Actar's Astounding April Acquisitions!
As I have mentioned numerous times in previous posts, on my channel and on various online forums, this loot was going to be a whopper. Yes, I did actually purchase everything you see in the picture above last month, but everything only arrived a few days ago.
Now that everything’s been sorted out, let’s see how this loot can blow your mind, shall we? (^o^)
Let’s start off with the basics before moving into the astoundingly awesome stuff.
- Alter’s 1/8 Scale Nanoha Takamachi Figure
- Griffon’s 1/8 Scale Youmu Konpaku Figure
- Movic’s 1/8 Scale Musubi Figure
Alter’s Nanoha is magnificent. There’s no question about it. She makes me so much more anxious for Alter’s treatment of Fate! As many of you might know, Youmu is my second favorite Touhou character after Aya, I missed out on the first shipment, so I ordered her. Lastly, I adore the Sekirei Anime as well, it’s pretty entertaining and has really great characters for an ecchi show, so I sprung for Movic’s rendition of Musubi.
Interestingly enough, I got Nanoha from HLJ, Musubi from Hobby Search and Youmu from AmiAmi.
For some reason though, I realise that I’ve been collecting less and less completed PVC figures… Maybe it’s because they don’t offer as much play value as dolls or action figures…
- Liquid Stone Reimu Hakurei Figure
- Bandai’s Robot Damashii Falke
- Good Smile Company’s Figma Fate Testarossa Uniform Version
Some more random figures that don’t fall into any larger category here. Especially delighted to have Figma Fate Testarossa School Uniform version. Can’t wait to open her up.
As for the Liquid Stone Reimu, it seems that she was originally a resin kit sold at Wonderfest, now mass-produced. Though like any other Touhou merchandise, she is sold only in Japan (you can get her from AmiAmi). Similar to the nendoroid in the sense that she is a chibi version of Reimu, I think this figure is miles better than the nendoroid. Not only does this version of Reimu come with a ton of accessories, she is also articulated! Waist, limbs, head are all poseable. I also like the proportions of this Reimu better than the nendoroid version.
- Good Smile Company’s Nendoroid Nanoha Takamachi
- Good Smile Company’s Nendoroid Fate Testarossa
- Good Smile Company’s Nendoroid Usa Mimi
Nendoroids galore! Well, not really… I don’t usually buy Nendoroids, but For Nanoha and Fate, I’ll make an exception. That Mimi will join Kagami and Kokonoe to re-create the Season 1 ending scene: Hanamaru Sensation!
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Jotaro Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Star Platinum (Blue Version) Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Dio Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure The World Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Avdol Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Magician’s Red Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Polnereff Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Silver Chariot Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Kakyoin Figure
- Medico’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Heirophant Green Figure
As you can probably assume, I’ve gotten myself hooked on a little series known as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I’m not sure how many people outside Japan know about the series, but the JoJo’s Manga is one of the longest running Shonen manga of all time. Many of you might have played the PSX/1 game that was ported over to the US. A 13 episode OVA was also made.
Having only seen the OVA and played the games, I’m only a fan of the third part (probably the most popular) of the JoJo’s series. It really is a MANLY MAN’S show that is superb. So superb that I bought all the Super Action Statue figures of all the major characters. (^.^;)
How are the figures themselves? Nothing short of amazing. I actually bought into the line on a whim and I did not know if the figures were of good quality or not. Thankfully, the figures surpassed all my expectations, being wonderfully detailed, having great accessories and phenomenal articulation. Considering that these figures cost around the same as a figma figure, they are starting to make me feel cheated when I buy a figma figure due to their quality and size.
- Bandai’s Official CardCaptor Sakura Clow Card Set
- Bandai’s Official CardCaptor Sakura Sakura Card Set
- Bandai’s Official CardCaptor Sakura Sakura Card Set (Movie Version)
Now these, I’ve been waiting to get my hands on for nearly 10 long years! (^o^) What you see here are the original and most Anime-accurate set of Clow/Sakura cards ever produced. I’m not familiar with the release information of the various sets, but the one I reviewed seemed to be a mass-release set while the sets you see here are supposedly event exclusives? Do feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!
