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.

Last week's World Hobby Fair and Comic Treasure

(tags event, Osaka, Comic Treasure, World Hobby Fair, Maison Ikkoku, Yuiko Tokumi)

Last Sunday (2009-01-18), I headed out to Osaka (from Kobe, a 30 minute excursion) to attend some game and hobby events.

The first one was Comic Treasure 13 at the site I now associate with otaku-ism, Intex Osaka. It was in a huge room new to me. Once I paid my entrance fee of 700 yen and walked in with the catalog on my head, I felt like I stepped into Comic Market. Masses of people everywhere, tables running up and down the whole space. Except that this was only one day, at one-third the size, and in Osaka. Still, running up and down the booths and trying to avoid people's expectant stares (buy my goods I slaved over for days), bumping into criss-crossing otaks with their bags filled with paper goodies, it was just a waste of time. Yes a waste of time! Because I didn't buy anything and there was nothing I really wanted. I could go for the doujinshi that rips off my favorite animes or characters in very naughty ways but yeah, no. I wanted to see if there was doujin games to buy but I didn't find anything I wanted. Sure there was a shmup or two, but just opening the wallet to start the ball rolling was just not happening. 

And as far as Aoi Nishimata was concerned, I saw some fans with her goods leaving the area just as I arrived at 12:00. Obviously she's gone, and her goods were gone as well.

So I left with nothing new in hand. I ripped the catalog to take a picture of the cover, then I disposed of the catalog at the site. Never again. Well, never again unless I do my homework.

I moved on to World Hobby Fair at the Osaka Kyocera Dome. It was just a couple of stations away, but the atmosphere was totally different. Instead of individuals to dodge, I had to thread whole family units. At least, the average height of the attendees was lower, so I could see farther, ha.

Again, most of the items on display were not in my sights. Of course there was the Pokemon area, and I picked up some things (which were the same as last time, so...) Mainly it was the card games, toy gimmicks such as some spinning top thing with robots, etc. Nintendo was there of course with their white booths and conservatively dressed campaign girls. That Wii Cheer game which is finally getting the Japanese domestic release had a presence with girls in cheerleader outfits. I was interested in the game for the new gaming experience (hey I'm the one who actually bought Para Para Paradise for the PS2), but I couldn't compete with the literal kiddies waiting to play. Gotta keep up appearances while attending a World Hobby Fair.

I then spotted the Cospa booth. I wasn't attracted to the new new stuff which was Hayate no Gotoku, etc, stuff from this decade. The stuff that grabbed me was the Rumiko Takahashi related goods. Like this Maison Ikkoku shirt:

The booth sign said half off on the goods, but I got charged full price for this S size shirt. 2980 yen. :-/ This is Osaka, man, assert the haggle spirit and at least ask about the half-off sign. Sorry, I was timid.

Also I noticed that the sizes were SS, S, and M. Usually the shirt sizes from Cospa are M, L, XL. Makes me wonder if this was aimed for the parents who wanted to use their kids as billboards for their favorite memories. hyuk hyuk, guffaw.

Lastly, the thing that made me glad to brave the Osaka Winter and masses of cannon fodder, is pictured above. The parent company of Sunday (the comic?) announced a Hayate no Gotoku trading card game, and one of the promotions was the card above. I'm not interested in the card game or even Hayate no Gotoku (though I did throughly enjoy the 52-episode anime). But check it, it's a Yuiko Tokumi illustration!!! They weren't merely handing it out, I had to play a simple matching card game (like Memory) to win it. Well the odds to win were probably 100% percent (uncover 4 cards, two at a time, and if the two cards have the same character (in my case, Hinagiku), win the card), if one has any sort of short-term memory skill. The rules for the game were not written anywhere, so I was my timid, unsure self and I didn't bother getting in the 20-minute wait line, up until the last minute (I was literally second-to-last in line when they closed) when I found some courage in the question "what could go wrong anyway?" Geez.

So yeah, Yuiko Tokumi stuff. Like the weekend before when I got her calendar, twice. It's a given. This was totally random and I was not totally expecting it, so I was pretty happy.

The rest of the day was a blur, but I distinctly remember wanting to buy Prince of Persia 2008 for the Xbox 360, because the late reviews were giving this game some good feel. But I didn't buy because of price and lack of scheduled free time. Maybe next time.

Small time haul from CM 75, and retry Osaka

(tags doujinshi, Comic Market 75, 薄荷屋, Osaka, character goods)

Some goods from Comic Market 75: Hakkaya / Yuiko Tokumi (薄荷屋 or 篤見唯子) calendar (2), Doki Doki Tama-tan, Hello World, a free booklet for GA Bunko Publishing with a nice illustration of Polyphonica Corti. This was last weekend's haul.

In Osaka, Books Lashinbang had one CM 75 Hakkaya / Yuiko Tokumi Calendar for 1500 yen, which I thought was great, until I found Hobby Vanilla selling multiples for 600 yen each. Ouch. So I bought the second one to average the cost out. :-/

I only bought the Polyphonica leaflet because of the illustration on the cover. Inside was merely a catalog of new light novels coming out. 200 yen via rental space case (委託販売), really not worth it.

And Tama-tan (たまタン) related goods, which was a CD to be eventually be sold at Tora no Ana. I got this one at K-Books just because I felt the haul was small and the Tama-tan goods need to be collected.

I can't say that I am looking for more CM 75 stuff to buy. I probably missed most of the good stuff going in on 2008-01-11 Sunday anyway. I did pick up some other goods from previous CMs that I missed. The picture shows in the background the bag from Hakkaya CM73 goods. Also I picked up some drama CDs and other おまけ/特典 (exclusive goods) not related to CM. 

Still today I plan on going out to Nipponbashi to swim through the goods again. Also, today is World Hobby Fair (for the Pikachu in me) at Osaka Dome. Also a new event for me is Comic Treasure, a doujinshi fan event sponsored by AoBoo, but it's a non-free event. It appears to be held at Intex Osaka, the same place as Dream Party I attended last November. I learned about this through Aoi Nishimata's blog (大阪にむけて出発です). Is she visiting?

Let's see what's there. Osaka Osaka, nande nande ya nen.

Dream Party 2008-11: Osaka, a mere shadow of Tokyo

(tags gal game, over 18, Osaka, Tokyo, failure, Dream Party, telephone card, goods)

Before arriving to Dream Party 2008-11 "Akiba-kei" adult gal game and cosplay convention at Intex-Osaka, I was already disappointed. I bought the 1000 yen ticket without consulting the attending list. I assumed that the same booths at the Tokyo show would be here as well, but I thought wrong. Particularly, I was hoping for a reprise of "Doki Doki! Tama-tan". I already have the pink Tama-tan figure and the CDs (which were not very good actually), but they had some exclusive telephone cards back in 2008-10, and I missed it. I also missed the auction snipering but then again I have limits (and others don't... boo).

So, I really didn't feel like going on this rainy day. But what the hey, I need to check the game shops in Osaka anyway for Mirror's Edge, so why not.

The pre-paid ticket was available at Sofmaps across the land. They are one of the sponsors for the event. Intex Osaka is where they had that Wii introduction event back in 2006 and of course, I previously went to a Dream Party in 2004 or 2005. It's probably about 30 minutes from Nipponbashi through convenient trains. At the door they were checking ID for age verification, and I successfully got this limited-ages pamphlet which I have to show to enter the event. Because the event is mainly over-18 content with 30 or more booths, while the all ages content is a slim 3 booths. Ha.

So, knowing that the only reason to be at this convention was gone, I just stumbled around looking at the sights. Actually, it was a perfect opportunity to grab some other telephone card designs. That is, if I could beat out the other wanton otaks. They are pretty strong, actually.

I scoped out some the Little Busters goods. There was a special Kuda-tan mini pencil card set for 2000 yen at ToyPla. I've seen all the illustrations over and over again in telephone cards and other goods, but still I wanted it. Unfortunately ToyPla ran out at only 12:30. The guy at the counter told me in plain english "Sold Out", even though I waited in the unruly line and the sign wasn't updated to reflect it. I wasn't pissed though. Some other good stuff to get.

Age, makers of my favorite gal game Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (君が望む永遠), had a bunch of concert DVDs and radio CDs for sale. It would have been my chance to get some "Tomoko Ishibashi"/ Chiaki Takahashi stuff, but I haven't finished the related radio CDs so I passed. I can probably get them next time at the Spring 2009 Dream Party or even Comic Market if I go.

And actually, I was reading famed "rubber stamp" (and recent rice bag and strawberry) illustrator Aoi Nishimata's blog and she said she would attend Dream Party in Osaka. I didn't get to see her, but there was a lot of her stuff there. Booths and even ita-shas (cars with moe stickers). Nice. Lines were long and everything pretty much sold out, proving that people still like her illustrations.

