Surabaya Anime and Toys Festival

Surabaya Anime and Toys Festival.

Okay, and we're back to another anime figure event in Surabaya. This is Surabaya Anime and Toys Festival. This event was held in 9 - 18 April 2009, more than 1 week, pretty long for an event, and was held in ITC - Surabaya. Don't be fooled by the photo above, they're band members who're participating in this band competition, singing anisongs.

Too bad, they only sung Naruto songs and they were totally sucks! They sung horrible songs like Haruka Kanata, and all they do were just screaming s**t. Well... anyway, let's move on to the event coverage.

Worst event so far IMO...

This the worst event I've ever been in my life. First, the number of the participants aren't that many, unlike the previous events. Next, the participants theirselves aren't very interesting IMO. They mainly sold American toys and Naruto s***s.

Small number of PVC figures here...

Every time i found a stack of Japanese PVC figures, i took a picture of it. Here's an example. You can see some old stocks here. MaxFact's Mai, Simca, Nendo Ryuuku (probably fake), and some other things. See the other things around, the only things you'll find are only Warcraft, Spawn, and other American toys.

Dominated by American toys.

Still the same store, but only different angle. Not very interesting for me. But yeah... Indonesia collectors are mainly American toys collector. I never met any Japanese PVC figures collectors around.

ToyMagZ store.

Next, move on to ToyMagZ store. ToyMagZ is the most popular toy collection magazine in Indonesia. But can you guess what's inside? Yeah... mostly American toys, SIC, One Piece / Bleach / Naruto, and some robot plastic kits like Gundam. This magazine contents really reflect Indonesian collectors main interests.

Gunpla, American toys, One Piece figures, and some magazine copies.

In their store, they sold their magazine copies, Gundam and some other robot kits, American Toys, and One Piece figures (POP). They have some nice Gundam kits, but i didn't ask the price. There were some nice kits like Infinite Justice MG, Shinanju MG ver KA, Launcher Sword Strike MG, etc.

Wajuwa store, my fav.

If you have ever read my previous event coverage, you should recognize this store. This desk actually belonged to Wajuwa, my favorite Japanese PVC store. Too bad, this time they still sold the same things as before, only few addition here like Haruhi and Mikuru live figures from Sega.

There were 3 new Nendos.

I think I've seen these figmas in the previous event (the one that took 11 days, forgot the name). But those Nendos are new, except Nendo Melisa Seraphy. There were Nendo Tsukasa, Nendo Miyuki, and Nendo Maritan. I've seen Maritan in Vixion's Nendo Theatre, and it's pretty cute!

Wajuwa's rack, still the same collection.

This rack also belonged to Wajuwa. But still, the collection was just the same as previous event. Vita was still there, and also Alter's Mitsuru, Koto's Clalaclan white and noir version. Not very interesting for me though.

Wajuwa still has the same display here, so here are some photos of their display:

Emma Ai, forgot the manufacturer.

Bamboo Blade's Tama-chan, from Kotobukiya.

Another Blood, manufactured by Max Fact (maybe... XD)

Art community.

I forgot the name, but this stand is special stand. They are a Japanese based art class and community. They made papercrafts, manga, and some nice artworks. People here can look at their works, or join their community if they want to.

More photos below, mostly about their papercraft works:

Keroro and some other character papercraft.

I think these were their masterpieces.

Zeta Gundam.

Hi Nu Gundam - the best so far IMO.

Axioo (Laptop manufacturer) stand.

I don't know what the committee of this event think about but they also take axioo (laptop manufacturer) as the sponsor and let them open a stand here. I don't know the direct connection between laptop and Anime - toys, but i guess putting laptop stand here is a pretty bad idea.

This time is Zyrex.

There were 2 laptop manufacturers open stands here. They were Axioo and Zyrex. Maybe the committee of this event was short on budget and need a desperate money from the sponsor, so they took these laptop manufacturers as the sponsor. XD

Well.. that's it for the coverage. Overall this is a bad event, and i didn't buy anything from here, so don't expect any loot. Just wait for another anime review, figure photoshoots, and figure hauls. So... see you at the next post!

Yagami Hayate - Alter

Yagami Hayate.

While everyone already doing their review on Haruhi Gekisou version, I'm still stuck on editing Hayate's photos which already stacked in the last March. I've done this photo session in March, but I'm too busy just for editing the photos and doing this post, so i pushed myself to find a spare time for editing and writing.

