Up for pre-order now is this most most gorgeous figure of Tamaki ever ever ever. Going to steal a poster from the GSC offices before I leave here today ^^;
Is 1/6 scale and will be released next April - retails for 8,800 yen.
See more pics at GSC. This photo taken at the previous Tokyo Figure Show. TFS in Singapore was your idea so we are making it happen ^o^

More cutting edge bootleg toy coverage provided by Moeyo.com.
First up, Thomas the Tank Engine gets the mecha treatment.

Even comes with authentic paint chipped on the nose. Brilliant.

Product title is "Super Electric Thomas" (?).

For a mere 3,000 yen, you get lights, moving arms and forward motion. Incredible.

Next up is "Gundam"...

And not just any Gundam - its one with a human face!

Yours for a mere 3,000 yen. More pics at Moeyo.com.

You are sentenced to 50 years in jail or have to display either Thomas or Gundam in your bedroom for 10 years - which do you choose?
Which will it be? Jail time
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At last! The iPhone/iPod Touch version of dannychoo.com is ready - just point your iphone to http://www.dannychoo.com/iphone
Not designed for normal browser use so it may look funky.

The top page has the "Latest" tab highlighted.

Click on the Japanese flag to bring up the Japanese version. I write most articles in Japanese too so if you want to squeeze in more Japanese study then check out the Japanese site or subscribe to the Japanese RSS feed.

My fave post of the week - the Doll Show 26 photo article.

You can catch up on all the Japan stuff in the "Japan" category. Will work out how to organize the UI to fit in other categories.

Dolfies are included in the "Figure" category.

Supports landscape mode too.
At the moment, all internal links will open dannychoo.com in the full browser version but we will fix this in a later version.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "see comments" to load all comments for that post. If there are no comments then the button wont show.
At the moment you cant comment but will be able to do soon.

Comments appear as they do on the full browser version without the reply-to link.

The Tokyo Live Bloggers has its own tab.

The iPhone never managed to load all photos from the full browser version for posts like the Week in Tokyo series due to the photo weight.
Mirai Gaia automatically creates 3 different images sizes for each uploaded image - thumb, mobile and full browser.
The iPhone version uses the mobile sizes which is why they all load. The Japanese mobile version will be launched next week.

Figure.fm, Otaku.fm versions will launch soon and we will put in automatic detection with the option of switching back n forth in the iPhone.
iPhone Puchi Blurbs will be integrated too.

Thanks to Michael Flux [www] for the design inspiration, Chris for putting in extra hours and Kyourin who turned out to know much more than just illustrating Mirai-tan.
http://www.dannychoo.com/iphone/

Where do you browse the Internets the most? Home
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A survey at EC Navi asks the question "Have you lived on your own?" 69% said "Yes" while the rest said "No."
For the "Yes" answers, people gave "when schooling", "when single" and "when relocated by company to another location" as examples. Some of these folks said that they got so ronery being alone that they called their family every day. Then there were folks who said living alone gave them freedom and described it as being heaven.

Some folks who answered No said that they would have liked to live on their own at least once.

What do our friends at 2ch think about this?
-Living alone means unlimited dolphin waxing, anime and can display figures everywhere.
-Heaven.
-I dont feel isolated like I do when with family so living alone is great.
-Love it. I cant even stand other people living in the same building let alone family.
-Too expensive to live alone.
-Have not lived alone but if I do then my place would probably turn into a mansion full of garbage.
-Its fun but cant stand the thought of living alone when I'm past 40.
-I live with family but paying 100,000 yen rent to live alone is going to be very tough.
-No fun memorys with family when I was younger so living alone would be great.
-Living alone means you can be nekkid and wax the dolphin all the time.
-Heaven. Can bring girls home anytime.
-I live on my own and get stressed out when somebody asks me for even an ounce of my time and think that its stupid to devote time to women.
-You wont be ronery if you create another personality.
-If you get ronery then just buy a pet. Cats n dogs require a load of maintenance so just get something smal like a bird or hamster.
-When I get home late at night, eating a bento alone is just so ronery. Would love to have a cat by my side or something.
-Washing is a pain. I need a maidroid.
-Living alone is great up until the age of 35.
-Living alone -> get married -> divorce -> living alone.
-Living alone is fine when you have the Internets.
-Living alone means one can freely display oppai figures.

I've never lived alone but I've felt like I lived alone when I was brought up in a home. My foster family gave me a hard time and was bullied left right n center at school. My only friends were Buck Rogers and his robot Twiggy. I talk about my upbringing in the Anime Toys photo article.

