Late Night Loot Unboxing

I've finally received my big package from Hobby Search for the end of July. All of these were released in July but I waited for all of them to be there first and combined into one shipping. I'm surprised they all fit into one box!


I picked up up the Goodsmile Company's Misaka Mikoto quite late actually. I ordered it just a couple of weeks before its release. I didn't know why I waited, really... The fan was also on a whim just because I liked To Aru Kagaku no Railgun a lot, but looking at it closely, it's not that great looking. At least it's small. I will post better pictures of the fan and the Mikoto figure at a later time.

I think Saber Alter was either released late June or delayed to early July. While everyone got theirs already, I didn't mind waiting as long as I can save money on shipping :P I think I'll do a group picture of all the Sabers again now that she's here.

Two K-ON Figmas and in numerical order! Pretty sure I'm going to have some fun with Mio's crying face and Mugi's yuri ecchi face for my 4koma. :D I ordered all five of the girls in Figma form, but not all the Nendoroids. Reason being that Nendoroids are more expensive and I sorta have more fun with the Figmas ^^;

And one more mysterious box... I was going to make a surprise post for this one this week. Unfortunately it didn't arrive safely. There's something broken when I opened it. I've send an email to Hobby Search, but they will be on holidays soon, so I won't get a response until at least Tuesday. T-T No fair! And so you'll have to be in the dark about it much more longer than I would've liked to keep you =P

AX (Suddenly Acquired) Loots

Here comes the loot, everybody knows that here comes the loot! Ok, that doesn't make sense, but anyways after an anime convention, you expect to see the loot post going up :P I kept all the fancy paper bags from J-List and MangaGamer. They're kinda like loot to me XD Honestly I didn't buy too much. I wanted to limit myself because I already spent quite a bit just trying to get to Los Angeles for AX.

So let's get to the loots one by one shall we? I got a lot of small items that may not be too visible in the main picture.

Here are the games I got. Squishy Tank for the DS from the Natsume booth. It looks deceptively simple. You just touch 3 or more blocks that are together and they blow up the squishy tanks. But it gets really hard when the time runs out real fast! BlazBlue is something I've been wanting to try but the price was still too expensive in Canada. So when I saw they were being sold for $20 each at the Aksys booth, I took my chance. I promised Yakuri that I'll give this to her when she gets a PS3, lol. And finally Cat Girl Alliance was something I've been eyeing ever since I heard there's a futanari in it XD The JAST USA panel somewhat convinced me to get it.

The reason why I put "suddenly acquired" in the title of this post is because Yakuri gave me lots of things! Maybe half of the loot here! This was the first one she bought for me on the spot. A nice combination of Macross Frontier and Lucky Star. Konata's too cute!

And this one is also from Yaku-chan! I was ecstatic to see this! I never did get the glass or any Saber Lily related item except for my shirt, so this was awesome! I was worried it might break when I put it in my luggage, but thankfully I had lots of spare thick layers for this one ^_^

If you guessed that this is from Yaku-chan, then you're right! She got this free when she bought Higurashi & Umineko games from MangaGamer and gave it to me because... Well, I guess she's a fujoshi who's into yaoi and not yuri XD

I'm gonna owe Yakuri-chan big time ^^;;; This one is also from her. Probably the biggest thing I had in my luggage. I was carrying this around the time of the L.A. CGM Night and everyone asked what I got and I showed this to them and told them it was a gift. Everyone was amazed! Thank you Yakuri-chaaaan <3

Ok and these ones I got myself, lol. ToraDora Volume 1 premium box was something I was hoping to get at the convention rather than ordering online from NIS America. Good thing they had it all ready for me to pick up. In addition I was able to order ToraDora Volume 2 as well with free shipping to Canada! I was very glad I told them about my situation and wanting the series desperately. The other two is Gundam Unicorn Blu-Ray which is actually for my friend and the Gurren Lagann movie which I got so that perhaps Katsuyuki Konishi might sign it, but I gave up the chance so that someone else who`s dying for his autograph can have it ;)

By buying over $50 at NIS America booth, I was able to get this Laharl Prinny plushie for free! AND since I also pre-ordered volume 2 of ToraDora they let me get more free items, like the Prinny stylus and an artbook.

