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Ber, I always take your recs seriously, after reading Nana and Yakitate. It was you who mentioned both of those to me for the first time, I think. Though I'm behind on Yakitate - I've been giving a lot of attention to its spiritual cousin, an equally slapstick manga, about American football - Eyeshield 21. I have to say, I've got no interest in sports at all, and I didn't even know any of the rules of American football before I started following ES21 (for obvious reasons). The characters are fleshed-out, their motivations fascinating. The team seems so real, for all the silly character designs and running jokes. When they play against good teams, people get hurt, and the main characters lose quite frequently. The only reason they stand a chance at all is because of their genius quarterback's absolute dedication and maniac strategies - and of course, everyone is bursting at the seams with their desire to Do Their Best For Everyone's Sakes.

I've been watching the anime too, with slightly mixed results when I can't find good subtitles. My favourite so far were the ones translated via Chinese. One episode featured a character coming back to join the team after a long time away. He walked onto the field with a very serious expression, turned to his coach, and the subtitles said "Sensei, I have returned to the field with my iron butt."

-Pips-

Are you sure I mentioned Nana to you? I thought you already knew it, as I discovered it pretty late... In any case I'm glad that you like my recommendations, I know so *LITTLE* about manga/anime compared to you, Wilma and Crucifer.

Yakitate! Ja-Pan always makes me hungry. Btw, did I tell you that the Japan Centre in London now has a bakery and they sell melon-pan AND yakisoba-pan?

It's possible that it wasn't you, but I think it relatively unlikely. I can't imagine who else it could have been, unless it was Ro? Either way, I know for a long time I credited you with having introduced me to two of my current favourites, so you must have said something good.

On my birthday last spring I went to Birmingham, and while we were there we visited Wagamama, since we're from the provinces and have never been before. I had no idea what to order... so I went with yakisoba. I had to.

-Pips-

I make a mean yakisoba... (Wagamama is gooooood)

I neglected to mention that I was actually disappointed when the yakisoba came... it was exactly like my mother's cooking. Now there's nothing at all wrong with that, and in the right time and place it would have been wonderful! But there I was, seeking some kind of spectacular new taste experience... and it took me right back to that farmhouse kitchen where I first learnt to cook for myself.

*~Pips~*

Heh. I'd never tasted Japanese food before Wagamama, so I didn't know how authentic it was (and I didn't have any expectations either). In Spain people tend to make Spanish food only; "foreign" food is something that you only eat at fancy restaurants. My first "proper" Japanese meal was at the Japan Centre in London, the same day that Dan and I booked our Japan Rail Pass for our trip there. I was a bit shaken by the nori in my donburi. So I didn't have a lot of experience before arriving in Japan... and I was a bit nervous about the food (being a bit fussy as I am). It knocked me for six. I don't think I've ever eaten anything as delicious as the sushi we had for breakfast in Tsukiji Fish Market. I am hopelessly addicted to sushi now, but all I've had can't compare with that, unfortunately. Which sounds like a great excuse to start saving for another tip to Japan in 4-5 years' time.

Have you checked J-List and Yamato-Touch for those figures? I got Dan a Yotsuba& figure for Christmas from J-List...

Try here


and here

Pippin4242,
These 2 sites look legit. Also have you considered emailing the blog guy and seeing if he can help you out? I am actually going to ask him if he can find a couple of things for me that are out of print and/or hard to find.

Berhael, about Yotsuba&!, the former company that had the english license has been saying they will release Yotsuba&! volume 6 for at least a year. It got so bad anytime they got interviewed the question was when will they release Yotsuba&! 6 and they always said eventually. No one had any hope of volume 6 or beyond of ever getting published since after a while people got sick of ADV stringing everyone along.

Hey got a question if anyone can help me find out where I could buy these out of print clear files
Clear file 1

clear file 2

clear file 3

Also I am trying to find an ouran high school host club alarm clock that says something in Japanese but I can't find it anywhere except broken ones on Yahoo Japan
Can't even get a pic working.

OMG NO WAI
Wilma, you're a hero! I'd stopped looking there long ago! I should have just been more patient! I think I'm going to buy the eBay set and call it a Valentine's present, since my gf and I have different priorities (I just wanted the Otacon figure, to put next to my excrutiatingly bad MGS2 Otacon figure and the other three are three of her favourite characters).

I don't know much about those files (the second is beautiful, but I like the third too, since it shows Mugetsu) but I'll look out for them if you like.

