The Strategy That Got Lego Back on Track
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Pre-orders open for the cutest Lovecraftian horror ever
It's not giant penguins or tentacled monstrosities that will herald my arrival in a crazy hidden alternate universe. It's (relatively) quick turnaround times on figure pre-orders. Remember when you used to have to order these things six months to a year in advance? Am I going crazy here, or was that a thing?
This special edition 1/8-scale Nyarlathotep (Nyaruko) from Haiyore! Nyaruko-san just became available for pre-order, but the release date is May. Yeah that's two months, but it's still a blistering turnaround in the figure world. To be fair, the normal edition has been on order since February, but still. I guess CM's Corporation has some kind of witchcraft going on to crank these out quickly.
The Miyazawa Limited Edition Nyaruko has an extra facial expression and a brown color scheme. I don't really dig the brown, but I always appreciate extra expressions. Let's face it, figure makers love the bland smiling expression. Anything with a little more feeling is refreshing.
The limited edition is going for ¥9,500 while the normal one is ¥8,800. Both will be out in May.
[Pre-order limited edition at Amiami | Hobby Search | ToysLogic]
[Pre-order standard edition at Amiami | Big in Japan | Hobby Search | HobbyLink Japan | J-List | Otacute]
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Hasbro Named Among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies for Second Consecutive Year
Hasbro, Inc. has been recognized as one of The Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies (WME) for the second year in a row. Ethisphere received a record number of nominations for the 2013 WME list. Hasbro’s commitment to responsible business practices can be seen through the company’s ongoing efforts in sustainable packaging innovation. Last year, [...]
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COMMENTARY: A Country Game for the Whole Family
One of the things I love most about country music is that the lyrics can get really, well, for lack of a better term, “honky tonk.” That’s why I jumped at the chance to try out You’ve Been Sentenced! Country Music Edition by McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds when it came into our office. I’ll [...]
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Chewbacca Premium Format Figure is Up
Chewbacca Premium Format Figure is Up
Today is the day that many people were waiting for, the day that the Sideshow newsletter is published so that the Chewbacca Premium Format Figure could be...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Chara-Ani's Masazumi Honda is on the horizon
You know what can be a fun game? Making up a story to explain the poses some of these figures wind up in. Why did Masazumi's pants fall down? Why is she covering her chest with her arms? I don't know but it might be fun to speculate.
This is Chara-Ani's take on Masazumi Honda from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere. I am going to poo-poo this figure a bit because for a scale figure, it's rather unimpressive. The sculpt is on the tier of a prize figure, and her mouth really doesn't look right. Not even an awkwardly contrived panty exposure is enough to make me want this.
But hey, my job's to just let you all know what's out there. If you want to pay ¥6,648 for this, then by god I want to let you. Masazumi will be out in June.
[Pre-order at Amiami | Big in Japan | Hobby Search | Otacute | ToysLogic]
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Raven Added to Injustice: Gods Among Us Let me go on a tangent....
Raven Added to Injustice: Gods Among Us
Let me go on a tangent. I’ll admit, I’ve been on a bit of a break from gaming. The recent Sim City and Alien: Colonial Marines fiascoes have simply made me sigh in frustration. However, there are great games out there that have me coming back to the medium I love so dearly. Games like Ni No Kuni, Bit.Trip.Runner.2 and Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm have sucked me back into gaming.
As a result, hype rarely gets to me. However, Injustice: Gods Among Us has me hyped. Surprisingly, I let this one go under my radar. I was curious when it was announced at last year’s E3, but then simply forgot about it.
Then news of my favorite Teen Titan being added to the game got me interested. Apparently GameTrailers accidentally uploaded the reveal trailer, which was originally supposed to air on GTTV. However, it was far too late.
