile Company Tessa & Chidori

2008-03-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

So I’ve done a few outdoor photo shoots with my figures but never anywhere out in the open to the public. I’ve been dying to go out and do one in an open spot, this is my collection and my hobby i shouldn’t be ashamed to go outside and take pictures! So I decided to take some of my swimsuit figures to the beach!

I’m no good at doing indoor shoots, I’ve tried and tried again but I can’t seem to get the lighting to work. I have heard from many people that the best light for photos in sunlight so doing outdoor shoots on sunny days just seemed like the best idea. I have to say that doing this shoot makes me feel like I went up a notch in being a figure collector. I’ve met people who collect figures but are ashamed of their collection, they tell me they will do indoor shoots but never have the guts to go outside with them for the world to see.

I choose Tessa and Chidori since they are a set and I’ve had Chidori for a while now but it was becoming difficult to acquire Tessa.

I love this Tessa figure, I owned before the Atelier Sai Race Queen Tessa, and she was just a horrible horrible figure. It didn’t even look like her honestly, the outfit was something she would never have been caught wearing and it was completely out of character. I adore this Tessa so much, it’s so true to her character, she would be the kinda person to show up to the beach in a school swimsuit.

I was so glad to finally get Tessa so that way my Chidori wouldn’t be alone anymore. This figure is one of my favorites to be honest with you, it’s once again honest to the character plus she’s made so well. My only complaint is that on her right arm, it’s not all one piece it’s two pices stuck together at the elbow. But since the gun pretty much covers that up i don’t mind it at all. Other than that small fault it’s practically prefect. She’s only on one foot but no leaning for this lovely lady. I also love how her hair just flows in the wind.

[otaku] Gundam Sumeragi

2008-03-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you asked for the full res version of this the other day under this post so here it is. Cant remember the source so if anyone knows do let us know.
And thanks for the feedback ^^

YouTube search for "sumeragi" turns up this video - spoiler for folks who have not wathed Gindam 00 23 yet. Lockooooooon!

[figure] Sakura Matou

2008-03-15T23:08:00.001-07:00

Never did get round to watching all of Fate but I do like Saber and Sakura.
Was disappointed with the other release of Sakura as the shots I saw at Moeyo looked like she was painted badly - shame too as the eyes on that one looked much nicer ^^;

The expression on this 1/6 scale figure looks a bit odd and her waist looks a bit off too. The towel is a bit shiny for my taste too. Everything else about this figure is fine however. Those interested can get her at HobbyStuff4U who I have to thank for the free sample again ^o^
The weather is lousy in Tokyo at the moment and it looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer before I can do another photo shoot orz.

[figure] Mine Blue

2008-03-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

2006/12/11 07:44 JST Monday Comments (34)

日本語 / Japanese PermalinkLink to this post and make money

Have always wanted to get me grubby mitts on this figure ever since I saw her at the WHF last year. I remember lining up at the time and then realizing that I was just about to shell out over 10,000 yen for a kit which I had to assemble and paint myself!

You can imagine my delight when Yamato announced that they were releasing this as a PVC painted figure.
Arrived recently but I have to say that I will steer away from Yamato's figures from now on. While they do make a good Valkyrie, their figures (judging from this one) don’t come near the standards of GoodSmile/Kotobukiya/Kaiyodo.

For starters her arm has a huge visible join in it – they could have made some sort of arm band to hide it – that join screams “look at this join!” By todays figurine production standards, this visible join gives me the impression that Yamato didnt really put much effort into this release.

I could live with the join but the worst bit is her chest – I know she does have a challenging chest to produce but if GoodSmile can do it them Yamato should have given more thought to how the pieces where going to be put together. While her boobies (given up saying “chest”) look good from the front and certain angles, they look rather bad from the side and the straps look like they have been painted by somebody drunk. A close look from underneath and you can see a gaping gap under her boobies – not good. The quality is just as bad as the Zombie Saber.
The last four images in this gallery are close ups of the offending craftsmanship and the gaping gap between her left leg and bikini line.
This is the first figure I have where the hair has been painted with some sort of glossy paint – all the paint on my other figures are matt. The gloss just looks bad and difficult to shoot – maybe its because the hat is supposed to hide the hair?

McDonalds paper bags looked better than the box she came in - but I think they purposely made it so that you cant see the bad quality awaiting inside the box...

