Despite my complains of the dealers room and the convention itself, I actually got some stuff from Anime Evolution anyway. I withdrew some money on the Friday, but after my first visit to the dealers room, I thought I could just put all the money back later after the weekend. Turns out I've spent quite a chunk it already by the end of Sunday.
Ok, not really lot, but I actually like the art on the cover of the convention guide. I didn't think much of it, but I quite like the astronaut outfit and the colours are very cool and warm at the same time (yeah, I'm not an art critic, I probably don't know what I'm talking about). And well the ink they used was shining on the cover that it attracted my attention. Possibly one of the best convention guides I've seen.
So even though I said I didn't find anything interesting in the dealers room, they still had no-tax and slightly cheap Gundam kits... So I picked up this hard-to-find-locally MG Kampfer, the 30th Anniversary edition with the clear parts. I think the only Zeon Mobile Suit I actually liked. Lunamaria's Zaku doesn't count since it's not Zeon :P
Black Rock Shooter bookmark and "I [heart] YURI" magnet
I browsed through the Artist Alley on Sunday and the I [heart] YURI magnet caught my eye and the girl at the table also caught my sale ^^; Bought the magnet and gave me the BRS bookmark for free.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces
This was quite a surprise to find, especially on the last day. The booth had a sign that says everything was 50% off. I know it's opened, but it looks like it's in good condition and at half price... I guess I'll find out why everyone was talking about a lot about this game. Yeah... Another game, I know. I don't think I'll ever finish any games anymore...
High Grade 1/100 Gundam Avalance Exia
When I saw the 1/100 Avalanche Exia back then, I thought it was the coolest Gundam from Gundam 00! But then when I think about it, it's just another Exia and I have a 1/60 scale already... So when I heard about the 1/144 Avalanche with more features are going to be released, I knew I'd have to get that one. And luckily I found it.
I kinda hate it that I bought the Anime Evolution calendar for 2011 just because of January...
I am aware that it's the year 2009... But I liked the art on this one better than 2010's ^^;
Sundome Volume 7 by Kazuto Okada
And lastly, since I left the convention early, I went shopping for manga elsewhere and got Otomen volume 7 and Sundome (pronounced Soon-doh-may) volume 7. One of my favourite manga because it's so ecchi yet it's kinda heartwarming... And the covers really caught my attention.
That's it for this year's AE loot... I was sure I would hold back more, but because I found those Gundams and the Nanoha game, I spent more than what I thought, though not to the point of going broke compared to the last loot ^^;
Been in Vancouver for a while? Can't find your anime & anime goods fix? Let me help you by showing you the anime stores around Vancouver and its surrounding areas. This is a continuation of part I. I've only found fewer than before, so I also moved one of the entries to this post to reduce the loading time of the first one. After this post I think I've covered all the stores that sell a majority of anime-related products in-store around Vancouver. Once again, not all the stores sell anime, but anime goods and other merchandise. I will specify what they sell under each store. Also not all the stores are actually IN Vancouver, but cities surrounding Vancouver. If there are local people who've seen both posts and I'm missing a store, do let me know and I'll add them in.
Before I start: These are my general impression of the stores and I haven't been paid by any of them to advertise their store on this blog. I do tend to visit some of them a lot and may have some bias, but I try to be as neutral as possible and be informative as possible about the product that each store sell. You may have to judge to your standards accordingly. I only wish to inform anyone looking for anime products around Vancouver and I hope you find what you're looking for.
I was in shock when I entered Book-Off... I wasn't sure what to expect. Sure I know it's a branch of a store from Japan, but that doesn't guarantee anime-related products. I was totally wrong! I had 14 minutes on the meter where I found my spot. Lucky! But when I entered, I felt like I was in heaven on earth! Magazines, books, CDs, manga, DVDs, VHS and video games!! Import and English! I was in awe! I don't think I could keep my mouth closed.
I quickly ran back out the store to add my time and saw the only problem with this location if you drive... Look at the shot of the parking meter below:
OUCH! I suppose if you're just buying, you can use the public transportation, but I'm thinking of selling some of my old manga and I have lots. I'd have no choice but to park. Anyway, Book-Off is an amazing find for me even though they've been there for a while. I could've bought a lot, but I held back. Lots of import games... Do NOT miss this place! The only Book-Off in Canada.
Sorry, no picture of the store here. I didn't think it was quite significant compared to Book-Off. They do have quite a presence at the convention though. In store, there are a lot of Japanese magazines, books and manga, but I didn't see any anime magazines when I was there. Perhaps they order them only for conventions? There are some magazine for clearance, so it's not too bad. The other reason why I almost didn't include them is that they mostly deal with other language books as well and don't focus on the Japanese/anime-related ones. Though they are lacking, perhaps you may be able to find a diamond in the rough if you look thoroughly.
From the outside it doesn't look like much, but once you're inside this warehouse, you'll be in awe as well. Shelves and shelves of manga and anime DVDs (amongst normal DVDs). They have the biggest anime DVDs/Blu-Ray collection for sale. The prices are quite low compared to retail and they tend to have discount during every statutory holidays. You'll find DVDs from Aa! Megami-sama to Zenki! The only drawback is you have to be a member and have to buy a lot from them to get the best prices.