There is a lot to be excited about here. A dark comic book fighting game from the creators of Mortal Kombat. On top of that is stellar design. It looks amazing. The detail in the environment, from the different depictions of the Joker and “Fuck Superman” graffiti to the awesome special moves, this game looks like the work of people who truly love what they do. It looks like a game for fans, but made by fans. It looks sincere.
That sort of thing pulls me back from the edges of gaming. I am incredibly excited for this.
Check it: More gaming on Albotas
Buy It: Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition
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Video Review Trailcutter Beast Hunters Transformers Prime Cyberverse Commander Class Figure
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Tformers forums member ebeforei has posted a video review of the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Cyberverse Commander class Trailcutter action figure. This little guy is a repaint / remold of his class mate's Ironhide mold. Watch the video review of the Trailcutter Beast Hunters toy below.
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New Images Reveal Beelzeboss Could Be Making Reshelled Classic Bumblebees
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Well, the boxes look neat. New heads and weapons? A reshell? Perhaps even full figures taking a page from Art Feather Bumblebee and improving on the idea? Obvious homages to Classic Bumblebee, Botcon Bug Bite and a updated Glyph. Not really sure if its "Moon Pie" or "Moon Pee". Either is a bit frightening. They also teased a not-Cliffjumper, not-Chase and not-Searchlight.
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This fabulous Yui Takamura figure is being re-released
Yeah sure, Kotobukiya's been making the Muv-Luv girls in their skin-tight suits as of late. Yui got that treatment not long ago. But remember when they put her in a more elegant outfit? I find that version much sexier than even the tightest of skin-tight suits.
Indeed, the Yui Takamura Gekka version will be re-released, hopefully with new and improved Kotobukiya build quality. You can pre-order now for ¥8,000, and Yui will triumphantly return to store shelves in July.
[Pre-order at Amiami | Big in Japan | Hobby Search | Otacute | ToysLogic]
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BotCon 2013 - Convention Registration Now Open for Attendees, Exhibitors, Non-attendees
Registration for BotCon 2013 is available now for attendees, exhibitors, and non-attendees. BotCon 2013 event will be happening in San Diego, California on June 27th to 30th at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. Fans can sign up online now at the official page at botcon.com. Read the full details below on the convention registration.
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3DS XL Gets Minty Fresh in Japan It was no surprise when...
3DS XL Gets Minty Fresh in Japan
It was no surprise when Nintendo quickly released a revised model of the 3DS. In fact, I’d say we’re due for another in 2014. Anyway, I wasn’t mad at Nintendo for putting out new hardware. My main gripe was that the XL was kind of fug. It’s still not great, but this mint color scheme has got me interested. It’s currently only announced for Japan, which is a bummer since the 3DS is region locked. Oh well. I promised myself I wouldn’t get a 3DS until I had finished all my original DS games anyway. And I’m nowhere near reaching that goal.
Check it: More 3DS posts from Albotas
Buy: Fire Emblem: Awakening
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IGear Mini-Warriors MW-05 Dunraker and MW-6 Cogz Packaging Box Images
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Thanks to the Dillinger 3D page we have some first looks at the concept designs for the iGear Mini-warrior MW-05 Cogz and MW-06 Duneraker packaging, Get a look at both toys that pay homage to classic G1 Mini-bots characters now.
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LeapFrog to Present at the ROTH Capital Partners 25th Annual Growth Stock Conference
[PR Newswire] - EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: LF) announced today that Ray Arthur, Chief Financial Officer, and Karen Sansot, Senior Director of Investor Relations, ...
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Toys R Us recalls Imaginarium Activity Walker due to choking fears
Toys R Us is recalling the Imaginarium Activity Walker due to a potential choking hazard.
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Mamitan previews Sakura Miku
Sakura Miku is a known quantity at this point, which is why she's perfect for Mamitan's first product preview. Mamitan used to share info on Good Smile Company's products via Twitter, but now she has a real blog that you can comment on. It's pretty much the same idea as Mikatan's blog except, you know, different.
