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Tsukimi

Friday, September 16, 2016 / No Comments

During Japanese class earlier, my sensei had joked about the many different mooncakes that we could indulge in on Mid-Autumn, and how the calories were never a concern for most people. Yeah, until then I have to say that the idea of taking in all that sugar and stuff was hardly a hindrance. But like all other festivities, Mid-Autumn is just a yearly affair. My sensei also told us something interesting. In Japan, there is Tsukimi, which literally means looking at the moon. Instead of mooncakes, they eat tsukimi dango, that are sweet rice flour dumplings. They also have special soba or udon to commemorate the occasion.

Speaking of which, I once had tsukimi udon several years ago. It was at an old eatery in one of the shopping malls. Mine was probably the simplest of all versions: soft, chewy udon in a light-flavoured broth topped with a raw egg. I didn't regret eating that though it was kind of expensive for something that simple. It was definitely a refreshing experience which would probably have remained unnoticed till this day had I not given it a try. The Japanese have seasonal menus every year that are just impressive and gut-wrenching, especially for people like myself who isn't anywhere near Japan and won't be anytime soon.

See what I mean? How many people have they intended to kill with a line-up like above? There is a Full Moon Cheese Tsukimi, a Cheese Tsukimi and a Tsukimi Burger! Okay, perhaps they don't really look that impressive to some people. But I have taken a fancy to the little rabbit on the moon. Isn't it cute? A burger-chomping usagi. I wish that I could let them take my money! Nope, ordering the Egg McMuffin isn't the same.

Apparently, there is another form of Tsukimi on the web though not really relevant to moon-watching and such. She has popped out as the very first image on Google, and her name is Tsukimi which is the main character of Princess Jellyfish, a manga slash anime series. Well, I thought that I would just put her picture here. No other reason is necessary. She does look extremely awkward here. Anyway, I hope that most of you have had some mooncake and tea! I couldn't see the moon anywhere though, but I'm sure that the rabbit had been somewhere munching on a burger.

Eccentrically Yours.

Written by J.Fluffysheep ♫

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid #50: Saber Lion (Good Smile Company)

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After waxing lyrical about the regal and imperious Nero Claudius in my previous Saber Bride unboxing post, perhaps it's a good opportunity to turn back time and visit Saber Lion; the first full-sized Saber Nendoroid (not counting the hetare ones of course) released over 8 years ago. This adorable version of Saber made her first appearance in the 2007 Fate/tiger colosseum fighting game, brandishing a chunk of meat (affectionately named Meatcalibur) to fight instead of her favoured sword, Excalibur. To the delight of Fate/Stay Night fans everywhere, she re-appears in the Carnival Phantasm anime as part of the King of the Wild segment.

This whimsical Nendoroid made a great impression when I embarked on my collection, largely due to how cute it is and partially because of the attractive price point. Of the ten Saber Nendoroids, this is easily in my top three. The lion costume she wears even includes space for her ahoge to stick out and the recognisable blue ribbon that her normal outfit features. Did I mention that you can adjust her tail too?

The packaging features the standard design on all Nendoroid boxes before number 300 was released. Although the design is somewhat dated, it's still attractive and definitely eye-catching if I were to see it being displayed in stores. As usual, there are the various sample poses shown along with the normal warnings and links to the Good Smile Company website.

The pose that caught my eye and the one that I eventually stuck with would be Saber tearing up as she holds an empty bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. It's easily the funniest pose a Nendoroid has in my collection.

Attention to detail is one of Good Smile Company's strong suits and it's shown yet again. The bowl that Saber is holding up has a design that features...you guessed it, a lion in a jungle. Good Smile Company could've easily settled for a plain, unpainted bowl but I appreciate the extra effort and I'm sure that anyone who bought the Nendoroid does too. Not to mention that it adds to how hilarious she looks as she begs for food.

The only downside for this Nendoroid would be how heavy its headpiece is. You're essentially forced to use the base given but I've seen her without it in Nendoroid photoshoots so it's only a minor inconvenience if you're dead set on posing her without it.

An example I faced would be attempting to recreate the pose you see here. After stubbornly trying for a good 30-40 minutes, I gave up due to the heavy headpiece and lack of balance from her chunk of meat. Kudos to those who've managed to accomplish it and I take back what I said about being able to do anything if I could assemble and pose Yamato.

Although Saber Bride features perhaps the cutest faceplate among all the Saber Nendoroids, Saber Lion is by far the cutest Nendoroid among the whole lot. Jokes detailing how gluttonous Saber is never get old, be it in the anime or visual novel. She is even motivated solely by food in one episode of Carnival Phantasm. The lion costume she puts on here only serves to double the comedic value.

Written by ET

「Mobage」Haikyuu!! Donpishamatch

Thursday, September 15, 2016 / 1 Comment

Care to be a volleyball club manager? I'm sure you are, come and help bring your favorite team to the Nationals!

Any fan of Haikyuu should have heard of this game, donpisha-match which is a mobile game. While it is not immensely popular globally, it has definitely earned its own group of avid fans locally in Japan.

The game itself is (obviously) in Japanese and contains elements of RNG where you scout for characters and get cards with ranging rarity, where a higher rarity usually means better stats and visual appeal. Really, I think the number of RNG-based games are always on the rise for Japan nowadays. It must really bring in tons of money!

I tried out the game for a little and this is what it's generally like.

