Kansai themed Melon-chan (Melonbooks key-holder)

(tags Melonbooks, collectable, goods, kawaii, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto)

Last month I went to Kyoto to see the Autumn Leaves in fancy Japanese temples and shrines. Big woop but my camera failed to capture the leaf beauty.

While I was in the area I picked up the Melonbooks key-holder goods (メロンブックスオリジナルの特製グッズ交換 「ご当地めろんキーホルダー」). Basically, each Melonbooks store has their own themed key-chain goods, based on their lead moe-ish character "Melon-chan".

It was no sweat to pick up the Kobe's Sailor Melon (神戸／水兵メロン). Kyoto's Maiko Melon is the classic (twin-tail) beauty (京都／舞妓めろん). And Osaka's Takoyaki Melon makes me laugh nandeyanen?! (大阪／たこ焼きめろん).

Artist Shun Kazakami (風上旬) is responsible for this killer design. I totally forgot about it, but this artist was featured every month in the now defunct moe-friendly Majikyu magazine (マジキュー連載「５階美少女家電売り場でございます」). I have all 40 issues, heh heh.

There are 20 themes in all, and all of them are pretty kawaii. Gotta catch 'em all, except I hate travelling. I've been trying to do the Auctions but not all of them are up. I did collect some already but at this rate I think I'll be done in 2011.

Oh, and the official web banner. Hawt. I forgot how much 300 Melonbooks points is in yen, but it's not that expensive. I have like 4000 Melonbook points. Now all I need is a bicycle to ride around.

Books Lashinbang Kobe Sannomiya opens

(tags failure, telephone card, ecsite, doujin, Kobe, anime, manga, character goods, 200803, Shining Wind, Estrian Odyessy, CD)

On Saturday I woke up early but played the FFTA. Then I remembered Books Lashinbang Kobe was opening today. I need to put these things on my calendar. And I need to review my calendar every day. :-/

Anyways I got there 5 minutes before, and the line was somewhat okay, probably about 100 people in front of me. I was able to get in around 10:30 AM. I headed straight for the telephone card (TC) cases which were in the back. It goes without saying that it was packed. I couldn't see over the other people lining up there. I didn't see anything I really wanted, and I started to peruse the rest of the store, bouncing off fellow otaku. Still I didn't want to exit just yet so I headed back to the TC cases again. I then decided to get the two TCs pictured here.

The bottom right TC is that PlayStation 2 game Shining Wind related illustration with beautiful, lovely Kureha in a miko dress. WIN. I've seen it before at Books Lashinbang Osaka and K-Books Osaka and the price is the same over there. Might as well commemorate the shop opening with something special.

The second TC at the middle left is a DS game Etrian Odyssey II (世界樹の迷宮II 諸王の聖杯) which was an exclusive to Akihabara-based game store Messe Sanoh. The game itself was release just two weeks back, and according to the description, it's a "classic RPG" with manual mapping (whoa). Emulate the grid paper on yer DS. I don't care about the game, but I love the illustrations and wallpaper. The illustration theme is receiving a belated Valentine chocolate from the (tsundere?) blond hair gunner (job class) chick. What a cute "Jack Frost" badge. I don't even think she has a name. I scoped this same card at the Telecard Paradise Osaka store for like 4500 yen, so maybe its a deal. Also, the game comes with a soundtrack with that Insert Credit sound artist favorite Yuzo Koshiro (古代 祐三) and others. The cover illustration is again the blond hair gunner. Nice nice maybe I'll get the game nice nice. No.

I also bought some cheep manga: Kyoushiro to Towa no Sora volume 1, and CDs: the Loco Roco single and Angela Aki's "Kiss Me Goodbye" single for Final Fantasy XII. I have the over-sexy Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora CD case holding my Xbox 360 discs, but I never explored the story until now. Also this is the first time I've seen a store selling Quo Card plastic sleeves. Quo cards are a different size than TCs so you can't reuse the TC plastic sleeves for them.

It's too bad I decided to get the stuff late, because I was only able to get the exclusive clear file pictured above. If I was perhaps 10 minutes earlier, I could have got the exclusive TC (with slightly more horndog illustration, rawr). Doh. I really wanted something related to Kobe because heck I live here. The illustrator is 憂姫はぐれ先生（サークル：WIRE FRAME）. I suppose this link is NSFW, but it's not up now.