Anyway, cute figure but rather disappointed in the poor craftsmanship and somebody at Yamato deserves a slap in the face with a bag of vomit (carrots included) for ruining this most anticipated release.
TJ Han has different views on Mine Blue however and you can check out his review. If you have a post on this figure, feel free to post a link to it.

There are some good things about this figure though - as you can see from the photos, her moped can be used for other purposes... If you do decide to buy then you could always try some of these…

Anime USA
Hobby Stuff
Amazon

[figure] Masane Amaha

2008-03-15T22:59:00.001-07:00

Masane Amaha from the anime Witchblade. This 1/8 scale figure of Masane comes complete with a soft pair of eyes which you can squeeze during important meetings. Masane also comes with a note saying "dont squeeze her eyes too much as that is the cause of damage." Damage from excessive nose bleeds?

[figure] GoodSmile Gathers Suggestion for Nendorid Rin/Len

2008-03-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Nendoroid Kagamine Rin was last spotted at Wonder Festival. Now GoodSmile company is gathering designs suggestions from fans for Nendoroid Rin and Len.

For those that own a nendoroid figure would know that nendoroids usually ship with one standard look and a few “alternative” look. For instance, Miku Hatsune had her trademark Ievan Polkka leek look.

However, Kagamine Rin and Len doesn’t seems to have any of these special trademark looks. Therefore, GoodSmile in conjunction with PIAPRO are gathering design suggestions for the “alternative look”. Fans can submit their design suggestion on this website.

As for me, I think that a Caramelldansen Kagamine Rin would be awesome.

[figures] 1/7 Mizuho Kazami PVC

2008-03-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Just spotted this on amiami: the Orchid Seed limited garage kit of Mizuho Kazami sold at Wonder Festival is now available for preorder as a regular PVC.

She is scheduled to be released in July and will be retailing for 6,800 yen.

Mizuho always looks so good with her beautiful eyes. But I think this figure is just overall too pinkish for my taste. I’d might reconsider if they ever come out with a different color. Maybe translucent would be nice ^_^

[Gadgets] USB GHOST IN THE SHELL ROBOT

2008-02-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

Last october, during the All Japan Radicon Show Bandai announced a special chogokin Tachikoma robot (in scale 1/24).
Saturday 23 february this Usb figure will finally be released.
The Tachikoma thanks to the usb PC connection cable, a couple of LEDs and a speaker is able to speak, to read your emails and interact with PC applications. Bandai also added mini games to make it more fun (even tough, since Bandai bought Namco, they should have create way better videogames)...

[Otaku] the softer side of ASCII art

2008-02-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, we have words left unsaid. But since we don’t have things like shigofumi, some of us choose to tell our story in various ways.

This Japanese man (he mightn’t be an otaku but he’s rather well versed in the way of ASCII art LOL) shares with us a touching story that might bring a tear to your eye.

[Otaku] Internet Guitarist - Hellman

2008-02-21T04:46:00.000-08:00

A very good internet guitarist and guess where he’s from, that’s right Asia, not sure if China or Japan.

Lots and Lots of videos after the jump!

[Japan] Work in Japan

2008-02-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

The MSN/Windows Live team in Japan moved to Akasaka this May. While the office is miles away from the metro, I do have much better view from my workspace when compared to my previous office at Amazon *but*! I get less space for figures ToT.

Speaking of work, I get a ton of mails from folks who are interested in coming to Japan to live and work. Here are some *general* (and I mean general) pointers off the top of my head.

1. Look for employment with a company that is likely to expand its operations to Japan or already has offices here.

Depending on the type of company and position, there could be the possibility of an international transfer. If you are being asked to come over, make sure you get a good package. You should look for things like a moving bonus to cover any misc expenses that are incurred ( like selling your dog or something ).
You should expect things like Key money to be paid (read about Key money for apartments) for your apartment, corporate housing while you are looking for a place to stay (even better if the company pays your rent), car rental etc. Regarding moving expenses, usually you will get an air and sea shipment. Stuff that you really need when you touch ground in Japan ( like a bunch of figures ) should obviously go by air – stuff that you don’t need straight away ( like clean clothes to change into ) can go by boat. If you have Airguns like I did – chuck them in with all the toys.

2. Look for opportunities in Japan

This was the path I took with Nature. I found the job listing at a recruitment company that specialized in English and Japanese speaking persons. I was interviewed in the UK and then sent to Japan for a week of interviews and tests. I got the job and went back to the UK to hand my resignation into Japan Airlines, packed and got the hell out of that dump! Joke. Its not that bad in the UK – its just not where I want to build my career/live/play. Your company should sort out the visa for you if you choose this path.
The site was London based People First - crap website but legit company.