Sorry for the bad angle of the picture. I tried to be as incognito as possible. This place has a lot of Gundams. Some are pretty good priced, but a lot of them are quite high. They don't charge tax, if I read it correctly though. There are a lot of shokugan (trading figures) and completed sales for sale as well. Of course there are the modeling kit tools as well. One of the employees here can actually fix figures as well. I got one of my figures fixed here when Lacus' ponytail ripped off.
Another mixed store of manga & American comic books. However the manga collection is almost as big as the comics! About 1/3 of the store is manga/anime related. The person who's in charge of the manga insisted on the needed shelves. She also knows a lot of series and knows how many volumes are in a manga. There are also a few anime figures, but the prices are bit high, but you can order figures from this store as well. I found a hard-to-find Hatsune Miku Figma from here. They don't regularly order figures though, so you'll have to take what you can get. The focus of the store may still be American comics, but very up to date with the manga section.
Penguin Village
Located in Parker Place at 4311 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond
A small store in the corner of a ground level mall. They mostly sell capsule toys and its sets, but you'll be surprised once you reach the cashier counter. They have a lot of other stuff here that you can't find anywhere else, plus they can also special order for you. I was there when they first opened and talked quite a bit with the owners/employees. They actually go to Tokyo Game Shows and other events so they have some of the exclusive items in store. They also take video game pre-orders or just any plain order that's already released. Pretty good price if you know your prices.
Lastly is this second hand book store, but unlike Book-Off, there are a lot more older books here. They sell all sorts of old Japanese VHS, DVDs, books, games, etc. It was really hard for me to take an impression of this store. For one thing there are a lot of authentic Japanese products here, but some of them are decades old... If you like your old school stuff then this is your place to be.
That concludes this post and maybe this series, unless I find other anime-related stores that I haven't seen yet.
Before I go, you may notice the "shopping" pictures of Mahoro at the top and Nodame above... I planned out the last 5 posts to spell out the first (or last) name of one of my favourite voice actresses, Ayako Kawasumi. She is the reason for a lot of my anime/anime-related purchases ^^;
Check what's highlighted in red ^^
Anyhow... that's it for me! I've been up for almost 36 hours now from Boxing Day shopping. Started up early so I thought it's easier to not just sleep... but I'll leave that story for another post... tomorrow.
Dropping by Vancouver for a visit? Looking for anime related stores? Then let me help you. This is an ongoing project to inform the public (specifically the anime fans or people looking to get gifts for anime fans since it's almost Christmas now) about the anime stores around Vancouver. Now to be clear about this, the stores I show don't always sell anime, but anime-related goods and merchandise. And not all the stores are in Vancouver, but in surrounding cities and areas around Vancouver as well. This is but a fraction of what's out there, so I'll continue this project in another post in 2010. EDIT: Scratch 2010... The next one should be posted within the week. The second part is now posted. Picture above is shopping related. I would love to play Mega Man Legends (as it's called here) and Tron Bonne games again. Perhaps Capcom can put them out there as a downloadable games... But I digress... now let's focus on the stores!
Before I start: These are my general impression of the stores and I haven't been paid by any of them to advertise their store on this blog. I do tend to visit some of them a lot and may have some bias, but I try to be as neutral as possible and be informative as possible about the product that each store sell. You may have to judge to your standards accordingly. I only wish to inform anyone looking for anime products around Vancouver and I hope you find what you're looking for.
Located in Metropolis at Metrotown at 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby Google Map Link
Probably the most frequented store I go to. A lot of their employees know me there quite well. So have to say that their customer service is very good. They'll help you as much as they can to find what you're looking for.
All Sakura Media stores will have manga, DVDs, artbooks, Gundam model kits, figures (including Revoltechs and recently more Figmas as well), t-shirts, soundtrack CDs, merchandise and many more! The CDs are the SonMay kind... So they're not quite authentic. Other products and merchandise are authentic. Prices are pretty much retail, but sales and special deals are quite frequent.
Was located in Oakridge Centre at 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver
EDIT: Unfortunately this location has closed down. I've only found out about this closure in the end of January 2010 Probably because it was in a strange location in the mall.
Located in Richmond Centre at 6551 No. 3 Road, Richmond Google Map Link
Soul of Anime has been around for awhile but under different names and locations. They are stocked quite well in figures (including Figma and Revoltechs), Transformers, Gundams, costumes and general anime merchandise. Their static figure prices are quite high but then again if you add shipping and taxes then I suppose it's pretty similar to how much you would've bought it from Japan directly. The Figmas and Revoltechs prices aren't too bad though. They do have permanent discounts on all trading figures (or shokugan) when you buy two, you get the third half price. The merchandise consists of keychain, mugs, plushies, cushions and pillows amongst others. Yes, one of those big body pillows (dakimakura). They seem to be catching on a little on this side of the Pacific. Their pillow covers are not quite authentic though... Nothing from Cospa or Ensky or any of the official dakimakura cover makers from Japan. They also make mini ones if you're too shy to get the big ones ^^;
Was located in Guildford Mall at 2695 Guildford Town Center, Surrey
EDIT: Closed on May 2011
This new branch is pretty similar to the Richmond one except it's bigger and more spacier. I've only been to this location once so I can't say too much about their deals here. When I was there they had a weekly deal, but no idea how frequent that changes. Their store sign is a tad too small to get some attention though unfortunately... but if you come out of Wal Mart into the mall then it would be the first thing you see on the left.