The aforementioned artbook is on the right. It sorta looks like a spiritual sequel to Rhapsody since it involves puppets... If they release it then I might get it. The Hakone map to the left is a free map that was handed out at the PopJapan Travel booth. I had to get it since it`s Rei :P

Here are the music CDs I got. The top two are from buying the BlazBlue game. The bottom two I got real cheap from MangaGamer booth on the last day. I only wanted the one on the right...

The one on the left is a compilation of games that I saw on Wolfheinrich's site, so I got it anyway since it's 2 for  $20. The one on the right is a ... Hardcore Ryoukujo Remix... Umm... how do I explain? It's something like this...

I had seen it a long time ago on AkibaBlog and my curiosity got the best of me. I didn't think I'd get to own it ^^; So here's my chance. I haven't listened to it yet though...

This figure set was something I scoffed at before I saw Bakemonogatari... Just another Puchi Nendo set, but after seeing the show and seeing some of the Puchi Nendo in action, I want one!! Especially Hitagi! Good thing Yakuri brought me to Anime Jungle's store where I researched that they have it, so they must have it at the convention as well. No tax either! Woot!

Lastly, Yaku-chan also gave me this... No, not the phone silly. I did get a new phone before leaving for L.A. though. Mostly because my old phone has a loose battery, so it shuts off by itself at times. Not a good thing to have when you're meeting a lot of people in a foreign land... Yaku gave me the dangling Rosa Chinensis and Lillian Academy logo from Maria-sama ga Miteru. She sure knows what I like ^^ I don't know if I want to keep them attached to my phone though... I don't want to lose them...

The next few things aren't loots, really, but just the autographed items. I thought I might as well put them together. This is the Macross Vocal collection signed by both Megumi Nakajima and May'n! It's one of my favourite albums and now it's signed! Freaking awesome!

This is the inner panel to the same album. I was hoping that Yoko Kanno would be signing to and I'd get her to sign on this one. It would've been freaking awesome! It never happened though... Maybe if Alto Saotome's voice actor comes, I'll get him to sign this :P

Yah! I also got Yuu Asakawa to sign my Nendoroid Luka box! I asked her if she can say something on the box, so she drew a word bubble saying "thank you" on it ^_^

And this is the last thing I got signed. Mirai Dakimakura signed by Danny. I was going to ask him to sign on the chest area just to prevent me from defiling his daughter XD But he just signed on the corner, heh. Now mind you, I don't see Danny as a celebrity, but as a friend... Who just happened to be popular ^^; I was going to come up to him and bring this dakimakura on me and ask him to "sign my chest!" Alas the opportunity didn't arise, lol.

So unfortunately because of the time constraint and my own stupidity, I didn't get these signed... Yui Horie's line was just too long and not enough time to get her autograph. I would've been able to get MELL's autograph on the last day, especially on my favourite CD single, except that I already packed my stuff in my luggage and not thinking the line would be short enough... I feel real sad not getting my Virgin's High signed T-T

Ok, well I don't want to end it at a sour note, so here are some more loots! These two shirts are actually for my brother and his girlfriend. I wasn't too interested in any of the AX shirt designs, except for the sold out ones. I could've special ordered it, but at $5 shipping... No thanks.

I really am a shirt collector. I have no idea how many J-List shirts I have now... But this one I had to get since it's To Aru Kagaku no Railgun's Misaka Mikoto!!

Here's the back side. Both says "Warning: Electric Shock". Awesome!

