Golden Week- Shops Are Closed and a bit of Life Update

If you rely on Japanese websites like I do for things, you'll notice that pretty much all of them have come to a standstill for the first week of May. This has to deal with their holiday called Golden Week. But why is it that most things come to a standstill when it comes to sites like Amiami and such? It mainly has to deal with every one taking their vacation time and it's a popular time for travel (this includes overseas travel as well). So even though the celebration ends May 5th in Japan, most companies will observe the holiday time for just a bit longer.

So even though I know Golden Week is happening I keep going to sites like Amiami and then being sad because I know there's no updates. I've been having a bit of health problems and I still feel a bit sick from time to time, along with school and there's a ton of writing in both along with basically at least 4 chapters of reading. But I will have more updates; I have lots of pictures and I still have to edit all the pictures from the GSCxMax Factory panel from Sakura-con even though it's late. Also I've been watching One Piece, from the very beginning.

More updates will be soon, also I have a convention even though it's small this week about ball joint dolls, so I will probably talk about that too.

Sakuracon 2015- Good Smile Company Booth

Sakura-con 2015 was an amazing year; there was lots of fun stuff to do.

On the first day of the con we actually got to our hotel at a little bit past 9am and we were able to check in already also a huge thanks to Henry and the staff at the Roosevelt as always for giving great service; which goes above and beyond expectations.

Anyway the dealers hall opened at 10am and I made sure that with my group of friends that we went to the GSC booth before anything else. And we were one of probably the first 30 people in line. And all of us were able to get everything that we wanted. But what was even great was the area that they were in had lots of toys and displays that they brought with them for even more fun.

Snow Miku was a popular purchase for most people though I was in there to get the nendoroid Sayaka and Kyoko. Though when I went to make my purchase I noticed they had the Shimakaze nendoroid and purchased that as well. From what I had overheard by the time I picked up my nendoroids they were almost out of the Kyoko/Sayaka pack. Which would make sense, because c'mon they're together and cute.

Besides that there were toys and figures all over. And some of them made me greatly regret that I don't like Figma.

I remember watching Big O on TV, and recall fondly the dub of the series and my overall love of the series. I remember when I got heavy into collecting toys and figures, the orders for Roger Smith were just closed. I did though enjoy looking at them, and I am pretty sure I stared at them for a good couple of minutes.

All the Kill la Kill that they had. Also the Ryuko is actually pretty badass looking in real life. Though I'm not too keen on the prototypes legs being like that with only one grounded while the other is just hanging there. But still looks cool none the less.

On the side, of their booth is were the face drawing challenge was, and for only $2 you can make your own nendoroid faceplate and keep it.

It wasn't available at the beginning of the day for obvious reasons, but I didn't have time to do it due to scheduling problems. But luckily enough Mamitan let us buy one so that I could paint it at home. And yes, I will hopefully be doing that soon, if not I have a nopperabo face just for fun. But in all seriousness I'll probably have the face painted within a couple of months because I already have paint, I just lack brushes for small scale and finite detail. Though at the area where the expression drawing was, they were using gundam markers.

Overall the GSC booth was amazing and a blast like last year. I hope they come back to Sakura-con again, not only because they bring some of the best toys and figures with them. But because the events that they had were amazing.

More Sakura-con Fun from Good Smile Company

Today I was bombarded with all sorts of information from Good Smile Company about what they were bringing for Sakura-con. We only have the images of the limited items that they're bringing for sure, but that's enough to know I will have to be there early, as soon as the dealers hall opens.

They're bringing the Snow Miku again. Even though I have already the nendoroid on preorder, if they're avaliable I will so be getting another one, because I really think she's a cutie. Also for sure want those capsule toys and the Kyoko and Sayaka from Madoka Magica. I mean I already have three different Madoka nendoroids, but I really like that Kyoko, because it is what we see her wearing for most of the series. Also those cute capsule toys, I just want to line up all the cuties on top of my monitor or near my bed because cuties being cute.

Also we're getting the whole faceplate drawing thing, and that's going to be fun. I can't remember where I saw this at, but I remember seeing a video from Japan with this; it may have been something about Wonfes but I am not sure. Anyway super stoked for this little event, as it should be a lot of fun. I mean who doesn't love drawing on blank faces.

I just checked the Sakura-con website and found that there's a link to a video that GSC has put out for it, so here it is.   

 I am really excited for all the events from GSC and will be looking forward to the live sculpting event which is followed by a Q&A about the Japanese collectibles industry.

Really stoked and barely over a week left before the fun.

Sakuracon 2015 Plans

It's almost Easter, with that said more importantly for me, it's almost Sakura-con time. I've attended a few anime cons both big (like Anime Expo) and smaller ones as well, but I've always liked Sakura-con the best. I feel as if it's always getting better each year, and varies out what it does and focuses on each year.

