Kaiju Korner: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Robo Hacchan (8-chan) ロボット８ちゃん Vintage Popy toys

So far I haven't had many chances to talk about vintage toys, mostly because I've had my hands full covering indie sofubi. But the toys of yesteryear are amazing in so many ways. So are the nearly daily sights and sounds of Japan that make you say, "Huh wha??"

And so the confluence of these strands brings us inevitably to Robo Hacchan (aka 8-chan). I had seen some of these toys (made by Popy in the early 80s) tons of times at shops. I'd see the postman or telephone booth figure and do a "Huh wah - cool!" But I never pulled the trigger...until yesterday.

I saw the pair in Nagoya, and not only were they nicely priced, but they were both deadstock. So I picked them up and started this new journey.

The figures are characters from a tokusatsu (特撮 - live action) TV show called ロボット８ちゃん, which is sometimes translated as Robo Hacchan, or 8-chan (the name of the main character).

More after the jump:

Tokyo -> Nagoya highway bus adventure!

Today I took a highway bus from Tokyo to Nagoya. Traveling in Japan is always an experience in itself, so I thought it might make a fun post.

This time I went with Willer Express. The company runs a bunch of routes throughout Japan, and they have an excellent English website. The prices are competitive, and they operate a diverse fleet of buses.

Some are bare bones, squeeze-as-many-seats-as-you-can-in-a-coach chicken buses (which are probably actually not too bad). At the other end are coaches with huge, plushy seats. Of course, the price bar moves from left to right as you go up in class.

I went with the "RELAX with personal monitor" bus, which had a couple of interesting features.

The first is the personal "canopy." It folds up behind your seat, and you pull it to extend it over your head. Voila, private head cone.

self-portrait

More after the jump:

New Frenzy Bros figure prototypes

Prototype sculpts of new Frenzy figures, shown the other day at the Frenzy show.

Really nice Middle Earth vibe

Frenzy x Paul Kaiju head sculpt

More after the jump:

Frenzy Bros. Show

Yesterday, Rubber Duck, a toy shop in Tokyo, hosted a one-day show featuring toys by Frenzy Bros. Frenzy is an indie outfit getting more attention and exposure as they continue expanding their lines, attending and hosting shows, and participating in collabs.

The show featured a Frenzy toy display, new releases, and previews of upcoming figures. (I'll be posting more about the latter in a future post.) Let's start with the display cabinet, which held a large number of past releases and some nice customs:

More after the jump:

Gargamel Thrashout Show (August, 2012)

Today, at a rental space in Tokyo, Gargamel unleashed an epic custom show, blowing minds and letting the sofubi world know that Thrashout may not exist as a shop anymore, but in style and quality, the Thrashout spirit is alive and well.

The crew brought a grip of large and small customs, one show release (a mini Miborah), new gachapon figures, and a bunch of stuff to display. Let's start with the customs:

75 pics after the jump:

Store visit: Tokyo's Tokyo

Tokyo's Tokyo is a newcomer on the indie scene. It opened in early 2012, and from the get go the shop has featured some indie sofubi releases. The store may not be as well stocked as other stores, but it makes a nice/convenient stop on the Harajuku/Shibuya circuit. (Tokyo's Tokyo is minutes from Secret Base.)

Let's start with the store details:

Website: http://omohara.tokyu-plaza.com/lifestyle/803/
Address: 4-30-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03 6438 9201
Hours: 11:00 - 21:00 daily
Click here for a Google Map to the exact location.

English map (from the department store's site):

More after the jump. including store pics:

Real x Head Devilman tribute

A look at the finished Devilman tribute made by Real Head for the DZ40 show. The figure wasn't sold or displayed at the show, and no word yet on when/how it will be sold.

The figure features a new head sculpt on an older RxH adult body.

Frenzy Devilman up close

Here's a closer look at the Frenzy Devilman, released the other day at the DZ40 event.

I shot the figure at a Starbucks...

...which I soon realized was fortuitous, since the colors match perfectly with the uniforms of the Starbuckaroos.

More after the jump:

New Secret Base images

New pics I snapped at the Secret Base shop:

More after the jump:

Blobpus x TAG Alien Argus blind bag release

Here's a cool release. Legendary sofubi maestro Blobpus is teaming up with the Toy Art Gallery (TAG) on a run of Alien Argus figures. Alien Argus was originally designed by Mark Nagata and is produced by TAG.

There are a number of variants, including one-offs and two-offs, They'll be sold blind bagged at a price of $125 each.

The figures will go on sale Wednesday Aug 22 at 12 PM PST, both at the store and online: shop.toyartgallery.com

Star Case - Star Wars Celebration VI Exclusive set

At this week's Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, a very, very limited set of Star Case sofubi figures will be released at booth 1121/ 1123. Each $150 set will contain unpainted GID versions of Governor Garumaya and Dester Commando, replete with extra goodies.

Check out Garumaya's vinyl cape.

Nice sticker with an old school Kenner nod!

Dester Commando

Extra heads

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Akiba Daisuke Festival

Now this was something different. Tokyo has quite a few toy shows (though a lot fewer than in previous years). And there are shows for video games, idol shows, and other elements of geek culture. But it's rare for many of these elements to not only come together under one roof, but to do so in an atmosphere of fun, high energy, and comradery. That was my impression of the Akiba Daisuke Festival.

The weekend show was held, appropriately, in the worldwide center of the otakuverse: Akihabara.

A note about the naming of things. Akiba is short for Akihabara. "Daisuke" means "to like" in Japanese.

I went for the toys but had a great time checking out everything else. But we usually headline with the toys, so let's start with a look at the indie sofubi on hand.

Real Head

More after the jump:

New pics of Mishka Tokyo - Nag bonanza

Fresh pics of Mishka Tokyo. Toys are all for display only.

More after the jump:

Devilman Mazinger Z 40th Anniversary Event at Tokyo's Tokyo

2011 marked Kamen Rider's 30th anniversary. This year Devilman and Mazinger Z celebrate their 40th years running strong. And you know what anniversaries mean - special events and new toys!

Today at Tokyo's Tokyo, one of the newest spots on the indie toy circuit, a two-week event - called DZ40 - opened, featuring art, shirts, and toys related to the two mega franchises.

There's no other way to say it - the opening was chaos. The store is on the 5th floor of Tokyu Plaza, a glitzy new department store in Harajuku. Tokyo's Tokyo, along with most stores in the building, opens at 11:00. However, the Starbucks on the 6th floor opens at 8:30. You can see where this is going. Come 11:00 you had people descending on the store from every which direction, and they jumped on the pile of toys lack a pack of piranhas.

In a way, it was exciting to see so much enthusiasm over indie toys on a Friday morning. And there were a lot of toys to go around, with the exception of the Frenzy figure, which looked to be limited to 10 figures or less and disappeared instantly.

Event pics: