dannychoo.com - Danny Choo : Anime, Figures, Idols, Gundam, Otaku and Events from Japan

Tokyo Trooper

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:41:00 +0900

Still got quite a few goodies to show you from the Good Smile offices but thought we'd take a short break today for those who are not here for the figures. High res version at YouTube.

Results from a previous poll did suggest however that most of you didn't mind the figure coverage. What I would like to know is whether you don't mind periods of constant figure coverage.
Another thing I would like to ask is whether you read all articles? If you don't, what types of article do you skip?

One of the reasons why your feedback is important to me is because the site is going to receive an imminent redesign - details in the Portal Userbility news item.

Understanding whether you read all articles or skip some (and what types) will enable me to decide what default settings will go in your personalized portal page.

Ah, nearly forgot to talk about the video - just a few clips thrown together - I particularly enjoyed the expression of the man on the train - you will get a better look by going to YouTube and clicking on the high res version.

Thanks to Hector for taking the clips.

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/26 21:53

Kyoka Midarezaki

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:47:00 +0900

Did you say you wanted more exclusive goodies from the Good Smile offices?
OK, before I continue I need to quickly say "(c) Akira/ Published by Enterbrain Inc./ 超常現象対策局分室" ^^;

Apart from getting to be the first to publish pics of Unity Mei, Good Smile also gave me the opportunity to be the first to publish these pics of one of their up n coming Nendoroids - Kyoka Midarezaki.

I must have been living under a rock for a while as I never heard of the recent anime show Kyoran Kazoku Nikki - OP below. On your watch list?

The sculptors desk full of other stuff that cant be shown right now.
One of the challenging things for figure makers is licensing.
The way it works is that a figure has to be made and then submitted to the license holder for approval. The license holder may say "it looks great" or "the colors are wrong" or "skirt is too short" or "we would prefer if the skirt cant cast off" - because of the last reason, some skirts are glued down even though they were made to be cast-offable.

The figure maker needs to contact the license holder every time photos of a figure are published and getting a decision in Japanese society can take a long time.
Somebody needs to ask their boss, that person needs to ask their boss and so on and so on.

Many people say that the Japanese cant take responsibility but I think the problem in many cases is that they are not *given* responsibility. Is it like this in your society?

Illustrations of Kyoka that are used for the different expressions. Nendoroids usually come with 3 different faces.

And this is a closeup - click to enlarge.

I've seen a few comments from folks who say they only buy figures of characters they are familiar with.

I personally buy figures which look nice and in many cases I start to watch the anime/read manga/play game *after* I get a figure that I have never heard of. This is what got me started with Gundam. I got the Fix Figuration GP01, watched Stardust Memory and then fell in love with Gundam.

Do you have figures in your collection of characters that you were not familiar with at time of purchase?

Once this is painted, photos will be taken for pre-order announcements. By this stage, a clone of the figure is already done and on its way to the factories in China.

I think I need to say "(c) Akira/ Published by Enterbrain Inc./ 超常現象対策局分室" one more time - Im actually required to say that in order to be able to publish these pics ^^;
Ah - no release date yet but will let you know.

A lookie at one of the painting stations.

Airbrush equipment and fan. This area is specifically for primer.

And lets look around the office for other stuff. Hmmm - there's something over at Mikatan's desk.

This is Figma Kanu which has been delayed a bit for last minute alterations.

This is a sample and not the final version.

Her hair is really long so you will be able to do many poses without the stand.

Suzakuuuuuu!
Figma Suzaku will be available at the Wonfes next week.

Meetings at Good Smile beat meetings at Amazon and Microsoft any day - just a load to play with.

Love playing with the goodies in the glass cabinets.

And as always, we have lunch at Max Factory owned Indo Tei.

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/25 21:59

Unity Mei

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:04:00 +0900

You voted for dannychoo.com being the best figurine blog so it will continue to be my destiny to bring you even more exclusive yummy goodies direct from the makers.
It gives me great pleasure in bringing you the first detailed shots to be published of Good Smile Company's Unity Mei.