Located in Yaohan Centre at 3700 No. 3 Road, Richmond
EDIT: Unfortunately Iwase Books has closed its doors permanently on March 15, 2011...
An actual Japanese book store, so you will find a lot of Japanese language magazine and manga here. There are many types of books here, so I'm sure you'll find something you like here. Prices can be a bit steep when you buy new stuff that was sent by Air Mail, but if you can wait then it's usually cheaper. The prices also depends on the Yen exchange rate, so something you may want to watch for. Since it's almost the New Year, they also sell calendars. They only have a limited selection of CDs, DVDs, Gundam model kits and figures but you can special order from them. They also rent out videos and DVDs, but if you don't have a Japanese player then you're out of luck.
Located in Aberdeen Centre at 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond Google Map Link
This store is mostly focused on their capsule figure (gashapon) and trading figures, but they also stock up on Figma, Revoltechs, Nendoroids, Sega Prize figures and some of the big names. The prices are quite average, but the prices for the Sega Prize figures are quite high unfortunately. They have a stamp card where you can get something after you've spent quite a bit, but I have no idea what this "something" is. Their employees are quite friendly and knowledgeable.
While you're at Aberdeen Centre, take a look just a few store near this one and you'll find a store that sells miniature items such as food, furniture and clothing.
One of the longest established Japanese figure store in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area. I've dropped by here once in a while and find quite a lot of classic figures that are out of stock and out of print for a long time! They are quite up to date with the new figures as well. Their prices are similar to the Japanese counterparts. I find their prices quite good actually. Look for their corner of figures that have their prices slashed! Of course you'll also find Gundam model kits here and even some of the older robot kits. Quite a nice collection of old and new things here. Look for their opening times to browse the store since they open a bit late in the afternoon.
Evertoys - CLOSED
Located in Crystal Mall at 4538 Kingsway, Burnaby
EDIT: Closed as of April 2011
This store was originally owned by Soul of Anime, so their stock are quite similar to them. Their figure prices are high, but they may have something that other stores may not have. They have a ton of plushies and they have a (permanent) sale on them. They have a lot of merchandise such as wallets, body pillows and keychains... BUT possibly the only one with oppai mousepads! Sure they're not authentic, but they have them! I'm quite surprised by this. These are the ones that you may find on eBay at times. A couple of times that I dropped by here was that the employees or owners were talking to some other people and not paying attention to the customers... I planned on buying something those two times, but since they were busy talking (in Chinese, a language I don't know) amongst each other, I didn't bother. The last time I did come here, one of the employees was quite knowledgeable in the information and prices. So it's all about luck, I guess. Of course if you know their language then it's much easier for you.
Toys Planet
Located in Crystal Mall at 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
Google Map Link A family-run store... or should I say, stores? They actually have two locations in the same mall, on the same floor... I'm not sure how they can afford this much, but definitely good for exposure since they don't even have signs above their stores. The father runs one store and he's quite friendly and knowledgeable. The mother (and sometimes the son) runs the other. They have a lot of Gundam model kits and a lot of cute merchandise and plushies. In fact, I bought the Totoro slippers from here. Their 1/144 Gundam kits are generally cheaper, but shop around for the Master Grade kits first. The prices for the MG kits fluctuates quite a lot in different stores. Do avoid the Nendoroids since they're fakes. Unless you want to modify and customize your own Nendoroid, that is.
Moved to 4735 Kingsway, Burnaby across from Metropolis at Metrotown Google Map Link
This store is a mix of American and Japanese pop culture, so the focus isn't really on anime. They do have Gundam model kits, from First Grade to Perfect Grade, lots of paint for those kits and even their tools as well. They also have limited selection of anime figures, mostly stuff from Diamond Distributors. Then again if you're a fan of both American super heroes and anime like me, then this place is pretty good for you. Oh they also have Transformers and a lot of comic book t-shirts as well. A well-rounded store. Their prices are average, maybe a little bit above average for some things. The employees can be friendly at times, but not attentive at other times.
So that's it for the first round. I've only picked the ones that are quite obvious and easy to get to for now. I have a few to go through next time but I will take suggestions if anyone knows a store that I may not know. Happy hunting!
Last Friday, September 25th, was officially one year since I started to blog, so Happy BlogDay to me! (^_^) The picture above is done by Minami, artist of Chibi Miku-san.
I wanted to make it official last Friday that it has been one year since I started to blog, but I didn't want to make it a simple photo and text post. So I made Mirai Gundam as my anniversary project. But I think it would be criminal if Mirai Gundam had to share a post with an anniversary post. So now I have to do this post separately after all, lol.