So here I am with some telephone cards. From the top left, it's Chuable Soft's Sugar + Spice which went from gal game to the all-consumer PlayStation 2 version in 2008-09. I like the illustrator Gintaro (ぎん太) because of the simple design and the nice eyes.

On the right is "Marie Ludel" telephone card and pencil card from Paletto's Sakura Strasse (さくらシュトラッセ), which was an over-18 game released in 2008-01. This particular illustration was probably released earlier, for the accompanying radio show. Again the appeal for me is the illustrator Kusu Kusu's style (くすくす).

Finally, the bottom is a Halloween-themed telephone card and daishi from Windmill's upcoming gal game, La Campanella Della Benedizione (祝福のカンパネラ). I don't intend to buy this game, but I already have some telephone cards from previous magazine illustrations (which I didn't bother to post, oops). I even have some of the character CDs, which are pretty fun to listen to. Windmill was also responsible for (the now 3 year old!) gal-game turned anime Happiness.

Ah well, I wrote down most of the things I want to remember about today. I am disappointed with the no-show Tama-tan, but I can only blame myself for not doing the homework.

Anibro Gamers (re-)opens in Nanba

(tags store, ecsite, Osaka, telephone card)

The Broccoli Gamers store in Nanba was reborn as Anibro Gamers Nanba (アニブロゲーマーズなんば店) on 2008-05-31. The first two days of the reopening was a madhouse. The line for the register snaked all around the inside of the store. I planned to get the job done on Saturday, but I was T+15 minutes arrival which meant I couldn't get this 200 set limited edition exclusive telephone card. So I checked the merchandise and debated coming in on Sunday. It only costs 1000 yen to travel to Nanba (round-trip). Aw yeah.

On Sunday, I played it safe and arrived an hour and a half before the store opened, which meant the loitering started at 0900. Actually no one lined up at that time, so I roamed the bright morning Nipponbashi. When I got back after the 15 minute stroll, there was an unorganized scattering of young 'uns, most of them with PSPs and the occasional DSer. Jumping into the informal line that blocked the Family Mart entrance, I was able to get some DJ Max Portable 2 gaming in. Through the Gamers entrance I scoped the latest concert DVD by Yui Horie (堀江由衣) which looks very good except that she doesn't move from one spot. I always think she's weak of constitution and this doesn't change my mind.

When the store opened at 10:30, I scrambled to nab the items I selected, which included another copy of the Pop Wonderland Alice figure. Unfortunately it was gone, however I picked up some CDs that I've been back-burning. I cleared the 5000 yen minimum limit to get the telephone card pictured above. Also they gave out a free omiyage box of sweets. Never trust take candy from strangers, especially Gamers. I tried one and it was waxed chocolate. Ugh. I took a picture of the wrapping and threw out the crud.

Rubik's Cube Osaka Competition

(tags game, Rubik's Cube, Osaka, 2008)

Last weekend was the Rubik's Cube 2008 Osaka Competition, sponsored by Japan Rubik's Cube Association (JCRA). I was thinking of just spectating but in the end I didn't attend. Star of Rubik's Cube had a picture of the small room where it was held. I looked over the final times, and I recognize the two names, "Nakaji" and "Gunji". I though to myself I could at least record a time in the first elimination round. Ha.

I also noticed that there was only one foreign guy placing. Neat. It's annoying to see the highlighting on the women's names. They do that at my work as well on those personnel sheets. What is the point of emphasizing gender?

I'm hyped up and motivated to keep on practicing.

Pikachu in World Hobby Fair 2008

(tags convention, Japan, Osaka, game, Pikachu, character goods, Wii, Dual Screen, PlayStation Portable)

Today was the World Hobby Fair 2008 in Osaka. To me it's a mainstream electronic game and toy hobby fair for kids ages 12 and under. These days one must bring a DS and PSP for the special goodies and opportunities, but I didn't bother. I went because I was planning to go to Den Den Town anyway. Plus there were video game demos from top-tier companies major like Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, etc. I know its ultimately a waste of time which is why I didn't go last year, even though I did go two years ago.