But just before I continue, I need to say "(c) 2008ユニゾンシフト /SOFTPAL Inc."^^;

Was at the Good Smile offices today going over usual business and got special permission from Unison Shift to let me take pics of Unity Mei from the eroge Unity Marriage.

This is the actual sculpt that took the sculptor about 2 months to complete.

Once sculpting is complete, the figure is sprayed with a primer. Its sanded down and then sprayed again. The primer not only helps bring up any dust or other unwanted stuff, it also helps the paint to stick.

The face is done last and is the most difficult part to paint. The face is currently the same color as the putty used for sculpting and will be primed too.

A shot of the sculptors desk.

Another reason why I got special permission to take photos is because I was actually being filmed by a TV crew - more on that later.

If you enjoyed the figures from Good Smile up until now, you are going to be in for a treat - the line of up of their figures will have you discharging all types of liquids from your body - blood from your nose, saliva from yer mouth... I think there's another type of liquid but cant remember what it could be.

Obligatory low angle shot.

Like these cute alien type things on her back.

And this is what she will look like painted. Hopefully will be painted for next weeks Wonder Festival. I don't have a release date for you yet but will let you know.

Original illustration is done by Ozawa Akifumi [織澤あきふみ] who does Chu Chu Idol too.

You can see more of her at the official page and download a load of banners, fliers, shop display material, wallpaper too.

She is described as a cool slender android Meganekko who likes asking ecchi things. When the need arises, she transforms from being Kazami Mei into Unity Mei.

Flier for the eroge. Hmmmm. Big eyes.
While talking to Mikatan, she said that she had the impression that gaijin-san (you guys n gals) prefer figures with big eyes. Not sure whether thats true or not so I thought I'd ask you.

The sculptor works from a few illustrations. He then has to imagine what the rest looks like for angles that don't show in the illustration.

If you want a detailed tour of the goodsmile offices, check the previous GSC Office Tour article or see my video tour below.

And just before I leave you, I need to say "(c) 2008ユニゾンシフト /SOFTPAL Inc." just one more time ^^;

I got more goodies for you - some of it is awaiting approval from the license holder but some of it is good to go - more tomorrow ^o^/~~~

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/24 23:16

A Week in Tokyo 20

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:51:00 +0900

Starting this week with a pic that I took at Kamakura last week. The young and the old.
Remember folks - don't let others drag you down by telling you "you don't have a chance" or "easier said than done" or "do what you must do - not what you want to do" - these folks are actually speaking about themselves and want you to be in the same position as them. Unless they can see the future, they have no way of judging you or your current position.
Ignore them and start your mission today before its too late.

But before the mission, its important to eat!
My sushi lunch set - 800 yen.

I'm sure its the same all over the world but restaurants get extremely packed at 12 noon. If you are going for lunch, go at 11:30 when they start serving to avoid the crowds.

You can go at 1:30 which will help avoid the crowds too but all the "meal of the day" will be gawn. The meal of the day is known as "Higawari"

Is your lunch break at a fixed time or can you go whenever you want?

Outside small police booths, you will see numbers like these. The numbers in black show how many were wounded in traffic accidents.
The numbers in red show how many died in a traffic accident. Dont know why they display this but not sure if it actually helps people to become more aware when crossing the road/out n about. Is there something similar to this in your region?

I really need to watch this bicycle park to see how people get their bikes out from deep inside.

Hana yori Dango fans may want to catch the new film that's out.

Potato and Tomato spaghetti - 880 yen.

Bunch of old Super Famicom games. Back in the days when I had a Super Famicom, I remember finishing most of the games I had - Castlevania, Axelay, Street Fighter etc etc.

These days however, I find that I hardly finish the games I buy. Still have not finished Resistance, Ninja Gaiden, DMC4, No More Heroes - all games which I love but don't play lately mainly due to lack of time.

And why is it that many games just have you running round in circles looking for objects or exits - that is so old!

What unfinished games have you played, why did you give up and what games should your fellow comrade waste no time on?

Never noticed this house before and yet its just around the block. Maybe those vines grew overnight.

Many house designs in Tokyo lack any form of imagination - a box with holes in it.

The most most yummy Keiko Kitagawa. See her in action below.