I think I went back to living with my parents during my early teens but didn't enjoy it. Mum nagged at me all the time for this n that and she didn't like my friends coming around.
Moved out after meeting wifey. We lived together in Earls Court back in London. It was a dingy one-room ridden with fleas located outside that highway with lorries driving past all day long. I was at university at the time and we both worked part time at Benihana at nights.

How about you? Do you live on your own (or have plans to) or wish you did? What do you enjoy/dislike about living alone?
For folks who wished they lived alone, what would you be able to do that you cant do now.

BTW, photo of me desk snapped this morning. Hmmm. Whats that in the bottom right next to the note book? Looks like product samples of something or other ^^;

Explore the depths of Shinjuku or Shibuya and you will come across love hotels - places designed for couples to have some hanky panky. Not only does this place allow female couples and folks on their own, they also rent out Wii and costumes for those who want some special hanky panky.
If you was to take a partner, which costume would you pick?

Some history about the Japanese love hotel from Wikipedia below.
Love hotels developed from tea rooms chaya (茶屋), mostly used by prostitutes and their clients, but also by lovers. After World War II, the name tsurekomi yado (連れ込み宿), literally "bring-along inn" was adopted, originally for simple lodgings run by families with a few rooms to spare. These establishments appeared first around Ueno, Tokyo in part due to demand from Occupation forces, and boomed after 1958 when legal prostitution was abolished and the trade moved underground. The introduction of the automobile in the 1960s brought with it the "motel" and further spread the concept.

The original term has since fallen into disuse within the industry itself thanks to the euphemism treadmill, and an ever-changing palette of terms is used by hotel operators keen on representing themselves as more fashionable than the competition. Alternative names include "romance hotel", "fashion hotel", "leisure hotel", "amusement hotel", "couples hotel", and "boutique hotel".

Some more blurb about the hotels here below.
Love hotels can usually be identified using symbols such as hearts and the offer of a room rate for a "rest" (休憩, kyūkei?) as well as for an overnight stay. The period of a "rest" varies, typically ranging from one to three hours. Cheaper daytime off-peak rates are common. In general, reservations are not possible, leaving the hotel will forfeit access to the room, and overnight stay rates only become available after 10pm. These hotels may be used for prostitution or by budget-travellers sharing accommodation.

Entrances are discreet and interaction with staff is minimized, with rooms often selected from a panel of buttons and the bill settled by pneumatic tube, automatic cash machines, or a pair of hands behind a pane of frosted glass. Although cheaper hotels are often quite utilitarian, higher-end hotels may feature fanciful rooms decorated with anime characters, equipped with rotating beds, ceiling mirrors, or karaoke machines, strange lighting or styled similarly to dungeons, sometimes including S&M gear.

These hotels are typically either concentrated in city districts close to stations, near highways on the city outskirts, or in industrial districts. Love hotel architecture is sometimes garish, with buildings shaped like castles, boats or UFOs and lit with neon lighting. However, some more recent love hotels are very ordinary looking buildings, distinguished mainly by having small, covered, or even no windows.
And a video to boot - not sure how old it is though. Do they have stuff like this in your neck of the woods?

Doll Show 26 took place yesterday in Hamamatsu-cho at the Tokyo Trade Center. Unlike last time, this time round we was treated to 4 floors including the tea space on the 2nd floor where many sons n daughters got to meet new friends - as well as parents too ^^;

Didn't take as many photos as I did last time as some of the stuff was the same. If you want to see what it was like then have a look at the previous Doll Show photo article.

Here we see Saber with "prayer hands" for Dollfies - will cost 4,000 yen.

One face that we didn't see at the previous Doll Show was Natsuki.

Ryomo in punk (?) gear which seems to be quite popular.

Think this is Asuka.

Purple wig Saber. Folks who live in Japan will notice that many elderly ladies dye their hair purple. Some folks said that its because the black hair dye fades away but my hair dresser says is because they actually do dye their hair purple.

Kanu in slip. Fotgot to pick up that hair pin.

Yoko with eyes from Cork Cats.

Illya.

Not entirely sure who this is - looks like Komaki.

I thought these eyes where resin but on a closer look I discover that they are actually prints.

One thing I like about the doll shows is that one gets inspiration on how to dress up ones daughter.

Wanted to have a dealer booth at the up n coming Dollpa next month but just discovered that applications closed last August! Was going to sell the maid mirai and suit.

Saber looks so cute here.

Didn't see that many of Nia. Dollpa is mainly focused on Dollfie stuff so expect to see more of her next month.
Todays Doll Show was a mixed bag of everything although this time round I focused on the Dollfie stuff.

Yui Hirasawa played by Nanoha. Very sweet. Also reminds me that I need to give Nanoha another haircut.

Cuddly Saber.

Hmmm. She looks familiar.

