Angel Beats! has seen it's fair share of Nendoroid Petit figures showing up in various magazines.  The August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's magazine comes with a Nendoroid Petit Tenshi figure.  The G's Festival Deluxe Vol. 06 magazine (Angel Beats! Edition) came with a Yuri Nendoroid Petit figure.  But now, finally and officially, Good Smile Company has opened reservations for their first Nendoroid Petit Angel Beats! Set.  This is the first set of possibly three total.  This set features Yuri, Shiina and Yusa.  An odd choice for combination, but none-the-less, still very cute.

The Illustrations of Bishoujo panel was held on May 29^th, in Salon 3 at the Marriott.  This 18+ event was carded and the special guest speaker was Mamoru Yokota.  Unfortunately this event was not very well planned, and instead of being a presentation of Yokota’s illustrations, it became more or less a Q&A panel about his work and his personal experience working in the industry.

Mamoru Yokota is an experienced character designer, director and producer.  Mr. Yokota has also worked on well-known anime titles such as the Toei version of Kanon, the theatrical version of Air, Magical Kanan, DEATH NOTE, True Mazinger Impact! Z, Macross Frontier, Astro Fighter Sunred, and HELLSING IV.  His most notable work is probably his illustrations in the light novel series, Rune Soldier Louie.

The first half of the panel was filled with Yokota’s personal experience at Fanime.  He was very delighted to see that Fanime held a video room dedicated to hentai, but more so he was surprised that the room had guys--and girls.  After the short monologue from Yokota, he opened the floor up to questions from the audience.

In summary, the audience asked questions concerning Yokota’s feelings about the growth of hentai visual novel games in America to his views about eroge companies blocking international visitors to their websites. He stated that he didn't know very much about America's preference for hentai games apart from what is heard from local news mediums, and he was a little surprised about the blockage of foreign visitors from eroge creator websites. He mentioned he would talk to one of his good friends back in Japan who is the founder of one of the companies mentioned.

The panel lasted until 11pm and ended with Mamoru Yokota selling off some of his doujinshis, figures, and t-shirts he had brought with him.  None of goods he brought along were phenomenally amazing, but interesting at the very least.

On the evening of May 28th, FLOW performed at FanimeCon's MusicFest in the San Jose Civic Auditorium. FLOW has scarcely ever come to America to hold a concert; therefore this rare and highly anticipated performance was not to be missed. Unfortunately, the band requested for a strict no photography/no video policy during the concert, so pictures of the event are unavailable.

The concert started off with a brief introduction of the band by the main vocalist and then jumped right into the music. They played most of their popular songs that the audience would know including the Eureka 7 opening song "Days", Naruto Shippuden opening song “Sign”, Code Geass opening/ending songs “COLORS” and “WORLD END”, and finally the Naruto opening song “GO!!! (Fighting Dreamers)”. They even made it a point to perform one of their newer songs “CALLING”, which is the ending song to the new anime Heroman, created by Stan Lee and Studio BONES.

The overall performance was fantastic and the band did a great job of getting the crowded involved. Somewhere in the middle, FLOW played their cover of “Surfin' USA” and got everyone in the auditorium to do the wave. Though a little awkward at first, it was an extremely enjoyable and fun moment.

The concert ended before the scheduled time. As a whole, the concert felt a little short, but the band did play consecutive songs with little breaks in-between. The audio level of the concert was set louder than normal, and upon leaving the San Jose Civic Auditorium, the audience’s ears were ringing. FLOW managed an encore at the end, though unfortunately, when they returned to the stage, 20% of the audience had already left their chairs and exited the doors.

Overall, FLOW was a refreshing and nostalgic experience for old-fans and new-fans alike. FanimeCon’s MusicFest was a great success, with no technical difficulties; FanimeCon will have a hard time to top this off next year in 2011.

Nearing the release date of the anime, Good Smile Company has finally put out the highly anticipated animation version of Black Rock Shooter.  This PVC figure features a more dynamic pose.  Good Smile Company has captured Black Rock Shooter in mid-motion.  Her large Rock Cannon is still with her as she holds it with both hands.

Similar to the previous Black Rock Shooter figures, the base is styled in the same fashion.  With checkered black and white tiles and broken rocks, the base serves to further enhance the atmosphere of the figure.  The chains looping around the figure seem to be well detailed and can stand on their own.  Like the previous figure, the Rock Cannon is well proportioned and is still given that grainy-worn look.

As seen in the Rebuild of Evangelion movies, You Can (Not) Advance, this figure is modeled after Asuka in the special test plug suit as she prepares to pilot the experimental Eva Unit 03.  Alter has spent a great time to polish the details on this figure.

The cables that run through the test plug suit physically pop out and hold a unique texture.  The use of rubble and distorted steel beams for the structure create a perfect atmosphere for the scene.