Whenever there is construction going on in Tokyo, there will always be workmen waving their mini light sabers as you walk by.

My kinda graffiti.

Whenever a new food place opens in Tokyo, there will be crowds of people flocking to check the taste. Will only be a matter of time to see if this new Tako Yaki (octopus balls) place survives.
If the taste and service is crap, they will be gone within a few months.

Bet you didn't know octopus had balls eh?

Not common knowledge but did you know Japan has Tescos ?
As you can see, they look *completely* different to what folks in the UK are used to seeing. Do you have Tesco in your region too?
Check the awesome Tesco Wars video below.

This weeks kids meal freebies at Mc Dees which includes iDog...

Pizza with half boiled egg on top with minestrone soup on the side - 770 yen.

Mince Beef Katsu lunch - 780 yen. Take note that whenever you have katsu, most place serves the cabbage for free meaning that you can ask for more at no extra charge.

Okonomi Yaki with Mikuru for starters.

Fresh hand made onigiri - rice with a filling of your choice wrapped in seaweed - about 260 yen each.

Sushi n Mikuru for dinner.

At the pharmacy getting toiletries.

Hmmm. I think I'll go for some Korean food today.

Bibimbap lunch - about 680 yen.

Looks like I'm going to stick with my thick orange AU phone until the 32GB thinner iPhone is out in a few months.

Filling up the car.

Discharge static electricity from your body before filling up by touching the red hand/black circle or you may go boom.

Cars in Japan must have regular checkups to be road worthy. The last one I had ended up costing 70,000 yen.

Biohazard pachinko. I'm personally not a fan of Bio Hazard but I liked the girl with the tight blue top many moons ago.
The thing I dont like about the series is that you always start of with a naff weapon ^^;

Burst Angel and some idols get the pachinko machine treatment.

The lovely Yui Aragaki. Check the weird blog widget on her blog in the left column ^^;
Half way through the vid below you van see her go on a date.

The Japanese are great at maintaining tradition and culture. These are Hanko which is a seal of a persons name. Instead of signing, they use a seal instead - a bit like the wax seals.

I probably should talk about these one day and its importance in living in Japan - you need them to buy a house, open a bank account etc.

Food menu at Johnathan's.

BLT and Mikuru - 1,020 yen.

The Curry Fair at Johnathan's has started. Spicy food a part of your daily diet?

The new sigma lens is wonderful.

Buy two phones and get a Wii for free.

This weeks room. Got many figures months before they are released but cant show em until they are officially out - which is why the Mirai mark is there ^^;

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/23 11:03

Tokyo Photo Walk 2

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:38:00 +0900

This time we go for walkies around the Musashikoyama area which is home to the longest indoor shopping mall in Japan.

But we are not going to walk around the mall today and instead go catch some of the cool breeze on this warm evening. While we take the walk, I thought we'd chat about life stuff.

I ended my salary man days when I left Microsoft and ever since then I've lost track of all the public holidays. As also I work most Saturdays/Sundays, I don't distinguish between Weekends and Weekdays. Its a public holiday today and I didn't even know about it ^^;

So I mentioned before that one should try to seek something that they enjoy doing and make it into a living.

I also mentioned that I'm having loads of fun making a living out of what I enjoy and know best. I've also managed to make my hobby part of my work too where my clients are in the figure/anime industry.

But having loads of fun doesn't mean that its never going to be tough.

While we do have loads of clients, being in startup mode with Hector, my wife, me and a team of developers overseas means that we put in long hours.

As we are building our products from scratch, we face many technical challenges. We have pressure from clients who want their products yesterday and have to even turn down potential clients due to lack of resources. The list of obstacles/challenges continues.

But I can tell you from experience that hard work certainly pays off.

I recall the time when I was still at university - used to work most nights at a Japanese restaurant after class. Sometimes we would finish at midnight.
My wife used to ride her bike while I held onto the back wearing those roller blades - was about a 20 min ride home. I could not ride a bike back then.

After reaching home it was time for a shower and then time for Kanji and Hangul homework and prepare for the next day of classes.

The hard work paid off, I graduated with first class honors and made enough money to afford trips to Japan which were important for absorbing the culture and learning the language.