As can be seen, the Clow Card set comes with Anime accurate Clow Cards (as opposed to the ‘realistic’ feel of the other set), a Clow Book with an actual clasp, a replica of Sakura’s key and extra card game cards. The Sakura Card Set comes with an electronic Sakura Book (though I’m not sure as to what it does yet) while the Movie Version of that set comes with the Star Key (sans paint apps…) and Sakura’s Card Pouch as seen in the movie. Overall, some stellar Sakura Merchandise that any die-hard fan should own.
- Bandai’s Sakura Doll
- Bandai’s Tomoyo Doll
- Bandai’s Li Shaoran Doll
More Card Captor Sakura merchandise incoming as I also managed to acquire the bendy dolls of the three main characters, Sakura, Tomoyo and Li! Surprisingly still in good shape, I’m surprised that these still exist. (^.^)
NOW FOR 1/6 SCALE DOLL MADNESS!
- Azone Exclusive Yui’s Guitar Case and Bag
- Azone Exclusive Yui’s Pajama Set
- Azone Exclusive Yui’s Festival Outfit
- Azone Exclusive Mio’s Festival Outfit
I’ve officially been bitten by the 1/6 scale doll bug ever since I bought that Yui doll. (^.^;) To enhance my enjoyment of the various K-On! Dolls, I snapped up some of the exclusive accessory sets that Azone had to offer.
- Azone 1/6 Scale Kannagi Doll (Hobby Japan Exclusive)
- Azone 1/6 Scale Zange Doll (Wonderfest Exclusive)
I really liked Kannagi. A great slice-of-life show with wonderfully quirky characters coupled with amazing comedy. Thus, it only seemed sensible to get their dolls! (^.^)
- Azone 1/6 Scale Yuki Doll
For quite some time, I was on the fence about picking up this Yuki doll… Unlike many of Azone’s quality releases, the Haruhi dolls had their eyes set way, way too far apart. But, I caved since I saw her for nearly half the price on Y!AJ… It’s Yuki, she’s worth it.
and now…
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The pinnacle of the loot…
- Mama Chapp 1/6 Scale Konata Doll
- Mama Chapp 1/6 Scale Kagami Doll
- Mama Chapp 1/6 Scale Tsukasa Doll
- Mama Chapp 1/6 Scale Miyuki Doll
ALL 4 of Mama Chapp’s 1/6 Scale Lucky Star dolls! (^O^) Yatta!!! Man, these were expensive… Ever since I realized that they had 1/6 scale dolls of the 4 main Lucky Star characters, I just knew I had to get them one way or another. Seriously, you know how much of a LS fan I am from my Lucky Star pilgrimages… However, save Konata, the other 3 girls were mail-order exclusives, available for a limited time only…
I needed to save up. So save I did. and saved… and saved… and saved… and FINALLY. I got them. Sweet success.
These dolls are surely the crown jewel(s) of my Lucky Star collection. The definitive Lucky Star figures.
- Tamashii Online Store Exclusive Lancelot X Guren Hyper Set
- Tamashii Online Store Exclusive Tristan Divider (Not pictured)
- Tamashii Online Store Exclusive Pixie Squard Q-Rea (Not pictured)
Some Bandai exclusives arrived, you can bet that a quick review will follow shortly.
…and last but not least, with all the dolls and figures out of the way, let me share with you guys some of the really special Anime related merchandise I bought.
- Anime Cel from CardCaptor Sakura of Sakura
- Anime Cel from Macross 7 of Mylene
Cel Animation was an extremely popular form of Animation that was used for quite sometime before it recently became obsolete with the advent of digital animation. What cel Animation is, is that Animators would paint the frames of Animatinon on a cel that could be overlayed onto a background. Following that, the cel would be photographed, becoming a frame of the final animation. This way, time and money could be saved as the Animatiors need not re-draw the backgrounds of the same scene over and over again.
Since cels are part of the final product of the actual Anime, I really wanted to own a piece of the history for myself. As luck would have it, I came across these two gorgeous cels of Sakura and Mylene that were used to make these two frames of Animation:
From Episode 29 and 9 respectively.
- Anime Film Clipping from the Fate/Stay Night Movie of Archer and Rin
- Anime Film Clipping from the Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi Movie of Yuki
- Anime Film Clipping from the Nanoha Movie of Fate
I suppose in the age of digital animation, these would be the closest thing to owning a piece of the history. So here are a number of Anime film clippings. These film clippings were all given out at special events relating to the movies themselves. Since I obviously did not attend any of the events, I had no choice but to bid for these on Y!AJ.
