Benjamin Chu
[GSC] Yui Inaba PVC Figure
Once again, Good Smile Company has proven to us that they have not lost their touch. This figure is based on an illustration by the popular artist, Noizi Ito, and has been sculpted to keep all the characteristics of the original illustration as carefully as possible. The character is Yui Inaba in the visual novel Flyable Hearts.
Everything from the pose, to the donut, to the cute expression on Yui's face has been captured without fail. The color accuracy of this figure is probably the one factor that will stand out the most.
Charity Auction
The Charity Auction for Sakura-Con 2010 was held in room 2AB from 11:00am to roughly 2:30pm. The benefitors of the auction were the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.
Sakura-Con had a huge pile of items to auction off. Everything from DVDs, to key-chains, to autographed posters to exclusive sketches, this event was sure to be exciting.
The most notable (high-priced) items that were auctioned off were mostly exclusive sketches and autographed items. Noizi Ito had provided four sketches for this event. Two Haruhi Suzumiya sketches and two Shana sketches. Each with the words Sakura-Con 2010 written across the top or side, her autograph and the character sketch in a shade of red. Each exclusive sketch sold for $2000, $1500, $1600, and $1600.
The three hour event finally ended around 2:30pm. Most of the items were sold, though some items never found a home. At Sakura-Con, items that are not sold during the Charity Auction are cycled to next year's Charity Auction. With a total of over $27,000 raised, Sakura-Con's Charity Auction in 2010 was a definite success.
Sakura-Con 2010 Report
Organized annually by the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association (ANCEA), Sakura-Con 2010 was held from April 2nd 2010 to April 4th 2010 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington. The Guests line up this year was pretty impressive and attracted a total of 18,002 attendees.
[GSC] Nendoroid Petit Nanoha the Movie 1st Box
Better late than never, GSC has released pre-orders for the the popular Nendoroid-Petit Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha set. Nendoroid-Petits based off of Nanoha the Movie, are sure to be an instant hit for any Nendoroid or Nanoha fan.
[GSC] Black ★ Rock Shooter Nendoroid and Figma
As popular as ever, Good Smile Company has released the Black ★ Rock Shooter Nendoroid and figma for pre-order at local internet retailers. As we've all seen the pre-production pictures, these finalized PVC figures are sure to be a treat for any BRS fan. Pre-order numbers hit in the 20,000 range within the first day!
The Nendoroid version comes with her Rock Cannon and Black Blade and even comes with the checkered stand. Like all Nendroids, extra hair parts and different attachments are included.
DJ Max Technika 2 -Crew Race- Website Launched
DJ Max Technika fans rejoice! The Korean company Neowiz has officially launched the 'DJ Max Technika 2 -Crew Race-' website. With flashing colors and a bleeding rainbow, this website is the first news and official annoucement of the coming sequel to the ever so popular DJ Max Technika arcade machine.
No official details have been provided as of yet, as the website was launched mere hours ago, but with a name like "Crew Race" we can assume new features such as new songs, an improved Platinum Crew Service and possibly crew competitions.
Follow the link to get an explosion of eye candy.
AmiAmi Opens Website to International Customers
Surprise! AmiAmi has officially launched an English website, now allowing international customers to browse, purchase and pre-order all the items they sell on the AmiAmi Japanese website!
AmiAmi is pretty well known for selling exclusive items and previously the only way to get them was to acquire the help of a deputy service or have a friend who lived in Japan purchase items for you. It was pretty annoying and very expensive, but now AmiAmi will ship to international customers. AmiAmi usually has pretty low prices on their items compared to other online retailers like HLJ or HobbySearch, so this makes purchasing from them enticing.
Unfortunately, for now, they only accept PayPal for payment. For shipping they only provide EMS shipping. Which honestly is not bad, just a little bit on the expensive side.
Before you go rushing ahead and buying all the Touhou exclusives, take note and read through the AmiAmi FAQ, there are restrictions that you’ll probably need to be aware of. For example, you cannot cancel any of your orders; or if you do happen to order an item that is ‘Japan only’, they will promptly cancel your order.
Like many other shoppers online, I am very excited to hear AmiAmi has opened their doors to international customers. AmiAmi will probably become one of my top choices for ordering goods from now on. Sadly, this will push AmiAmi goods to become sold out even quicker than before. With the influx of international shoppers, I have no doubt I will be spending a lot of days pressing F5 and waiting.
Good Smile Company Marisa Kirisame Nendoroid
3 months after the successful début of the Hakurei Remiu Nendoroid, Good Smile Company has finally released their Marisa Kirisame Nendoroid (ねんどろいど きりさめまりさ)! With the Touhou fan-base ever steadily growing, this would mark as a 'must-get' for all Touhou/Marisa fans.