Anyway, this is Yagami Hayate, from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS (eveyone should know her), manufactured by Alter. This is so far... the most expensive figure i have in my collection.

Manufactured by Alter.

Alter sure is amazing for this past months, starting from May 2008. And in this year 2009, Alter never cease to amaze us with their masterpieces, like Fate Sonic form, Nanoha with her ultimate form (forgot the name), etc. And i, as Alter fan, will keep collecting figures from Alter. Hayate is one example of Alter's masterpiece, and i think this figure was the first great move Alter did in figure world.

Meister des nachthimmels.

In Nanoha StrikerS, Hayate has a small number of action scene, and she's stuck on her office work most of the time. While she has the lowest battle scene compared to Fate and Nanoha, her battle jacket, skills, rank, power, devices, and whatever power she has are beyond amazing, even more than Fate and Nanoha IMO (please... no offense to Fate and Nanoha fans). This figure gives Hayate a chance to show up in community, and makes us realize how great she is.

Sorry, only normal form here.... no unison form and no Rein.

This figure has some noticeable features like: Hayate in normal form, Hayate in unison form, Reinforce with her own base, and Reinforce sitting on her wing. I'm sorry to tell you that in this photo session, you'll only see Hayate in normal form. Well.. it's just i was too carried away taking pictures of her, and i forgot to change her form, and also forgot to take a picture of Reinforce.

Her face skin is just too pale, but you won't see it here.

I like her face and those blue eyes. Her face is just so pretty, yet so cool. Notice that these photos have gone through 3 steps: camera settings, DPP editing, and Photoshop editing. As i said before, Alter's figures skin tones are pale, while in this photos, her skin looks livelier than the real one. That's because I've done color manipulation using RAW, picture style setting, and white balance. I don't know why Alter keeps doing that pale skin tone on their figures.

Very cool indeed...

Talk about her eyes, well... yes... her eyes need a highlight, so i did this on her eyes. Wow.. her eyes just look soooo cool in this photo. I wonder how a figure sculptor and painter, make her eyes look so beautiful like this. Eyes are very small parts and need high patience and skills to make parts like that.

Her favorite hairpin.

Hayate's signature hairpin. I wouldn't want to miss this in the photo session. Even in her office getup, she still wears that hairpin. I don't know if it has a special meaning on it, but i guess it's just an official standard accessories like Haruhi's hairband.

Hayate's battle jacket's hat.

Hayate's hat, one of her battle jacket equipment. I've tried taking of her hat after she was arrived, but i notice something was lacking, so yes... she's better with her hat on. Anyway, I've already watched StrikerS, but i never notice those ribbons behind her hat, and now i know Hayate's hat has those ribbons.

Hayate's battle jacket.

Can you count, how many episodes Hayate wore this battle jacket? Or just count how many minutes she wore that? If you really count it, i think you'll end up with small number. So yeah, Hayate in her battle jacket need more highlight. Her inner jacket has the similar design as Rein's, except they have different colors. And She has a outer vest similar to Nanoha's, complete with long sleeve, white color, and blue edges.

Great quality, great sculpt, great paintjob.

I never knew Hayate's battle jacket has so much details, and many thanks goes to Alter for bringing that details alive in this figure. Her paintjob is also awesome, with that folds and shading around the jackets. I found a very small and unnoticed flaw in this figure, other than that, everything looks so perfect!

Nice chest... but well... just to let you know.

Hmm... nice chest, but not too big to brag about. Well... her chest (here) has a so-so size. Well... the main reason you bought this figure isn't to find sexiness, but coolness. That's why i never bought a flat chested bikini character figure, because you're buying bikini figure because you need sexiness, and you buy an action themed figure because you need coolness.

Hey... it's painted fingernail! Kinda invincible because it's pale pink colored.

After Reinforce's floating book, and now Hayate's floating book. Looks like it was floating in the promotional photos, but yeah... the secret lies on her wrist, left wrist to be exact. The photo above explains it all. And also, notice that her nails are painted. Yes... painted fingernails! I'm pretty sure that some of you Hayate owner haven't notice this until you saw this photo. That's because some figure collectors often skip on examining the whole figure from different angles and just put it on their rack or desk or whatever place. Please... don't let that habit prevents you from discovering how great a figure is.

Writings inside Buch Der Nachthimmel.

