Revy (Alter)

A major part of these sales is to cut back on the number of repeats of characters in my collection. If I like one figure of a certain character way more than another, I’ve decided to sell that “other” figure. It’s still a bit difficult though because that “other” figure is still usually very lovely. Although that said I’m having difficulties making decisions on some characters I really like a lot, particularly Yoko of Gurren Lagann. So many of the figures I have of her are similar, yet picking any out to sell is proving to be difficult. The only one I can say for sure I want to sell is the Enterbrain one…but that gun in her hands is so delicate that I don’t dare remove it. So many people out there have broken her gun trying to get it in her hands, I’d hate to sell it only to have my poor buyer shatter her gun in the assembly process. For that reason alone I’ll probably be keeping her. This batch is an odd combination of some older figures and prize figures. Each wave of sales is really actually determined by which bins I pull have which figure boxes in them. BUT if I’m selling figures from a certain set, I put them aside until I get the boxes for everything from the set I’m selling.

My Active Auctions

Cocona (Movic)

Haruhi (SEGA)

Haruhi (SEGA)

Hitsugaya Toushiro (Megahouse)

Lucy Maria (Good Smile Company)

Sakura (Max Factory)

Shannon and Raquel (Bandai)

Toradora is a series that I began watching as it was first airing in Japan, I enjoyed episode 1 and when I tried to watch episode 2 I couldn’t find it subbed decently. So I decided to wait until the whole series aired and watch it marathon style. Now 2 years later I’ve finally sat down and watched the whole thing! One thing I will say right up front is that the opening really grew on me, I liked it a lot. If I had been watching this series alone I would have watched the opening at each episode, but my viewing partner is the type that watches an opening once and never again unless it’s the Lucky Star opening. In which case it’s watched at least once a day on You Tube for the next two months after we’ve completed the show.

Plot Summary
Both Ryuji and Taiga are constantly being misjudged by their looks. Ryuji has mean eyes and doesn’t easily smile, so even though he is a sweet guy he can scare most of the other students off in a single glance. Taiga is small and adorable but acts like a wild animal, as a result she earned the nickname “Toradora” or “Palmtop Tiger”. These two are drawn together because they both have crushes on the other person’s friend and they vow to help one another in their love interests.

Characters
I like the cast from this series, each one has quirky characteristics that make me smile. Ryuji won me over in the very first scene, to see him so enthusiastically scrubbing at the mold in the bathroom and practicing to look look approachable was adorable. I also liked the choice of his seiyu, it’s a voice I enjoyed hearing. Taiga is often irrational/temperamental but I hesitantly decided that I didn’t mind her. Minori’s cheerful attitude was nice, and I became curious about a lot of aspects of her life. But in the end I don’t feel like her character was explained as well as it should have been. Yusaku was just plain ridiculous, I loved that such a dorky acting (and looking) guy managed to be one of the more desirable guys at the school. Ami was my least favorite human character, I liked her when she was initially introduced but by the end I really didn’t understand her place in this series. She went from being ridiculously immature to the character that hands out advice like a wise old man far too quickly for me to swallow. For characters I probably enjoyed Ryuji’s mother the most, I think she was a wonderful character with just enough flaws to be believable. The parrot Inko-chan however…seemed like a pointless and unnecessary addition to Ryuji’s family, throughout the series there was a gag where Ryuji paused in anticipation hoping the parrot would finally say its name, and the focus of the whole show went to the parrot until it would eventually spout out a completely different word. This gag got old real quick.

In the first few episodes this series had me smiling quite a few times, but as time went on I feel like the humor dropped off too much. The series became extremely focused on all of the characters sorting out their feelings while poorly communicating with each other about those emotions. What the heck? Did I accidentally fall into a shoujo series? This wasn’t what I was looking for when I picked out Toradora BUT that’s my own fault for not researching this series better before I chose it. On Wikipedia Toradora is stated as being in the Drama/Romantic Comedy category. I wanted a series that had more of a focus on the comedy with a side of character development. OR if there was going to be such a focus on the characters and their drama I would have liked to have found out more about Minori and Yusaku’s situations. Minori especially seemed like she had unique circumstances that were hinted at, but never explained.

Toradora didn’t give me what I was looking for by the end. I wouldn’t say I completely regretted watching this series though, it’s a series that was a near hit. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a show that others will love, quite a few fans out there like this series a lot. My review is probably inadequate at describing the pros and cons of the series, I found it difficult to describe what I liked and didn’t like about it. When I poked around for other reviews I found at least one other that felt similar to my experience.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“On average a good show, but it’s certainly making me feel my age. Good grief, kids today…”

~THEM anime review of Toradora!

Although THEM Reviews and I liked different aspects of the show, their quotes capture some of what I was feeling about Toradora pretty well.

Rei and Asuka Aphrodite Version 2 (SEGA)

Ok part 2! The Aphrodite Asuka and Rei will only be up for 2 more days and they’re the oldest items from this round. In this wave of sales I’ve started diving into my pile of Figmas that I believe will be better appreciated elsewhere. I even have some brand new unopened items in this round. We’ll see how things go.

