The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross (Countdown Ver.) Photoshoot

My first ever photoshoot was with Aoi Mizuno and shyot when they cosplayed Ushio and Maora from The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross (Shinshi Dōmei Kurosu) at Fanime.

I was bummed that Sai Rei had already headed home, and it wasn’t until PMX 2011 that I finally got to meet her. She was every bit as nice as I expected her to be, and equally patient!

I called this the Countdown Ver. since this marks my:

4th ever photoshoot,
3rd time shooting with Aoi Mizuno,
2nd time with shyot, and
1st time with Sai Rei, who cosplays Haine Otomiya!

Once again, these experienced pros picked the locations and came up with their poses and expressions. Luckily there were no ISO snafus like at Fanime, but the lighting was horrible so I still had to use Noiseware to de-noise the photos. On top of that, I had to liberally apply Photoshop’s cooling filters to un-orange everything. D: We had a great time shooting, though, and I hope you can see the fun we had.

I told them to just interact as if they were having an actual student council meeting and shyot amazed us with his impressive knowledge of trivia. Even more amazing was that Aoi managed to stay in character while the rest of us kept cracking up!

Maora: Did you know that dolphins –
Ushio: Just shut up and get me some cake.

D’awwwww. Aoi and Sai Rei are besties IRL so these types of moments always popped up. ^______^

Ushio smiled! Happens every once in a while.

shyot came up with this idea to use the mirrored wall and they all did their own poses!

After the student council meeting, Maora needs to use the restroom. However…

Not realizing she’s a he, the girls try to get Maora to use the ladies’ room! What will happen next? Check out the full set of photos here!

Pacific Media Expo 2011

Pacific Media Expo 2011 was held the second weekend of November. 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 (left) 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! (EDIT: They’re here!)

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!)