Pacific Media Expo 2011

Pacific Media Expo 2011. Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Last year, PMX was in Pasadena, which was great b/c I could roll over there, park for free on the street, and find food within walking distance. This year, it was back at the Hilton LAX, which I wasn’t all that crazy about, but at least I was able to find some cheap-o parking next door since the Hilton had filled up and started doing Valet Only by the time I’d arrived. Dx

Last year I went with a buddy of mine and started really meeting folks. I met some awesome members of OCAG and the AX Forums, Aoi Mizuno and shyot, Dancing Queen, Hidekowin, Super Saki, and so so many others! This year, I actually got to spend some quality time with many of them! (In between stalking cosplays and meeting even more friends, of course!)

And finally, even though I was there a lot longer last year, I ended up taking far fewer photos. This year, I was there for less time and wound up with a crapton of pictures as well as a bunch of photoshoots! (Photoshoots coming soon!)

The lighting was terrible, as is usual for this location, but I figured out how to use cooling filters in Photoshop so I abused the crap out of them. xD;;

I ran into my friend Ashi-chan and she saved my con by hooking me up with a badge! ♥ She’s super-awesome and talented! Go Like her Facebook Page!

After I made my way into the Dealers Hall, I ran into my friend Star Cat! I'd met her the weekend before at Comikaze and we wound up doing a photoshoot with her as Holo from Spice and Wolf on Sunday here at PMX! Photos soon!

Welcome to the Dealers Hall! It’s obviously not going to be as big as AX’s, but since PMX focuses on more than just anime, you will find an interesting variety of loots here!

Some of the goodies you could buy in the Dealers Hall.

Everyone stalks cosplays, not just me! xD

ABCToy4Me had a pretty good-sized booth! My friend Dancing Queen got a good deal on the Lat-type Ver. Miku Hatsune figure here!

After finishing up at the Dealers Hall, I roamed around a bit and found this Ranka and Sheryl! I still need to watch all the Macrosses that aren't DYRL or Robotech. ^^;

Making my way downstairs, I saw this fellow from, I think, Assassin's Creed? There were a couple of these guys walking around being shadowy and mysterious… @_@

Ran into my friend Vensy in the lobby and followed her to a photoshoot, but we got shooed away from the room and then she ditched meh. ._.

Before the shooing and ditching, we found one of Vensy’s million friends! We were in the room where they were prepping the Swap Meet, which is why we were shooed. I love anime swap meets, and I wish more cons had them! To be honest, I’ve bought more things from swap meets than dealers halls the last few cons I’ve been to. xD;;

I made my way to Artists Alley since my friend Hidekowin had a booth there and that’s where I saw this awesome cosplay! No idea where it’s from, but that's one cool outfit!

Artists Alley! I saw a Chun-Li and Cammy here and I wanted to take a picture of my two favorite Street Fighter girls, but I didn't get to. :<

I only really started hanging out in Artists Alleys after I set up a deviantART account and realized a lot of my favorite artists could be found in them!

I’m not really into Vocaloids, but I’d have to say that Luka is my favorite. These two cosplayers were obviously good friends and it was fun chatting with them, if only briefly.

One of the coolest things about PMX is the fact that they have a Pocky and Ramune Tasting Room! You can buy tickets and then use those tickets to sample the many many many different varieties of Pocky and Ramune — many of which aren’t readily available here in the States! It’s a snack connoisseur’s dream!

In the Tasting Room they also had a silent charity auction going on. Many original and signed artverks from some of your favorite artists!

Here’s a photo of folks getting their photo taken. I apparently stalk other photographers, too! xD;

Small space, many shoots. The lobby is always alive with activity during PMX!

I managed to check out one panel, and of course it was my friend Ashi-chan's Chocolate Covered Cosplay panel! Video of the entire presentation on my YouTube Channel!

I met Ichigo Anyhoodle, who was honoring a couple of different series with her creative cosplay! There's a fez from Dr. Who and a red shirt from Star Trek. Do you see any others?

