Winter Anime Lineup 2011 - 2012

These is the lineup of the anime to be shown from December 2011 to February 2012:

Yeahhh... Not much to see there, so you better click on this to view the original size :) 

I can't wait to watch the remastered Rurouni Kenshin of course. Berserk too. As well as Brave10. Yay more samurai-themed anime!

Winter 2011 and 2012 Anime Lineup

Click here so you can actually see what's on the list.

It goes without saying that Rurouni Kenshin and Berserk are definitely the ones that I'm most looking forward to.

And there's Gyo too. I liked Gyo. Just hoping that they include the other stories found in the manga -- like the DRRRR DRRRR DRRRRRR one.

That's it. Just 3 titles I'm sure to watch. I find anime nowadays a drag to watch: all cutesy and sexy and full of fan service. I'm more content at re-watching the series that made me spend hours in front of the TV. Too bad they're quite hard to find these days XD

Oh Nostalgia! Series: Flame of Recca

To welcome September, I decided to re-watch Flame of Recca just for the heck of it. I really loved the series and the flame dragons and all those Hokage weapons and it's just too bad that the series didn't really finish the way the manga did.

It's okay though. Mikagami Tokia looks good in both anyway lah~ /random

Oh Nostalgia! Series: Fushigi Yuugi

I'm very sure a lot of people remember this, even when they're embarrassed to say so XD

Well I'm not! Fushigi Yuugi's my all-time favorite anime; it's what really started the whole I'm-an-anime-fan phase for me.

I'm still crushing on Hotohori until now, btw ~<3

Old anime titles and hard drives.

I finally got around to sorting through the old anime cds that I have -- in VCD format. Prehistoric, I know, but some of them are quite hard to find in the internet these days *coughTORRENTcough*, so I've undertaken the tedious task of copying them into my hard drive.

Progress: In about an hour, I've already copied roughly 10 episodes, with file sizes at an average of 300mb each.

Coming from VCDs, the quality isn't comparable to the newer anime that can be downloaded (720p, yeah?), but I'm not gonna nitpick. Just the fact that I have them is enough to make me happy. Unfortunately, some of the cds that would make a series complete got lost, so I still have the task of finding the missing episodes as well.

I have a bunch of series and movies, and I'm estimating that I'll need another hard drive soon. All my anime series and movies are in my 1TB hard drive (named Anakin) and all the Western movies and series are in my 2TB hard drive (named Zizes -- yep, Glee fan here!). I might just get myself another hard drive for my birthday!

Ayashi no Ceres, anyone? :)

Berserk Trailer

So I can't believe I only got to watch this now ;_; Loser, I know, right?

Berserk in 3 movies, first one coming out January 2012. The animation looks good so far; I'm hoping it'd be better than the anime (which I didn't get to finish for a reason or another).

I. Cannot. Wait!

GATTSU! (Griffith is hot too!)

Hyakka Ryoran (Samurai Girls) Pre-Airing Episode

So... is this like episode 0 or something?

Anyway, I just finished watching the pre-airing episode of Hyakka Ryoran, or Samurai Girls, which is due to officially start airing on October.

The story seems promising enough to watch out for it as much as I'm updated with Sengoku Basara. Nothing corny (yet!) or cliche, I guess this take on Japanese alternate history - as fictitious as it may be - is appealing to me.

Then there's the animation. I found it superb. I like how they made it seem like I'm watching one of those ukiyo-e come to life. I just found it a bit off, using ink blots to censor bewbs and privates, as there would be a blot or two that looks lost somewhere there.

Also, the thick outlines that they used on the characters especially are good. The animation kinda reminded me of Type/Moon anime for some reason, only better.

I'm hoping that the quality of animation that they used in this pre-airing episode does not degrade when the official anime starts airing.

Seriously, I can officially start hating Hattori Hanzo now. I know I spent like Php5,700 (roughly Y11,400) on her figure - regular release - but that's because I want to complete the whole Hyakka Ryoran line. I started disliking her coz she wears glasses, but her character in the movie in general just makes me hate her lol.

Fall 2010 Anime Lineup

 Click on the picture to view full-sized image.

Here we have the Fall 2010 anime lineup.

Only thing I'm actually looking forward to is the 2nd season of Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan. I've only seen up to episode 8 of the first season, so I hope I get to finish that by the time the second installment starts showing.

Also, funny how Iron Man anime picture has a guy that looks like Robert Downey Jr. :D

Entertainment Earth Blowout Sale

Entertainment Earth is having a blowout sale with discounts up to 90% and as I've been browsing through the catalog, I saw quite a number of figures that I want.. which makes my heart bleed as I kinda spent all my money on hauls last week... (Which I haven't had the time to take pictures of yet.)

Some of the more interesting items:

Anime

Western

There are a lot more.. like more than 700 items to check out.

But man.. VAMPIRE HUNTER D FIGURES!! Then again, Kotobukiya's going to release one, so I'd better just wait for that, huh? And OMG that General Grievous plush is just too cute X3

Seriously though, that Stormshadow sword replica just takes the cake~ I really, really want it T^T *sits in the corner and sulks*

Anyway, check out the rest of the items on sale at the Entertainment Earth website while I continue to sulk about my lack of financial resources.

May - June Toy Hauls

This are my hauls from May 27 to June 19, so that covers my recent Singapore trip up til the Toy Convention.

First up is the Singapore haul!

As you can see, most of them are Han Solo figures. I was lucky to get my hands on the Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper Disguise set. I also got the Date Masamune Gundam and Max Factory Another Blood. For the boyfriend, I got the Obi-Wan Kenobi Bust-Ups (by Gentle Giant), Lego Chewbacca keychain and the Valkyrie kit. The Obi-Wan bust came with the Han Solo bust as a bundle.

