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.

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.

Dollfie Dream-Snow Miku Pre-order

This year starting on February 14 through April 12, Volks USA and Volks Japan is having preorders for the Snow Miku limited edition Dollfie Dream.

If you're not into ball joint dolls, Volks is a hobby company that has a huge hand in the doll department, and up until recently were known for their doll line called Super Dollfie. They then came out with a more stylized doll with more idealistic proportions of anime girls that became hugely popular especially among men, called Dollfie Dream.

Most of the time, the best Dollfie Dreams come in the form of limited editions that usually can only be bought at a Dolpa (Doll Party hosted by Volks) or by getting them second hand at an exuberant price. But luckily for us Volks decided to start the Limited Dollfie Dream Pre-order Project which means that if you order during the pre-order period you're guaranteed the doll when it is released.

When you pre-order through Volks USA you have a choice between making a deposit of $50 or paying for everything at once. Though keep in mind if you do pay for everything at once your doll still won't get to you till shipping time. The production period is from May 2015-Spring 2016 with shipping at the end of June 2016 for Japan and September for the US for the first batch of orders. With the regular limited Miku's the shipping was divided in batches because of the vast amount of people who decided to pre-order.

The price for the Miku fullset is 64,000 yen + any fees and if you preorder from the US site it is $650 but no fees though we don't know if there is shipping charges, and if you live in California you'll have to pay the sales tax as well.

I did pre-order one Snow Miku through the Volks US site mainly since the $50 deposit was just easy to reserve my place since I did it once pre-orders opened up. But also because once she's here, shipping from California to my house is easy compared to the wait for EMS and the prices behind that because of the dimensions of the box.

September 2016 cannot come fast enough.

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.

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.