What’s the sitch? Was Shego trying to take over PMX? So not the drama — Kim Possible to the rescue!

Last year, I met so many wonderful and awesome and talented people, and they in turn have introduced me to others. Over the course of the past year I’ve gotten to know all of them better and I’m so very happy and proud to call each of them a friend. What a difference a year makes, indeed. ♥

Be sure to check out the complete set of photos via the link below; for video, be sure to visit my YouTube Channel!

2011 11 12-13 Sat-Sun: Pacific Media Expo 2011, Days 2-3

Black Friday 2011 Reviews Part II: Remote Loots Peddlers!

So much blathering that it couldn’t be contained in just one blog post! Here’s the second part of my reviews of the stores I bought stuff from during my Thanksgiving Weekend buying binge! Be sure to read the first part, which covers retailers of the more local (to me, natch) variety!

I placed an order with Hobbyfan.com for a bunch of figures late Friday night (technically the morning of Saturday 11/26) and I received the confirmation by e-mail pretty quickly, as was the case for the other two e-tailers below. However, much to my chagrin, I received a notice the evening of Tuesday 11/29 telling me that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Yuki Nagato Disappearance Ver. Nendoroid was out of stock and therefore canceled. TAT

On Thursday 12/1 I got an email saying my order had shipped. Woohoo! New figurehs to look forward to! But then, to my extreme disappointment, another e-mail came on Friday 12/2 refunding me for the Ui Hirasawa K-ON! Nendoroid. Wh-what? They got my hopes up by charging me and telling me the order shipped, then crushed me after the fact? Nuuuuuuu!!

Anyway, I received the package a few days later on Monday 12/5. I like that they included this bit of cardboard on top. Not a whole lot of places do it, and it might seem kind of pointless, but even with some shifting around it’s just enough to add an extra layer of protection from errant box cutters!

They could’ve used a few more packing peanuts, though. :p

I’d bought from Hobbyfan before and one of the complaints I had was that sometimes the price for an item varies depending on which page you see it on. :/ I didn’t notice that issue this time, but my other gripe still stands: their inventory system doesn’t operate in real-time.

I know a lot of these stores don’t have real-time inventory, but not telling you something is out of stock until after the order ships nearly a week later is kind of lame. Someone from ABCToy4Me told me once that Hobbyfan doesn’t always pick up their shipments in a timely fashion… which has led to ABCToy4Me picking up Hobbyfan’s shipments for them! I don’t know how that’s even possible, but I’ll be pretty peeved if I ever find out that ABCToy4Me poached my Nendos! >:(

Next up is Robert’s Anime Corner Store (RACS). I’d never bought from them before, but my cousin has and he had a good experience, so I decided to give them a try. While I’d apparently missed their 15% off coupon on Black Friday, they had a 10% off coupon and always offer free shipping on orders over $49 so I decided to go for it.

I placed my order late Saturday night (okay, okay — the morning of Sunday 11/27). If I’d known I wasn’t going to get Yuki from Hobbyfan, I prolly wouldn’t have ordered Kyon and Haruhi. :< Anyway, the order confirmation came in right away, and I got another e-mail on Monday 11/28 saying my order had already shipped! That’s fast! :O I sent them an e-mail saying so and that I’d mentioned their sale in a post here. Imagine my surprise when I received a reply from Robert himself thanking me! That was some great service, I thought, but I should’ve read that shipping confirmation more closely.

I received the package on Monday 12/5 and noticed the Fragile sticker on it. You don’t see that too often, and now I was even more impressed. However, the box seemed a bit small for all the figures I’d ordered. Hmmmm.