There seems to be some other specials, centering on telephone cards. Goodie. Take for example this one, a Card Captor Sakura TC set "celebrating" the re-release of the manga a year or two ago. I did check the price. Each card is 3_5000 yen +. A little steep, don'cha think?!?

I went to the store again this Monday evening and there's a healthy crowd of people there looking and buying. I was hoping that the Kobe-only exclusive card was available, because net auctions rip hard. No luck.

Here begins another store relationship. This location does seem to have a lot of interesting things and good selection, for now. I do hope they expand their TC selections. I want more stuff with daishi (台紙, lit. card backing) and more all ages stuff like Di Gi Charat. I am not interesting in the eroge TCs even though they are rawr.

Tora No Ana expansion as well

(tags ECsite, doujin, Kobe)

I wasn't paying attention, but the doujin shop Tora no Ana Sannomiya (Kobe) closed its doors for a week to prep for a big renewal. They are expanding their space by incorporating the truly massive adjoining room. It opens today. I thought I could get more information from a web page, so I didn't snap any pictures. But here's a map:

image originally from Center Plaza West Building 3rd floor

The previous configuration was pretty much male-oriented (or in the parlance of the new meme now, MAXIMUM RISKY, which is great re-purposed Japlish BTW). I'd see some women try to enter the store, probably from the overflow of the more women-friendly Animate, but pretty much leave without anything in hand. The new space will hopefully hold more all-ages goods (yeah right) and dedicate some space to fujoshi (that's more like it).

I can't recall what the space was before. Perhaps it was a blood donation center or an anime trade school? Hm.

This expansion and similiarly the recent Melonbooks Sannomiya expansion recent and Books Lashinbang new store, already strengthens Kobe-Sannomiya Center shopping area as the otaku epicenter for the Hyogo prefecture. Of course we've had Hobby Base Yellow Submarine, Animate, Gamers, and even a maid cafe. Now all we need is Mandarake and K-Books and there'll be no stopping the funk. Eew.

Second floor is for otaku too: Books Lashinbang Sannomiya

(tags ecsite, doujin, Kobe, anime, manga, goods)

Passing through Animate, I got my copy of Comic Blade and I'm going to read Fairial Garden as soon as I log off. Oh wait how do I segue into the main theme of this blog post. Uh:

My stroll from Animate on the third floor of the adjacent building goes through the second story of Sun Center Plaza. Of course I'm heading for Melon Books on the way to my bus stop. But the new store right next door caught my eye. Books Lashinbang will be opening a Sannomiya branch. I was so enthusiastic that I took pictures with my own camera. Melon Books in Sannomiya is strictly retail and new doujin stuff, and Books Lashinbang is pre-owned reselling of character goods, doujin and stuff, in other words, used sales, so I don't think they'll be stepping on each other's toes.

image originally from Center Plaza 2nd floor

Lashinbang is more interesting to me. I always go to the Osaka branch to check out the "premium" telephone cards. I hope they carry some here. Oh yeah they will. The only place to buy collectable telephone cards is at a store beneath Animate on the second floor, but they have some skanky ones. 840 yen for a card? Where has it been? :-)

Frankly I need to sell off some doujinshi that I just don't need. I didn't have a good place to do it in Kobe, but now with Lashinbang I don't have to haul it all to Osaka. Guess who's going to be there on opening day? (2008-03-01 Saturday) :^)

edit: added map. I like maps and editting with Paint.NET.

Warning: Gigantor statue coming to Kobe

(tags figure, tourist, Kobe)

The Kobe Tatsujin Project (Kobe鉄人Project) will commemorate manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama (横山光輝) with a 18 meter tall, 70-ton statue. It will be erected Spring 2008 near a park close to the Japan Railways Shin-Nagata (JR新長田) station, at a cost of about 1_3500_0000 yen (USD 1 million). Yokoyama is famous for the giant robot manga Gigantor (鉄人２８号) and other seminal manga works.

I'm not a old-school manga fan, but this is interesting news occuring in my neighborhood.

(thanks Asahi.com, Engadget)