Without my language skills I probably would not have got into Japan Airlines with my crummy PC configuration skills alone. Without Japan Airlines I would not have got the job at Nature which got me to Japan. Wihtout Nature I would not have made it to Amazon etc etc.

If you feel that your schooling/work is tough but at the same time hate what you are studying or hate your current job then I advise to take time out to rethink your life plan as soon as you can. Life is too short to spend your life doing something that hurts you physically and mentally and its definitely too short to spend it doing something you dislike.

On the other hand, if you are going through tough times while doing something that you are passionate about and beleive in, then the rest just naturally follows and good things will happen to you. It sounds odd but I guess its the way the universe was put together.

Now for a message to those who are having a bumpy ride while doing something that they enjoy in life.

Obstacles will appear and "shit will hit the fan" but you should never get down or depressed about these events and instead look at them in a different way.

When shit hits the fan for me, I see it as a great opportunity to improve things - no matter how serious or somber the problem.
Can you imagine life if it was all plain sailing?

Seeing obstacles as a gift will help you stay focused on your goals and destinations. Think to yourself "Am I going to give up my dreams and get all depressed just because of this obstacle?"
Learn how to automatically answer "no" and immediately proceed to solving the problem.

Being depressed is by nature negative energy and does not solve anything - it will only bring you down more.

So I'm nearing the end of this post and just want to summarize what we talked about.

Life is short. No matter how young you think you are, you will be 6 foot under ground before you know it.

Also, never be under the assumption that you will live until you are old n gray. Unless you are best buddies with god, you do not have any guarantees that you wont die tomorrow. Dying is a reality whether its from old age or from natural disasters or from some crazy guy running around Akihabara stabbing people at random.

I'm under no illusion that I'm going to live until old age which is why I always live as if it was my last day. That does not mean I ignore the responsibilities I have though ^^

Make a point of exploring what you want to do with the rest of your life.
You may not find the answer straight away, but as long as you continue to search, the answer will come to you. And where do you start to look? Easy one - you know what you like and are passionate about - start there.

Explore communities where there is information or people who enjoy the same interests that you have. Dont wait for things to happen - make them happen.

Obstacles are gifts and we should be thankful each time that fate deals one to us - obstacles enable us to improve the way we are, improve our processes and improve our lives. We also feel good about dealing with obstacles too.

Never give up. We give up due to obstacles. Even worse, we give up due to unseen obstacles that we beleive to be there - otherwise known as "fear."

"I have no hope of living and working in Japan because of blah."
Figure out ways of overcoming that "blah" (obstacle) instead of letting it stop you.

If you have something you are passionate about, work out how to overcome any obstacles and remain focused - good things will happen through your efforts. Its the way the universe was built.

On the other hand if you are a "I want to learn Japanese but I don't have time" then maybe you are not passionate enough about learning Japanese (for example) because if you were passionate then you would simply make the time.

Look at what you feel is important to you in life and prioritize - make the time to do the stuff thats important before its too late.

Would like to hear about whether you have given up on something due to an obstacle. Hopefully we can talk about it to help each other out.

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/21 10:50

Celebration Japan

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:20:00 +0900

I got bored of my armor and decided to paint it silver - how does it look?
Only jesting. This silver trooper can be seen at the 501st booth at the Star Wars Celebration Japan event being held at Makuhari Messe for the next 2 days. Today was the first day.
Unfortunately due to prior appointments made many moons ago, I could not go but Bonnie who writes for the official Star Wars blog did go and take a load of photos.

Above: And what does the group AKB48 have to do with Star Wars? I'm not sure but they were at the event showing you their thighs. All I want to know is who is the lovely girl on the far left of this pic - can somebody name her?

The rest of these pics are taken from the official Star Wars Blog and Nandemo.

While I'm here, thought I'd mention the new Star Wars movie "The Clone Wars" which will be out in Japan next month - trailer below.

The second trailer has more goodies.

Will you be going to watch The Clone Wars?

I occasionally hear from folks around me "I have not seen any of the Star Wars movies" and was wondering how many here have not seen them.