I opened up the box, and ahhhhhhh. Completely filled with packing peanuts! Nice! But looking at the packing list, I realized that one of the figures I’d ordered, Alter’s Houmei from Shining Wind, was no longer available. :< I'll admit that she was a (very expensive) impulse buy that I thought would look nice paired up with my Momohime from Oboro Muramasa by Alter and that I didn’t really need her, but I was pretty bummed nonetheless. While the shipping e-mail did say she’d shipped quantity 0, I wish the notice would’ve come in a separate e-mail. Who reads those shipping e-mails that closely anyway? :p But aside from missing the mark on their fill ratio, RACS managed hit all the other customer service goals they state on their website!

The last package I opened was from Kotobukiya’s US store. They had a 30% off coupon code which was allegedly good on in-stock items, but there were reports that the coupon code did not work on any of the Bishoujo line of figures.

Anyway, I’d ordered Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 and an Ayumu “Osaka” Kasuga from Azumanga Daioh right after my order at RACS and I received the confirmation by e-mail immediately. Unfortunately, I received a phone call almost a week later on Friday 12/2 telling me Osaka was out of stock and not expected back in. I tried to verify the new price, but the rep seemed to be pretty clueless. I eventually okayed the one figure for shipment, but after I hung up I realized that the new amount the rep had quoted me didn’t include tax. I e-mailed them about it b/c I didn’t want to spend that much on a figure I didn’t actually need, but they shipped without ever replying.

I received the package on the following Monday 12/5. As you can see here, they did not include enough packing peanuts, but thankfully she didn’t have to go very far to get to me. The packing list/invoice still included Osaka, so I had no idea what the actual cost was for this order (due to shipping charges) until they finally robo-e-mailed a refund notification on Thursday 12/22, nearly 3 weeks after they’d shipped! :< While I do like some of Koto’s figures, their service left little to be desired so I think I’ll be sticking to buying from dealers rather than directly through their on-line store for now.

I found it amusing that even though I placed these orders with e-tailers in different locations (RACS is clear across the country) over a long holiday weekend, they all arrived at my door on the same day. It’s disappointing that each one of these sellers managed to ship incomplete orders, but I’m just glad that I got my Max Factory Mari Makinami, since she’s the one I wanted the most. I was actually waiting for Anime King to run their crazy 30% off sale like they did in 2010 to get her, but they decided not to do it this year. Oh well, their loss is RACS’s gain!

I would have to say that in terms of service, My-D Pins & Collectibles and Robert’s Anime Corner Store were my two favorites! My-D Pins has a helpful, friendly staff and RACS is quick and responsive. Both are class acts!

Toylet.net is also a winner with the option of local pick-up. Additionally, in my experience, they enjoy the advantage of an inventory system that errs on the conservative side rather than crushes your hopes and dreams! (In 2009, an item I wanted was out-of-stock, but they let me order it when I e-mailed them about it — yays!) Next time, though, I’ll be sure to check their eBay auctions for even better deals!

Hobbyfan.com does what it does at decent prices, but canceling items like they did seems to be the norm for them. Crossing your fingers when ordering might help. :/ And Kotobukiya, I don’t know. If you were Alter or even Good Smile, I might put up with that kind of hapless service, but come on… you’re Kotobukiya. You really should be trying harder. :p

EDIT: Received a couple of e-mails from Henry at Hobbyfan on 1/23 and 1/24 after I told them about my review. He apologized for the cancellations and mentioned that some of the items in the sale were directly from their supplier and not based on current stock, since not carrying extra stock is the best way to pass the savings on to their customers. In that case, it’s quite possible that their rate of cancellation is much lower during the rest of the year.

EDIT: Received an e-mail from Bob at RACS on 1/24 thanking me for the review and reminding me that they use environmentally-friendly cornstarch packing peanuts. One more reason to buy from them! However, I would not recommend eating them instead of ramen when trying to save for more figurehs. ^^; Also, from the e-mail it sounded like they manage their inventory manually! :O They worked full shifts over the weekend in order to take things down as they sold out.

Be sure to check back next week, when we’ll go slightly further back into 2011 to relive some memories from PMX!

Black Friday 2011 Reviews Part I: Local Loots Peddlers!