So yes, I had a lot of suddenly acquired loots but I spent quite a bit as well, especially getting both ToraDora volumes. It was all worth it though. Now I'm planning to reciprocate Yakuri's generosity :P

Admirin' Iron Man 2

After watching the first teaser trailer for the first Iron Man movie, I knew I want... nay, NEED to watch it! I regretted not watching Iron Man right away in 2008, and I regretted not watching it enough multiple times in the theatres. So with the release of Iron Man 2, I had the opportunity to watch it right away and I took it! I even stayed up late to get Iron Miku up and running before I go to the IMAX version at 10 AM on Friday... The IMAX screen really showed the details well, but I don't think it's necessary to watch this movie, especially if you have to pay extra $5 to watch it.

Ok, to be honest, I didn't feel like it lived up to the first movie. That's how I felt from my first viewing. I think there were too many things going on in the story. However, the action really escalated compared to the first one. War Machine was a character I really liked when I first seen him in the comics. At the time Rhodey don the armor because supposedly Tony Stark died in the comics. Tony is shown that he is slowly being poisoned by his own tech in the beginning, so it's almost similar to the comics. The similarities end there. Let's just say War Machine and Iron Man came to terms and whupped some baddies in the most grandiose style! I was skeptical about Don Cheadle when he was cast as Rhodey. I have to say he filled his role well. I do wish he had the comic appearance, but not a big deal. It would help the illusion that he's badass Rhodey.

Even though I liked the origins and the creation of the Iron Man armor in the first movie, I thought it lacked some action. The sequel really made up for that. The suitcase armor from the comics and the animated series make its appearance in the movie and easily created one of the coolest scenes in the movie. Can't say it's the coolest armor though... War Machine takes the cake on that one. I'm still looking for the action figure right now... Despite the coolness of War Machine, I do have some complains.

SPOILER ALERT

The text is spoilers, but feel free to scroll down for just the pictures. Please make sure to put "Spoiler Alert" if you're mentioning major plot points in the comments.

I have to say that some of the science in the movie is too coincidentally convenient. The plot where Tony is dying because of what's keeping him alive is great, but it does create a plothole and it was filled by that convenient science.

Did he get squashed by the can or did his head turn into the can? Or perhaps he's drinking from it... Dr. Pepper was on special; 2 cans for $2... Except I don't like Dr. Pepper.

I was rather impressed and uncomfortable at the same time when Tony was drunk and was fully armored as Iron Man. It shows how uneasy and realistic it felt to me because that armor is dangerous, especially when the guy in it is wasted! No one got hurt except for Tony's ego. It's like a typical second part of movie series though, that it is much darker this way. I did feel how dark it was, especially with the AWI (Armored  While Intoxicated) scene and Tony's mortality.

Mickey Rourke wasn't too bad. I didn't have a problem with his performance at all. He died a bit too quickly though, even when armored. Guess he wasn't too smart... Justin Hammer played by Sam Rockwell was awful. No, not his performance that was awful, but the character... I think Rockwell really pulled off the annoying character all to well because I hated Justin Hammer from the get go. Probably what we were supposed to feel for this guy.

Black Widow was great! Scarlet Johanssen really trained quite well for this role. She kicked a lot of ass and looked good doing it! I really hope she gets a role in the Avengers movie. Jon Favreau had more appearances and lines in this one. That's his right as a director, I suppose, but he is a good comedic actor as well, so I didn't mind it as much. Gwyneth Paltrow played a smaller role compared to the first movie, and I wished she did more. She had to split her screen time with Johanssen, I suppose. Even though Sam Jackson as Fury had more time here, it didn't feel like he did anything...