3. Apply for the JET program.

The Japanese Exchange Teaching program is run by the Japanese government. Each year, they take English speaking persons and ship them to Japan to teach English in schools throughout the nation. While you are not going to get rich quick ( annual salary of roughly 3,600,000 yen ), it is a good way to get in to Japan. Many people I know who were on JET looked for other opportunities while they were on the programme. One of my university colleagues came to Japan on JET and went on to become the CEO of a top recruitment firm in Tokyo within just a few years. He just recently bought a house for about 90,000,000 yen to house his newly born baby (expensive baby). He is a good example for those who do intend to initially come over on JET and move on to other things - I hope his story keeps you focused if you choose this path ^^.
And if you are wondering, you dont have to be an English native speaker. I know a few Malaysians and HK folks on the program.

All the people who I know who are still on JET want out. Many don’t want to make a career out of it. Some of the folks I knew had to leave Japan when their time was up - JET don’t keep you in Japan forever. JET may also stick you in the middle of nowhere like some small suburban town far far far away from Akihabara ^^;
What I advise is to look for opportunities when you are on JET. Always keep your options open (which you should do where ever you are.)

English schools like NOVA also ship persons over to Japan but I hear that they treat you like something that you wipe off the bottom of your shoes after a brisk stroll through a pig sty. A friend of mine came over on a Nova visa but was offered a job from another company when he arrived. He gave Nova the bad news and they threatened to sue him! This guy now runs his own company conducting tours in Japan.
I believe you get some sort of teaching visa through JET or other schools like NOVA.

4. Start your own company in your home country and then set up a branch JP office.

JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization ) have guides on how to set up a business in Japan. If you Parents have a business, get them to set up office here and ship you over. Once this is done you will be able to apply for a business visa.

5. Start off as a student.

Some folks who I know came over to take an economics course (or something) at university. I have no idea what the cost is but once your course has been officially confirmed, you can apply for a student visa.
A Korean guy I know came over as a student and ended up working part time for me as a perl programmer. He went on to work for a net related translation service and is doing rather well for himself (he just had a baby too ^^). Have a look at the links at Meikai University or Waseda University for pointers.

6. Take a Japanese course at university in your home country.

Many courses involve staying for a full year in Japan. While you obviously have to go back to your home country to finish the course, the time spent over here will be invaluable and give you a taste of what its like to live over here. You may hate it after all (unlikely though ^^). Network as much as possible while you are here in the area that you are interested in working in.

7. Come as a tourist and overstay.

This is not an option and if you do it once then you probably wont be allowed back into Japan.
A ton of asians do this and give the rest of the asians who are over here legitimately a bad image. The info showing which nationality is the worst at overstay is at the Immigration page but I cant find it.

8. Look for jobs on the net and then come over for a few weeks to attend interviews.

Job Dragon.com, Daijob.com cover a lot of jobs available in foreign capital companies over here. Have a look on those sites and apply online. If you have a glowing resume then you could potentially come over for interviews. If your resume glows so bright that one would need sunglasses to read it then the potential employer may pay for expenses or arrange for you to interview at one of their branch offices in your home country. If your resume glows so brightly that one is at risk of going blind from the sheer quality of your skills then contact me - I can put you in contact with the right recruiters to place you ^^.

It costs a company nothing to sponsor your visa. The immigration needs to see your company’s brochure and some document available from the local ward office to prove that the company you are going to work for is legit. Other things needed are a letter of employment and a statement showing how much you earn (I think – I forget). But that’s generally it.

How much will you earn?

Well that obviously depends on the type of work that you are coming over for and the company that you are joining. The national average wage in Japan per person is 4,094,000 yen ( stats from Ministry of internal affairs statistics bureau - figures from 2004 ). But that doesn't exactly go far when you have expensive hobbies like figure collecting ^^;
The numbers below are what I have personally experienced as a hiring manager at Amazon and Microsoft and through friends in related industries.
Disclaimer: I am not saying that these are the numbers that you will receive in either AMZN or MSFT.