Happy 2012! Hope your holidays were festive! ^____^

Talky Tuesdays™ resume with some reviews of B&M/on-line stores! As you may remember from my posts here and here, I went on a bit of a spending spree during Thanksgiving weekend. ^^;

Pictured is everything I boughted! Of course, the Ui and Yuki nendos I’d wanted so much didn’t make it to me. :<

Here are the first things I did get my grubby little mitts on, since they were from an actual B&M: two pins I picked up at My-D Pins & Collectibles. My-D Pins is like an indoor swap meet/yard sale; people rent showcases and put their goodies in them, and then you buy their stuff! I took a ride down there on Small Business Saturday (11/26), when you could get a $25 statement credit just by buying $25 worth of merchandise at a small business with your American Express Card!

The Donald Duck pin is one of nine limited edition D23 pins released at D23 Expo 2011. They’re so limited, I didn’t even see them when I was at D23! The series has Donald dressed up as several different characters, but I couldn’t resist this pin of Donald cosplaying Aladdin because Donald is my favorite of the Fab Five and Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies! It doesn’t hurt that Aladdin was also designed by Glen Keane, who is Ariel’s designer as well. The Donald pin was on sale b/c the owner of the showcase was doing 15% off during Thanksgiving weekend, so I needed to get something else to get to the $25 minimum.

Wait, the Ariel pin wasn’t my first choice? :O Did I have too much turkey and the tryptophan affected my brain? Of course not! (I didn’t even have turkey on Thanksgiving! ._. ) I had seen The Little Mermaid pin the last time I was down there and I’d been considering it, but when I finally took a closer look this time, there was damage to the box and it was obvious that it had been used. Plus, the price had been marked up 25%! But I finally caved and picked up this limited edition pin as well. It comes with a reproduction of the artwork that the pin is based on, and Ariel is just too cute! Plus, with the $25 statement credit, the pin was technically free!

The people working at My-D Pins were great! They were friendly and helpful, and they seemed to be pretty knowledgeable as well. It really seems to be a fan-run shop, and there are many things here besides just Disney pins. Of course there is a crapton of Disneyana, both old and new, but there are also movie posters, TransFormers, action figures, and more! You should definitely check them out if you happen to be in the vicinity of Disneyland!

Okay, well, I prolly just bored you all with my Disney escapade, so on to the figures! Or, in this case, UFO prizes!

Toylet.net was blowing out lots of their accessories and UFO prizes. While I don’t usually go for those types of things, I couldn’t resist the Akira Kogami plushie, especially since there are so few figures of her! And Ritsu Tainaka is one of my waifus from K-ON! (Yui Hirasawa is the other) so I had to get the muffler towel. I was originally going to use it as an actual muffler/scarf but based on the material, I think SEGA intended the accent to be on the towel part. ^^;

Anyway, I ordered these items late Saturday night (technically the morning of Sunday 11/27) and I received the confirmation by e-mail immediately. However, since I selected local pick-up to save on shipping, I didn’t get an e-mail saying my order was ready until almost a week later, early Saturday 12/3. I replied that I would be by on the next business day, Monday 12/5, and was able to pick up my items without much fuss. Of course, I saw later that Toylet included these items in its eBay holiday auctions and they sold for way less than what I paid. :< Oh, well, that's the world of collecting for you!

After I got home, I found three packages waiting for me — the rest of my Black Friday/Thanksgiving Weekend purchases! Check back for my reviews of those retailers that had to ship their stuff to me! (EDIT: Find Part II here!)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Was trying to put something together for this week’s post, but it’s been crazy busy! @_@ So, I’d like to just simply wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! May you all get to spend some quality time with your loved ones as you reflect upon the true meaning of the season.

I do appreciate your taking the time to read my blog, and I hope you’ll join me back here in early 2012! Until then, safe journeys and bon appetit! xD

Round 1 Bowling & Amusement

Puente Hills Mall is also well-known as the Back to the Future mall, since it doubles as the Twin Pines/Lone Pine Mall where Marty begins and ends his time-traveling adventure in the first film of the trilogy.