OMG hypocritical thoughts: There were far too many kids games about collecting or battling. It's horrifying to think about all this free time wasted on games, especially the fad games. I saw kids with hundreds of cards from those card battle games, toy cars on race tracks, kids/tweens walking around while playing whatever RPG on their DS lite or PSP, etc. Decadently vulgar mass consumerism. I wanted to shout, "Read a m!%'%'-f%)%(% book! And not a manga!" I kept on thinking to myself, man if ever become a father... yeah right. But this is what people will pay for, so the companies will provide. So essentially I was ignoring 95% of the wares being hocked.

Ahem, back to sparkle gazing. :-)

I saw the Star Soldier R download game for the Wii which was great because of my recent shmup mood (thanks Shikigami no Shiro 3 and Omega Five). It seems like it has a slightly tweaked power-up system, but it's definately Star Soldier, for better or worse. It makes me want to play my Gamecube or PSP version. I didn't bother entering the 2 minute high score contest because I already saw a contestant get one million and first place with excellent technique (eg shoot both targets at the same time). If I ever buy a Wii I'll probably get this. Are there any other shmups besides Shikigami no Shiki 3?

Super Smash Bros. for the Wii was up and playable in groups of four, though the demo movies were the same ones from E3 2006. I was surprised to see that it is in a widescreen format, because I always thought the Wii was only 4:3. And I've never played this franchise though, so the details are lost on me. I mean come on, Pikachu had 105% health but 30 seconds later it became 0%? Wut?!? I still want to get the SSB for the Gamecube because it was said to have a interesting collection mode. But I haven't wanted to buy it in the 6 years it has been out, so I don't think I'll ever get it.

Sony had their booth with the newest Ape Escape game. I wanted to play the Patapon demo, but I wasn't in the mood to wait in line. I also saw the refresh of the Taiko no Tatsujin for the DS, "7" something or other, but only in passing. Um what else? Nothing else I can remember, so the rest is not important.

On the non-video game front, I was surprised to see Speed Stacks there. I don't hold it in high regard, sorry to say, but it is indirectly useful for my Rubik's Cube hobby. They were selling the mat and timer for 5040 yen, ouch. I am kicking myself for not asking if the timer hooks up to the 2_0000 yen competition display. Show some courage, big guy. Well, I still don't need it yet.

Regarding anime and manga goods, the only thing that I found interesting was Hayate no Gotoku goods, but I resisted buying even a pencil card. The big A2 non-sale poster/tapestry at the back was a desirable Nagi design, ooh white dress. Okay that's enough.

The Pocket Monsters franchise had a big booth as always. I just had to take this picture of the inflatable playroom and big movie poster. I adore Pikachu but I have no idea about the stories or TV. Pikachu occupies the same area as Hello Kitty in my mind. It's enough just to sit around looking cute and kawaii.

Lastly I took a stroll through the exclusive goods area. I braced myself for the sell out signs because I arrived in the afternoon but all the Pikachu goods I wanted were available. Huh, lucky me. Unlucky wallet. Of course I want to show my haul:

I usually don't buy 3D representations of Pikachu (eg plushie dolls, figurines) but this coin purse was pretty much spot on. The silicone case for the DS lite was new to me, but its not an event exclusive, rather a regular Pokemon Center sale item. Lastly I never say no to pencil cards because they are relatively cheap and light to keep and store. Whoa, I have come to the conclusion that my favorite color must be yellow. :-)

The event was held at the Kyosera Dome Osaka, which I believe is an indoor baseball stadium. After leaving the event, I visted the baseball hobby shop on the first floor. I was surprised to see U.S. merchandise like official Major League Baseball shirts and hats. Even my home town team the San Diego Padres had some decent stuff there. Of course, there were a lot of fan goods of the Japanese dudes who made it big in the U.S. like Ichiro.

WHF has come and gone. At least Pikachu was there for me to keep me interested. :-)

Day 3 of Den Den Town co-habiting

(tags telephone card, game, collectable, Yuiko Tokumi, Osaka, Nipponbashi)

I have already gone to Den Den Town three days in a row but so far nothing big has caught my eye or my wallet. I mean I'm lining my ducks in a row, because right now I'm just glancing at stuff and I'm waiting for the Yuiko Tokumi goods to come into view. Unfortunately I've only seen the new doujinshi (新刊) and none of the other desirables such as the 2008 calendar. Will I ever see it? I suppose I'm waiting for the otaku drops. Saturday only, 2x rate? ;-)