This was the sweetest Dollfie I saw all day long - belongs to Mofu-san and you can see more of her daughter at Flickr. Mofu-san gave her daughter peachy cheeks and purupuru lip makeup. I've asked her to do my Nanoha-chan up the same.

Mofu-san's daughter is called Michiru-san.
Quick Japanese lesson - never stick "san" on the end of your own name. "san" is a suffix used on the end of somebody else's name and is the polite way of referring to someone. Referring to yourself with "san" on the end makes you look like a pratt.

Want to pinch her cheeks!

Another Yui Hirasawa played by Nanoha.

Louise plays puchi Fate.

Think this is a custom head playing puchi Nanoha.

Erika plays Klan Klein.

Haruhi plays Kokonoe Rin.

Nyan.

Moe-chan points to something down her top.

Saw a load of black clothes that I would have loved to get for my daughters but have first hand experience of color transfer onto the body. Even dark blue socks are culprits. Cant be bothered to use cling film either.

Moe-chan.

Meido Sasara.

Sasara n Moe.

Saber Alter Harem?

Cant remember what outfit this is from - Guilty Gear?

Natsuki in one of Volks recently released outfits.

Saw a few pair of jeans which I wanted to get but stocked up n a load of other stuff instead ^^;

Moe-chan.

Just noticed from these photos that quite a few daughters have had their hair trimmed.

Saw a load of leather jackets which were a bit pricey.

Moe-chan.

Got some eyelashes but not got round to attaching them.

Sasara looking rather smexy.

Nekomimi Komaki Mannaka.

ToHeart girls.

Rozen Sasara.

Yukino Miku.

Escalayer.

Rin Tohsaka.

Mirai Saber.

And this was the space for the Dollfie Twitter users.

Got more stuff coming up but for the meantime check out the links below for more coverage.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/luckydog555/archives/1053062.html
http://www.good-design-review.com/2009/11/01/
http://hocha.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2009-11-02
http://taitan-no.net/archives/2009/11/01/2359.php
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/namazukawa/e/77b36585dcc3abd06243d7aab94196b2
http://punynari.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/doll-show-26-part-1/
http://punynari.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/doll-show-26-part-2/
http://punynari.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/doll-show-26-part-3/
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/fslasht/20091101/1257078806
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/namazukawa/e/77b36585dcc3abd06243d7aab94196b2

Next doll events will be the Twitter Off Kai in Shinjuku on the 14th of November and then Dollpa on December the 6th.

Looks like poor Sasara Kusugawa cant stand up due to the weight of her oppai.
The oppai parts is called "Oppai Kakumei" or "Oppai Revolution" and costs 12,000 yen.
If you really want the parts then I think you need to get them at a show or from Yahoo Auction Japan.

The seller also had a box full of dolphins for owners who like their daughter futanari style...

Was pleasantly surprised to meet so many dealers at the Doll Show who read dannychoo.com.
Was even more pleasantly surprised to see that somebody made a figure of me too ^o^

Labeled as "Tokyo Trooper" and arranged by Fuku Inu-san.

Sanya at yesterdays Doll Show. Currently sorting through a ton of photos but thought I'd get this out first. The next couple of days are going to be doll intensive ^^;

Sanya's rocket launcher thingy looks great too although I have a feeling that it came with some other toy and not custom made.

Next is Sanya from Azone due out some time at the beginning of next year.

Me still prefer the 60cm doll variety but the smaller ones are easier to carry around. Do you have a preference in doll size?

Incredible Itachari made by Kodomut as a B'day prezzie for me ^o^.

Which reminds me - thanks for all the birthday wishes. I got one from Lucasfilm too ^o^

We will display this with the Mirai Figma at the AFA 09 later this month.
I've been given my own booth which you will see at the entrance to the AFA and I have asked Good Smile Company to look after the display for me - Sergeant Akiyama who managed my display at the Tokyo Figure Show will manage the display for me this round too.
Will also bring Big Boss Aki. If you have not done so yet, prepare business cards for yourself.

Kodomut has posted photos of how he put together the Itachari and also provides templates for the back wheels in Photoshop format for you too.

Earlier this morning Kodomut also posted a short story with the Itachari at Figure.fm.

I will be upgrading my bicycle when I get back to Japan from the Singapore trip - will make it into an Itachari.

If anybody in Singapore wants to make a 1/1 scale Mirai-chan Itachari then I promise to put it at the booth profiling you and your website ^o^
You can grab high res images of the girls from the Mascot Page.

Maybe we should make Gordon into an Ita-armor plastered with Mirai, Haruka and Kanata stickers?

I need to hit the sack soon. I owe you A week in Tokyo, A day with Jimmy Choo, Doll Show report, a look at the second mountain of samples, Mac Life 5 and more.