Director or VP (internet/IT related) = 20,000,000 yen+
Country Manager (internet/IT related) = 40,000,000 yen+
IT/Dev Program Manager internet related = 7,500,000 yen to 12,000,000 yen
Editorial Manager (internet/IT related) = 4,500,000 yen+
Site dev Manager (internet/IT related) = 10,000,000 yen to 16,000,000 yen
QA/Tester (internet/IT related) =4,500,000 yen - 6,500,000 yen
Web developer/Software Development Engineer (internet/IT related) - 7,000,000 yen - 9,000,000 yen
Deskside support (finance related) - 9,000,000 yen+
Financial analyst (finance related) - 12,000,000 yen+
Translator (IT/finance) - 5,000,000 yen

Visa stuff

Depending on the type of visa you receive, you are usually given a year the first time round. To get your extension, you need to be working ( but not necessarily at your original place ) full time. You should try to stay in employment with your first employer for at least a year and then you will get a three year extension. I hear that if you quit jobs within the first year that you will only get a one year extension (can anybody confirm?). In my case, I stayed with Nature for about a year and a half. When I left Nature, I still had a visa sponsored by Nature but that does not matter as long as you go to report to immigration that you have changed jobs. You should also go to the ward office to report changes to your visa status too.

Things can get a bit dodgy for you if you remain unemployed on a working visa for more than 3 months.
Once you reach five years of fulltime employment in Japan, you are entitled to apply to naturalize to be a Japanese. Alternatively you can wait for ten years and then apply for permanent residency.

Once you are over here, you may want to buy a house after a while...

(Japan) The Average Japanese Girl

2008-02-18T06:37:00.001-08:00

A screencap of some TV shows featuring some average Japanese girls.
The conversation over at Byonavi (where you will also find a larger version of this pic) is "Oi! which is your type?!" [お前等の好みはどれだ！]
Some of the comments on that thread include "shark?", "I want to eat", "8 is most unlikely to be a virgin", "5 is most likely to be a virgin"

(Otaku) Gorgeous School Girl

2008-02-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

In some folks eyes, this person may seem like a gorgeous school girl.
While to some folks it may look like a man dressed in sailor fuku wearing a pink apron with Mickey ears.
Whichever he looks like to you, hes giving out free hugs - any takers?
Via member Neil Duckett's burogu.

[idols] Natsuko Tatsumi & Sayuri Otomo

2008-02-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you put 2 hot Japanese idols together after school? A hot photo shoot of Natsuko Tatsumi and Sayuri Otomo, just the cure for ronery hearts on Valentines Day.

I have previously featured Natsuko Tatsumi in the gravure idols section, and she’s a pretty popular idol and actress from Tokyo. As for Sayuri, I’m not really familiar with her, except that she looks really cute in a school uniform.

Here’s their profile: 辰巳奈都子 × 大友さゆり

Name: Natsuko Tatsumi 辰巳奈都子
Birthday: １９８8年01月21日
Height: １58cm 3 Sizes: B82/W56cm/H82cm
Natsuko’s Blog: http://ameblo.jp/tatsuminatsuko/

Name: Sayuri Otomo 木口亜矢
Birthday: １９８7年08月19日
Height: １50cm 3 Sizes: B84/W56cm/H84cm
Sayuri’s Blog: http://ameblo.jp/otomo-sayuri/

Enjoy the gallery \(o.o*)/ Alternative, you people can download the gallery: Part 1, Part 2.

[Otaku] New ADV DVD Sale - $4 Per Disc

2008-02-13T08:29:00.001-08:00

It is not only UK anime fans who have a right to rejoice, it would appear that Right Stuf (based in the USA) is currently holding a pretty awesome sale of ADV DVDs. The sale ends February 6th, so you will need to be quick if you want anything before stocks run out.

There are two deals on offer:

- 10 ADV DVDs for $50 (use coupon: ADVsuper10)
- 25 ADV DVDs for $100 (use coupon: ADVsuper25)

(Note: You must buy exactly 10 or 25 sale DVDs if you want the coupons to work, do not mix other items into your order)

Lots of the titles on offer normally retail for between $25-40, and DVDs with artboxes are included in the sale.