Ol' dependable K-books is reselling one of her new doujinshi for 2100 yen, while another shop called Vanilla is reselling the identical thing for 900. I also saw it at Books Lashinbang but I did not remember the price. It's not Bottle Fairy, and my resistance to buying doujinshi or even setting foot into no-resell doujin shops like Melon Books has been strong recently. I have to focus on going into resell shops, though, because I always do the same varied route of console games, telephone cards, Sofmap, no-resell doujin shop, resell shops. I have succumbed to visiting shops twice in one day. :-/

Also my alternate goal is to find a Xbox 360 joystick. I have not yet found (another) one for sale. The last time I saw one was a month back. Even the auctions online have dried up (for the Dead or Alive model). Why doesn't Hori make another run of these joysticks, plain ones even. I know they make regular controllers, but even if I buy it my thumb will still be at the same angle. I have to say, playing Shikigami no Shiro 2 at demo kiosk at A-Too recently feels totally natural with the Dreamcast regular controller. The Xbox 360 controller in comparison is alien.

For this "2008 A Happy New Year Di Gi Charat" Gamers retail telephone card, I tried visiting Gamers Sannomiya but they didn't offer it. The fukubukuro offers at 3000 yen (available) and 5000 yen (sold out) had another exclusive telephone card of Dijiko but I passed. I also tried to visit Gamers Osaka but I forgot that it is closed today, despite checking the schedule. Note to self: It's closed tomorrow too. It's in a "remote" area so instead of backtracking to Umeda I followed the Midosuji subway line on foot to the next station, Yodobashi, because Den Den Town is another 3 stops south. I passed the U.S. Consulate and I got some winter sun, yeah. I finally picked it up at Gamers Otaroad.

(I have also revived my purple Game Boy Micro for FFTA. I forgot where the USB charging cable went. Sofmap doesn't sell any Game Boy Micro charge cables no more, so I gotta stock up.)

So far this week I have only gotten that Pikachu 50 pose sticker seal sheet and that Gamers telephone card. Total "New Years otaku" costs are, to date, 2000 yen. Transportation has been around 1000 yen per day though. I'm going to have to buy another 3000 yen Lagare card for the travelling.

Other things of interest that I rated a "want" but not "need":

• Lumines for PSP with original cover, used at 6800 yen. It probably is the downgrade-capable version. But it's gone now as of today. I haven't played Lumines before but the demo is just an XBLA away.

• A K-books exclusive micro fiber towel with illustration by Noboru Kannatsuki. But it's not related to red-headed Corti so I will pass.
• Street Fighter III 3rd Strike premium box for the PS2 going for 1_2000 yen. I don't grok Parrying and I don't really need a big box or a jigsaw puzzle!
• Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku for PSP premium set (8900 to 12800 to 17000 yen, with or without figure) and the various telephone cards. I can wait.
• Kodomo no Jikan telephone card (Animate point exchange 2007-12) with daishi going for 4000 yen. I really shouldn't be getting into this "skeleton" anymore.
• Final Fantasy XII International Job System for the PS2 going for 2800 yen used and new. But I'm playing FFTA right now.
• Manabi Straight visual booklet for 1500 yen. I'll get it eventually.
• Contra 4 for the DS, US version at 5000 yen. I can wait till 2008-03 for the JP release.
• Various Gamers or Broccoli or Di Gi Charat telephone cards at around 800 to 1500 yen each at some resell shops. I'll probably pick some up when the wallet is loose.
• Shikigami no Shiro 3 Appreciate DVD (replay video). Have you checked Youtube?
• (I didn't see this at Den Den Town but its on-topic) Border Down for Dreamcast resell (thanks Insert Credit) and soundtrack. Come on, I haven't played Border Down in 3 years! Why do I need another copy? Oh wait, it's already pre-order'd out. :-]

Maybe if I spent less time trying to find something to buy I wouldn't have to say "No" all the time.