Ideas ideas... Just before I finished Mirai Gundam, I picked up Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei Vol. 3 from my comic shop, and I think I will base this post on that volume because I love it so much! Looks like this will be text heavy ^^;
But first... why did I start this blogging thing? A lot of people I knew from Anime Figurine Network on Facebook either have a blog or starting out a blog; people like RadiantDreamer, gndynames and Quentin. I contemplated whether I should start one... do I follow the crowd? Do I even know what I want to put on there? From the very beginning up til now, I never had a theme on my blog. There were a lot of variety of topics being covered on my blog. I wanted to make it my online otaku journal. Of course it also stemmed from my constant visit to DannyChoo.com where I've created a lot of works that would've been blog-worthy. So I have to credit Danny for creating a purpose for me as well.
I will also mention a few people here, but a lot of them are already on the side of my blog on the blog list, there are just too many to list. If I don't mention you it doesn't mean I think less of you at all; just blame Zetsubou-sensei for not letting me write you in XD But I thank all of you who have supported me throughout the year and hopefully with many more to come!
Chapter 21: It's Way to Gross in This Sad Town Itoshiki Rin, Nozomu's sister, comes to visit Zetsubou-sensei and the students for a Gross-Out test.
Oh, I've certainly had my share of gross posts. I don't quite know what would gross me out, but I know slugs, wet pantsu, yaoi and tentacles would gross out a few people... And maybe even that figure with a spiked genitalia having a yuri moment.
Speaking of yuri, I gotta give a shout out to Acesan, who does really great gross yuri 4koma comics, perhaps he is the one who actually inspired me to start my own 4koma? And of course to my other yuri fan comrades at Listless Ink and Blue Blue Wave. Also a big thank you to Wolfheinrich for putting up with me and my collaboration shenanigans. His support of the 4koma really pushed me to create more and more.
Chapter 22: I've Read Books Full of Shame Zetsubou-sensei encounters a new student who have read many many books and now able to tell stories that touch people's heart... He may even be able to read their hearts!
It's funny that I only wanted to tell a tale of a battle between Saber Lily and Haruhi into 2 parts of the 4koma comic but now it ballooned up to over 20 parts, its own site (so people can link back to the older ones easily) and even got my infamous Lily Panel stolen by Yunamon! And thanks to Blowfish's idea, I even got beaten up by Saber Lily...
I, of course, had my own share of book readings such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and... and... Ok not that many books, but I do read lots of manga... Unfortunately I am behind on a lot of blog readings, but there were a lot of good reads, especially Snark's Taikutsu Remedy. Oh the joys of reading Fruits Basket review from another perspective. XD And I'd love to read more of Kodomut's stories right now but so far behind! Do chek his site for great stories or even just for the photos!
Chapter 23: A Cultured Man was Waiting for the Rain to Stop Under the Rashomon Gate What a freaking long title... It's time for the usual cultural festival in high school, but Zetsubou-sensei denies his students because they are not cultured enough. Chiri Kitsu, however, argues that they have the right to maintain a minimum standards of cultured living. Keyword here is "minimum".
Obviously my blog is all about anime and lots of things that are Japanese related, posts about my own town is rare however. There is the occasional Vancouver post though... but I really do live with minimum standards of cultured living here, at least about Vancouver XD
Chapter 24: The Namayatsuhashi Must be Burned Zetsubou-sensei and his students travel to Kyoto to preview their class trip so that they know what to expect when they go to the real trip. But of course they go into other topics related to "previews". Such as: "Some guy playing with [anime] figures. Of course. It's a preview of a woman. Without a preview, if he suddenly saw a real woman's breasts he might have a heart attack! Anime -> Figures -> Large Figures -> Love Doll -> Real Woman's Body"
I have a lot of previews of a woman's body... I did a lot of figure shots which focused on figures with panchira and thigh high stockings, just so I could make a new angle on figure photoshoots. Get it? "Angle," ahaha, I kill me. To this day, Saber Maid is still my favourite figure which had the best combination of panchira AND thigh highs!
I also showed previews of my Gundam Projects. When I first begin to blog, I created my Saber Gundam, but I was very paranoid at the time, "what if someone else is doing this Gundam too at this very moment in time and that someone is going to beat me to it?" That was my thoughts, which made my resolve to finish Saber Gundam very quickly in 3 days time. Though since it was the first few posts I did on my blog I don't think anyone even know what I was up to anyway, lol. I also had similar thoughts when I was building Mirai Gundam, "what if someone beats me to it?" I was egotistical about it XD
Chapter 25: I am Amakudari. I Still Don't Have Any Work To Do Amakudari means "descent from heaven", but in the manga it means senior bureaucrats who gets cushy jobs with high salary paid by the taxpayers... Basically the whole chapter is about people who is pretty much like a big fish in small pond.