It is not quite 100% of the ADV stock that is on offer, but most of it is, and I have made a list of links to the best stuff below:

Gantz Gantz DVD 1: Game of Death

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4 | DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7 | DVD 8 | DVD 9 | DVD 10 |
DVD 7 (+ Art Box)

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion, Neon Genesis Directors Cut: Genesis Reborn DVD
Evangelion, Neon Genesis Directors Cut: Resurrection DVD
Evangelion, Neon Genesis DVD 1 - Platinum Edition (+ Artbox)

Others:

DVD 1 (Plat) | DVD 1 | DVD 3 | DVD 4 | DVD 5

Notes: DVD 2 not on sale

Chrono Crusade

Chrono Crusade DVD 1: A Plague of Demons

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4| DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7

Final Fantasy Unlimited

Final Fantasy Unlimited DVD 1: Phase 1 (+ Artbox)

Others:

DVD 1 | DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4| DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7

Peacemaker Kurogane

Peacemaker DVD 1: Innocence Lost

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4
DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh DVD 1: Orphans of the Apocalypse (+ Artbox)

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4
DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7
DVD 1 (without Artbox)

Saiyuki

Saiyuki DVD 1: The Journey Begins (+ Artbox)

Others:

DVD 3 | DVD 4 | DVD 5
DVD 6 | DVD 7 | DVD 8
DVD 9 | DVD 10 | DVD 11
DVD 12 | DVD 1 (without Artbox)
DVD 7+Artbox

Madlax

Madlax DVD 1: Connections (+ Artbox)

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4
DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7
DVD 1 (Without Artbox)

Macross, Super Dimension Fortress

Macross, Super Dimension Fortress DVD 1

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4
DVD 5 | DVD 6 | DVD 7

Hakugei: Legend of Moby Dick

Hakugei: Legend of Moby Dick DVD 1: Ahab Awaits

Others:

DVD 2 | DVD 3 | DVD 4
DVD 5 | DVD 6

Standalone DVDs

Noir DVD 1: Shades of Darkness + Empty Artbox + Tshirt

RahXephon DVD 1: Threshold + Artbox + Tshirt

Get Backers DVD 1: G & B On the Case + Artbox

Gasaraki DVD 1: The Summoning

Excel Saga DVD 1

[Figures] Hot House Shouko-san

2008-02-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Sweat arose from Shouko-san’s skin, rising up against the uncomfortable heat pouring into her room. The thermostat was broken and the windows of the old Victorian held fast. Just as well. Shouko wanted to be alone and cut-off from everything. It was a free day made for lounging. A free day just for her. Cell phone in a drawer, land line unplugged, television off, just Shouko, a soft pint of Haagen Daaz, a melting box of chocolate, and the beaten voice of Jeff Buckley swirling in the dizzy heat.

Larger Image

Review of Shouko-san from Kotobukiya

I picked up this alternate version of Shouko the other day. I felt that I needed another figure based on a Shunya Yamashita illustration. When the original version of this figure came out, I passed on it. The coloring of the original figure, at least in the promo shots, didn’t seem to do Shouko much justice. In part, I think the quality of the paint job shown in the promo couldn’t pull off the look of lingerie with a light purple. On the other hand, the black used for the alternate is a lot more forgiving.

Shouko-san is in a classic pin-up pose that shows off her legs and derrière. She’s proportioned well in the figure and from the eye-contact viewing angle it looks well done. Some of it seems ignored or clumsy in areas where you have to look at it from a weird angle, like the lower stomach area between her legs is just flat rather than shaped like it should — come on, we will look at every part!

Shouko is fused to her base. The box claims that Shouko comes apart so that her teddy can be modified to reveal her torso. Mine seems to be held fast. It looks better with the teddy intact anyway, but I would have liked to have made some shots featuring her back though. Her slippers are detachable.

Shouko is a 1:7 scale figure (I’m glad that 1:7 is gaining in popularity). The figure quality is pretty good for Kotobukiya.

Larger Image

The Pictures

The thing I wanted to do in the first set of pictures is to make her skin seem glossy like coated with sweat or body oil. Rather than fight the glossy PVC used by Kotobukiya why not emphasize it? The style I was going for might look odd on your monitor. I imagine it will on some.

The first set of pictures with the patterned background is just Shouko taken from the inside of the box insert. Now that’s some great package design! Too bad it wasn’t bigger.

Larger Image

[Idols] Japanese Idols and their Glasses

2008-02-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how your favorite Japanese idols and actresses would look like if they had on glasses? Here’s a photobook featuring various Japanese idols with glasses on and still sexy~

Presenting the models and actresses with some little info from whatever I know about them.

Aki Hoshino (ほしのあき), she’s definitely on the top of my list amongst the gravure idols. She’s turned 30 recently but she’s still looks young and uber hot! She just recently went on Akiko Wada’s Private Lesson II ( 個人授業Ⅱ) to teach about how to continue being a gravure idol at her age.

Katou Rosa (加藤ローサ ) is an actress and she’s rather well know for her performance in Dance Drill which won her Best Newcomer for Japan’s 50th Television Drama Academy Awards.