And yes, I'm going again tomorrow. :-) :-/ :-(

Venturing out of my cave: "Game Show in Osaka Nipponbashi by Joshin"

(tags game, hardware, auction, Nipponbashi, Osaka, convention)

Ever since I bought a Xbox 360, started my expenses budget, and got into Rubik's Cube, I've been avoiding Osaka Nipponbashi "Den Den Town". But for some reason I am bored so I decided to at least head out in that direction. There are many things to check for:

• Dead or Alive 4 limited edition package Xbox 360 game (~3500 yen used) ::1
• Dead or Alive 4 arcade joystick by Hori (~10000 yen used!) ::1
• Ichigo Mashimaro stick poster from Dengeki 15th anniversary convention (Yahoo Auction) ::2
• Barasui cover Comic Dengeki Gakuen from Dengeki 15th anniversary convention (Yahoo Auction) ::2

::1:: check at Sofmap, A-Too shop, Big Tiger, Super Potato
::2:: check at K-Books and Mandarake

Yesterday I tried to check out the Xbox 360's joystick options. You know, the regular controller has a horrid D pad and Ikaruga (斑鳩) is coming out this month. I might as well learn how to play with a joystick. I want to get the Dead or Alive arcade stick but the Yahoo Auctions always end up greater than 1_0000 yen. This is for a "low-quality" Hori Stick! At Sofmap Kobe, the Virtual Fighter 5 Live Arena arcade stick for Xbox 360 is either all sold out (on the first day?!) or all pre-ordered (I saw all the boxes behind the register) so I couldn't get one. That's when I decided to visit Osaka.

And though I did check out that Arkanoid DS game in the shop I decided that I know what it feels like to wait for a ball and control it indirectly, remembering the first time I played Arkanoid on my Apple IIgs so long ago, so I passed on it. That Space Invaders game for the DS is on my watch list, though.

And I was reminded that Shikigami No Shiro Episode -3 (式神の城III) was coming out for the Xbox 360. It's also coming out for the Wii, huh. There's no information on if its useable with a stick or not. Still I don't know why I want to get this game because I won't play it to get my full money's worth and I haven't finished playing the second game in the series.

But on the same page, there was an announcement for the "Game Show in Osaka Nipponbashi by Joshin" (ゲームショー2007 in大阪日本橋 by Joshin 公式ホームページ) happening right now. Now I must go to Osaka. I can try out the game, I suppose, but I don't expect my opinion to change. There's plenty of new games too: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (DS), Patapon (PSP), as per the usual Final Fantasy stuff. Takahashi Meijin will be there for a talk show and game event. But oh no, there are game "companions" and I don't expect to actually get inside becuase they are holding it inside two Japanese-sized stores. I'll probably be waiting on the staircase for hours. :-/

Get ready now! >:-o

Dead or Alive 4 hunt, Hisashiburi Osaka, Kureha digitized

(tags Osaka, purchase, character goods, telephone card, game, Xbox 360, anime, seiyuu, PlayStation 2, Kasimasi, Ikaruga)

Last post was a real bummer. How to get back to my dreamland? Goods!

On Saturday I headed to Tennouji and Nipponbashi Den Den Town for some Xbox 360 game scoping and telephone card hunting. I haven't been there since middle September because I spent 5_0000+ yen on an Xbox 360 last month, so the change of season makes the area look different. I didn't know how the Osaka tower looked at night, but it was so so. Anyways, the obligatory goods picture:

My goal was to get Dead or Alive 4 for less than 2200 yen, with original cover. The Platinum Collection covers irritate me and the DoA4 Platinum Collection edition comes out on 11/1 so maybe there are old copies lingering somewhere. Unfortunately I only scoped a 2900 yen one at A-Too, that crazy price used game shop that also carries a good selection of foreign console games. I let it pass (I got that telephone card there as a consolation prize). I could have snatched up a foreign edition BioShock with embossed case, but I don't need it yet at 7000 yen. One interesting find at another shop: a Panzer Dragoon (?) Xbox 1 console going for a little less than 3_0000 yen. No box?!? Oh please.

My buy threshold was 2000 yen for other games. I found Gears of War english-only edition for 1880 yen and Bullet Witch original cover for the same. At the northern Super Potato (?) I could have picked up Trusty Bell and Ridge Racer 6 for about 1900 yen each, but I figured enough was enough. BTW, at the same store, the Dead or Alive 4 arcade stick for the Xbox 360 was selling 12800 yen used! Why? Why!? It reminded me that I don't want to play Ikaruga on the Xbox controller. I'm not so hot on a joystick, though.

A semi-serious goal was to get the various Street Fighter on PS2 re-releases. The highest priority is on the Street Fighter Alpha collection. I had some fun times playing Guy on SF Alpha 1, but he wasn't the same on Alpha 2. Anyways, this game disc never got "Collection"-ed so its still 4500 yen new. Then again why should I bother since I already have the Windows PC port. I notice that there are no used copies of these SF games (!?!), but plenty of SNK fighters to be had.