It really was War Machine that stole the show for me. His appearance wasn't until the end, but his armor just looked so good, that I wouldn't mind repeating those scenes over and over again. One of my favourite lines was Rhodey being asked by Hammer which weapons he wants on his brand new stolen Iron Man armor, and he says he'll take it as he surveys a table full of arsenal. Hammer asks, "which one?" to which Rhodey responded with, "all of it". And War Machine was born! It's too bad when they had the big flying chase scene that some of the details were lost due to the speed... It wasn't until they landed on the ground for the final battle that we finally get to see War Machine in full fighting details. FRICKING AWESOME! That chain gun on his shoulder was just too damn cool as it targets ones from behind him while he shoots in front of him. Metal parts and oil flying around his face creating black-coloured oil bukkake.

I'm hoping to see this at least one more time and hoping to catch some more easter eggs hidden in these frames. I was so freaking thrilled to see Thor's hammer at the end! I wonder if that continues to his movie next year. Hopefully you folks stayed behind to watch this after the credits ^^;

Durarara!! Ending Parody

You can guess from the title and picture that this will be about the ending song from Durarara!! using Figma in the animation. Well you guessed right... Unless you guessed that I'm making a Saber Lily Can-can dance video, that is. Which I'm not.

But first let's get some things out of the way. Durarara!! is a new anime that started airing in January. I've only started watching it in the middle of February because of all the parody that has been made out of the ending animation. The anime is quite good actually. Different individuals with different background stories all live in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo and somehow their lives are all connected in one way or another. The ending song, Trust Me, is done by Yuya Yamashita and a lot of parodies have been made out of this video.

So after seeing so many parodies on YouTube and NicoNicoDouga, I decided to make one of my own. Since I can't draw to save my life I use what I have available; my Figma (and one Revoltech). I needed 15 of them which I do have, but I decided to use one Revoltech because I wanted to use Rei and the Figma isn't out yet. Also, the purpose of making this video is to make a promo video for The Melancholy of Saber Lily comics, lol. So the characters that are in this video is either in the comics or will be there eventually.

Yes, I keep all my Figmas in their original boxes... Which was quite a hassle for this project. Anyway, enough talk... I'll show you the video first.

The Melancholy of Saber Lililily

I started this last Thursday and it took a few hours just to get all the characters off the original background. Taking the pictures took a couple of hours as well. And then I wanted to time the pictures to the song as well. Quite a pain, I tell you. I added the pictures in the beginning instead of the scenery ones in the original video. I also had to change Rei's hands position so it fits properly so that it looks like she's holding Ryomou's legs.

I used this Maria-sama ga Miteru parody art as a basis for my sizing and template for the pictures. I changed the colour a little bit in my version to fit Nanoha and Fate's colours ^^

This is an unused picture for Cute. She's one of the new Figmas that I have to open for this project. She'll be in the comics soon. I have quite the plan for her... Mwahahaha! Oh the MEIKO was supposed to be a size reference, but I didn't really use the reference point, lol.

Nanoha gave me the most trouble! First... I couldn't find her at all! I searched high and low and I decided to give up and created a new roster for the video. It would've worked too, but I think a lot of people made me look for it and I finally found it. Then when I started to pose her, her shoulder started to stiffen up... Seriously, what a pain. I took off her arm to "massage" the shoulder joint.

Another thing I have to add is that even though I thought about making this video on my own, there was already a Durarara video made with Figmas. Ah well... I made it according to my storylines, lol. But anyway, to be fair to MrKammy, here is his version:

Anyway that's it for me... I'm really tired and this project really wiped me out! "Trust Me!"

Light Emitting Kamen Rider Faiz

Also known as 超発光　仮面ライダーファイズ or Chouhakko Kamen Rider Faiz. Kamen Rider Faiz (555) has been one of my favourite Kamen Riders of all time. I remember hearing a lot about Kamen Rider back when I was younger, but I've never really had a chance to watch any of them. However a lot of people back in 2002 started to talk about how much Kamen Rider Ryuki was quite different from the previous incarnations, especially the costume design. I looked into it. I found that it was more serious than I thought since my opinion of Tokusatsu shows are all corny. I find Ryuki was still a bit corny though.