Yuko Ogura (小倉優子), I think that many would know who she is. She’s rather popular especially with her kawaii innocent schoolgirl look. Anime fans might know her from School Rumble first Ending theme.

Manami Konishi (小西真奈美) is an actress. I don’t know much about her except that I saw her in Water Boys 2005 Natsu.

Yuu Aoi (蒼井優) is also an actress. She starred as Hagumi Hanamoto in the live action movie of Honey and Clover and also Tanyu in the live action movie of Mushishi.

Juri Ueno (上野樹里) a Japanese actress that starred in Swing Girls.

Haruka Ayase (綾瀬はるか), well I have absolutely no idea what she does, apparently wikipedia says she’s an actress, model and singer.

Kumiko Aso (麻生久美子), an actress, no idea who she is as well.

Reina Asami (浅見れいな ), she’s also an actress ^_^”

Nana Katase (片瀬那奈), finally an actress I know about =p. You would remember seeing her in Death Note: The Last Name or in Teppan Shoujo Akane as irritating Erena (I really loved her character in that drama serial).

Chinatsu Wakatsuki (若槻千夏) is a multi-talented idol that recently just won an online poll from Oricon whereby 600 young men and women voted her as having the cutest and liveliest voice.

Miku Ishida (石田未来) is an actress that I also have no idea about her.

Yui Aragaki (新垣结衣), I dunno much about her except that I saw her in a very cute UNIQLO commercial and Pocky dance commercial as well.

Anzu Sayuri (杏さゆり) is another top gravure idol that has appeared in many magazines.

Emi Kobayashi (小林恵美) is also a gravure idol, but I don’t know much about her.

Saya Kazuki (和希沙也) is another gravure idol. If you seen Kekkiashi, she voices Yurina who is the classmate of Yoshimori that can see ghosts.

Thats all for today’s gravure feature, I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly think that glasses brings about a different kind of sexiness to a women. Anyway I apologise for the lack of information on some of the actresses, but who cares anyway right, just look at the photos~

[Game] Angelium

2008-02-12T05:05:00.000-08:00

[Otaku] UFO Catcher Secrets

2008-02-12T04:57:00.000-08:00

Japan Probe reveals the secrets to mastering the UFO Catcher.
BTW, Looks like YouTube is having probs with their image server - even though you cant see the video thumbnail - just click on the play button and the video should start to play.

[Doujin] Naruto Tsunade Ketsu Megaton

2008-02-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

Naruto Tsunade Ketsu Megaton
Tsunade chupando Naruto

Download: 6 mb - 48 pictures
1 zip file by quiron

Mirror 1: http://w15.easy-share.com/8241001.html
Mirror 2: http://depositfiles.com/files/2201681
Mirror 3: http://www.uploading.com/files/HU5YG...uiron.zip.html

[Game] Online game - Exteel

2008-02-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

Exteel is a Free third person shooter where players control giant customized mechs (similar to anime shows Gundam, Full metal panic and the game Armored Core) into combat against other online players, or more rarely, against computer controlled enemies. The game features fully customizable characters, as well as a variety of gameplay modes.

There are four game modes available currently, Death Match, Team Death Match, Last Stand, and Territory Control. They are all time limited with the winner decided by the amount points obtained within that time limit. Draws occur when the round ends and there is an equalibrium in points on both teams or in separate players. Winners get more experience and credit than the losers.

The weapons have no amno limit but it will overheat in a while, you can also fly in this game, good for those who would like to snipe, but the flying also have limits, so fly when you need to.

Gameplay: 4 stars
Quality: 4 stars
stat: Open Beta

Offical Links

[Game] Online game - Asda story

2008-02-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

The first thing when i look at this game was Kinda like Flyff.
But the think that caught my attention was the Soulmate System.
I still don`t know what it meant.
But i think is something to do with 2 user fighting together, special soulmate skills, soulmates items and you can gain exp even if you are offline, maybe you soulmate are fighting and both of you get exp?

Anyway, i have played the game for 2 hour since i blog a bout the game.
Is a fun game to play and you won`t get too bored during the holidays.

The archer look like negima, rite?

Link: http://asda.gamengame.com/index.asp

[manga] Download Manga

2008-02-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to One Manga, where manga scans are made delicious! Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Claymore, Hana Kimi, Vampire Knight... it's all here and more!