Hmm I wonder if I actually do this sort of thing on my blog. I hope I don't do this sort of thing to my peers... Although I am already like this since a lot of people who likes anime are quite young... I'm not a youngster anymore, but I sure do act like it XD I'm very surprised at a lot of my friends I've made through DannyChoo.com. Argyle just turned 17, while Yamada is still 19 and Coco just graduated from high school last June! I feel so old ^^;
Chapter 26: As Gregor Samsa Awoke One Morning He Found Himself Carrying a Mikoshi A mikoshi is one of those portable shrines that people carry around. The chapter involves putting things on pedestals because people think they are something that they want to publicize.
I tend to put Danny Choo on that mikoshi often. A lot of people do, even when Danny doesn't really want the publicity. I am glad to stumble onto his site because I'm having so much fun. It was very nice to talk to him as well. In turn he's also put some of my work on his mikoshi like the 2009 calendar and my loot from AnimeBoston, along with one of Rin's Mega Otaku Loot!
I've also put some fanart done by my friend, Yakuri, on the mikoshi as well. Many of her artwork are just very cute and she even personalized a couple of them for me by putting two of my favourite characters together. One of them resides as a part of my blog header now ^_^
Chapter 27: Evening Primroses on Mt. Fuji are a Mistake Zetsubou-sensei points out all the mistakes in his class... but Super Positive Girl, Kafuka Fuura says, "At the point in time when a mistake is brought to light... It becomes correct." Meaning it's not longer a mistake because people have admitted to their mistakes.
I know I've made a lot of mistakes... a lot of them were things in high school that would have made my high school life so much better. I've always hated making mistakes which is why I always look at consequences... but mistakes and accidents happen. That accident happened this Wednesday. I made a major mistake and I brought it to light to my brother and my parents. I was prepared for them to be angry at me... but instead they showed compassion. I am glad to have my family who've supported me; someone who is born with a lot of mistakes.
Chapter 28: I was Thinking of Proving it this New Year Zetsubou-sensei's nephew comes to visit... but he doesn't believe he is his real nephew. So he asks him for proof. Which leads to him asking proof if his students are who they really say they are.
Art on the shirt drawn by Chun, which you still can get from Zazzle.com ^^ You can also get my John Smith shirt too if you like, lol.
Am I really who I say I am? I act differently around people a lot. I have very different personalities at work depending on who I talk to. I seem to have put on the same air when I talk to friends though.
I have many that would identify me by my Rei collection, or the room that won Danny's giveaway, or the Saber Lily vs Haruhi 4koma... So many things that I've done in just one year to show proof of who I am. I strive for uniqueness, to be different, but the face of otakudom is always changing... so my proof of identity changes every time. Do I sound narcissistic yet? XD But hey, at least I prove myself, right? :P
Of course there's that other thing that proves who I am... Ecchi Man, a nickname given by the FatBastard. I have no idea how I got that nickname at all...
No... no idea at all.
Chapter 29: Because of My Hereditary Lack of Energy, I Have Been Hibernating Since Childhood Hibernating... simple enough, right? Sleeping through winter... but also taking a break from something for a long time then continuing it later on.
Sleep is for the weak! I'll sleep when I die... why when it was winter I stayed up to take snow pictures with one of my figures in it! Ok fine... maybe Saber Lily and Haruhi did hibernate for a while... but they've returned with a major crossover! Saber Lily's still hibernating from the looks of it though ^^;;; Either way the 4koma has returned in a major way... seems like my last few posts were the 4komas!
Chapter 30: The Musashino of Today is Shrouded in Darkness The class is having a stew... but a dark stew! Stew made of the darkness of the heart and when someone picks an ingredient from the pot, it'll be something dark from their past!
My darkness faded away when I become involved with the DannyChoo.com community. Blogging have really brought out my fun side. A lot of my darkness went away when I stopped playing World of Warcraft. There was just too many drama in that game. I don't want to dig to that past again. I wouldn't mind playing it again, but I don't want to involve myself with drama anymore.
So now I look towards the future instead. I hope to create more unique posts in the future. Blogging have also increased my creativity and imagination. It's thanks to all the blogs and members of DC.com who I've bounced ideas. I hope to come back to reading blogs and be active in the community again... but since I do not have a lot of commitment like what WoW used to have, I've begun to spend time with friends and be a little bit more social. I won't stay away from this world of blogging though, but I've learned that I have to live a life as well.
Either way, here's hoping for another year of these fun things that we're doing here ^_^
After a convention there must be merchandise abound, right? This is pretty much everything. I spent quite a bit less than a month ago at AnimeBoston, so I practiced self-restraint. I also got a few things that I've wanted too out of it instead of impulsive purchases ^^;
But first... there's a pile of loot that I didn't take a picture of. It's a pile of SAM or Suddenly Acquired Manga. On the Thursday when we were lining up to pick up our badges, some of the staff were running trivia for people in the line. A lot of manga were given away that day. When the question came up, "Which 3 brothers who are voice actors are appearing at Anime Evolution 2009?" I knew the answer right away. There was only one other person besides me who raised his/her hand, but didn't know the answer. I knew it was the Dobson brothers, but I wasn't really enthusiastic about answering trivia really... It's just because I knew the answer. I did get it right but the person who was about to give me the manga asked for my ID first since it's for mature readers ^^; So what did I get?