To go along with a set of highly adorable photos, Mamitan shares some of the history behind Sakura Miku. The idea started as a keychain design, which bootleggers adapted into full-sized Nendoroids. But now that Sakura Miku is an official Nendoroid, Mamitan cautions prospective ebay shoppers to be aware of the bootlegs.
If you ordered a Sakura Miku Nendoroid, she should be arriving soon. Mamitan encourages you to send her your photos. Make sure it's at least a good seven on the cuteness scale, though.
[via Mamitan's Blog]
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Worldwide Mobile Home Screens
My mobile home screen - I've kept it simple so that I can see our lovely Mirai-chan keeping the icons to a minimum and placing them so that I can see both sets of her eyes ^^;
The weather widget is by Yahoo Japan and displays pinpoint weather down to each ward - in my case Meguro Ward. You can get it to motivate yourself even more to get to Japan by telling yourself that you will experience the weather readings in person one day.
You can download wallpapers of Mirai that I distribute in the Illustrator tag - includes some free photoshop files so that you can make your own too.
My current mobile device is the Galaxy S3 (review here) running on Cyanogenmod 10.1 Nightly (CM10) and you can see how I installed that in this post.
I thought it would be interesting to see what your mobile home screen looked like so I posted a message on Twitter and Facebook. As I started to go through your replies and interesting home screens, I thought it would be great to share them with the rest of the world - and so here they are - Worldwide Mobile Home Screens part 1 ^o^
I think I managed to pick up most replies but may have missed some - if your home screen is below then annotate it!
I'm also giving out Mirai Suenaga mobile wallpapers to folks who are following my official account on LINE.
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Dollar toys with $US1.04 after jobs
The Australian dollar is higher after traders in the US and Europe welcomed surprisingly strong domestic jobs figures.
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Dcay's Cadbury Dunny Series makes me want to take a bite!
Custom toy artist, Dcay, has totally made something I wish I could sink my teeth into. His Cadbury Dunny Series looks good enough to eat! These seriously look like what I would imagine you'd see in a store if Cadbury Dunnys actually did exist! He got everything from the yummy-looking chocolate shell, all the way to the frosting inside.
I was about to tell you that you could e-mail him to ask about purchasing one for yourself, but in less than 24 hours they are actually all sold out! It's no surprise considering how cool they are, and a big congrats to him for them going so quickly. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!
[via Tenacious Toys]
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Anime Conventions
On the 5th of January 2013, we held the very first Culture Japan Night in Penang Malaysia. It was held just after CJ Night Kuala Lumpur so I didn't expect that many to come - maybe about 25 people?
How wrong could I have been? After a recount we discovered that the Penang attendance was the largest ever at just over 1000 comrades - thank you all so much for coming!
This time we collaborated with Penang Global Tourism who arranged for the event to be held at Gurney Paragon which is located at Gurney Drive.
We had a most awesome time - cosplayers, doujin tables, doll displays, dolls, figures, TCG, mirai goodies and more. The event was covered by national press and has opened up many eyes in the industry who are keen on getting more Japanese culture to the locals.
I'm currently working with Penang Global Tourism on organising another event on a larger scale for this year. The theme will be Japanese lifestyle and pop culture - if you love anime, cosplay, manga and Japan then this would be the event to attend. It will be fan focused so that you can spend time with the celebrities and industry guests.
You tell me what seiyuu, anisong artists, celeb cosplayers you want and we will do our best to bring em in!
If all goes well then the event will be rolled out worldwide. Am still thinking of a name for the event so throw ideas at me if you have any.
The event will also promote other anime events in the region with the aim of helping to grow the anime industry overseas so expect to see events like AFA, Anime Expo, Comic Fiesta, Animangaki etc being given exposure too.
The following polls will help me understand what sort of content you want. No guarantees as the celebs have their schedules and priorities but will do our best.
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Previous Culture Japan Night coverage listed up in the photo posts below.
Find out more about the Culture Japan girls >>>
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