You can read online manga like Naruto Bleach One Piece Claymore and more at Onemanga.com

[Idols] Noriko Kijima 木嶋のりこ

2008-02-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

Been quite some time since I posted any gallery of any gravure idol. So here’s another nice collection of picture from Noriko Kijima 木嶋のりこ who was previously featured before.

Name: 木嶋のりこ
Birthday: １９８8年03月22日
3 Sizes: B83(E)/W55cm/H84cm
Blog: http://blog.livedoor.jp/kijimanoriko/

Happy Chinese New Year

2008-02-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a nice sumptuous reunion dinner with my family. Here’s wishing all my readers a very happy prosperous lunar new year.

Anyway, I’m gonna take a short break these few days from posting to spend more time visiting relatives and celebrating this new year.

[Figures] Asuka Langley Soryu, Biker Chick Ver.

2008-02-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

^ Image enhancement by Tragic Comedy. Figure provided by gordon

While car babes and their cars look good, I have always preferred biker chicks. Just last friday, Asuka called me up after work, wanting me to do a photoshoot of her new ride. All I had in mind was just a simple shoot, but only till I arrived that I realized it wasn’t a wasted trip.

Besides getting a new ride, Asuka had also gotten a very fine looking race suit. She loosen the zip for her suit, revealing her curvy body in a bikini. I was stunned by this astonishing beauty.

“どこみっての・・・バカァ、エッチ！” (Where are you looking at… idiot. Ecchi!) she shouted and I quickly got back to my senses to prepare for the shoot.

Review of Asuka Langley Soryu Vispo (Racing Bike Version)

When I first chanced upon this very lovely 2 years ago on the internets, I had always been wanting to get one. However, due to the hefty price tag that comes along with Asuka, I’ve been put off to get one.

As far as the many Asuka figures there are out there, I do think that there are really only a few that would be really worth buying despite being a Asuka fan (Rin will be jealous ^^;).

This figure of Asuka is a little difficult to review due to its nature. It’s a cast of the Asuka Vispo, which got hand painted (Meaning it’s not mass-produced).

The details for this figure is really astonishing. The paint job has been rather well done, though there are a couple of places that could have been improved. One rather obvious example would be the sunglasses Asuka’s holding on her right hand. It was really a sub-par effort.

Another peeve would be the weight for the whole figure but it is probably due to the material used for her which makes her rather heavy. I remember having to use both hands to lift and change how Asuka’s positioned.

Product: Asuka Langley Soryu Vispo (Biker Chick Ver.)
Anime/Game: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Produced by:
Sculptor: Vispo (Link)
Scale: 1/6
Material:
Release Date:
Price: 300 USD +++
Available: E2046 (Sold Out)

Photography Notes

Borrowed from gordon when I met up with him this afternoon. Shots taken with an exposure range of -1 to +1 and F number varying from 8 onwards.

Used more manual focus for this shot as well.

Other Notes

Due to the lack of information available with regards to this figure, I’m unable to provide you guys with the exact product information which explains the blanks ^^;

Top image enchanted with the photoshop skills of Tragic comedy.

I want one of these as well!

Suzumiya “Hahiru” no Yuuutsu

2008-02-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

The Japanese porn industry has finally caught on with the Haruhi craze. Suzumiya Hahiru no Yuuutsu will be released on DVD in stores nationwide on 15 Dec for the price of ￥3,990 (tax inclusive). That’s hella cheaper than what Haruhi DVDs go for…

WARNING: FULL VERSION NOT SAFE FOR WORK

Ignoring the explicit depiction of sexual intercourse, the cover design is almost exactly like the limited edition cover design of Yuuutsu Vol.1.

Ah, is there anything that hasn’t been turned into porn by those crazy Japanese? (That’s a rhetorical question BTW)

Continue reading for some work-safe pictures of the promo clip.

Yuri Kousaka (香坂百合) stars as ~~Haruhi~~ Hahiru.

“Ohhhh I’m so horny…”

“Just look at the red stuff coming out of my pantsu.”

“Mmmmm… sausage.”

“Stop eating your bentou and f*ck me!”

WTF?

I have no idea what the fuck is going on in the video either. Please don’t ask me. You can watch it for yourself on the website.

As you can see the promo video has just the right amounts of cock-teasing and WTF-ness to make it work! It’s so brilliant, it’s like a work of art. ;_;

Japan never fails to live up to every expectation.

P.S. Max Factory’s new 1/8 Haruhi PVC figure is so much win.

Hobbystock added it to their catalogue today and they have already stopped taking any more preorders. Getting my hands on one of these will be a bitch.