The complete Basilisk series, volumes one through five. I didn't bring a camera, but as you've heard from my Anime Evolution post, Chun from DannyChoo.com was actually there and we were waiting in line together. She took these two pictures for me ^^
She commented on how lucky I am on giveaways, lol. These manga were big so I couldn't handle them properly ^^; And yes, I do look like Shirou from Fate/stay night... and that's the Excalibur shirt I'm wearing.
I didn't take an individual picture of the poster, so I'll describe it quickly. I won the poster of Cybersix from the Charity Auction on Saturday. I didn't get a chance to pick up the free copy they were giving out from the Cybersix 10th Anniversary panel, but at least this one is signed by the main character's voice, Cathy Weseluck, Andrew Francis and Brian Drummond. A bit pricey but it was for charity.
So here are some of the closeups of my purchases. I didn't really open anything yet, so box pictures will have to do for now.
Kotobukiya 1/7 Gothic Lolita Ayanami Rei (Crimson Version). I wasn't planning on buying any figures during this convention at all, but on the last day one booth had 50% off on whatever they have on some of their shelves... Well how can I resist? So I finally got this version of Rei for $35, half price from $70.
The other figure I got was this Ryomou Shimei figure in the nurse outfit. I've kinda wanted this for a while, but wasn't sure about the quality until I checked the back of the box... "Good Smile Company". GETTO! She's originally $50, so I got her for $25. Funny how the figures I got for 50% off have blue hair, eh? ^^;
Ok this Hatsune Miku figma wasn't really from the convention but it's somehow related. I got it from my comic shop. It was supposed to be saved for me but that was in April. They put it on their shelves since I haven't picked my comics in a while. At first I changed my mind about this figma, but I think I may have a potential for her. So when I saw her still on the shelf I picked it up since she is rare. I did pick this up before I picked up my convention badge, so it works out :P
One of the ones that I've wanted... the Revoltech Danboard. Unfortunately this is the mini version. Fortunately it's the Amazon version! It still lights up. I've given up on getting this until I saw Anthony Poon's review of it. Good thing I saw one at the convention. I picked up several things from the booth that was selling this too. They've come all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia! They're online only usually so it was nice of BigPfeiffer.com to drop by at Anime Evolution ^_^ Also from the same booth are these Macross Frontier trading figures. At last I've finally got a Ranka figure that's doing the *kira* pose, even if it is small... There were two versions of this Ranka, but only the colour of the dress is different. Whereas the Sheryl Nome have two different heads and outfit... which is why I have two of Sheryl here ^^;
A couple of keychain/cell phone strap thingy? Saber Lily and shimpanchira Miku! Even if I don't attach these to anything I can still use them for figma pillows/cushion ^_^
This is the Ranka towel you saw from the group picture up there. It's not a big towel, but a good size for something like a poster. Not sure what all these other text are for ^^;
No-pan Ranka??
The vendor had all these towels shown above, but I couldn't resist the Ranka one!
Another good deal was this copy of Replicant, Winter 2009 issue. Saber Lily shows prominently ^^ I checked the original price tag which was $32, but I got it for $10!
Saber Lily, Distant Avalon poster inside... I might post this on my wall.
This issue of Replicant also have a calendar included. Nice bonus! This Asuka figure pictured is still my favourite Asuka figure... except it's a garage kit. I guess I'll just have to enjoy it in picture form. Kawaii, ne?
The calendar goes up to March 2010 with Saber as the last month. I have this thing about anime girls with toast or some kind of pastry in their mouth...
The two months that I missed since I bought this in June... I would love to have Komugi visible for a month or two ^_^
And this is the current two pages that the calendar is on... And I placed this calendar at my workplace......
Yay! Nyan-Type volume 1! Ever since Optic reviewed this magazine I just had to get it. I'm so glad I found it. It was listed for $17, but I got it for $5. Bonus!
This is the reason why I wanted this magazine... Will be using this as my door poster.
A cute poster of Kiss X Sis. Very naughty anime... anyone saw the second OVA yet?
I've been hearing about Sexy Voice and Robo for a while now... who was it that pointed it to me? Belgarion from DC.com, I think. I bought this for $10 and saw that the original retail price was $27.50. Got pretty good deals here. And lastly I ventured through the Artist Alley. I didn't get too much, but I found a few nice items. When I first saw these Gurren Lagann's Yoko and Nia cutouts they looked familiar. I kept walking and thought where did I see this kind of design. Then I realize it was from that smooooch･∀･ × VOCALOID video! So I went back and picked them up. The Ayanami Rei card is something I could not resist... And I love these two buttons. I finally have something with Meiko on it! Sheryl Nome in her concert outfit looks great too!