My friends invited me to join them at Round 1, an arcade and bowling alley, for some bowling and general hanging out. Not having bowled in over a decade, I decided to tag along, if only for the company. Here is the outdoor entrance (there’s also an entrance inside the mall, but it closes when the mall closes).

Here are some signs that greet you as you enter. I… kept misreading this as “[Hello] Kitty Strapon”. xD;; These are phone straps — not health aids — that you get when you sign up for membership and whatnot.

They also do karaoke here! Not sure how the rates compare to other spots. I’ve actually never done karaoke before, and we didn’t do it this night, either.

There were a crapton of UFO catchers! Soooo many Hello Kitties here!

Hnnnng. Purikura machines. I had no idea this was a Japanese chain until I saw these. Yes, even the Hello Kitties everywhere failed to alert me to the fact. xD; I did not realize the Japanese like to bowl. ^^

Many different types of games here. So many games I’ve never seen before! But then again, I don’t frequent arcades much and I’m not really a gamer.

You can catch ice cream. Wut? There are also machines where you can win candy! No wonder we have an obesity problem! D:

This type of basketball game is a classic mainstay in any arcade. If you are good with the hoops, you can win many tickets which you can then turn in for cheap baubles that will break in half when you look at them.

Here’s where you rent a bowling lane and shoes. Remember to drop off your shoes when you are done with them so they can Lysol them up for the next group of folks.

You can whip darts at the dartboards here. Not at your friends, because they won’t give you prize tickets for that, even if you win.

You can also watch the Big Game on the Big Screen. Or Big News Stories. D: All while enjoying a brew from the snack bar!

Here are some of the loots you can trade your game-winning tickets for. You will need to feed the games quite often for some of these prizes. Some of them require tens of thousands of tickets! :O

Despite appearances to the contrary, these are not basketballs. If you try to dunk these, you will hurt yourself! There are many different colors, each indicating a different weight. As the night wore on, we found ourselves using lighter and lighter balls. xD;

These lovely static images at the ends of the lanes are all that you see until about 10pm…

… then they become screens for music videos! Back in the day, we used to call this type of thing “Rock ‘n Bowl”, except we only had the audio portion and would have to act out the video part.

The cheap price of displays now make everything, including these score-keeping screens, so high-tech! I think the last time I bowled, we had to keep score with pencil and paper. ^^; Of course, pencil and paper won’t mercilessly mock you when you muck up your toss. Your friends will, though.

Of course, I lost the game and I was pretty sore the next day, but it was quite fun to check out a new place and to hang out with friends! Hopefully, I’ll get to go again soon!

See more pictures on my Facebook!

2011 11 09 Wed: Round 1

Comikaze Expo 2011

During the first weekend of November, I checked out the first-ever Comikaze Expo, which bills itself as Los Angeles’ “first and only large-scale, multi-media pop culture convention.”

Comikaze’s mascot is an octopus. Wut? I guess each arm represents a different type of pop-culture nerdery it welcomes? Iunno, sometimes I read into things too much, lol.

I hadn’t gone to a comic con in years (and let’s face it, that’s pretty much what this was), so I’m a little out of touch with some of these cosplays. This is a grown-up Harry Potter, yeah?

Just kidding! I don’t watch Dr. Who but I at least know a Doctor (and a sonic screwdriver) when I see one.

Not really being in the loop led to a huge fail on my part here. I’m not normally a fan of body mods (piercings, tats, that sort of thing) nor am I really into steampunk, but fuhuggen shite this girl was gorgeous. Not being up on comics, I thought she was just a cosplayer manning the Nei Ruffino booth and only realized afterwards that she was Nei Ruffino. -_-;

What makes it worse is that I knew I recognized the name somewhere; turns out I have some of the stuff she’s worked on, her art is really nice, and I could’ve gotten some original art. OTL

As a consolation prize, I did get to use the Wayback Machine oodles and oodles. Lots of things from my childhood made an appearance, like the Baroness and the rest of Cobra’s finest!