Buch Der Nachthimmel, her book device. Once again, you'll miss this writing if you just put your figure and just keep watching her from the front. It's a small book, so the writings are also small, it's unreadable, but at least you can see the drawing there.

Magic book.

The sculpt on her book cover is just too amazing! The details are just to amazing, especially on the front cover. Moreover, the shading on the book is also awesome! This book has so many magic in the anime, and Alter make this book in this figure also like magic!

Her right hand with Schwert-Kreuz.

With book on her left hand, she has her wand, Schwert-Kreuz, on her right hand. Although her hand looks pretty firm on grabbing the wand, it's also easy to take her wand off. So watch out when you grab her around the wand.

Violet pearl, anyone ever notice this in the anime?

I never knew that there's a beautiful violet pearl on her back edge of her wand in the anime. So yeah... i just knew after I've done this photo session. Anyway, you can take off this blue part to insert the wand on Hayate's hand.

Schwert-Kreuz, as cool as it sounds.

I like this wand, it's cool and i think has a cooler shape than Bardiche and Raging Heart IMO. This wand also has a part where it was wrapped with bandage. Usually that's where i put Hayate's hand.

Parts around her hip.

Around her hip, there's these armor parts. I'm not really interested with these parts. But one thing you should know that, in the anime, these parts are made of metal, and Alter didn't forget to put glossy paint on it to make a metal feeling on it.

Why Alter keep making figure with pale skin tone?

Usually, legs are parts where i bragged about the skin. Well... yes... Alter's skin tone is just too pale as always. I don't know if this has already become Alter's characteristic on making figure or they already tried to fix it. But yeah... the only thing i don't like in Alter's figure is just this pale skin, that's all.

Her big cape which made the box also big.

This is the part which made the box big, just like Fate Burst version's cape. If i can remove it, i think I'll remove it. Yeah... because i don't really like this big cape. But oh well, what can we do? It's her equipment anyway.

Mandatory pantie shot.

Oopss... i wouldn't forget to do this pantie shot. It's black, so it blends perfectly with the shadow, makes it kinda unseen. But yeah... it's just a service from me. XD

The 6 black wings, i've said 1.5 year ago.

My otaku friend asked me 1.5 year ago, "Dude, is there any Hayate figure exist?", and i answered "No... Fate and Nanoha are more popular and no love for Hayate, so there's no Hayate figure around.", and i continued "But that would be cool if Hayate figure was exist, with the battle jacket and those 6 black wings, it must be COOL!!". I never expected that there will be Hayate figure like this at that time, and now i've seen it and have it on my collection.

Cool... really cool!

Those 6 black wings are the coolest parts in this figure. One and a half year ago i imagined Hayate figure with her 6 black wings, and now my imagination became reality. Her 6 black wings look really cool, especially with that transparent effect on it.

Watch out of breaking the wings.

Alter's really did a very good job on this figure. The wings are attached on certain places and make them look really floating. Just like what they did on Rein's book and Hayate's book. The sculpt on her wings are also great. The only thing i'm afraid is, breaking her wings, because the wings is somewhat thin, and it could break easily.

POI: Hayate herself!

POI? well... Hayate (character) herself is the POI! Hayate never got enough love, and she doesn't get much screen time, especially her action. This figure gives Hayate the chance to show the world how great she is (i think i've said that before XD). Eventhough you're not Hayate's fans, i think most of you would want to get this figure.

That's pretty long! Well... that's it for now. Expect more anime review and Nyx's photo session in the coming posts. So.... see you at the next post!

Kannagi

Kannagi.

Time for another anime review! This time it's Kannagi! This anime is somewhat popular based on how people talk and how many pictures uploaded in danbooru. As this is an anime review, please be ware of SPOILERS!!!!! You've been warned, if you knew the risk, please proceed forward.


Kannagi is about a boy, Mikuriya Jin, who suddenly "revived" a god from his wood carving art. That god called herself Nagi. And then she lived with Jin because she didn't have place to stay. It's pretty normal cliche from the begininning though.

Nagi mentioned that she's a god and she has to cleanse so called "impurity". And the first one to see her doing her job is Jin. At first i thought this anime would run into "cleansing demon" plot, but no... this anime is an anime of comedy and romance, so you'll end up getting hilarious comedy around, and some typical tsundere romance scene.

Nagi, the main character.