I really didn't want to spend too much at this convention, but I think the damage was somewhere in the $200 range. Good thing there weren't too many things I wanted... and there were many bootlegs as well; really prevented me from buying too much. Phew so now I'm free from another spree event... Time to pay the bills T-T
Been in Vancouver for a while? Can't find your anime & anime goods fix? Let me help you by showing you the anime stores around Vancouver and its surrounding areas. This is a continuation of part I. I've only found fewer than before, so I also moved one of the entries to this post to reduce the loading time of the first one. After this post I think I've covered all the stores that sell a majority of anime-related products in-store around Vancouver.
Located at 636 Hornby Street, Vancouver
OUCH! I suppose if you're just buying, you can use the public transportation, but I'm thinking of selling some of my old manga and I have lots. I'd have no choice but to park. Anyway, Book-Off is an amazing find for me even though they've been there for a while. I could've bought a lot, but I held back. Lots of import games... Do NOT miss this place! The only Book-Off in Canada.
Located at 100-3731 North Fraser Way, Burnaby
Located in Admiralty Center at 8700 McKim Way, Richmond
Located at 852 Granville Street, Vancouver
Located in Parker Place at 4311 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond
Located at 519 Southwest Marine Drive, Vancouver
Before I go, you may notice the "shopping" pictures of Mahoro at the top and Nodame above... I planned out the last 5 posts to spell out the first (or last) name of one of my favourite voice actresses, Ayako Kawasumi. She is the reason for a lot of my anime/anime-related purchases ^^;
Check what's highlighted in red ^^
Dropping by Vancouver for a visit? Looking for anime related stores? Then let me help you. This is an ongoing project to inform the public (specifically the anime fans or people looking to get gifts for anime fans since it's almost Christmas now) about the anime stores around Vancouver. Now to be clear about this, the stores I show don't always sell anime, but anime-related goods and merchandise. And not all the stores are in Vancouver, but in surrounding cities and areas around Vancouver as well. This is but a fraction of what's out there, so I'll continue this project in another post in 2010. EDIT: Scratch 2010... The next one should be posted within the week. The second part is now posted.
Located in Richmond Centre at 6551 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Was located in Oakridge Centre at 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver
Located in Richmond Centre at 6551 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Was located in Guildford Mall at 2695 Guildford Town Center, Surrey
Located in Yaohan Centre at 3700 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Located in Crystal Mall at 4538 Kingsway, Burnaby
Located in Crystal Mall at 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
Ideas ideas... Just before I finished Mirai Gundam, I picked up Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei Vol. 3 from my comic shop, and I think I will base this post on that volume because I love it so much! Looks like this will be text heavy ^^;
Speaking of yuri, I gotta give a shout out to Acesan, who does really great gross yuri 4koma comics, perhaps he is the one who actually inspired me to start my own 4koma? And of course to my other yuri fan comrades at Listless Ink and Blue Blue Wave. Also a big thank you to Wolfheinrich for putting up with me and my collaboration shenanigans. His support of the 4koma really pushed me to create more and more.
It's funny that I only wanted to tell a tale of a battle between Saber Lily and Haruhi into 2 parts of the 4koma comic but now it ballooned up to over 20 parts, its own site (so people can link back to the older ones easily) and even got my infamous Lily Panel stolen by Yunamon! And thanks to Blowfish's idea, I even got beaten up by Saber Lily...
I, of course, had my own share of book readings such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and... and... Ok not that many books, but I do read lots of manga... Unfortunately I am behind on a lot of blog readings, but there were a lot of good reads, especially Snark's Taikutsu Remedy. Oh the joys of reading Fruits Basket review from another perspective. XD And I'd love to read more of Kodomut's stories right now but so far behind! Do chek his site for great stories or even just for the photos!
Obviously my blog is all about anime and lots of things that are Japanese related, posts about my own town is rare however. There is the occasional Vancouver post though... but I really do live with minimum standards of cultured living here, at least about Vancouver XD
I have a lot of previews of a woman's body... I did a lot of figure shots which focused on figures with panchira and thigh high stockings, just so I could make a new angle on figure photoshoots. Get it? "Angle," ahaha, I kill me. To this day, Saber Maid is still my favourite figure which had the best combination of panchira AND thigh highs!
I also showed previews of my Gundam Projects. When I first begin to blog, I created my Saber Gundam, but I was very paranoid at the time, "what if someone else is doing this Gundam too at this very moment in time and that someone is going to beat me to it?" That was my thoughts, which made my resolve to finish Saber Gundam very quickly in 3 days time. Though since it was the first few posts I did on my blog I don't think anyone even know what I was up to anyway, lol. I also had similar thoughts when I was building Mirai Gundam, "what if someone beats me to it?" I was egotistical about it XD
Hmm I wonder if I actually do this sort of thing on my blog. I hope I don't do this sort of thing to my peers... Although I am already like this since a lot of people who likes anime are quite young... I'm not a youngster anymore, but I sure do act like it XD I'm very surprised at a lot of my friends I've made through DannyChoo.com. Argyle just turned 17, while Yamada is still 19 and Coco just graduated from high school last June! I feel so old ^^;
I tend to put Danny Choo on that mikoshi often. A lot of people do, even when Danny doesn't really want the publicity. I am glad to stumble onto his site because I'm having so much fun. It was very nice to talk to him as well. In turn he's also put some of my work on his mikoshi like the 2009 calendar and my loot from AnimeBoston, along with one of Rin's Mega Otaku Loot!