This year I'm excited for quite a few guests, events and the concert.

First off the concert is both going to have Kanako Ito and GARNiDELiA. If you have no idea who either of these people are Kanako Ito does a lot of vocal music for Nitro+ games including Steins;Gate while GARNiDELiA has done music for various animes including Kill la Kill.

I'm very excited because I've never seen either live but I've watched a live of Kanako Ito doing Skyclad Observer and I really enjoy how her voice sounds just as lovely as it does in recordings. Also Kill la Kill's second opening is vastly superior, in my opinion.

There will also be both a BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd tournament as well. Though I won't participate, I will be watching the tournament going on if I have nothing to do or if there aren't any events that I will be going to.

I'm also really excited for the Good Smile Company guys as well as h.NAOTO coming to the US. My friend told me the Good Smile guys are going to do a live sculpting event, and if that's true... It's going to be amazing. I went last year to the Magi/Sword Art Online live drawing and it was super fun.

I've got a little bit of money saved for the con so if I see something I like I'll make sure to get it. For sure I will be going to the Good Smile Company booth first to see what they're all selling, which is my main thing as I buy multiples of a lot of toys (for modding), but usually isn't much I buy because you know, online shopping.

I will make sure to post everyday of the con hopefully or at least have a huge megapost at the end of the con.

I have 22 more days before 3 days of con fun. I cannot wait!

Hatsune Miku V3 1/4 Figure Impressions

I was browsing the Good Smile Company website when I saw another Miku figure out. I thought it looked really pretty and have not ordered any sort of default looking Miku figure before, so I thought this one looked really nice from the thumbnail. I was more surprised when I clicked the link.

Miku is HUGE, 1/4 the size of a human or also standing at 43cm or almost 17 inches tall. The fact that Good Smile put a CD next to her so that you can see the difference in size is a really good thing if you're not sure what the measurements actually meant. But having such a bigger figure can do much more for the actual design more than anything else. The details are very well sculpted so far the actual details that we can see so far, they're very meticulous. I really love how much detail they've put into the hair, as Miku's hair usually looks rather static sometimes, now it looks free flowing and rather whimsical.

Costing about 27,000 yen after tax and before shipping it's probably not something that much people would purchase unless they're a huge fan of Miku's. For me I purchased it because I do enjoy bigger figures and Miku but also the details in the hair is just something that amazes me. I am all about simple things with attention to detail as much as I like cute things. 

With a base price of 25,741 yen from Good Smile directly, with tax being about 27,000 it doesn't mainly differ between purchasing it from them directly or going to Amiami.

I ended up going with Amiami for a few reasons. The sale price of the item is 21,360 yen though with shipping it will most likely end up being about the same as ordering it from Good Smile. But mainly the reason for me going with Amiami has to deal with points. Receiving points from prior purchases, I can use it to make Miku cheaper and also the points I get from purchasing Miku as well. It may not seem like a good reason for most people, but I do shop at Amiami almost every month for my otaku needs.

Hatsune Miku V3 1/4 Figure is sculpted by FREEing and distributed by Good Smile Company, slated for a release of September 2015 for the base price of 25,741 yen.

Project Mirai Release Date & Vocaloid Talk

In case you aren't one of the many people who enjoy Vocaloid, or if you're like me and can't wait for the next Vocaloid based game to come out to the US. Well Sega has the answer depending on what country you are in. But for sure... Project Mirai is being released late May this year.

Project Mirai's Cover from Japan

From the article from Niche Gamer North America is getting it on May 26th while Europe is going to be having it on the 29th. While there is no date for preorders yet, this is good news and a rather promising outlook with Miku and the Vocaloids.

The reason why this is promising is because Sega of Japan and Crypton are realizing that Vocaloid is a world-wide phenomenon. While some people may not like it, the ones that do, will buy the merchandise and go out to see her, as shown with the Mikunopolis and the Miku Expo 2014. Otaku culture has spread out from Japan, and in the US we're known to be fans of something regardless if it's the thing that is in or not.

Hopefully in the future this will lead to even more US Vocaloid concerts or just even more events or screenings for anime movies and such.

Summer Wonfes 2014-Good Smile Company Items

It's that time of the year again, Wonfes time. For us who aren't in Japan mainly we get to see lots of posts of figures and toys that will be coming out soon. Or items that are prototyped and will never come out ever...

I took a peek at Good Smile Company and their items of things that are coming out and there was only two that I am really interested in.

Nendoroid More Face Plates

These aren't Wonfes exclusive, but Good Smile will be selling them per case which means that the likelyhood of them all being in the same case is a pretty sure bet. I don't like four of the faces which means I do like five, and it's going to be a good for swapping and taking fun pictures. Though I should get into the habit of posing and taking pics of my nendoroids since I have quite a few.