Nagi, the main character in this anime. Continuing of what i said above (about cleansing impurity), later on in the anime, Nagi tried to gain more power by getting more "follower". Getting more follower here is similar to become an idol and get more fans. Nagi started her quest to get more follower by entering Jin's school and joining Jin's friend in art club.

It seems that people likes Nagi the most. Well... i don't really like a girl with stubborn tsundere side, so Nagi is not my favorite, and frankly i kinda hate her.

Aoba Tsugumi.

The second heroine is Aoba Tsugumi. She's Jin's childhood friend. Oh... and i forgot to mention that you'll meet some harem scenes here. Three girls, 1 Jin, and that's harem.

Tsugumi is my favorite character, personality wise. She's pretty, kind, and caring, but she's too naive, doesn't know much, and ended up becoming "dumped" supportive character. And guess what, she never had the chance to confess her feeling to Jin.

Zange.

Next up is Zange-chan. I don't know why, but i think she looks like a biatch pervert and lustful girl. Most of her scene with Jin involves a(n) crazy sex ecchi scene. Anyway, she's also a god or so she said, and she mentioned that she is Nagi's younger sister.

Zange possesed Suzushiro Hakua.

Zange actually occupied a girl's body (Suzushiro Hakua). While Nagi came out of (sacred) wood carving, Zange doesn't have any medium, so she has to occupy (more like posses) a person's body. In episode 3 (or 4, dunno, please correct me), Hakua's father asked Nagi to "exorcist" Zange and return Hakua's body to her own control. I thought this was the main plot, but once again, i was wrong. Hakua accepted Zange on her own will, and in the end, they remained the same as before.

Outlook wise, i love Zange, she's cute, sexy, beautiful, and full of sex desire XD . The only thing i don't like from her is her biatch like perverted personality. That's why it's kinda hard to decide between Tsugumi and Zange.

On the contrary... Tsukasa got the wrong room!

Overall, this anime is good. You'll meet some moe goodness like Nagi, Zange, and Tsugumi in maid uniform. And you'll even meet Lucky Star girls in this anime. First 3-4 episodes could fool you. If you expected something like "demon cleansing" or even "exorcist Zange", no... you won't get that.

Bonus: Hatsune Miku X Kannagi OP crossover.

I forgot i how much i score this anime in MAL. But i think i enjoyed watching this. For those who haven't watched this, well... watch it! That's it for now... so... see you at the next post!

Ryougi Shiki haul - at last.....

Ryougi Shiki - Good Smile Company.

At last... after waiting for a loooooong time, i got this beauty... Ryougi Shiki. I won't be surprised on how long i get this figure after her actual release date because i got her from my local store, Saber. Local store like this can give you a very low price, but you have to sacrifice the shipping time.

From Kara no Kyoukai.

I got this figure 2 weeks ago, barely able to post it because of my school, assignments, projects, and exams. Anyway, she's Ryougi Shiki, from Kara no Kyoukai, manufactured by Good Smile Company. Before i ordered this, i asked my girl first whether i should buy this or Mikuru gothic version. She chose this because she likes the yukata, so yeah... i took her advice because i want to add a Yukata wearing character in my collection.

No alternate parts.... Just a yukata beauty.

I got her for IDR 900k, while her real price is around JPY 6500, so after some doing some counting and all, i knew that i got her for a somewhat cheap price. Anyway, she doesn't have too much alternative parts, just her, katana, and the base. The base itself is just too plain i guess...

I got a defect... she's leaning right.

Did you notice something looks weird here? Yes... I think i got a defect.... She's leaning right (of her side). Crap! I was really unfortunate with this figure, first it's the shipping time and now this? This is just too much XP ! Anyone here can give me a tips on fixing this problem? Anything would be appreciated.

Yet another figure came and waiting behind the queue.

Yeah... so much for the trouble. It seems that i have one more figure waiting in the queue of my photo session. I still have Nyx, Tomoyo, Haruka, and Teana waiting to for their turn to be photographed, and before I'm able to do Nyx, Shiki already arrived and waiting behind.

Nice, but not that special...

I can't really give any evaluation on this figure for now, all i can say now is she has a nice yukata and looks nice on it, her pose just too normal, but she's beautiful... that's all. Just wait until the time come. Expect some other hauls and anime reviews for the next incoming posts. See you later!~~

ChaoS;HEAd

ChaoS;HEad

Right in the middle of my battlefield, fighting against numerous projects, assignments, and mid-exams (last week is my mid-exam week), i tried to entertain myself by watching a couple of animes (and sometimes playing PS3). As i said in the 2 latest post before this, i watched 5 series and i already watched most of them at the 11th episodes. So 2 weeks after that i finished them all, and i think I'll use my spare time to give a personal thought about animes i've watched and finished.