I've also put some fanart done by my friend, Yakuri, on the mikoshi as well. Many of her artwork are just very cute and she even personalized a couple of them for me by putting two of my favourite characters together. One of them resides as a part of my blog header now ^_^
Art on the shirt drawn by Chun, which you still can get from Zazzle.com ^^ You can also get my John Smith shirt too if you like, lol.
No... no idea at all.
After a convention there must be merchandise abound, right? This is pretty much everything. I spent quite a bit less than a month ago at AnimeBoston, so I practiced self-restraint. I also got a few things that I've wanted too out of it instead of impulsive purchases ^^;
The complete Basilisk series, volumes one through five. I didn't bring a camera, but as you've heard from my Anime Evolution post, Chun from DannyChoo.com was actually there and we were waiting in line together. She took these two pictures for me ^^
She commented on how lucky I am on giveaways, lol. These manga were big so I couldn't handle them properly ^^; And yes, I do look like Shirou from Fate/stay night... and that's the Excalibur shirt I'm wearing.
Kotobukiya 1/7 Gothic Lolita Ayanami Rei (Crimson Version). I wasn't planning on buying any figures during this convention at all, but on the last day one booth had 50% off on whatever they have on some of their shelves... Well how can I resist? So I finally got this version of Rei for $35, half price from $70.
The other figure I got was this Ryomou Shimei figure in the nurse outfit. I've kinda wanted this for a while, but wasn't sure about the quality until I checked the back of the box... "Good Smile Company". GETTO! She's originally $50, so I got her for $25. Funny how the figures I got for 50% off have blue hair, eh? ^^;
Ok this Hatsune Miku figma wasn't really from the convention but it's somehow related. I got it from my comic shop. It was supposed to be saved for me but that was in April. They put it on their shelves since I haven't picked my comics in a while. At first I changed my mind about this figma, but I think I may have a potential for her. So when I saw her still on the shelf I picked it up since she is rare. I did pick this up before I picked up my convention badge, so it works out :P
One of the ones that I've wanted... the Revoltech Danboard. Unfortunately this is the mini version. Fortunately it's the Amazon version! It still lights up. I've given up on getting this until I saw Anthony Poon's review of it. Good thing I saw one at the convention. I picked up several things from the booth that was selling this too. They've come all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia! They're online only usually so it was nice of BigPfeiffer.com to drop by at Anime Evolution ^_^
Also from the same booth are these Macross Frontier trading figures. At last I've finally got a Ranka figure that's doing the *kira* pose, even if it is small... There were two versions of this Ranka, but only the colour of the dress is different. Whereas the Sheryl Nome have two different heads and outfit... which is why I have two of Sheryl here ^^;
A couple of keychain/cell phone strap thingy? Saber Lily and shimpanchira Miku! Even if I don't attach these to anything I can still use them for figma pillows/cushion ^_^
This is the Ranka towel you saw from the group picture up there. It's not a big towel, but a good size for something like a poster. Not sure what all these other text are for ^^;
No-pan Ranka??
The vendor had all these towels shown above, but I couldn't resist the Ranka one!
Another good deal was this copy of Replicant, Winter 2009 issue. Saber Lily shows prominently ^^ I checked the original price tag which was $32, but I got it for $10!
Saber Lily, Distant Avalon poster inside... I might post this on my wall.
This issue of Replicant also have a calendar included. Nice bonus! This Asuka figure pictured is still my favourite Asuka figure... except it's a garage kit. I guess I'll just have to enjoy it in picture form. Kawaii, ne?
The calendar goes up to March 2010 with Saber as the last month. I have this thing about anime girls with toast or some kind of pastry in their mouth...
The two months that I missed since I bought this in June... I would love to have Komugi visible for a month or two ^_^
And this is the current two pages that the calendar is on... And I placed this calendar at my workplace......
Yay! Nyan-Type volume 1! Ever since Optic reviewed this magazine I just had to get it. I'm so glad I found it. It was listed for $17, but I got it for $5. Bonus!
This is the reason why I wanted this magazine... Will be using this as my door poster.
A cute poster of Kiss X Sis. Very naughty anime... anyone saw the second OVA yet?
I've been hearing about Sexy Voice and Robo for a while now... who was it that pointed it to me? Belgarion from DC.com, I think. I bought this for $10 and saw that the original retail price was $27.50. Got pretty good deals here.
And lastly I ventured through the Artist Alley. I didn't get too much, but I found a few nice items. When I first saw these Gurren Lagann's Yoko and Nia cutouts they looked familiar. I kept walking and thought where did I see this kind of design. Then I realize it was from that smooooch･∀･ × VOCALOID video! So I went back and picked them up. The Ayanami Rei card is something I could not resist... And I love these two buttons. I finally have something with Meiko on it! Sheryl Nome in her concert outfit looks great too!