This one is a limited Wonfes item though, and it's two of them together. Casual Sayaka and Kyouko. Obviously the 6,000 yen price tag reflex that you're getting more than the standard nendoroid, but if you have bought the other girls in their school uniforms, well this is the time to complete it.

Both items will be offered at Good Smile Company's offical site on their webpage starting July 27 the face plates expected release date is September while Sayaka and Kyouko are slated for a November release.

Monthly Purchase June-Part One

I know I will have quite a few purchases from June so they're going in parts, there should be three parts if I end up not combining them, but I tend to though. As usual the purchase is from Amiami and contains an assortment.

Yotsuba&! Figure, Little Busters Nendoroid, Steins;Gate CD single and traveling mug, Kill la Kill BD and shirt, Hozuki no Reitetsu BD

Mostly everything that I got from this package, there is a book that isn't pictured but I will go into that later.

Yotsuba Figure and Kamikita Komari Nendoroid

While I was really excited for the Yotsuba figure I was rather sad seeing how small she stands in comparison to other scale figures. But I guess at the same time I am going to be standing her between two different Danboards so it shouldn't be that much of a problem in comparison, after all Yotsuba is just a child after all, so I guess she should be small in comparison to other figures.

As for the Little Busters nendoroid, I haven't watched Little Busters yet, nor have I played the VN as well. But it is on my backlog things to do. I must say though, I actually just bought her because she looked so adorable and her expressions are completely moe I could just die.

Stiens;Gate "Hacking to the Gate" CD single, Kill la Kill BD vol. 5 and Hozuki no Reitetsu BD vol.3

I've talked about my Steins;Gate mug in detail, so I'm not going to be talking about it anymore... But if you want to know why I bought it, here is the main reason.

Along with that I also bought the Hacking to the Gate CD single from the anime, I actually like the OP theme a lot and wanted it so I ended up buying a copy, while I should have bought the "Best Vocals" album I also like the idea of starting up again a CD collection but since the US is getting rid of CDs (or at least it seems that way) it looks like my entire collection is going to be Japanese CDs and CD singles; which isn't a bad thing to me.

Kill la Kill volume 5 BD is really cool as it features Gamagoori and Sanageyama not only on the cover but each are on a respected disk, Sanageyama is on the Original CD Soundtrack Vol. 2 while Gamagoori, accompanied on his head by Mako and Guts, is the actual BD disk itself. I personally haven't listened to the CD soundtrack yet but will later this week.

The other BD is Hozuki no Reitetsu. I don't know how many of you watched the series as it was airing or are reading the manga, but Japanese supernatural stories are kind of something I have liked since I was smaller (loved Gegege no Kitaro). So watching a glorified assistant to King Enma doing his daily routine of helping out in the various hells was just a blast. Supposedly it was picked up by Sentai Filmworks but honestly it's a rather short series with only 13 episodes, so it's pretty much the standard two episodes per BD. But the interesting thing about the Hozuki BDs is that you were able to chose between A and B. A having the drama CD accompanying it while B has something they call "Jigoku Goods" featuring Hozuki's plant/goldfish hybrid plant. Volume three features a small pouch that you can use for pencils and cosmetics.

Kill la Kill "Kamui Banshou" book

This supplemental book for Kill la Kill is really interesting, not only does it contain the standard things you'd find in a supplemental book like character synopsys and episode details but also talks a deal about their process in general like the 3D in episode 3 among other things. Even if you can't read Japanese this is a good book as a point of reference for images for drawing or just in general to see how Studio Trigger does their thought process.

One thing is for sure though I do want Sushio to come out with a Kill la Kill artbook though.

Snow Miku 2015 Finalists and Winner

If you weren't able to check out the stream via Nico Nico Douga, there was a livestreaming of Snow Miku 2015 and her rabbit companion Yukine. The theme for the contest was "Plant life in Hokkaido".

Here is a compilation of the finalists:

Snow Miku 2015 finalists

The Mikus in question are super cute but honestly my personal favorite was 1, mainly because of the combination of the adorable European-styled dress and braids. While all the designs were cute there could only be one winner and that is...

Snow Miku 2015 winner-Illustration by Taran

It seemed that a lot of the contestants drew from the Lilly of the Valley plant for inspiration, heck there's even two of them in the finalists. I do have to admit she's quite a cutie, and I love the flowers in her hair and the more gentle colors in style that she picked for her illustration.

Now all we have to see is how Good Smile Company will take this design and make a nendoriod out of it. And the other limited edition goods that will come from it.

The Snow Miku contest is one of the things I look forward to since now people can generate their own content and vote on which one they like. Even if you don't like Miku, the yearly Snow Miku series is something to collect.