I was also able to get a porcelain bust of Han Solo. I couldn't get the Han in Carbonite one coz it came with the whole set (Leia, Luke and Vader) as the secret figure. Buuuuut, the ComiCon Exclusive Han in Stormtrooper Disguise Bobble Head was a steal~ So now I have both :D

And as you can see... I now own a Darth Vader lightsaber. I'm too poor to get the Master Replica one...so I have to settle with this for now (until I can save up for it).

Random Pre-ToyCon hauls!

So now we've got a number of Mighty Muggs there. They were being sold at a good price, considering how some of those (Qui-Gon and Imperial Guard) are quite hard to find, unless you're willing to shell out more money. I finally have my first Jedi lol.

There's also the two newest Kaiyodo Revoltech Sengoku Basara, Motochika Chosokabe and Motonari Mori. I'm planning on getting all the Sengoku Basara Revoltechs just coz they're samurai. I can't think of any other reason because this line is proving quite...useless...to me. I have zero skills in posing, and every time I try to pose them in a way that they'd stand up properly, I just end up popping out a part or two. Sux, really.

And yes, at the last picture, that's a bunch of Trolls and Captain Planet's Linka. I've always liked Trolls and I had a bunch of them before my mom decided to give them away to charity. I was able to keep my favorite Troll though: Rockstar Troll. It had multi-colored hair and a star on its cheek. Lovely~ And Linka? Haha Captain Planet was a childhood hero. I would've loved it if the store had all 5 of them and Captain Planet. But alas, they only had Linka. Oh the toy also includes Linka's ring that I could wear hehehe XD

And now, the ToyCon hauls!

I scoured all the booths just to get every Han Solo they were selling that I didn't have yet. So I ended up with a bunch of Kenner and Hasbro action figures, a McDonalds Happy Meal one and a Sideshow Collectible Tatooine Han Solo 1/6 doll.

I also got 3 new Mighty Muggs, the BESM Fushigi Yuugi Fan Guide vol.3 and vol. 4 of Ayashi no Ceres. I was also lucky to get a Yu Shu Lien action figure from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Too bad Li Mu Bai was already sold when we found her T_T

As far as anime figures go, I know I said I quit buying them, but of course, there are always exceptions to every rule. In this case, aside from the Samurai Showdown gasha set that I got, I also bought Macross Frontier trading figures (Alto for me, Ranka and Klan Klang for the boyfriend), a 1/60 Miria Queadlunn (for the boyfriend - not in the pictures), some Yu Yu Hakusho Big Heads, Crows Blacklist figures and two samurai trading figures. Oh, I also got Hakkai and Gojyo busts!

So, that's where I blew all my money off during the past month :) Dunno when I'll be able to buy again, after that haul killed my wallet.

9th Philippine Toy Convention

The 9th Philippine Toy Convention was held last June 19-20, 2010 at Megamall Megatrade Halls 2 and 3.

I was only able to go during the first day and what can I say, the place was really packed with people of all sorts: collectors, enthusiasts, cosplayers, paparazzi and those of the curious kind.

I went with the boyfriend, my cousin and uncle and I was on the edge most of the time. I pretty much was annoyed by the countless onlookers who crowded the toy stalls because 1) they prevented me from getting a good look at the toys on sale and 2) they WEREN'T BUYING ANYTHING. I noticed that a lot of them just kept pointing at the toys, named them one by one (probably showing off to their friends how much they "knew" about the cartoon/show/character) then moved on to the next booth to do the same. THEY NEVER BUY ANYTHING AT ALL.

Anyway, there were the usual booths that sell mostly Western figures and some Anime figures as well. It is interesting to note that there are still some booths that sell bootleg figures =_= As disgraceful as it sounds, I don't think they'll be gone anytime soon since a lot of people still buy stuff from them. Probably because 1) they can't tell the difference between authentic and fake, 2) the price of bootleg figures is enticing and 3) they can't afford the authentic ones.

Some of the booths were of the usual stores that we visit whenever we go to Greenhills, while some were rented by collectors themselves who find that there's a bigger opportunity to sell their unwanted toys in a convention such as this - as proven by one seller I talked to who was selling his some of his toys because he's experiencing the space dilemma. You can really get those HTF figures (in mint condition too!) if you're patient enough to go through all the stuff that they're selling. (I even found my Barbie holy grail - the Chinese Empress one - but unfortunately, the price tag was way out of my allotted budget for that doll.)

There also was the Exhibit Area that housed collections from different toy groups. OtaKai was lucky enough to get invited to display our anime figures there. We were the only group that focused on anime figures, so a lot of the anime fans who were present took loads of pictures of our display. (My Haruhi Gekisou was part of the display!) Other displays consisted of girls' dolls very intricately dressed in all sorts of costumes, 1/6 army dolls, Marvel figures, DC figures, custom figures, Gundam, Transformers, Lego, 1:1 statues and dioramas. The display area is always a sight to behold!

We only got to take a good look at the whole event later that night - around 8-ish. At that time, the crowd was noticeably thinning and dispersing, hence, we had the freedom to look at the goods displayed and sold without the fear of being pushed or stepped on. I already told myself when we first left the convention at around 5:30PM that I won't be buying anything more but as true in any convention that I've been to (especially ToyCons) that there's always something new to find at each visit. So yes, I bought a bit more toys, an artbook and a manga during our 2nd visit.

Well, enough of my ranting. Here are some pictures of ToyCon Day 1, credits for the pictures go to the boyfriend.

WARNING: Don't expect cosplay pictures.