Super Groupies Full Metal Alchemist Edward Elric Hand Bag

#FullmetalAlchemist Edward Elric hand bag from Super Groupies arrived in all its red glory. Kind of what I expected but kind of not at the same time.

Actually it arrived about 2 weeks ago but I just around to the photos now (whoops). It was well packaged and had a distinct fake leather smell. The smell seems to have faded now.

The front of the bag with the alchemist watch decoration on the front.

The back of the bag shows a nice discrete pouch with a zip.

The bag has a decent depth to fit lots of stuff inside. It's pretty stiff and holds its shape well.

I really like the design with distinct Edward elements to it like the braids on the front and the obvious alchemist watch thing.

Emblem of a state alchemist; it is just a metal design stuck on the front but it is a nice touch.

There are some small bits in the construction I wasn't too pleased with. The bag is quite stiff and sturdy which ended up reminding me of a Randoseru.Some of the stitching was a bit loose in some areas and I found some extra iron filings stuck on some of the metal parts.

Due to the braiding, both buckles were slightly slanted. Not that big of a deal but it started to bother me the more I stared at it.

Some corner areas were exposed like this, making me wonder how much wear and tear it could withstand.

The top is held closed with this magnetic clasp which was already scratched like this when I first opened it.

But the construction aside, the bag is quite useful. There is the back pocket that has a zip, and the front also has a small pouch with no zip. The inside is quite roomy with two little pouches on the side. I just wish that the top had a zip as well as it wouldn't be too hard to slip your hand in through the sides.

The inside of the bag has two pouches for small items.

Just in case you forget, there's a Full Metal Alchemist tag inside :)

 I suppose overall I'm still happy with the bag. I just think the previous necklace was made better and will probably reconsider other apparel type items from Super Groupies from now on.

Sword Art Online Movic 1/8 Asuna Bikini Swimsuit Version from Wonderfest Summer 2014

Unboxed #SAO #Asuna Bikini ver from #Movic. From Wonderfest last year and modeled on the previously released Aincrad Asuna, this is a pretty well-posed figure of her in a more neutral pose.

Asuna still in her box.

Here she is on her base. It's a simple semi-transparent blue base. The bottom of her feet have holes that attach to the base so it is very sturdy.

From the side you can see more of her hair and bikini.

More of her hair.

From the other side, you can see the back of her bikini.

A close-up of her face shows no weird painting or sculpting. Looks pretty good!

Only thing is the detail of her hair which looks odd up close.

Close-up of how she's connected to the base.

Overall, a nice Asuna figure which is revealing but not too embarrassing to have in your room :)

Super Groupies Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric's Silver Watch Necklace

My first order from Super Groupies arrived! A #FullmetalAlchemist necklace modeled after Ed's pocket watch. Very happy with their work, check out my commentary below...

First of all, this was my first purchase from Super Groupies. They do some pretty nice anime related merchandise for female fans; so things like jewelery, shoes, handbags etc. Having never bought from them before, I didn't know what the quality of their stuff was like, and also, their stuff is pretty damn expensive! 

Unassuming box.

However, I had kind of missed out on a lot of Fullmetal Alchemist stuff when it first came out so I was feeling a bit desperate for some fan things (I'm still holding out on a figure I would like of Ed and Al). When Super Groupies announced this necklace along with a shawl modeled after Ed's red cloak, I was hooked, new company be damned.

Pleasant surprise; the box is modeled after lovely looking book.

Since I was worried about taking care of a shawl, I ended up purchasing the necklace (also, that thing was bright red...).

I needn't have worried really; this necklace is really good! When it first arrived, it was just in a white cardboard box and I was thinking "uh oh, this doesn't look good..." but thankfully it was probably just for protecting the magnificent book inside.

Ta-da! The necklace is well wrapped and packaged.

The book is housed inside a cardboard slip cover for protection and is held closed by magnets which is handy. The two parts of the necklace are inside 2 separate zip-lock bags for protection.

You can very carefully open the locket to find a replica of the inside of Ed's watch.

The watch part can be opened to reveal the inside inscription and the time that the watch stopped, just as Ed's watch is in the series. If you're a fan, this is some awesome detail right there.

But before you get too excited, just notice that the watch is actually flat at the back, not really like a watch...

My summary would be:

This is an awesome piece of merchandise for Fullmetal Alchemist fans that is easily wearable outside in the general public without screaming "OTAKU" to the world. It's small and unassuming but the small details would be noticeable to any fan. The price is a bit steep but the material and quality is pretty top notch (it's sterling silver and swarovski crystal). Easily the best present you could give to a girlfriend who loves Fullmetal Alchemist.

Ensky Snorlax Tsumutsumu Stacking Game

It's hard to find #snorlax #pokemon stuff so when this stacking game was announced by #Ensky I went ahead and got one. It's a stacking game with snorlax in 5 different poses and rings of apples.

The Snorlax Tsumutsumu game from Ensky

I used to have an ice cream stacking game a while back which I remembered was fairly easy and fun just as  a general party game so this looked promising. I played this with a group of 3 as a test drive.

Some stacking variations to try at different levels.

The game is recommended for 15+ years which we had a giggle about. The pieces are probably a choking hazard but I would trust at least a 10 year old not to put these in their mouth.

Snorlax looks pretty cute.

 We started from level 1. A bit wobbly but doable. This was going good!

This was pretty easy too.

Level 2 was pretty hard but we eventually figured that one out as well. However, eventually we hit a wall. There was just no getting everything to stay up. The thing is, the figures are made out of smooth, hard plastic. There's not much grip to them and most of snorlax is round. They're pretty small too so large fingers or unsteady hands make a mess of this.