Here's the opening to Kamen Rider 555; Justiphi's.

Then came the next one; Faiz. The costume design attracted my attention right away. It's one of the most unique Kamen Rider costumes. I remember how much they looked like an actual bug back then, but this was nothing like a bug, but much, much cooler! Ryuki was unique as well, but I didn't find it as cool. Not only that, but the story had a very serious tone with lots of sadness and many deaths right from the beginning. I shuddered in excitement when Takumi first transformed into Faiz. The red lines over the suit lights up and the eyes glowing menacingly. And I found it more realistic when the characters physically putting on the belt instead of appearing magically. The cell phone transformation and attacks probably made me want a cell phone all the more.

Anyways... My Faiz fanboyism aside... let's get around to this figure.

A slight dent on the front of the box >_<

So back in 2003, I thought about getting this figure, but I thought it was quite expensive because all I've been buying had a lower price than this. Yet I was craving it. One day when I decided to get it, it was sold out at the store I saw it at... Despair!

For years, I kept looking for it when I remember about it, but I couldn't justiphi's it anymore because the show was getting older and I should move on.

But the coolness of Faiz never waned for me. So my quest to find this light-up Faiz inadvertently began again. Last year I won a runner-up prize from Danny's Figure.FM giveaway for my Odaiba Selphie post. The prize was a membership to Japan to Door with US$20 fund in it. It took me a while to figure out what to use it for. The membership was expiring in less than a month...

So somehow I found this figure on Amazon Japan, but it was over 10,000 yen! Then I remembered about my JTD prize and quickly looked for this figure on Yahoo Japan Auction and bam! Much less than 10k yen. Unfortunately it was also my first time using JTD, so I was confused how to get the exact funding, not to mention the minimum to add funds were $30. It's a great service, JTD, but gotta learn how to use all their features otherwise you'll be adding fund nonsensically. Good thing was, no one competed in bidding with me. Probably because the price is double that of the original price. I was hoping JTD would ship this with cheaper SAL, but I guess they couldn't, so I had to add more funds for the shipping... Sigh.

Anyway... story time over, let's get to it with Faiz doing a push up... Ok, not really, batteries not included which uses 3 AAA batteries, so I had to install it first.

Very heroic looking Faiz. I think this was used, so some of it felt a bit stiff. I think I saw pictures of his head able to turn, but this head was  bit too stiff and I hate to force it to turn and break it or something... So for now I'll keep it as is.

Close up of the Faiz Shot, which is actually a camera in the show. It doubles as Faiz's finishing punch.

The Faiz Pointer (not quite sure what it really is, looks like a lightsaber though ^^;) attaches to his kick and becomes one of the coolest Rider Kick I've ever seen!

The transformation belt and the cell phone also known as the Faiz Driver. Takumi dials 555 and presses enter to transform. Though I personally hate flip phones, Faiz makes it really cool! At one point he can transform this phone into a gun as well.

Oshiri shot! He's so hot, he's got vents on his butt! Ok, not really, that's where the sound comes from and you an also see the switches here. On and Off and the mode switch. Mode A is the Rider Punch, Mode B is the Rider Kick and Mode C lights him up constantly.

Close up of the head. The best looking Kamen Rider helmet ever! Too bad the painting wasn't that great ^^;

From the right side. He stands at a quite big 12"! I hope I can turn that hand around. It looks funny that way...

And finally the low angle panchira shot...

Finally we get to the light up feature. Here's the shot of him lighting up the room (not that bright honestly). Since it's an old and used figure it seems to glitch when I turn it on sometimes. It works after you give it a Rider Tap.

Close up photo, a bit blurry though. Unfortunately I can't take pictures of the sound or the light moving... so I made a video of it.

The light doesn't illuminate all the red lines and only a few lights per line, but I still think it's damn cool! I think I'll have a good spot for this where I'll see it when I wake up every morning, but need to clean it up first. Will take a photo of that later.