post 426 ~ thanksgiving weekend (test post)

Tsubasa & Hikaru from Figure 17
Figure 17 ~ Tsubasa & Hikaru | Image from Google Search

on late-thursday, very-early-friday, finished the rarely-known yet unexpectedly powerful and heartfelt slice-of-life drama “figure 17” (5 stars), in which a shy 10-year-old girl moves from the city to the country with her widowed dad, grows accustomed to her new life and new school, and one night, something falls from the sky which thrusts her into a secret high-tech life of fighting and killing deadly creatures… all while living the country life of a 10-year-old schoolgirl, with both uplifting daydreams and tearful tragedies, as best as she can with her newly-created “twin sister”… in fact, this series affected me so much that my depression returned temporarily since that day… my chat with anna helped me to smile… on saturday, also finished the hilarious high-school-meets-yakuza comedy “gokusen” (4 stars)… in addition to these, i’ve been actively watching “air gear” (13 of 25 so far; 4 stars), “eureka seven” (36 of 50 so far; 5 stars), and “kare kano (his and her circumstances)” (20 of 26 so far; 5 stars)… TONS of emotions in these… or rather, perhaps my situation has made me more sensitive to feeling these emotions…

oh yeah, on friday, received my “lara croft in wet suit” figure (from my post 424)… NICE! ;)))

post 424 ~ tomb raider phase! again?

Lara Croft in Wetsuit
Lara Croft in Wetsuit (TR2) | Image from ActionFigures.About.com

post 424 ~ yup, before i knew it, i’m in my “tomb raider” phase again!

i remember finishing the classic TR1 and TR2 games (for PC) in the mid-to-late 90s, and even worked halfway into TR3 as late as 2000-2001… (before “The Matrix” saga consumed me)… last month, i added “TR: Legend” (XP) to my wish list, and this week, for my x-mas wish list, it re-ignited my interest once again… today, i even purchased a 1/6-scale 9-inch “Lara Croft in Wetsuit (TR2)” figure on ebay!

BUT yesterday, my ex told me she planned on getting (or telling someone to get) “TR: Legend” for x-mas, for her recently-purchased XBOX 360!… whoa, at first, i was jealous (well, maybe i still am, lol)… but then, hey– i could play it for free, and maybe the controls won’t be as familiar as a computer keyboard… who knows?… in any case, today i decided to flash back and install my old pre-XP TR3 once more, but some of the audio and video sequences skip and repeat like a broken record, gah!… fortunately, the XP-compatible TR2, TR3, and TR4 versions are less than $9 each (including shipping) on ebay, hehehe ;)))

p.s. other than the “jedi knight” and “enter the matrix” games, “tomb raider” is the only other title i’ve felt strongly enough to actually FINISH!… ah, the good old days ;)

post 421 ~ newest article ;)

post 421 ~ ah, my newest article for LVO.org… enjoy! ;)))

Eclair and Lumiere from Kiddy Grade
Photo 1 by xJAYMANx | Click for more

Making the Grade!

To be or not to be elegant? That’s the difference between Eclair and Lumiere from the sci-fi-mystery action series Kiddy Grade. But together as a team, this dynamic duo packs a powerful cybernetically-enhanced punch!

Released in January 2006 as a combination package, both 1/7-scale PVC figures were intricately sculpted by the world-famous Monsieur Bome and just-as-finely manufactured by Kaiyodo. At a height of 8 1/2 inches, the more-voluptuous gun-toting Eclair poses playfully in her skimpy-yet-stylish blood-red dress. Meanwhile, at just over 7 inches, the more-childlike more-refined Lumiere stands gracefully with her wineglass in hand. Both renditions are incredibly detailed from their colorful bows to their unique hair curls to their hand-held accessories.

With matching G.O.T.T. (Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs) bases, these two are nearly flawless when stacked against other figures at the same scale. Even the price is nothing to whine about — an extremely affordable $30-35 USD for the pair — at such a high level of quality. So do Eclair and Lumiere make the grade? Without question, they pass with beverage-bubbling lipstick-flying colors!

To peek at more photos, click here.