Blog 220 > Live Action, Asians, Aki & Me

Aww, thanks, Aki-chan! Happy Belated Birthday to you too! Sadly, Aki-chan’s message is genuinely fake, hehe. But yup, 5 days after Aki-chan’s March 14th birthday, on March 19th, I climbed another year higher, wiser and more tuned to the ways of live-action J-drama, K-drama, Asian gravure idols, and Japanese onigiri. Not bad, huh? On that note, my Tender Toyboxers, let’s step away from “fake” 2D anime and animation this week, and instead, sit back, relax with a bowl of sticky rice, and enjoy a refreshing bottle of “real” 3D entertainment. Ready? Then let’s do it. Let’s start the show…

Continue reading

Blog 184 > Rewind in Anime, Myself & I

Ah, another year, another list of anime. The endless cycle, lol. But for this post, I take a farther look back to the older anime titles of the 80s and 90s. Including an old issue of an anime magazine I’ve kept since that time. A few memories. And still a few mysterious titles. But fascinating nonetheless. Plus my latest figure video, lol. Now let’s begin…

Continue reading

Blog 175 > Daughter of Punk Trooper

Yup, Angsty Momo. If you’ve visited Mimi’s blog last week, you’ll recognize her pink-haired teen mascot, lol. In a nutshell, her name is Momo. An angsty 17-year-old only-child with some curious tastes. And an interstellar genius in the year 2409 EYE (Earth Year Equivalent), lol. Here are the 750×750 square and 1680×1050 wallpaper versions. ^_^

Continue reading

Blog 139 > Your Rarest Figure

Which is your rarest figure? We’ve seen the newest favorites, and the biggest wastes, but the rarest?

For me, I’d have to say my 1/8-scale-resin figure “Arima & Yukino” (from the classic-anime love-story “Kare Kano” or “His & Her Circumstances”), released by the now-defunct Tsukuda Hobby back in the late ’90s. If I hadn’t seen the anime, I would never have found it. But in January 2007, through sheer luck in the Amazon Marketplace, I stumbled upon it (original box included), and after several months of waiting for the perfect time, I finally used 3 Amazon gift certificates to afford it! Luckily, nobody else was looking for it, lol.

Here’s the March 2007 photoshoot.

P.S. Just for my own reference: Blog 044 and Blog 093.

Blog 093 > Fateful Circumstances Revisited

I don’t know if this has ever been done before — creating a video by setting a figure photoshoot to music — but in any case, here’s my first one. Ever since my original Blog 044 > Fateful Circumstances anime-figure photoshoot (47 shots taken in March 2007) featuring Yukino & Arima (from Kare Kano) and Saber (from Fate/Stay Night), I’ve had this intriguing idea in my head, of somehow composing a slideshow and setting it to music. After a preliminary 3-photo test, plus a few hours composing this one, I think the video actually turned out pretty well for an experiment! Enjoy the show!

Original Photoshoot >>
Original Full-Size Video > 856×480 WMV >>

Blog 090 > Blondes or Brunettes?

+++++ School Rumble – S1 (1-26) – Started 01/30. Finished 6/29. D-WOW! LOL, hilarious! Plus rivalry, regret, romance and friendship. Fantastic!

Double-Wow! Even if everyone already knows this, I must say, even compared to other high-school comedies Kare Kano (5 of 5 stars), Azumanga Daioh (4 of 5 stars) and the more-supernatural Midori Days (4 of 5 stars) and Shuffle! (5 of 5 stars), this 26-episode series School Rumble (2004) easily ranks as one of the funniest and consistently-funny anime out there. While Harima may be the toughest delinquent at school, he turns to mush whenever he gazes upon his adorably-clueless classmate Tenma. Meanwhile, Tenma is equally obsessed with getting the attention of the ultra-distant Karasuma. LOL, the most-hilarious moments occur when this triangular dynamic is dazed and confused by other female classmates! Especially with the aristocratic blonde Eri, lol. Yet the comedy is also broadly woven with Hanai’s heart-breaking past, Akira’s mind-boggling background, as well as Yakumo’s shooting-star wonderment and Harima’s super-rival battles! Spine-tingling, side-splitting and eye-opening! Can’t wait to get to the Second Term, lol… 5 of 5 stars!