My Active Auctions

Emiya and Saber Figmas (Max Factory) – Brand New

Rider (ebCraft/Enterbrain)

Psylocke (Kotobukiya) – BRAND NEW

Shana (Yamato)

Nakajima Subaru Figma (Max Factory) – BRAND NEW

Zoro is an awesome character, definitely one of my all time favorites. I’m buying BOTH Strong Versions of him being released, I don’t care that he’s the only one I’ll have doubles of from this set! The more Zoro the better! Of the two Zoro figures being released I think I’ll end up liking Version 2 the best. Why Version 2? Simply because it’s Zoro in a tuxedo! When I first started collecting figures the Skypia Megahouse Zoro was one of my most wanted figures, I was ecstatic when they had an improved re-release. Although of the One Piece Strong set I’d say Zoro Ver. 2 and Ver. 1 place #2 and #3 on my MUST HAVE list for this set. My #1 desired figure is the Luffy that I’ll be reviewing next time!

What really sealed the deal on my love of this character was the voice of his Japanese seiyu, most badass male voice in anime (so far) for me. His angry reactions to everything ridiculous the crew does almost always gets a chuckle out of me. Zoro is straight forward and simple minded. Although Luffy and Zoro’s temperaments are completely different, Zoro is probably the character that resembles Luffy’s personality the closest. I find his ability to get lost under any circumstances a completely lovable trait. I also like that he fights with three swords a lot, when I first read his description I really couldn’t imagine making fighting with a sword in your mouth looking good, but Oda pulled it off.

Zoro always looks pretty mean in his figures, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon unless someone does a figure of him napping. I wouldn’t mind having a figure of a sleeping swordsman leaning up against a wall. I can’t see myself even buying a figure of him smiling  even if one was made. He usually either has a serious face or an angry face in the series.

In this figure we can see Zoro’s scar from when he encountered his chosen swordsman rival Mihawk. Although everyone on the crew gets beat up pretty badly, Zoro seems like he comes out of his fights the most roughed up. He really should probably be dead by now, but hey it’s anime! And that just makes him all the more badass. BUT that isn’t to say that Luffy doesn’t sustain the most damage after fights, Zoro is just the one that looks the most damaged. The Thriller Bark story arc clearly showed the difference in damage Luffy takes on in comparison to everyone else. I’d love a Megahouse figure of Zoro in an outfit where we can see the whole scar, but I think the only time he wore an outfit that accomplished that was the open red/white pinstripped shirt.

I’m definitely wondering if there is a story behind this bandana he’s sporting. It actually took me a moment to realize that you probably don’t display him with the bandana on his head and on his arm at once. That it’s probably supposed to be the same bandana and he just throws it on his head when fighting? BAH! I hate having to guess these things! Strong World hurry up and release to DVD/Blu-Ray! Also, no one can say that Zoro doesn’t have an eye for matching his outfits. If you get a new maroon bandanna he obviously needed a matching backpack  to pull it off!

This figure of Zoro is on entire different level from the first one in terms of quality. All the details put into his swords alone make this figure worthwhile for Zoro fans. They can all be drawn from their sheaths and are a wonderful representation of Wadō Ichimonji, Shuusui, and Sandai Kitetsu. Each sword has it’s own story, and I’m really happy to see all the details about them so accurately represented.

Here is my Zoro army! In the front right we have the Megahouse figure of Zoro as a child, in the middle is the Megahouse Mild figure, and on the front left is the 10th anniversary trading figure. In the back left is the Megahouse Skypiea Zoro. I really like Zoro’s Skypiea outfit, it’s probably my favorite outfit Zoro has worn. Like I said before I hope to soon add another Megahouse Zoro to the gang! My figure collection is slowly but surely being taken over by One Piece. Even though I’m REALLY cutting back on how many figures I order, a well done One Piece figure always makes the cut over others. I just can’t resist buying them! One Piece is probably my all time favorite show, I really enjoy watching it.

Saber Alter (Solid Theater)

After deciding to cut back on pre-orders for figures, I’ve also decided to reduce my current collection. I’m trying to get to a point where I only own figures I have a strong connection to, and display just those figures with pride. I’m adopting a “less is more” lifestyle, I’m not doing my favorite beauties justice by putting them on overcrowded shelves. Also, I admit another reason I’m cutting back is that I’m still determined to get to Japan in 2 years for 2 weeks. Saving will be easier by doing all this. But this is only with figures…I’m always going to be a greedy manga hog! If I have manga listed it’s because I have doubles So each weekend for a while I’ll be listing a group of figures on eBay, and after I’ve listed them all I’ll post here to let my fellow blogging buddies know what I’ve put up for sale. This sale post will just be an “extra” post and won’t interrupt my normal posts. I’ll be posting reviews of more Strong Edition One Piece figures this week!

My Active Auctions

Moka (Good Smile)

Maid Rei (Kotobukiya)

Maid Asuka (Kotobukiya)

Kaori (Kotobukiya)

Lucy Misora (Good Smile)

Also for manga I have Naruto 1-9 and Dragonball 1-8