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 Blobpus figure: Jupon

Jupon was unveiled the other day at the Blobpus x Masayoshi Hanawa exhibition. (Full coverage here.) Kaji-san (Blobpus) transformed the character from a 2D illustration by Hanawa-san into a sofubi figure. Since the source material has no sides or back, Kaji-san had to fill in the rest of the design. So, the figure is a true collaboration between the two.

Here's a shot of one of Kaji-san's Jupon customs held up next to Hanawa-san's original colored illustration:

With the above custom, Kaji-san intentionally chose colors and paint techniques to match Hanawa-san's design. A few other customs from the show did the same, while others have a more "trademark Blobpus" design and color sense.

More after the jump:

Blobpus x Masayoshi Hanawa Monsters Exhibition

A new Blobpus x Masayoshi Hanawa exhibition opened yesterday at P Koen, an interesting clothing/goods shop near Gakugeidaku station in Tokyo. The station is 4 stops from Shibuya on the Tokyu Toyoko line.

The show, which runs through Sept 12, includes customs by Kaji-san, artwork by Hanawa-san, as well as customs by Todd Robertson. The event also marks the release of  Jupon, a character designed in 2D by Hanawa-san and interpreted as a 3D sofubi figure by Kaji-san. Jupon is an eating monster, and its name comes from the chomping sound made as Jupon devours his meals.

This is the first in a line of sofubi figures based on Hanawa-san's characters. The next will be Belotonian Jr. You can see my pics of the in-development sculpt for that character here.

Hanawa-san's art, which includes illustrations, paintings, and mixed media work, is shown at the Zenshi Gallery. I asked Hanawa-san how people can buy his art, and he said the best way is to go through the gallery. I'll try to get a link or info on  other ways to contact them.

Jupon customs by Kaji-san:

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