Ber, I adore J-List, but I do find it very expensive. I liked their Yotsuba& figures (I get their e-mail updates) but I think they could probably be found cheaper elsewhere. I'm turning into a bit of a collector of obscure figurines. I might get some pictures of the ones I own later, if anybody's interested. Some are weird or clearly pirated, but that just makes them even more unique to me.

Here's one I'm still contemplating buying. Perhaps you might find the site interesting?

It makes me sad that there are no ES21 figures, and that the only Yakitate figures are of Tsukino in ecchi poses.

-Pips-

J-List was just affordable until a few months ago, now it's far too expensive (damn sterling exchange rate). I got quite a few birthday/Christmas presents from there, when the $/yen/£ exchange rate was much more advantageous. I'm not a big action figure collector, but that Yotsuba figure was so pretty and tempting...

Every time I see anything Bleach I think of you.

I went to Pacific Mall the other day and discovered that they sell current figures like what you were looking for Pips. I am, so tempted to buy the soul eater figures although I usually shun figures.

The Soul Eater gashapon are gorgeous! I saw them reviewed over at ANN last week.

-Pips-

They look that good in RL too. That is why they are so tempting.
Just bought code geass part 3 Limited edition, the interviews with the english dub voice actors were very very interesting.More thoughtful that I thought. I am also going home to pick up the code geass chara fotunes and some Mushi shi post cards. Also I bought the first translated volume of the Zetsubou sensei manga. They did a very god job with it. I only have one quibble with it, they didn't translate all of the puns on all the students names (they do in the fansub). That just adds to the hilarity.

Umm. has anyone cosplayed before, I am considering having a cosplay custom made but I don't know where to start. Research pics? wigs? I dunno!

I cosplay! Cosplay GET!
I prefer making and modifying my own clothes. I generally start with deciding what I'm going to do with my hair (cut/dye my own? eBay for a wig? Just leave it?) and then do a little research on pictures before hitting the charity shops for clothing similar or identical to the costume I'm trying to make. It all depends on the kind of costume you're making, though. I've made a complete shinigami uniform from scratch, which was difficult for me, as a beginner, but really very straightforward. On the other hand, my friends have achieved the same effect with an old bathrobe, or a black-and-white v-necked t-shirt. If you're commissioning something though, I guess you'd want to start by doing the wig yourself (having the wrong size wig HURTS!) and take measurements to send to the person who'd be making it.

My anime society had an epic swap-meet yesterday! We all met up in one of the campus lounges, and appropriated all the comfy chairs and sofas with about a dozen laptops and twice that number of external hard drives. I brought a box of biscuits with me, which maybe partly made up for the part when I tripped over some cables and interrupted a file transfer. :\ I got Chi's Sweet Home, Detroit Metal City, Axis Powers Hetalia, the One Piece manga, Otaku no Video, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Ouran High School Host Club, Robot Carnival, Haibane Renmei, Elfen Lied, Kite Liberator, Mononoke, Sensitive Pornograph, Yami no Matsuei, BECK Mongolian Chop Squad, Kaiji, Kyou Kara Maou, Gankutsuou, the Cowboy Bebop episodes I haven't seen yet, every single Lupin III OVA, film and special every made, and the entire series of Urusei Yatsura. I was trading mostly in Rose of Versailles, Monster, Nana, and Yakitate!! Japan.
It was the most domestic yet epic act of piracy every to take place.


-Pips-

I'm so jealous. Epically jealous.

I should try to get involved with the university's anime group...It didn't seem like they were too organized however.

Well... nor are mine, per se, but announce free stuff and it seems everybody comes.

I actually went there because I wanted to get Towards the Terra.

Animesoc is fun. You should go to yours. My friend (Nazlando on DA) wouldn't go to hers because she said it was a big time committment and she already had a manga crowd (there's mini-conventions near her flat every so often) but she finally started going, in her final year of university, and now she's going out with a hot guy who cosplays Renji.

-Pips-

Hah, well, I might eventually. :p Towards The Terra? Tell me about that one?

I think it's also called Terra E? There was a manga in the 1970s, and then an anime film, and then recently somebody revamped it as a high-budget series. It has space and mechs and a little shounen-ai, as far as I'm aware. I saw one episode with animesoc, except somebody was enthusiastically talking to me about Bleach the whole way through, so I hardly saw any at all. It just looked really promising, is all.

-Pips-

I'll look into it...sounds like it could be interesting.

Just don't quote me on anything I said about it just now.

-Pips-

I know to never quote you on anything. :p

Have you heard of Descendants of Darkness?