Are you ready!?

As always, slow updates on this blog.
And this is old news too, but I finally got around to processing these photos.

For those unfamiliar, THE iDOLM@STER 2, or iM@S2 for short, is a game where you chose a few aspiring idols and try to get them to the top rank in Japan.
It’s a mix of team management, visual novel, rhythm game, music video maker all in one.

Anyway, here’s some photos of the Limited Edition for PS3 that Japan is so fond of. Why shouldn’t they, many suckers are going to buy it because of the Limited Edition title…. like me…

A little note tho, iM@S has primarily been an Xbox 360 title, with some spinoffs on portable consoles such as NDS’ iM@S Dearly Stars and PSP’s iM@S SP.

Behold, the box! It’ll be used for storing the anime’s DVD/BluRay cases as they get released. A clever marketing ploy… which I fell for.

Contents of the box. It includes the game, the Gravure 4 You! Vol.1 “game” which allows you to pose the idols in themed dresses to take photos of. Presumably to show off their cuteness. The other contents are the game OST, the first volume of the anime which comes with photo postcards, a light novel and CD and a mini magazine. Lots of goodies~!

Here’s the photo postcards, it seems to be all Iori’s pictures from the ending of the episode for now. I assume with the next releases of the anime they’ll include other ending scenes.

Aaaand, as a pre-order bonus, they include a random film strip of the anime. I got Ritsuko with a nervous face. I can’t really complain, but I’d prefer Takane or Yayoi. Rinka got Azusa… his oshimen.

Anyway, that’s the short report of what’s inside the box. Until next time (which would prolly be months as I’ll be going to Japan soon…)

iM@S 5th Anniversary!

This. Was. Expensive.
Behold, the bluray boxset for THE iDOLM@STER 5th Anniversary concert has finally arrived after a delayed release.

I managed to get my hands on the limited edition which includes a box, and a DVD of “The H@ppiness New Ye@r P@rty !! 2011″ concert. Each bluray (two in total) comes with a lil photo book from the night of the concerts (which was two days, I think). You even get to see Rie Kuguuuuuu~ which is kinda rare from what I gathered.

Anyway, here’s some photos of the stuff:

The Shijou Takane figure is from MegaHouse’s Brilliant Stage line, and was a web exclusive if i remember right…^^;

OMFG IT’S SPARKLE TIME

I GOT IT IN, FINALLY :D
Then again, my fault for picking SAL instead of EMS… I’m so cheap :P

I still don’t know why I’m so obsessed with iDOLM@STER, I can’t even read Japanese fluently to play the game without a guide @_@

Hmm, prolly similar to those idol otaku, them and their crazy AKB48 fetish :D

Anyway, got AmiAmi’s version of the limited pack, I was tempted to buy another from Lawsons which includes a different set of limited items. Cursed Japanese store exclusive limited editions, I’m sooo broke…

MoéMaster

Just got my iDOLM@STER 5th Anniversary stuff :3
Pain in the ass to get these, but well worth it. My only regret is not being able to buy more >.>

The items were bought from the Lawson online store, through a deputy service called Goody Japan. They seem like a very small business but hey, as long as they’re responsive and my treasures get delivered, I’m happy.

The shirt is too large, I got the L size… they had M/L/LL. I assumed they were “Japanese” size, so S/M/L….I should known that it was for fans of iM@S. Oh well =/

The booklet was actually damaged when Goody Japan received it, and they kindly helped me get it replaced before sending it off to me :3

I should really get around to taking a photo of my iM@S collection…

Alcohol powered moé

Second petite post, and a little longer too~
Got some new arrivals which I wanted to show along with some of my new obsessions!

First thing up, I got some of my new figures including Ciel from Kuroshitsuji [Square-Enix], Saber Super Movable Nendoroid [Good Smile Company] and Dead Master figma [Max Factory] to name a few.

As a rule, and also to limit my spending… I only get nendoroids that possess the =_= face if I like it. This Saber just so happens to have one!

Ciel was actually an impulse buy, I haven’t seen Kuroshitsuji but I know very well of Ciel’s appearance as a trap. I guess I couldn’t resist ^^; Oh that dress… :3~

Now on with some new obsessions of mine. Kamen Rider, aka Masked Rider has become something I’ve been investing quite a bit of time and money into. I just like to make it clear that I’ve been watching the Japanese shows, not the US incarnations. What do I have to show for such interest? These…

Now I can henshin too~! Wearing one of these turns you into a little kid again.

My favourite so far is Kamen Rider Decade, possibly because of the camera/photography motifs and the fact that you get to see all the previous kamen riders battling it out. Think Super Robot Wars but with Kamen Rider instead.

