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figures (Page 13)

M6.3 earthquake hits Japan, anime fans rush to tweet photos of damage to figure collections

Fran W
Mar 15, 2014
Tweet

Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the early hours of Friday morning which injured 14 people and caused a brief power outage in some areas. The quake, which struck off the coast of the southern island of Kyushu at 2:07am local time, caused only minor damage, but the third anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake this week served as an important reminder of the devastation that can be caused by major earthquakes and tsunami.

Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and as such its people tend to be extremely well-versed in what to do in the event of a natural disaster. Take cover, turn off the gas, open the door to secure an escape route. These collectors of anime figures, however, had a different idea about what to do in the moments after this morning’s quake – check up on their action figures, and immediately catalogue the damage on Twitter.

Japan
(anime • earthquake • figures • twitter)

Ultra-cute “chibi” Final Fantasy VII figures now available for pre-order

Philip Kendall
Feb 5, 2014

It may be hard to believe, but it has been almost 17 years since Final Fantasy VII, arguably the most revered entry in Square Enix’s iconic RPG series, was first unleashed on the world. And in honour of the game’s impeding birthday, its creators have commissioned a series of ridiculously cute “chibi” figures for hardcore gamers and fans of all things cute alike to enjoy, with pre-orders already being taken months ahead of their release.

Global
(chibi • cute • dolls • figures • Final Fantasy 7 • Square Enix • video games)

Otaku Internet services: For all your online Japanese geekery needs

Preston Phro
Jan 19, 2014

When it comes to language learning, one of the biggest problems is staying motivated. Memorizing 100 kanji for a test next Friday might get you through the work, but memorizing 100 kanji so you can read your favorite comics or talk online with fellow comic-fans will really light a fire under your keister. And we all tend to learn better when we’re having fun! We think someone proved that with science and stuff. It might have been Mr. Sato…he’s been playing with the chemistry set again.

Anyway, we know a lot of our readers are both Japanese-language learners and manga/anime fans. If you fit that description and you’re always looking for something to help keep you motivated to study, why not add these sites to your daily reading list? It might be difficult to get through everything at first, but if you keep with it, you’ll be reading like a champ in no time! Just don’t ignore your real homework! We don’t want any angry Japanese teachers knocking on our doors…

Internet, Japan
(anime • Comics • figures • language learning • manga)

Doggy bread, the newest, cutest gachapon to win our hearts!

Preston Phro
Nov 29, 2013

It’s fairly common knowledge that Japan is overrun with vending machines. If they ever gained sentience and decided to go on the offensive, the country would be pretty much screwed as far as we can tell. Fortunately, maniacal wizards don’t seem to be real, so we can keep them around to serve us drinks and snacks without having to worry about being attacked by vicious Coke machines.

Of course, there are tons of different vending machines in Japan, but the most popular must be the gachapon ones. The toy dispensing machines are fun for everyone with an addiction to collecting, from children to adults. The recent trend for gachapon machines seems to be dogs, but today we found an utterly bizarre–and adorable–take on the theme: “Inupan” or “Doggy Bread!”

Japan
(bread • cute • dogs • figures • gachapon)

A new take on an old tradition, these amazing Obon figures are literally fresh!

Preston Phro
Aug 15, 2013

As we’ve previously mentioned, it’s Obon this week in Japan, and that means festivals, dancing, and ancestral spirits galore! Far from being the terrifying ghosts that you might find lurking in your closest in a horror film like Juon, however, these are spirits that Japanese people are happy to welcome into their houses. In addition to ohakamairi, or visiting graves, Japanese people also offer symbolic sacrifices at their home alters.

Some of the more interesting traditional sacrificial items are the cucumber horses (kyuri uma) and eggplant cows (nasu ushi) meant to carry the ancestors’ spirits to and from our earthly realm, but here’s one designer’s awesome, modern take on this ancient custom!

Internet, Japan
(figures • Gundam • Obon • shouryouuma • tradition)

2,000 figures ready for their close-ups at toy exhibition in Ikebukuro – and oh, admission is free!

Casey Baseel
Aug 2, 2013

Kaiyodo is one of Japan’s largest figure makers. Aside from being the manufacturer behind the Revoltech line that’s a hit with hardcore anime fans, over 130,000,000 of Kaiyodo’s Choco Eggs, toy animals, bugs, and tanks hidden inside an edible chocolate shell, have been sold, cementing the company’s spot in mainstream popular culture.

To celebrate its 30 years in the business, the Kaiyodo Figure World exhibition is being held in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. Roughly 2,000 figures are on display, admission is free, and as if that wasn’t enough, photography is completely unrestricted. Visitors are free to snap as many pictures of any figures they like.

Japan
(anime • events • figures • freebies • tokusatsu • toys)

Rambo randomly rambles into stores in figure form, looks as cross as ever

Philip Kendall
Jul 5, 2013

In what has to be one of the most random, yet awesome, releases we’ve seen so far this month, Japanese toy and figure fanciers Kitan Club has recently launched a range of six key-chain figures based on… Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo. No, we’re not quite sure why either.

Japan
(figures • keychain • movies • Rambo • random • toys)

Japanese Plastic Figure Stop Motion Videos Look Amazing, Make Little Sense

Steven
Nov 26, 2012

This might be what Toy Story would look like if it were made by Japanese nerds: amazing, fluid animation, incomprehensible story line. There’s even an appearance by Hentai Woody

Check the video, called “The Worst Thing”, below:

Internet, Japan
(anime • figures • Hentai Woody • niconico • toys • YouTube)

Life-sized Anime Figure Draws Criticism for Price, Creepy Face

Jessica
May 21, 2012

A life-sized figure of manga and anime character Fujiko
Mine has been drawing criticism from fans on the Web. Comments have ranged from “Why did they make her like that?” to the more succinct, “Who the hell is that?” Apparently, she’s looking a bit off-color. Read More