Watch out for any readers who haven't watched this anime. This post will be full of SPOILERS! You've been warned, and you're welcome to proceed if you already understand the risk.

A lame NEET hikkikomori otaku surrounded by pretty girls...

Don't be fooled by the pics above. This anime is full of suspense and thrill at the 1st half of the story. Keywords to describe this anime is: DELUSION. This anime is all about making delusion became a reality. It's about a NEET otaku and hikkikomori guy named Nishijou Takumi, and a chain of murders happened in Shibuya.

That guy looks really lame, and can't do anything except worshipping and making his favorite character her wife (Seira-tan). Talk about delusional otaku, he's the type that said "I'm only interested with 2D girls". I know some people like this do exist in the real world, but yeah... i hope you all haven't reached that level yet.

This anime involves pretty girls with swords!

Little by little, Takumi got more and more involved in the murders, and at this point the suspense was also starting to grow. This anime really gives me the chill and suspense. Episodes 1-10 still gives you mysteries and made you keep asking "What the hell is that?", and at the last 2-3 episodes the mysteries are all answered.

Ending? Meh... with a sudden turnover, Takumi discovered about his strength and defeated the real enemy. I never thought that Chaos Head is just an anime about heroines beating villains who tried to rule the world using some craps. But yeah... that's what you got in the end of the story. I was hoping for some mysteries like Higurashi or something like that.

Why do i watch this? Well... the first things i saw about this anime are the cool Chaos Head logo design and Rimi. So yeah... seeing Rimi was my main reason of watching this. I never really give a damn with the synopsis or whatever things like animation studio, producer, seiyuu, etc.

Sakihata Rimi.

Sakihata Rimi, the main character beside Takumi. She knew everything about Takumi and about he's a delusion and whatsoever. Well... she's pretty, and i think she's my favorite character from this anime. I just don't like her sword, that's all.

Nishijou Nanami.

Nishijou Nanami, Takumi's younger sister. She really care with her brother eventhough her brother is a total failure in life XD . She discovered her strength rather late. I find her too annoying at first.

Kusunoki Yua.

Kusunoki Yua: "Don't say anything! You won't say anything right? You won't say anything. You won't scream, will you?". WOW, i mean... she can make a person followed her order by manipulating that person's mind. She tried to get close to Takumi because she believed that the murderer is Takumi, based on the her research about split personalities. I like her at first because she acted kind to Takumi, and she wears glasses (meganekko moe), but after several scene about her deceiving Takumi, i kinda don't like her.

Kishimoto Ayase.

Kishimoto Ayase, a singer and a person who believed about the propechy of "Black knight" and "Gurajiooru" (written Gradiale, dunno don't care). She's the first person who told Takumi about how to obtain the strength (di-sword) and something about manipulating someone's mind to create an illusion. She also can do cool stuffs like making river flow and freezing the whole things she wants (Cocytus). I like her cool personality, and moreover i like her song Haritsuke no Misa. Oh.. and she got the best designed sword in the anime IMO.

Aoi Sena.

Aoi Sena, the first person Takumi met while grabbing a di-sword. Sena also knew some technical stuffs about manipulating person's mind to create delusion. It's pretty hard to understand her really... But that's not her interesting part. She got a sorrowful past, and her past connected with the final villain. She's pretty much involved in the experiment on manipulating mind to create delusion.

Orihara Kozue.

Orihara Kozue a.k.a. Kozupii, a girl who can use telephaty. Despite of her first appearance, she's actually a cheerful girl, only when she's with Sena or Takumi. If you're a twintail fans, then she's your girl. Her role in this anime isn't that important, except for connecting Sena and Takumi. Together with Sena, Kozupii told Takumi about materializing the delusion. I like Kozupii, but not at the level where she became my favorite character.

Nanami x Kozupii yuri for bonus. XD

I won't get deep into some explanation about di-sword, Noah II, and another important things in the anime, you can watch it yourself. Chaos Head can be cool and thrilling at the first, but don't expect too much thrill at the end, because the ending is just like your usual "beat the last boss" anime (like Rental Magica last arc).

Well that's it for now! Expect some other anime reviews around this month! See you at the next post!