Sayonara, 2009! Konnichiwa, my Tirelessly Tumbling Toyboxers! Got onigiri? Are you ready? Ready to endure a tumbling tidal wave of tear-jerking titles, blood-splattering titles, angst-ridden titles, and titles not worth mentioning? Ready to slash and slay another dragon-sized mega-cast of 99 wallpapers? Ready for some onigiri? Hehe, then what are you waiting for? Let’s start the show…

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Jumong (Korean Drama, 2006) | Enlarge 1024px

Konnichiwa minna-san! Greetings, my Tingling, Trembling and Tumbling Toyboxers! Well, enough of the pompous pleasantries. Let’s get to the point. Are you ready? Ready to withstand another soul-smashing tsunami of spellbinding anime, American sci-fi, Hong Kong classics, Japanese comedies, and Korean epics? Ready to digest rock bands, canine menaces, cute costumes, and mouth-watering waves of food-food-food? Ready to battle an unimaginably monstrous mega-cast equaling fifty or more mere-mortal posts? Not yet? Then please leave the battlefield, hehe. But if you are, better polish your psychological shield and sharpen your cultural sword! Prepare to engage! On with the show!

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Watchmen (Film, 2009) | Enlarge 5800px

Hello-hello! Welcome back, folks, friends, and fellow Toyboxers! Are we there yet? Is it time for another weekly mega-odyssey into medieval mayhem? Of course, why else would we be here? This week, our mega-cast catapults us into the far-reaching heights of the blogging otakusphere, ricochets through the wildfiery depths of the watchful anti-hero underground, and crash-lands into a rowdy crowd of indie-film partiers. Yeah, just another normal week, lol. What else is new? So sit back, relax, crack open a can, and let our broadcast take control…

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Photos 2354-2420 by xJAYMANx | Click for all 59

Triple damn!!! More than 2 1/2 months since my Vader Versus Haruhi photoshoot in mid-August! Tied up with work, anime, my brother’s wedding in September, and the completion of my latest Mirai masterpiece in October. But finally, we welcome my 1/6-scale “Saber in White Swimsuit” (Clayz, June 2006) obtained in August 2007, 1/6-scale “Bunny Girl Yuki Nagato” (Atelier Sai, April 2007) obtained in May 2007, and 1/7-scale “Storm Trooper” (Kotobukiya, November 2003) obtained in July 2007.

For this Canon photoshoot, I ended up with 59 shots, taken with various backgrounds. And for the first time, I experimented with the “Auto Levels” function in Photoshop. Wow, it automatically adjusted the color and contrast pretty well!… But what’s the funniest of all is that this looks like a trooper-armored Danny Choo kidnapping Saber and Nagato! Just like he “kidnapped” the easy-on-the-eyes Aya Hirano, hahaha! Enjoy!

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Exploring New York City | Click to open

Hey folks, I’m back! Sorry for the 2-3 week absence, but I’ve had tons of New York City photos to resize and organize for my website. While the wedding photos are protected behind a login (I’ve given some of you the login info), here are two of the photo sets I can show you, haha! These photos were taken in the morning and afternoon, mere hours before my brother’s wedding, at the Apple store, Nike store, and a Japanese bookstore. So enjoy the NYC sunshine!

Photos 001-028 by xJAYMANx | Click for all 28

Double damn, it’s been 7 busy weeks since my Ghost in the Shell photoshoot. Busy with work, friends, and my Mirai project, lol. But finally, this month, we welcome my 1/7-scale “Darth Vader” (Kotobukiya, July 2005) and 1/6-scale “Bunny Girl Haruhi” (Atelier Sai, December 2006) figures!

For this Canon photoshoot, I saved 38 shots, then narrowed it down to these 28 shots. I must admit, with the huge 13-inch ultra-black figure, the lighting and lack of screen background made the raw shots horrible. Hence the delay in salvaging the shots via Photoshop. Luckily, the final results aren’t half bad. Enjoy!

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Death Note (2006)

+++++ Death Note (1-37) – Started 08/01/07. Finished 08/12/07. D-WOW! Mesmerizing crime games and aspiring death gods! Mind-blowing and heart-stopping! 5 stars!

Kano, Minagi and Misuzu from Air (2005)

++++ Air (1-13) – Started 08/08/07. Finished 08/11/07. WOW. Amazingly gentle and windblown summer beauty. Tearfully unforgettable. Another masterpiece from Director Tatsuya Ishihara prior to “Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and “Kanon“. 4 stars (max for half-season)!

Sora from Kaleido Star (2003)

+++++ Kaleido Star – S1 (1-26) – Started 04/06/07. Finished 07/22/07. D-WOW! Fantastically funny and chilling, yet realistically inspiring and heartbreaking! 5 stars!

Haruhi from Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)

[Second Viewing; Chronological] ++++ Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (1-14) – Started 07/15/07. Finished 07/20/07. WOW! Still uniquely, unconventionally and fearlessly entertaining! Even better in chronological order, lol. 4 stars (max for half-season)!

[First Viewing; Broadcast Sequence] ++++ Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (1-14) – Finished 10/26/06. WOW! Uniquely unconventional!

Photo 004 by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge

So to answer my question from three weeks ago — Blog 078 > Will Figures Never End? — I guess not yet, lol. Since that post, 17 figures still boxed! While I unboxed two more figures — Shana and Himekuri Girl — I also received two more shipments — Haruhi Suzumiya (Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) and Tenma Tsukamoto (School Rumble), two of the most-cluelessly stubborn and hilarious high-school heroines in recent anime. And now, their boxed pics…

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Photo 013 by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge

Ah, finally! My first figure-collection update in ages! Finally moved out the boring 8-year-old vases from the stepped wall in the living area, and replaced them with my collection of still-boxed anime (and Lara Croft) figures! Jeez, 17 figures still boxed! For those who don’t yet know, with the exception of some of my earliest figures, I don’t open boxes until I’m ready to do a full photoshoot. Then once I’ve finished the photoshoot, I display them in the ever-rising shelves above my laptop setup. Only 37 figures opened! And yesterday, I just bought and added a third tier of shelves to make room for new post-photoshoot figures. Argh, will it never end? But now, more pics…

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Gothloli Haruhi | Image from E2046.com

Yup! It was bound to happen! A “Gothic Lolita” version of Haruhi from the wildly popular anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. At $130.00 USD, this pre-painted 1/7-scale resin figure features Haruhi in a gothic black-and-white dress, adorned with red roses and red shoes, and featuring her optional musical attachment: Her electric guitar! And according to this accompanying link, Mikuru and Yuki are soon to follow! Gotta have them! But damn, too pricey. Maybe I’ll wait for the PVC versions, lol.

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