Took these photos a few days ago and since then another huge batch of samples arrived - looks like sample levels are increasing as the business grows ^^;

Kotobukiya Asuka - some of you have won this as your room was in the Otacool book - will announce during next week.

Yukino Sakurai from Candy Boy. Saw bits of it but didn't get round to watching all of the yuri action. How was it?

Huge Tsukasa and Fate.

More books from J-List.

Bayonetta - a truly awesome game. Love the in game music and the amount of combo moves and weapons make it a joy to play. The only downer is that there is no install option meaning that you get "Loading..." a lot which can get annoying but you get to practice those combos while bits of it load.

The ones from Amazon came with a pre-order exclusive CD which contains some soundtracks from the game.
Folks in Japan can get their copy from Amazon but it looks like it went up 2,000 yen since I got it - its currently 8,400 yen.

A load of figma's and nendoroids in this batch - and then some more came over the weekend ^^;

1/48 W.H.A.M.! ARL-99 Assault Airborne Labor - available from HLJ for 14,800 yen. Tis a light model and feels like a freshly built kit.
Backpack and thrusters attach to the body with magnets. Joints are not made of cloth which one would probably expect for the price tag.
Still a lovely mecha though.

Love the design of this mecha especially the flaps on the legs. Feel like sitting down to watch some retro Patlabor now.

Idolmaster Keyrings from Good Smile.

This time round J-List stock "Japanese Sword Girls" - an illustration book full of moesome girls wielding mostly samurai swords.

Going to have a look at some of my faves from the book.

Love this outfit.

Nice shitapai and pantsu.

Looks like Saber Alter.

The illustration book is currently available from J-List for 34 USD.

The book also talks in depth about the blades for each type of samurai sword - they may look all the same but are very different.

J-List also sent a rather nice Kaguya-hime illustration book too.

Includes some pai for dessert. Available from J-List for 28.50 USD.

Anything from this batch tickle your fancy?

Signing the Otacool book with Ai-chan in Maid Mirai cosplay. Thanks to all who came along - t'was fun!
Need to dash to Ikea now to get some large mirrors for "dance" practice - want to turn the lounge into a gym.
Also need to replace that glass mug.

Also see you at the Doll Show if you are going tomorrow. Am going with folks from Good Smile Company, AmiAmi and Tokyo Hunter as well as a load of other popular Japanese bloggers.

More pics from today at Steve's Flickr which are still being uploaded from his eye-fi.

Folks who Follow my Twitter will already know that I will be signing copies of Otacool at the Kotobukiya store in Akihabara tomorrow at 1PM. There will also be some sort of photo session with media folks. Amano Ai will be with me too ^^

If you are coming along then see you there! I will be at the Volks store getting an L bust for Karin-chan either before or after the event ^^;
Would love to stay all day but work is busier than ever - busy is good but means that I need to put triple hours in. Ai-chan will be at the event all day though.

Currently being featured on the top page of Kotobukiya.

Was also featured on the Playstation 3 channel - had no idea ^^;
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Quick photo review of the Alter Yoko Littner figure that came out a little while back.
First saw the prototype of this figure over a year ago at Chara Hobby - looked great in primer alone and looks even better painted.

Alter do great quality figures but some of them look odd and generally have darker colors. Yoko however is astoundingly good.

Nicely scuplted oppai.

Sculpting around the torso looks great too.

Revolver is removable and the barrel turns too. Fits snugly with a little effort up ones nose.

Cute yokogao. Yoko Gao [横顔] means "side of face."

Garments can be removed - if you want to break the figure permanently.

Tush is a bit flat.

Coat in the wind really does look great. I think there is a version of her in a black coat too.

Lovely stand too. The weight of the coat prevents Yoko from standing without the base.

Good news for folks who don't like hair joins - non on Yoko.

Yoko retailed for 8,190 yen back in August.

Sculpt and quality is truly stunning.

My fave figure company is still Good Smile though ;-)
Your fave figure company out of the following are? Good Smile Company (Max Factory)
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Some of these in the Wallpaper Pool.

And the three Yoko's lined up. The one on the far right is by Kotobukiya (review) and the one on the far left is by Gift (review).
Which do you prefer?
Which Yoko is your fave? Alter
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Thanks to HLJ for the sample.

Gorgeous Mirai and Haruka art posted by Inkscratch at Figure.fm.
Original high res image uploaded to Flickr.

Hi! This is an image of Mirai that both me and my friend Jessie Lam collaborated on (she did the awesome colors).

You can view her portfolio here, or her deviantart page here. My portfolio site is here, and my online manga is located here. Thanks for your time, and we hope you like the work!

One of the nicest figures of Taiga Aisaka that I've seen - garage kit found on FG.