Spy vs. Spy! I loved these guys as a kid. It’s amazing the hilarious and bloodthirsty stories you can tell without words!

Claudia Wells, Back to the Future‘s original (and best) Jennifer Parker, had a booth in the exhibit hall. I love BTTF, and I thought it was ironic that she was in aisle B8 (as in, the “B” could be taken as an “8″ in 1337, which makes it “88″, as in, “miles per hour”, as in — oh, forget it!).

There were also a few versions of waifu #1 Ariel around, and this one was my favorite! I chatted with her briefly and she was so nice, and she even noticed The Little Mermaid pins I had on my camera’s neck strap!

This couple was definitely the best thing I saw at the con! I love the original Jurassic Park, and they did a whole bit where the velociraptor stalked Game Warden Robert Muldoon. Later, she stole the Jeep and took it for a joyride. xD Check out the videos on my YouTube Channel!

While I do see a lot of crossplay at the anime cons and events I attend, I hardly ever see gender-bent ones like this Darth Vader! Crossplay involves guys dressing as female characters and vice versa, but gender-bent cosplays tend to take it a step further by re-imagining the original character as the opposite sex.

I’m prolly one of the few people who actually liked The Rocketeer movie, but I’m sure this version would make anyone a fan! Some of these gender-bending cosplays are obviously more nosebleed-inducing than others. xD

Despite the expected heavy comics presence, there were a few cosplays from the anime world! I think these were the first Fate/extra cosplays I’d ever seen anywhere. There are so many Fate series that I can’t keep them straight at all!

Though I did enjoy stalking cosplayers (bwaha), I went to the con mainly b/c some friends were going and b/c it was cheaper to get in than it was to park. :p And of course, there were other things to see! Here is a booth that was selling steampunk stuff. These glass heads were so cool!

Zombies are the “in” thing right now, and besides the Zombie Research Society, AberZombie & Flesh also had a booth. I would totally shop there before I shopped at the other A&F! :p

Here was a booth selling some Serenity stuff; I believe it was prints and art. It’s a show I still haven’t finished, unfortunately.

Besides Claudia Wells, there were other celebrities from great to small in attendance as well! Here’s model/cosplayer Jessica Nigri as Anya Stroud from Gears of War!

And here is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark! She was a Guest of Honor and this was apparently her last con appearance. I didn’t realize she had so many fans; there were tons of women dressed up as her!

Well, I suppose I should say a little something about the con itself. Holding the event in the LA Convention Center certainly says a lot about the high hopes the organizers had, and comparisons to the other major con held here during July 4th weekend certainly crossed my mind.

Of course, I don’t ever remember seeing the parking lots full during AX, but there was at least one other event running the same weekend as Comikaze in South Hall, and something else was happening at LA Live. I know this b/c I almost wound up having to park over there. Dx

There were some glaring WTF oversights, such as holding panels in the exhibit hall. I went to one panel and could barely hear a thing the speakers said due to the noise that seeped in through the curtains (similar to the ones seen here) that had been set up for the panel “room”.

Also, in an effort to save money, there was one map (probably no bigger than a regular 24″x36″ poster) posted near the hall entrance. There were no programs and no schedules available, either. In the age of smartphones I guess this could technically work… but not all of us have smartphones. :< Additionally, the exhibit hall chosen was Kentia Hall, which had previously been an underground parking lot (the floor still had the lines for the parking stalls!). Good luck if you can't get a signal!

There were also a couple of serious organizational problems. Since the con was using wristbands instead of the standard badge × lanyard combination, I almost didn’t get the second day’s “pass” due to the box office agent’s inattention. I’d bought my weekend pass on-line through Living Social, but he didn’t look at the voucher carefully enough, I guess. Good thing I went back and double-checked, or else I would’ve been a sad panda the next day!

There was also supposed to be a gift for those who bought through Living Social, but they somehow ran out. How did they run out? It was part of the package (not “While Supplies Last”)! If they sell X number of packages, they should have X number of gifts, no? I’m still debating what I should do about that one, b/c that seriously borders on false advertising.

For a first-year con, I guess it could’ve gone worse. They did manage to snag Stan Lee and Elvira as GOHs, along with Mark Hamill and cast from All That and various Star Trek series. I did notice the absence of the major publishing houses (Marvel, DC), though. And while Top Cow had a booth, I didn’t even notice it until Sunday. By comparison, Long Beach Comic Con had some huge names and comics companies its inaugural year (including Berk Breathed doing his first-ever con appearance!).

In the end, hanging with old friends, making new ones, and seeing things that wouldn’t normally be at an anime con made it worthwhile. If they improve things next year while keeping prices relatively the same (and there was no shortage of deals this round), I’d prolly check it out again.

Be sure to check out the complete set of photos via the link below; for video, be sure to visit my YouTube Channel!

2011 11 05-06 Sat-Sun: Comikaze Expo

More Thanksgiving Weekend Savings!

Did you remember to support your local anime shop for Small Business Saturday and claim your $25 statement credit from American Express in the process? If you didn’t, don’t despair; Black Friday sales are continuing through the weekend! In addition to those sales mentioned in my last post, here are more wallet-destroying endeavours from some other figure-hawking folks in “Non-Cash Money Isn’t Real Money” Land (ie, on-line):

Hobbyfan.com is promising to randomly add new items to its Black Friday Weekend sale that runs through Sunday, 27 November. Now you can pick up some prize figures at not-so-inflated prices, along with some full-sized Nendoroids for only $30! I finally snagged K-ON‘s Ui and Haruhi Suzumiya‘s Yuki among others!

There have been so many tempting offers that I went ahead and bought from some stores for the first time as well!

Buying from Kotobukiya’s official US webstore should go off without a hitch! They’re offering 30% off all in-stock items with coupon code KOTOTG2011. However, I tried the code and it doesn’t seem to work on some of the Bishoujo line of figures. Also, quite a few figures are already out of stock, so get cracking! The coupon expires on Monday, 28 November.

My cousin bought from Robert’s Anime Corner Store last year and seemed to have a good experience, so I gave them a go this time! Save 10% off your purchase with coupon code SHOPEARLYSAVEBIG, which expires Thursday, 1 December. As a special bonus, choose Super Saver Shipping on your order of $49 or more and get your order shipped anywhere in the US for free!

My wallet can’t take anymore, and we still have Sunday left in Thanksgiving Weekend as well as Cyber Monday! What other deals will be had? Let’s find out together!

Black Friday Sales On Now!

Since I’m still up anyway, here is a special post for those of you who are waiting in line for (or just getting home from) your B&M Black Friday conquests! (If you have no idea what Black Friday is, click here for a quick primer.)

Local shop Toylet.net has apparently been running a Thanksgiving Sale since the 22nd. No word on when it’ll end, so get your orders in quick!

Toys Logic gives a weak 15% off all in-stock items through the end of the month. :/ Last year they did “Buy One, Get One Half Off”, so you can understand my disappointment!

Japanese e-tailer HobbyLink Japan is offering flat rate SAL and EMS shipping on all in-stock items now until 2pm JST on 26 November. Order all those ridiculously heavy art books you’ve been wanting!

I’ve bought from all these places before and they only sell official, legit items! Will there be more bargains this Thanksgiving Weekend and on Cyber Monday? Be sure to check back here for the latest info! And with that, it’s time to hit the hay!

Frank & Son Collectible Show

Frank & Son Collectible Show is a local event held twice-weekly (more often during the holidays for your gift-shopping convenience). It’s an interesting mash-up of swap meet and convention, with no real limits to the various types of geek it serves! I’ve never really taken any pictures over there, but on a recent trip I happened to have my camera on me, so I figured, why not?