I’m so glad that all the scenes featured in the film strips are splendid. Archer standing stoically with his UBW in the background, Yuki being all cute in a lovely close-up short.
Last but not least, I also got the special edition volume of the K-On! DVD Blu-Ray disc… and I don’t even have a HD TV or a Blu-Ray player. Got this mainly for the exclusive Yui Guitar pick that was included.
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Well, that’s that. Another month, another EPIC loot, and my wallet has died. I can assure you that you nor I will ever see a loot of this magnitude again anytime soon. (^.^:)
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Post mirrored on my blog.
holy moly, thats a lot of stuff. Film clippings are very cool.
Whoa!! nice loot..thanks to reminding of that "Card captor sakura" cards & figures..i want that card but now i can't get that here in any hobby shops around ^Y^
looks like it is not a "cardass" card or something ??
Those are actually their own little card game that you can play with a friend using the Clow Cards as part of the game, though I have no idea how to play it. (^.^;)
It would be really cool if the Behemoth were to join the RD line up. Just imagine that thing on display. ^^
Yeah, though if it were to scale, I'd have no where to display it. (^.^;)
Nice loot! Mamachapp Miyuki is cute. Have you gave up on Dollfie Yui? =^.^=
I won't say that. Life is full of surprises. (^.^)
Come to think of it, I really should focus a little more on mecha; so far it's mainly been figures and the like.
wow that is one insane amount of loot ! takes me a quite awhile to even save up for that much ! Curious on what the guitar pic looks like. K-on was pretty much the reason why I even decided to touch my bass after a few years.
OOOO I been wanting Usa-Mimi but Dollfie stuff takes all my money >.>
This loot is A++++ I mean those cels and clipping are really something to take pride in. ^_^
Hmmmmm where did you get those anime cels from & how much did they set you back? I've been wanting to own an anime cel for years but cant find any reputable seller who deals with them on or offline & dont want to risk buying a fake on ebay.
I got them from Yahoo! Auctions Japan, together with most of the things you see here. Mostly, the sellers on Yahoo! Auctions Japan are exceedingly trustworthy.
I was actually surprised that the Cels didn't cost that much. 6000 yen was the average price for a Cel, though ones from famous scenes and Animes can go up to 50,000 to 2,000,000 yen.
i thought that the nagato cels cost a fortunate based on one of the sankaku articles, but i guess not
I was referring to the Cels not the film clippings. The Nagato film clipping set me back 20,000 yen.
Awesome loot! Love all the 1/6 dolls! Where did you get the Tomoyo?
Most of the loot is from Yahoo! Auctions Japan. Thankfully, many things I wanted appeared within a short period of time. (^.^)
Tsk Tsk, no Galahad?
Well, I could have bought it for 9000 yen on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, but decided against it as really, the Galahad isn't one of my all time favorite KMFs. (^.^;) Might get it in the future though.
But you can't complete Knights of the Round KMF without him!
Well there's still missing KMF like Mordred
O god I SO envy you for having this two awesome deck of cards @_@
Wow thats a huge haul, very nice!. Looking forward to a review on the hyper wing set I'm interested to see if it's worth getting.
Hope to review that soon, though there are still a ton of things in my review back log. (^.^)
OH. MY. GOD.
That's A LOT of loot! Everything is hard to find collectibles! (ok most of it) I currently envy you for the CCS merchandise; I remember having the opportunity of getting the clow cards (it was just a regular kind, with the clow book being just made of cardboard) but didn't get it because of lack of funds ;_;
Nice! The CCS stuff is great! I didn't know those dolls even existed. Now I want them >_<
You also completed the Lucky Star Mama Chapp set before me xD
Now I see why you can't afford a Dollfie ;)
So everything makes sense now huh? (^o^)
Holy CRAP dude.....
I WANT those Sakura Cards!! I only have the Clow Book myself, still so chuffed to own that frankly, got it in Tesco's back when Cardcaptors was still popular in the UK hehe.
But the Sakura cards... or Star Cards as they were called in Cardcaptors dub... I need those... and you have the movie version tooooo.... and....and...the key... and the pouch.... Where did you find them?!
I wanted them too >_< Not anymore though XD
I got them off Yahoo! Auctions Japan, and it so happened that the one guy had all 3 sets for sale. (^.^)
I like Liquidstone's mameshiki's too! I'm looking forward to Marisa, Sanae, Remelia, Suika, Suwako, Cirno, Rumia and Aya.
Just checked the blog. Looks like Kanako's being made.
I want Aya! (>.<)
Wow!!!.....just, wow......Lot's 'o stuff...*better break out the defibrillator for your wallet!..*
o.O
It's already dead... Time to move on and get a new one! Oh soot... No money.
So apparently this studio works top pegs! Huh. Almost every studio in the US works bottom pegs. . .
More top pegs. . .
Cels were also used not only as huge time savers, but also because backgrounds and things look much better when they don't quiver in the final footage. ^^; If you look at really early animation (like 1910-ish stuff, such as Gertie the Dinosaur), you'll notice that the backgrounds had to be simple line drawings to keep them feasible, but they still jumped a little as the film played. Kind of annoying, but at least in Gertie's case, she makes up for it by being cute.
Naturally, being the animation nerd I am, I definitely have to admit I'm the most fascinated by the cels and the film strips. I have to admit I really was surprised to see those cels punched for top pegs; both my history of animation teacher and 2D animation teacher worked for Fox studios during the production of Anastasia, and have said that every US studio they've heard of works with the pegs on the bottom. And it's also interesting that they use the same exact peg type as we do over here, even though they punch their pages differently. That narrow-round-narrow system is proprietary, and because only one company holds the patent, one single animation punch costs around $900 USD. Guess they have a worldwide monopoly rather than just a national one. . .
Woah, those are some amazing tidbits of information on the Animation process and industry! Thanks so much!
Heh, you're welcome! And thanks for sharing those cels; you inadvertently gave me some tidbits on how the industry operates in Japan!
Wow, that's a big loot.
That clipping of Archer looks so awesome. Its a bugger the DVD won't be out for a while, I'm itching to see that film.
Also, the title of this post should've been "Actar's Astounding April Acquisitions!". More A's for the sake of Fate, no?
Heh, heh, heh... It's not too late to change it. (^.^)
Where did you get all that spending power from @_@ you working or wat?
I do have a part-time job. Couple that with saving and the huge raise I got from my parents because of my recent A Level results and Ta Daa!
I'm with Meimi on this one... HOLY F*CK I WANT THOSE CLOW CARDS AND SAKURA CARDS! WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GET THEM! ;A;
Yahoo! Auctions Japan. You really do need some luck to catch them when they are put up.
Gimme those CCS cards now! XDc
Ginormous Loot is really Ginormous , I mean THose CardCaptor Sakura Loots looks amazing and authentic .
The Fil Strip is more like a Collection to display how much of a fan you are to the moive and series and I personally would buy that Yuki Film Strip .
Those Mama Chapp Lucky Star dolls is an awesome collection , I've heard its very very very Hard to find let alone purchase it .
∑(O_O；) That's a hell lot of collections you got in a month ∑(O_O；)
Do you ever run out of space to display your collections in your house?
Well, I guess we'll be seeing your epic loot, soon ;-)
We'll be seeing his house full of loots from the doorway to the toilets in future if he keeps this up.^-^
Well, not really. (^.^) All the Anime related merchandise is limited to my room. All the un-opened figures are at the foot of my bed and I have 3 piles now. Opened figures are displayed on my various shelves and empty boxes are dumped in the guest room. (^.^;)
Want ;_; How much does it usually go for?
Each doll can cost anywhere from 16,000 yen to 30,000 yen, depending on the character. Konata is usually much cheaper than the others because she was the only MC Doll ever mass released. The other three characters were all mail-order exclusives.
This is like the giant loot of doom! Must have done major damage to your wallet yet it is so awesome.
なんだこれ！すげえ O.O
YUKI!!!!......... damn my bad luck...... how much was she?..... (please be under 30 dollars, please be under 30 dollars.....)
I'm getting the Mikuru Asahina Azone doll, Luckly I found her for 80$. Mikuru Usually goes for 345$USD. So Yuki is probably like 345-400$USD. Sorry bud. D;
Of course, you have to get their stands.