+++ You’re Under Arrest – The Movie (1999) – Started and finished 06/26. Not bad! Starts slow but picks up and concludes with an action-packed bang!

Unfortunately, the anime film You’re Under Arrest – The Movie (1999) wasn’t quite as funny, lol. Resuming their crime-fighting antics of the series You’re Under Arrest – Season 1 (1994-1997; 5 of 5 stars), policewomen Natsumi and Miyuki and the rest of Bokuto Station return to solve an unexpected terrorist puzzle. While the comedy and hilarity from the series is notably lacking, the overwhelming over-the-top action finally offers some partial-redemption for the rather slow-and-plodding start. Specifically, the climactic helicopter scene is reminiscent of a big-budget live-action Hollywood film!… 3 of 5 stars.

My Anime Viewing List >>

Blog 070 > Past & Future Circumstances!

Hey folks! If you don’t already know, I follow the otaku blog DannyChoo.com. Not blindly, lol, and not only for otaku news, but also for inspiration. And inspiration smacked me yesterday with Danny’s post on fan art of his mascot Mirai Suenaga. I’ve had several lingering ideas over the last months — okay, maybe just one idea, lol — but I was always too lazy to execute. Well, this time, I was fired up. The idea: Take the amazing and classic His & Her Circumstances (Kare Kano) image of Yukino and Arima dancing in the high-school hallway (seen here), and fuse it with Mirai. But how? Who would be her partner?

Continue reading

Blog 044 > Fateful Circumstances!

Ah, springtime! Quite fitting for another sunny light-hearted photoshoot! This time, from another top-favorite romantic-comedy series, and one of the most-beloved love stories in anime history, Kare Kano (or His & Her Circumstances; here’s my review), we introduce the unforgettable boy-and-girl 1/8-scale “Arima & Yukino” (in resin), released by the now-defunct Tsukuda Hobby back in the late ’90s.

In January 2007, by sheer luck in the Amazon Marketplace, I stumbled upon this rare figure! After several months of waiting for the right time, I finally used three Amazon gift certificates to reduce the price enough to get it! Clearly, the rarest piece of my collection!

Also, we welcome back, from Fate Stay Night and Fate Hollow Ataraxia, the blonde-haired 1/8-scale “Saber in Brown Dress” (in PVC), released by Alter. She’s the first-ever figure to arrive at my doorstep last year in May 2006! In fact, after checking all of my favorite figure sites plus eBay, she’s pretty rare herself, LOL!

For this Canon photoshoot, I saved 50 shots, then narrowed it down to 47 shots, 4 of which I used Photoshop to increase the lighting by 10 and contrast by 10. I tried to create some interaction between the blonde Saber and the black-haired Arima, along the lines of a random attraction. Did it work? Hehehe ^_^

Otakurl it!

Click for all 47 >>

Blog 006 > Slice Of Their Life

Yukino and Arima from Kare Kano
Kare Kano | Image from Google Search

ah, just finished another slice-of-life high-school dramedy… the profoundly insightful and timeless 1998-1999 series “kare kano” a.k.a. “his and her circumstances“… and widely regarded as one of the most-beloved love stories in anime history… revolving around a teenage girl named Yukino and teenage boy named Arima who both wear “model student” masks to hide their darker inner selves… but as a result of an accidental encounter, they realize in hesitation and shock that they can finally let go of their facades… while the second half of the series kind of lost momentum, the emotional depth and power of the first half more than makes up for it… as well as the fitting use of piano and stringed music… 5 of 5 stars!