For folks who have not seen The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda teaches us something that I live by to this day - "Do or do not, there is no try."
Thank you master Yoda.

My fave is probably Empire Strikes back but it was watching the stormtroopers on Endor in Return of the Jedi one day that made me decide to fulfill my childhood dream of being a stormtrooper.
Your fave/worst Star Wars movie is which?

The Biker Scout helmet looks good but the lower half of the costume looks like its wearing a nappy.
If you could choose to cosplay as a Star Wars character, which would it be?

While I have Vader armor too, I dont feel my personality is suited to be Vader. I'd rather be Boba Fett so if there are folks out there who want to swap their Boba armor for Vader armor then let me know ^^;

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/19 22:32

Asahina Mikuru

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:40:00 +0900

Figma Mikuru goes on sale nationwide tomorrow but I has one for some reason ^^;

Not had much time to go to the balcony to take pics so took some quick snaps in the office which is the reason of the poor quality ^^;;;

If you thought that they just changed the heads for the SOS girls then you'd be wrong. Each girl is sculpted according to the anime specs.

Mikuru obviously has the biggest eyes.

Mmmmmm. Nice big eyes.

Very very sweet.

I do carry Haruhi around with me more though - reason being that I have a spare Haruhi and I'm scared of breaking Mikuru's two front hair strands.

Mikuru comes with 3 different face expressions but I have her on this "worried" look by default ^^;

Haruhi and her new transportation.

Mikuru gets the Gundam treatment. Can you name these Gundam parts?

Itsuki is hungry.

Mamamia! Haruhi (Mikuru?) looks so sweet with this expression.

The Haruhi sisters want Mikuru-chans eyes...

..and they each get one eye.

Kyon is on sick leave.

I think I have more Figma's but need to look in the SAFS store room ^^;
Do you own Figma's ?

Lulu is getting up to no good again. What is he using his Geass for this time?

Mikuru does Nanoha

Something for you to be creative with during your coffee break ^^;

Speaking of "break" have you Figma owners broken any of your Figma parts?

Mikuru looks quite good like this.

Hmmm. Think I need another Mikuru head ^^;

If you are looking for this figure then get her at one of these trusted dealers.

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/18 17:52

Hmmm Nice Eyes 1

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:22:00 +0900

Was going to call this new series "Hand Full O updates" but decided that "Hmmm Nice Eyes" sounded more interesting.
First up is me on CNN again - was interviewed on the day of the iPhone launch but didn't know they used the footage. They cut me off just before I could say something decent ^^;

And you can see a higher resolution at CNN.

Below: Rick Trooper and dannychoo.com featured in Wired Vision - the Japanese version of Wired.

Below: Rick Trooper featured in Wired thanks to Waxy.

Below: Folks who read the Japanese version of dannychoo.com will notice a change of layout and content. Much of dannychoo.com content is geared to folks outside of Japan but Japanese folks want to know whats going on *outside* of Japan in your otakusphere.

Thus I have decided to write more Japanese only content which you may notice popping up here n there.
I will be mainly introducing stuff from your posts at Otaku.fm and in your News Items. You should be expecting more Japanese folks visiting your blogs soon.

Have a look at the Japanese version of dannychoo.com and let me know if you prefer that layout to the English version.

If you are learning Japanese then I encourage you to have a read. You can post comments in Japanese and I will answer in Japanese. It could be a great place to practice your Japanese with fellow comrades too.

Below: I'm now getting press kits from Goodsmile so you should expect even more exclusive figure news in addition to the coverage that I bring you directly from their offices.

This is Doala - the mascot for the baseball team Nichu Dragons. Folks outside of Japan will probably go "huh?" but many Japanese baseball fans will go wild.
This Figma is out September, retails for 2,500 yen and pre-orders start tomorrow.
When I lived in Seattle for a while, my colleagues at Amazon would always invite me to see a game - I never went ^^; Any baseball fans here?