Another thing I’ve recently enjoyed a lot is, well, hazelnut liquor called Frangelico. A friend introduced me to it and I’m hooked. It tastes so yummy~~
Put it in with milk and you got yourself the best milk ever! I hate milk by itself but this just makes it into the milk of the gods!

Last thing I wanted to announce, PRE-ORDERS FOR THE iDOLM@STER 2 ARE OPEN!

I’ve already pre-ordered my copy from AmiAmi, so I’ll be looking forward to it next year. Well…most of it anyway.

Stereoscopic images

3D vision, the new consumer sensation. You see it everywhere, from the big screen cinemas, to smallest hand held console, it seems to be everywhere all of a sudden.

Some of you may have encountered some images in the past that have two images side by side. These are more likely than not, stereograms. For this specific type of image, one needs to cross their eyes so that both images merge into a single image in the centre.

During my outdoor photoshoot of Arturia and Sakura (which will be posted soon!) I took a few photos of them together, with a slight shift in angle. Once I was at home processing the photos, I noticed that they had a similar quality to stereoscopic images I’ve seen, so I tested them out. To my surprise, they worked! I’ve created my first accidental stereogram!

If you’re new to all this, before you click on the image and try it for yourself, I’ll let you in on my little technique which seems to work for me. Here’s a few steps:

• Focus on centre of the image, it’s best to keep the image small so make it easier on your eyes if it’s your first time.
• Put a finger in front of your eyes, between you and the image.
• While still focused on the image, you’ll notice that your finger is out of focus and that there’s two of them.
• Align the out-of-focus fingers so that each finger is in the middle of both sides of the image.
• Now here comes the tricky part, focus on the finger.
• You’ll now notice that the now out-of-focus image has combined.
• You can now move the finger away, but try to keep your eyes slightly crossed so that the image is still combined.
• Focus on the image without un-crossing your eyes and enjoy 3D!

Hopefully that helps ^^;

Now onto the accidental image:

Now, I tried to reproduce this with a figure on my shelf. It was quite a challenge without any specialised gear, or a tripod…

Hope you’ll enjoy those images :3

Best of 765+876=!!

On Friday 9th July I received something quite special to me.
This is possibly my last audio CD purchase for THE iDOLM@STER series as it was. From now on I’ll prolly only be getting the 2nd Vision line of stuff, which started off with the release of Dearly Stars on the NDS.

Also for those that may not know, THE iDOLM@STER 2 has been announced with a trailer for those to see how the idols have grown over the past year in their world. It also features a new song titled “The World Is All One!!”. You can download the video from the 4Gamer site in GLORIOUS 60FPS 720p video.

Anyway, here some pics of the whole set for those of the curious mind:

With the contents, the book contains covers of the CD/DVD/Blu-Ray releases, with track listings and other details, AND lyrics for everysong AAAANNDD what CDs they appear in @_@

I wonder, I prolly should take a massive photoshoot of all my iM@S merchandise and calculate how much of a consumer whore I am… ^^;

Newish stuff

Figures everywhere!

Since this blog was inactive for quite some time, I think it’s a good idea to show off some of the new figure additions! This also gives me a chance to ask you guys which figures you would like to see featured in future photo shoots as well. Some of these figures can be classified as “old”, but I did receive them within the last few months ^^;;

Before I start I’d like to take this time to thank pp of Otakurean for sending me this lovely clearfile of Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na (The bright blue light before the dawn). I know it’s been months since I actually got this prize, and it’s been a looooooooong time coming. So, thank you pp~ :3

Figure Acquisitions

Since I have some spare time, I decided to show you guys the new stuff I’ve gotten over the past few months. Surprisingly I’ve managed to keep the figure purchases steady, I had to cancel a few figures since I was running low on cash and not to mention the falling Aussie dollar =/

Mikumikumiku, I snagged the Max Factory and Volks figures of Miku, but in the end I parted with the Volks to a friend of mine. I still hope that Max Factory could make a Haku Yowane figure ;_;

Blanc Neige was kind of an impulse buy for me, but her hips are…are just so distracting! She accompanies the old Max Factory Kureha on my shelf. Seriously… look at those hips! *drools*

One of the most expensive and biggest figure in my collection, second only to my Dollfie. Asakura is part of the FREEing 1/4 scale bunny girl set of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi series. She was shipped, and subsequently paid for on the day that the Aussie dollar fell to 55 Japanese yen… ;_; paincakes were had.