[Download] The New One Piece Game

2008-02-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

screen shot: http://www1b.sakura.ne.jp/%7Edancing/img/namirobin640x480.jpg

heres the link for the download (megaupload):
The New One Piece Game Link

[Download] Ricotte

2008-02-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

Official game site: http://www.runecage.jp/products/rune...tte/index.html

Download links: http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/3195...otte.part1.rar
Size:292,969 KB
http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/3195...otte.part2.rar
Size:292,969 KB
http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/3195...otte.part3.rar
Size:285,749 KB

Size after extracting: 1.19 GB

Mirror links: Same archive sizes and password applies to these as well.

Part 1: http://www.badongo.com/file/7427378

Part 2: http://www.badongo.com/file/7427594

Part 3: http://www.badongo.com/file/7427838

Something I'd like to point out before downloading this game. Even though the game is not entirely made up of loli art, it does mostly revolve around the loli character named Ricotte as the title suggests. So if you dislike loli completely, I do not recommend playing this game.

Fully installing this game is a bit tricky so I will explain as best as I can how to do it. First, you need to mount the image labeled "RUNE_014R.cue". In the install page, be sure to pick option 1 which will display 949.63 MB at the bottom right hand corner. Then, during the installation a CD-ROM message will appear at about 17%. Now you need to mount the image "RUNE_014RD.cue" and click OK on the message. Finally, another CD-ROM message will pop up at about 80% when you need to mount "RUNE_014R.cue" again and hit OK to complete the installation. Afterwards, don't forget to run the patch "ricotte_103.exe" within the folder where you installed the game.

If you enjoyed the game, don't forget to say thanks by clicking on the bottom right "Thanks" icon. Oh yeah, in case you're wondering, the image "Ricotte_MAXI.cue" is the game's soundtrack containing a couple of songs. In case you enjoyed the songs within the game you may listen to them from this or delete it. Let me know if any problems arise.

Final note, the archives are password protected and you need to solve the following math equation to obtain it:
77+(128-4*7)/(1+3*3)-1

[download] doujin Naruto The Secret (full color, english)

2008-02-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

Download doujin Naruto The Secret : 5 mb - 33 pictures
Mirror 1: http://w15.easy-share.com/8240991.html
Mirror 2: http://depositfiles.com/files/2157676
Mirror 3: http://www.uploading.com/files/35NV0...uiron.zip.html

(Figures) Kanu Unchou White Gothic Lolita Ver!

2008-01-26T03:23:00.000-08:00

Armed with a “Guandao” (Chinese Pole Weapon), dressed in beautiful Gothic Lolita outfit and a pair of boots, this hot babe is probably one of the otaku’s dreams - or is she not?

I present you, Kanu Unchou from Ikkitousen!

I have watched the first season of Ikkitousen, but didn’t really enjoy it that much as it involved much fighting and fanservice. I won’t say Kanu is one of my favorite characters, but in such an outfit, she’s definitely a must buy for me.

What I really like about this figure is it’s hair. The way it defies gravity but still keeping within limits. Look at how it flows!

I just love this shot. Can’t find any words to describe it!

Don’t let her current appearance fool you as she’ll bully you! I kid you not! As the phrase goes, the scarier on the outlook, the kinder the person is at heart… or so what they say to little kids ^^;

Uchijima Yasuhiro, the sculptor of this figure has done a really good job in making the overall feel of this figure great! Very aesthetically pleasing.

^ I don’t mind helping her loosen that knot ;-)

There is also an option for those who have bought this figure - To cast-off her skirt or not.

I generally prefer it to be left on as it looks pretty weird without it.

Was kind of disappointed when I realized they were white. Wanted them to be lacy or something ^^;

There are a couple of small paint defects here and there but they don’t seem obvious unless you are really nitpicky and carefully inspect the figure.

Mr Pig tried to steal a peek at Kanu’s pantsu but was terribly roasted and served when Kanu found out ^^;

I then got Kanu to try her hand at a couple of weapons which she kindly obliged. Should hire Kanu as my personal bodyguard. She’ll take em’ baddies out in no time!

Product: Comic Gum Figure Collection - Kanu Unchoo White Gothic Lolita Ver.
Anime/Game: Ikkitousen
Produced by: Wani Books
Sculptor: Uchijima Yasuhiro
Scale: 1/7
Material: PVC
Release Date: August 2007
Price: ¥4,523
Available: 1999.co.jp (In stock)