Here are some of the many tempting and spendy toys that can found at Frank’s, but be careful! There are some unscrupulous vendors here that sell bootlegs. :<

There are many purveyors of Disney merchandise, from more recent items to older ones. Pins, dolls, videos, figures, and other assorted Disney trinkets ranging from the inexpensive to the ridiculously over-priced can be found here!

You can also find plenty of yesterday’s hot items. These heavily discounted Beanie Babies kind of make me sad. :<

I never thought this game would be so popular so many years after it was released. I’ve never played it, nor have I ever watched the anime. ^^;

Occasionally there will be celebrities who show up for signings and photo-ops. Here is artist Brian Buccellato; earlier this year Stan Lee was there to promote a new project. Others who show up regularly tend to be athletes, sports entertainers (wrestlers :p ), and models-turned-actresses.

There are many Gundam kits at the Treasure Island Sports (tisinc99) booth!

So many vendors sell LEGOs, from old to recent, pre-loved or NISB. I’d totally buy them all if I could. @_@ Build your LEGO army at Frank’s!

Of course, no “collectible show” is complete without Star Wars merchandise. Plenty of Star Trek stuff too!

First there was just MP-1 Convoy (Japan’s name for Autobot Leader Optimus Prime), then MP-4 Convoy with Trailer, now MP-10 Convoy. Really? If it’s a Masterpiece, y yu keep improving?? LOL. There is a crapton of Transformers — the real, original, G1-type stuff — here. In fact, there are a couple of vendors devoted solely to them! I would’ve wet myself if I’d seen this place as a kid!

Admission to Frank & Son Collectible Show is free, but parking is usually pretty terrible unless you get there early enough… which I never do. ^^; If you’re into any type of geekery (and if you’re reading this blog, chances are you are!), definitely give Frank’s a look-see if you’re in the area!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! ^_^

Blossoms in the Fall / Natsuki Kuga Photoshoot

Little Tokyo usually runs its Cherry Blossom Festival in April, but due to lack of funding this year they pushed it back to September and charged $1 admission.

Instead of it being in the streets of Little Tokyo, it was relegated to the parking lot of the Little Tokyo Metro Station. As you can see, though, there was still plenty of space for food and boba trucks!

There was a cosplay contest that day, but I didn’t arrive in time to catch it. :< However, I did run into my friends Aoi Mizuno and shyot! They were on their way out and I was on my way to meet sanitynevermore, so I didn’t get to hang out with them for very long. :<

I did get to check out a little bit of the festival while texting sanitynevermore. Here are some cool trinkets and such for sale. I’ve always liked these puzzle boxes, even though they’re not particularly functional.

sanitynevermore suggested we meet up where the music stage was, but there were several musical acts going on at the same time. These guys weren’t bad!

After we met up, I took sanitynevermore to the Miyako Hotel so she could change into her cosplay of Natsuki Kuga from Mai-HiME / My-Hime. I found the paneling on the wall to be interesting, so we took a few shots in front of it before spending the rest of the shoot over by the Japanese American National Museum.

This is one of her first cosplays and I think she did an awesome job bringing one of my favorite Mai-HiME characters to life!

Since we’re both n00bs, the shoot took a while b/c we were trying to figure out what to do. ^^;

They were a little challenging to get, but I do like the overhead shots we took!

Nearby were these interesting windows. There were people working in there, though — not sure if they were wondering what we were doing. ^^;

After the photoshoot, we wandered through Japanese Village Plaza. I honestly can’t remember if these lanterns are up all the time, but they do seem festive. Of course, this is nowhere near where the festival was. ^^;

It was great fun spending time with one of my new friends from Anime Expo 2011, and you can check out more pictures from the festival and photoshoot through the links below!

2011 09 25 Sun: Blossoms in the Fall
2011 09 25 Sun: Natsuki Kuga Photoshoot