Griffon figures can be hit and miss for me, so this Sasara was a pleasant surprise to me when she arrived in her school swimsuit and maid apron. Her delicious pose just makes my skin tingle with anticipation….of…something… o_O

Nekomimi Nono Nekomiya in mizugi. I just LOVE cats, and thus nekomimi has a special place in my heart, so I couldn’t resist this figure. Now, some of you may notice a school swimsuit trend, but I assure you it isn’t a huge fetish of mine XD

Shana’s first appearance in my figure collection! With this particular figure, they released a regular version, and two store exclusive versions. The regular was the black haired beauty, one was a pink haired and blue uniform with striped stockings which has a resemblance to Alice in Wonderland. This version you see is the Strawberry Version exclusive to the GEE! online store. Not sure why strawberry as it could prolly be more appropriately be called Cherry or Peach…. but oh well~

iDOLM@STER

Alter released the second half of the FA4 iM@S trading figures a while back, so now I managed to grab myself a full set of the girls! Well, at least the black version of the set ^^; These trading figures are quite the build, and I must say Alter has done an excellent job on these.

Max Factory has also released Miki Hoshii in two versions, the blonde in green, and the brunette in blue. I opted for the blonde since I’m a sucker for Miki in blonde. The friend who has been supplying me with most of these figures went for the brunette, so if we ever get bored we could always trade XD

Kaiyodo’s latest iM@S Fraulein girl to take the stage is also Miki Hoshii. I had to grab her to produce the various poses I had imagined. She comes with an additional head for those who love the brown, and since they are using the Revoltech joints I used a spare Saber Alter body XD

Nanoha StrikerS

Reinforce Zwei! I love this lil figure and it’s mini-ness. It’s like a 1/1 scale of her XD I’m not a huge fan of the StrikerS season, but Reinforce is so cute!

Hayate has recently come out as a figure as well, and in my opinion she’s aged the best >.> She also comes with a mini-mini-boss! Reinforce is even smaller now. Alter has done a nice job of sculpting and painting the really tiny figure, it’s about the same size of those Warhammer miniatures! Hayate’s box is also a force to be reckoned with. It’s even bigger than the massive Fate Testarossa box!! Now where to find space to put the box…

Alice in ???

Alter has been doing the 3D incarnations of the POP Wonderland series, and I decided to pick one up! The photo is a lil bland so it does little to bring out the wonder~

Alice from Queen’s Blade was love at first sight, I remember picking up the Hobby Japan magazine…or was it Dengeki Hobby… and seeing the first unpainted prototype. That point on I was watching the pre-order scene with the eyes of an eagle. And here she is.

Queen’s Figures

Speaking of Queen’s Blade, Ymir has been released as a black coloured princess now. I couldn’t resist at the time, so I had to pay for her presence. As like the regular version, she can undress nearly everything, even her pantsu! o_o

Next up is the Hobby Japan magazine exclusive Queen’s Gate Ink-tan from Moetan! I had to cut a tiny lil stamp out from the Hobby Japan magazine and send it to a friend of mine in Japan….express…since the cut off date was approaching. Which means that huge envelope in the background with ALL THOSE STAMPS was used to deliver a stamp the size of my thumb…

Queen’s Gate Ink-tan is awesome! Lots of her armour is cast off and it shows, her armour was practically falling off when I try to get her to grip those button batons. It’s highly distracting trying to do something when you get constant mune flashes @_@

Mecha Musume

Aaah, how I love Mecha Musume~ I just had to buy these two figures when I saw them, not to mention they’re both based on Shimada Fumikane’s artwork of Sky Girls/Strike Witches fame.

The M4A1 Early Type Sherman “Elizabeth” has a lot of accessories, you can even de-mechanise her but…why would I do that? o_O Her nonchalant expression is big boon for me :3

The Kawasaki Ki-100 Type 5 Fighter, the main appeal was admittedly the cast off feature >.> BUT her fierce gaze was also appealing for me :3

Blackout

A few months ago my apartment had a blackout and I had nothing to do… so I decided to take a few photos for the hell of it. My room has changed a bit since then…more figures…less ceiling space for posters… I also took a few photos of Saber, and it turned out somewhat ok, so I decided to share it here too~

Photo shoot choice

With all these bland photos, I was wondering which of these figures you people would really like to see in a photo shoot, mind you, I tend to do outdoor ones XD
I’ve updated the poll which should appear shortly on the blog as well, so please have your say :3
I’ll see which figures on the poll have a higher demand so I’ll place a higher priority on them when I decide to go on a photo shoot~

Again, thanks to those who visit regularly too~ :3

iM@S Birthdays

Congratulations!

Happy Birthday Makoto Kikuchi! :)

iM@S Birthdays

Congratulations!

Happy Birthday Azusa Miura! :)

*sigh* It’s quite dead aruond here =/ I’m still in the last few weeks of my trimester so I’m even busier than before >.<
I’ll update with another photo shoot in my holidays, and I’m terribly sorry again for the lack of updates.