You start out in the game as a brand-new character and the NPC to help you out in this game is none other than Karasuno's own manager, Shimizu Kiyoko. She introduces you to the background of the game and soon you are allowed to choose the team you want to take -- Karasuno, Nekoma or Aoba Josai (Seijou). It's slightly weird and unnatural how Kiyoko remains as the NPC even though I chose Aoba Josai (yes, I like Oikawa).

The matches itself are easy to play. You have several levels of "training" matches that takes up a small amount of AP, and the last stage for each chapter is a "practice match". Training usually involves two people, however the last training session before the practice match will have all of them working together.

With training, all you have to do is to tap your screen to stop the ball at the right location as it slides down and back up the bar. If you stop the ball outside the range, you will get a "don't mind" while stopping it in the range would give you a successful play. Of course, if you manage to stop the ball dead in the center, you'll get a "Donpisha!", hence the name of the game. But even if you don't succeed in stopping within range, you still do get the experience points from training. Pretty neat!

In training, you can get the friendship bond between characters up as well, especially if they were practicing together.

Practice match is where things get confusing, and to be honest, I have nearly no idea how to go about doing this, but somehow I just manage to win them. In matches, you have both teams on the court and you basically watch miniature versions of them switching around in the court as successful plays are made. Occasionally, there would be a power struggle between the spiker and the blocker and that's when the card's defense and offense stats come into play. There is also a "fever period" where it's basically a rally and you are not allowed to drop the ball.

But even though I say this, I didn't do anything special. I merely watched as the team on defense added up and is pounded by the offense statistics. The team that has a higher summation wins the rally. Sometimes, you can have a Quick and that would mean that you would have to return to the minigame of stopping the ball in the lane again.

Basically, this game is pretty easy at the lower levels, and would be addictive and fun to play if you don't get too into it. I haven't played it a long time to review how much more difficult it gets at higher levels but as far as I got to, it was still very manageable.

The only really recognizable downside to the game would be the long, random and numerous loading screens. That really takes a lot away from the gaming experience.

~ Reina-rin

Gacha Gacha Anime

Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / No Comments

Gacha Gacha Anime brings to you my collection of Gachapons in the Anime categories. They are kawaii little toys found inside the Capsule Stations along shopping malls, walkways and toy events. Getting one of your favourite Gacha character is almost 100% based on luck.

Dragonball Z Series - Bandai

He has super long hands

See the length of his hand? It's even longer than his body.

She's Koyoshi (Yukata Squid Daughter) from Capsule Q Fraulein. Even thought this is a small figurine, remarkable workmanship is evident here.

One Piece Tony Tony Chopper - Bandai

Pokémon Squirtle Gachapon.

Lucky Star Girl.

One Piece Thousand Sunny Boat.

Sailormoon Figure Ochatomo (Blind Boxes). They are tiny figurines which sits on the edge of your otaku cup.

The workmanship and paint job is excellent!

Love Live Gashapon.

Written by Max

Step out of the Otaku Closet

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid #387: Saber Bride (Good Smile Company)

Tuesday, September 13, 2016 / No Comments

As promised in my review of Good Smile Company's milestone Nendoroid, Altria Pendragon a month ago, I'll be reviewing all ten full-sized Saber Nendoroids. This is partly due to the resurgence of the Fate/Stay Night franchise in the coming year and a little challenge I took on from my Saber-obsessed friend. This particular Saber Nendoroid I'm reviewing also happens to be my favourite among all ten, even beating out milestone Nendoroids like Altria Pendragon and the Type Moon 10th Anniversary one.

I've never been the biggest fan of the original Saber. I much prefer Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura as heroines in their respective routes in the visual novel and eventually, the anime for Sakura. However, Saber from the Fate/Extra series is a different story altogether.

Her bold and imperious personality coupled with hilarious vignettes in the form of her cameo appearance in Carnival Phantasm and Niconama stream on April Fool's Day last year sealed the deal for me. Not to mention her significantly larger bust and more revealing outfit. But that's obviously not as important to most people compared to her longer ahoge, right?

Saber's 'Bridal Gown of Restraint' outfit in the Fate/Extra CCC game is incredibly detailed and she's affectionately referred to as 'Saber Bride' in this case. Much like their two 1:7 scale models of her, Good Smile Company has nailed her lacy get-up in the Nendoroid, from the ombre colouring in her veil to other tiny details present. I even took the time to compare the figure to the official art and I'm glad to report that its a perfect copy.

Yes, it's the standard Nendoroid packaging featuring the various poses the figure can adopt along with the usual list of information and warnings. What caught my eye in this case would be the chibi expression that one faceplate has, specially created by Fate/Extra CCC's character designer, wadarco. It's one of the cutest Nendoroid faceplates I've seen, if not the cutest. There's even an image showing off how detailed her veil is to boot.

Much like a standard Nendoroid, it comes with the usual host of faceplates and accessories. Although the selection may seem bland to some, even I struggle to think what Good Smile Company can throw in other than a more appealing base. Think of this as an expansion to Saber Extra's original Nendoroid featuring her red outfit.

Sadly, I continue to lack creativity and have just decided to stick with one of the poses showcased on the website and packaging. Balancing her sword was trickier than it looked but after assembling and posing Yamato from Kantai Collection, this was a piece of cake. I'll change her pose eventually to feature the chibi faceplate and alternate ahoge but with many more reviews coming up, that is the least of my priorities right now.

For Saber fans, the Saber Bride Nendoroid is a nice addition to your collection, standing out from the sea of blue and silver that one would normally associate with the King of Knights. I much prefer Saber Extra (AKA Red Saber), so this purchase was a no-brainer for me and with a Fate/Extra anime series airing next year, it's also a great time to hop onto the hype train.

Written by ET

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