We ended up staring at the pile of snorlax and apples, starting to understand the 15+ years label. It was so rage inducing, we were all frustrated and it just grew whenever one of us would give it another shot and failed. I can feel the anger rising as I type.

The end

Verdict, deceptively hard. 15+ years for self-control to not throw them out the window.

Premium Bandai Cardcaptor Sakura and Kero Charms

Premium #Bandai have released some nice #CardcaptorSakura stuff which I ordered way back. Here are the wand charms and #Kero charms that I received recently!

My favorite thing about these is that they are made out of metal instead of plastic so they are moderately weighty and quite durable. I'm a huge Kero fan so I was very happy with the Kero charm.

The Kero charm with stained glass detail

 The Kero charm comes with him and the back and front of the Clow card book. The colored bits in the circle around him are supposedly stained glass but they are so small, I can't really tell.

The Premium Bandai CSS charms released so far

 As you can see, both the Kero and wand charms are on the short side which was a bit disappointing. If you have a thin wrist, you could probably wear the Kero one as a bracelet but the size makes it a too unwieldy except maybe for cosplay purposes? The wand charms are longer, just not long enough for a necklace but much too long for a bracelet. They're a funny length to be honest.

If you're wondering, they are meant to hang from your (hand) bag, around the handles which the wand charms can do quite well. The Kero charm is a bit short for that too. Maybe I just need to use another bag?

The clasps are fairly sturdy, with the Kero one being much stronger than the wand ones.

The clasps are not too shabby but I personally can't see anyone walking around with these on their bags outside of Japan since they would be a prime "snatch me!" target.

Since I never got the chance to get nice Cardcaptor Sakura merchandise, these were a nice surprise when they were announced. They're a nice little something to have and it doesn't really scream anime unless someone knew where they came from.

Pokemon Hanafuda Review

Celebrate the new year with a look at these #pokemon hanafuda cards released by Movic and Nintendo. You can get these from the Pokemon Center as well as ordering directly online from Movic.

Pokemon hanafuda come in a plastic storage box.

These actually came out early December 2014 but I never got around to opening them until recently. This was actually the second wave I believe, as I saw them earlier in the year which sold out extremely quick. This time there seems to be a decent number though and I have still seen them in stores.

For those not familiar, hanafuda is a Japanese card game. There are lots of tutorials around the internet so I won't go into the details. What makes these ones awesome are the Pokemon designs.

All the cards in their glory

If you're into Japanese-style art work and you love Pokemon, these are the perfect little cards to have. The set has 49 cards, including a blank card. It also comes with a small rule pamphlet although it is all in Japanese.

The cards are very thin and light but pretty sturdy. The back is covered with black, textured paper that folds over the white card on the front. Very basic, but good quality.

Hanafuda are pretty thin

Hanafuda cards are pretty popular and you can also find other versions such as One Piece or Star Wars versions. I'm a big fan of Pokemon so I'm pretty happy with these :)

The end of year/new year period is where families get together to have some time together. Often, everyone plays card games like hanafuda or karuta.

Sitting down, playing hanafuda with these cards and eating mandarins is the life :)

Have a happy new year everyone!

Jump Festa 2015

Having just slept off #JumpFesta 2015, here are some photos from the event! I do apologize for the potato quality, my phone camera is pretty bad in low light and high contrast from all those bright signs.

Again, I mainly went for the Yugioh event and Pokemon event. They were pretty good this year but the Yugioh event was quite a bit smaller with only single duels available, and no extra prize from winning 3 times like last year. The Pokemon stage was pretty fun with regular shows where a member of the audience battled it out with a star on stage with commentary. You could also queue up for pokemon battles behind the stage.

Overall, fun times. I do think that the even seems to be getting smaller. It definitely felt like there were less booths, or at least merchandise ones. There were quite a lot of stage events though so if you're into that, it's always good. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't really any hype for anything really... Last year it was all Nisekoi every where. I suppose this year it was One Piece (yet again) and Kuroko and maaaybe Gintama, with a splash of Dragonball and Naruto.

Anyway, photos below and also a video of Yugioh booster openings with some footage of Jump Fest in general at the end.

And if you wanted to see the opening for the Yugioh Premium Pack 17 as well as the Jump Festa exclusive boosters, check out my video below.

So you want to go to Jump Festa?

I recommend you check out the Jump Festa website to check the original goods as well as vendor goods. This will help you decide when you need to get there.

• Casual - you only want to go for the experience and are not fussed about any merchandise.
  Go at around lunch time or later on in the afternoon. Not only will the queue be shorter/non-existant, it will be warmer too so you can just wear normal clothes.
• Hardcore - there's merchandise you want to get or there's an event you want to participate in or there are games you want to try.
  Go early in the morning, enough to arrive maybe an hour or two before. The original goods queue has always been on the left for the past 4 years while the general convention queue is on the right. Bring: some warm clothes or pocket warmer as you will cool down while standing still in the queue, food and drink.
• Extreme Hardcore - you must absolutely get the merchandise you're after and you're ready to make sacrifices for it.
  Get to the venue the night before, forgo sleep and just wait there until they let you queue. Alternatively, book a hotel nearby far in advance and head over at 2pm. Bring: warm clothes, a foldable seat, something to keep you entertained for hours, a metric tonne of caffeine.

Toilets: there are toilets available near the queues. Just flag down a staff member and they will give you a toilet card to give back to them when you're done.

And now, it's time for good looooong nap for me :)