You got the review of Nida before she hit the stores (and pre-production Nida too) and I've just been given the green light to bring you a review of another most yummy figure before she hits the stores nationwide. One of the cutest figures ever (she as the big eyes) - review tomorrow. Can you guess who it is ^^;

And here are the nice eyes from Mikeo sensei - download the original 100.6MB image from the left column at Moe Imouto. Would love to know how many actually downloaded the 100MB file ^^;

And before I forget, I saw a few comments from folks who said that it was the first time they heard my voice in the CNN interview - you may want to see a tour of the Good Smile offices below ^^;
Although there's not much left of the English accent...

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/17 21:34

Rick Trooper

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:32:00 +0900

The Empire rolls you.

An explanation below for folks who don't know what "Rickrolling" is - from Wikipedia

Rickrolling is a prank and Internet meme involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up". The meme is a bait and switch: a person provides a Web link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video. The URL can be masked or obfuscated in some manner so that the user cannot determine the true source of the link without clicking (and thus satisfying their curiosity). When a person clicks on the link given and is led to the web page he/she is said to have been "Rickrolled". By extension, it can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.

The practice began as a variant of an earlier prank originating from the imageboard 4chan called duckrolling, in which a link to a popular celebrity or news item would instead lead to a photoshopped picture of a duck with wheels. The first instance occurred on the site's video game board, where a link to the Rick Astley video was claimed to be a mirror of the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV (which was unavailable due to heavy traffic). The joke was confined to 4chan for a very brief period.

By May 2007, the practice had spread beyond 4chan and become an Internet phenomenon, eventually amassing some coverage in the mainstream media. An April 2008 poll by SurveyUSA estimated that at least 18 million American adults have been rickrolled.

Those who follow my twitter, subscribed to my youtube channel or in my facebook friends list would have already seen this video as I always post my videos there first - feel free to add me ^^;

I've prepared a tinyurl ( http://tinyurl.com/6b3yja ) for those who feel like rolling your comrades ^^;

Thanks to Hector for taking the vid, Akihabaranews.com for the loan of the camera, James for transportation, Andrew for the loan of his office, Rick for the great "Never Gonna Give You Up" and to the folks at Lucasfilm for teaching us the meaning to life - "do or do not - there is no try."
By Danny Choo on 2008/07/16 18:44

Tetsuwan Birdy

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:30:00 +0900

Don't let the name of this odd sounding anime put you off from giving it a whirl as you will find a gem amoung this summers anime shows. Tetsuwan Birdy plot covered by Wikipedia below.

Tsutomu Senkawa is an average high school kid who is busy studying for his senior entrance exams. Tsutomu goes out for some fresh air, after a hard day's work studying for a big test, when he runs into a guy fleeing from a pretty young lady.

The pursued man is actually an interplanetary criminal on the run from a Federation agent called Birdy Cephon Altera. Caught in the midst of this chase, Tsutomu gets thrown by the man at Birdy, which kills Tsutomu. Fortunately for Tsutomu, there is a way to keep him alive, although he ends up merged into Birdy's body and must remain so until the repair of his body is complete.

So Tsutomu is stuck sharing a body with a rather attractive, yet very strong but impulsive, space police agent, while trying to keep his apathetic family and more importantly, his girlfriend, from finding out about his woman problems.

In the meantime, to make matters worse, Birdy still has to do her job. Together, they take on a rather secretive group of evil aliens planning to perform maniacal experiments on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Tokyo.

Although Tetsuwan Birdy has been out as a manga which made it to a previous OVA back in 2006, I only first heard of the show at this years Tokyo Anime Fair. Liked the look of the show and stuck it on the "must check out" list.

So this is another "girl-from-space-meets-earthling-boy" but it does come with a difference - my wife likes it unlike To Love Ru ^^;

While Birdy does run around in a leotard type thingy, fan service levels are very low - so if you hate fan service then at least it should make it to your "to-consider" list.

Will be keeping Birdy on the watch list for the story, animation/sound quality and the cute girls in it. Its currently at EP2 so I'm sure many of your comrades would have a recorded copy for you.

A caring comrade uploaded the whole of EP1 up to YouTube. EP1/1 below.

EP1/2

EP1/3

And the OP below. The ED is completely crap.

Now I want to get my grubby mitts on the previous OVA. Any folks here seen it?

By Danny Choo on 2008/07/15 20:42