Explaining the other items: various TCs abound. j1mOne's recommendation of Tiaraway's music made get the Seiyuu Gran-prix TC. I don't know the name of this anime, but a neko-mimi maid, right. The recent anime Kimikiss reminds me of the artwork from that old True Love Story - Summer Days and yet PS2 game, which was great illustrations by itself. Could they be related? Something to research. I wonder if I got that Kasimasi TC already, but it's a scratched reference. Oh yeah, I had fun watching Zettai Shonen (絶対少年) so I couldn't pass up this Quo card.

And still I have Kureha fever so I bought that Shining Wind Fun Disc from Sofmap Saurus Treasure Box. It was a special preorder item, which explains the 1200 yen used price. I bought it for the wallpapers, and I am a bit disappointed that Kureha doesn't smile in any of them. :-/ I found a Kureha telephone card at K-Books where she was smiling... only 8000 yen :-( Still, official artwork on my desktop background rotation, FTW. Pretty much I'm into Shining Wind based on the Tony artwork only. I know nothing about the game.

The cover for the drama CD Vol 1 is nice, rawr. :-) It surprised me that my class A seiyuu Yui Horie (堀江由衣) voices Kureha. The drama CD could be a buy.

On the way home, there was more security guards at the JR Osaka entrances, something like 10 to 15 guys in blue uniforms patrolling. "Osaka Kanjyosen" Halloween Train?

I am definately not going to Nipponbashi next weekend. I decided to get Ace Combat 6, and before that I need to start Idolm@ster. So I'm not going to repeat the Dead or Alive 4 hunt for a couple of weeks. :-)

Eyes on the prize: Comic Market 72 (by proxy), Den-den town romp

(tags Comic Market, doujinshi, goods, Osaka)

Comic Market 72 ended on Sunday, and I tried to anticipate the proxy selling by going to the doujin resell shops in Osaka Den Den Town just one day after. I predicted that some Osaka-based early bird otaku returning from Tokyo would sell their spoils on Monday morning and afternoon. I saw many people in the kaitori (sell-back, reuse) counters and I even saw one guy being handed multiple 1_0000 yen bills. I bet you it was for those Lucky Star framed illustrations going for 3_0000 yens. Its big money.

Since I wasn't looking for doujinshi resell but more like goods resale (telephone cards, new full set circle goods), I spent more time at Lashinbang, K-Books and even Sofmap Treasure Box. Places I skipped today like Tora no Ana and Melon Books do sell CM related stuff but its all sealed and not reused stuff.

The eyes have me. The bottom thing is a Kasimasi themed "Stick Poster" illustrated by Yukimaru Katsura (桂 遊生丸), but it is not a Comic Market item.

There were a few things I wanted from Comic Market like a Ruriiro Rinne (るり色輪廻) pencil card by Atsushi Yoshinari (吉成篤), but I settled for some doujinshi. I'll grab doujin games later. Basically I was looking for new stuff from circle Hakkaya (薄荷屋), which is the pen name of my favorite illustrator Yuiko Tokumi (篤見唯子). I didn't find a package of goodies, but I found two doujinshis, Petit Fours 4 (a collaboration) and Plus Minus (right). Finally Tokumi does some Nanoha doujinshi for the epic kawaii. The remaining doujinshi on the left is by circle Tiny Feather (illustrator Sin-go) which I'll just leave as NSFW.

For my other favorite illustrators, I didn't remember the names of the circles, let alone their names. I can't remember their kanji, either. Luckily, K-Books has some handy dandy illustrator to circle charts reference. Now I know that Barasui (ばらスィー) is Sweet Rose, Naoto Tenhiro (天広直人) is Cielo, etc.

Other than that, I just picked up some other junk that I didn't yet have. Well actually I had a Pocket Pikachu pedometer years ago but it was stolen from me, heh.

I got that deck of cards from K-Books (「K-BOOKSスペシャルトランプ」) for buying more than 3000 yens worth. Supposedly there are a lot of famous doujin and professional illustrators. There was a lot of glass case space devoted just to show off these cards, and it already sold out at the Tokyo store. I hope an Yuiko Tokumi illustration is in there. I'll open it up, but only if I have some plastic card protectors.

I'll probably go to Osaka Den-Den Town again next weekend but it will probably be stripped clean of the interesting stuff. I can't compete against those full-time otaku.