Ape Escape Running Plush! 走れ、ピポサル！

I don't know how many people remember the Ape Escape series - mainly from the PS1 era, but it certainly hasn't been forgotten in Japan's game centers, as evidenced by this prize from Taito. Amazingly enough, I got this for only $8 at Videogamefigures.com . This is incredibly cute & kinda sophisticated for a game center prize, but I'd expect no less from Japan at this point, lol. I was a tad disappointed that he doesn't run in circles like in the games before you startle them, though. Check the video to see him running around my kitchen!

Pressure Points Light Display Charm 手をツボライト

This thing projects a diagram of the "pressure points" of the hand, this one is supposed to indicate the parts of the hand that stimulate arousal. I just got it because it looks like a scroll and the design on the outside, not because I want to arouse anyone, lol.

Hello Kitty Snowman ハローキティー雪だるまぬいぐるみ

Bankman Talking Bank バンクマン

A few years ago, Tomy made a Clockman that would talk to you at certain times of the day. It has eyes that moved and oddly expressive wire "lips". Last year, Tomy came out with a new model that was a bank as well as a clock. It does the same things as Clockman, but also reminds you to make a deposit, tells you how much you've deposited so far, etc, etc. It lets you set up what time you go to/come home from work & goes to "sleep" accordingly. So, provided you set the time up correctly, it won't bother you in the middle of the night. It has a fairly large number of phrases it says, and it took me a while to hear the same phrase twice. There are "carnivore" & "herbivore" models, which I didn't see any difference between (maybe it's just personal preference ala Japan's carnivore & herbivore men), and since I like orange, I opted for the carnivore model. You can also press the button on top to make your Bankman talk, which he'll randomly do about once an hour anyway.

Super Mario Bros ? Block Sound Plush スーパーマリオ音声付ハテナブロックぬいぐるみ

In the same set as the previous post, I actually like this one more than the Goomba. I think I like it more because it has a direct transfer of the 8-bit graphics from the game. Plus it's kinda got that overstuffed look that makes it cuter. ^^;

Super Mario Bros Goomba Sound Plush スーパーマリオ音声付クリボぬいぐるみ

Japan never ceases to amaze me. This is an Game Center/arcade game prize from Banpresto and it is produced in a better quality than a retail product would have been here, or anywhere else for that matter. There's an amazing amount of detail here for such a simplistically-designed character, really tight stitching, crazy embroidery - basically an almost perfect 3-D representation of a character designed in 2-D. And on top of that, when you hit it on the head (ala Mario jumping on its head) it makes a "stomped" noise & occasionally will make a "miss" noise - aka - Mario/Luigi dying. But you already knew that, because you just watched the video above, right? ^^

Pic Post: J-Choco

Touhou Gensou Retsuden Hakurei Reimu とらのあな東方幻想列伝博麗霊夢

A special Toranoana figure of a super-chibi version of Hakurei Reimu. She's adorable & very well-sculpted. The coloring and facial features are superb, and she comes with different option parts for her to change accessories/weapons. With her, I also got a super-cute Marisa Kirisame SD keychain.

Super Mario Light Mascot 3: Coin スーパーマリオライトマスコット３：コイン

Really neat Super Mario strap/keychain of a coin coming out of a block that lights up. バンダイのスーパーマリオライトマスコットのコインだ。ハテナブロックから出たコインは裏のスイッチで光る！

Shikinami Asuka Langley Plug Suit Test Type Ver. 式波・アスカ・ラングレー テスト用プラグスーツVer.

Alter's 1/8 scale Asuka figure wearing the Test-Type Plug Suit (which I think is way more awesome than her original Plug Suit) from the Eva remakes. As I said, I love the Plug Suit, the interface in her hair is really cool-looking as well. The face is (par for the course) slightly different than what was shown in the prototype pictures posted for the preorder, but overall Asuka's body is well-sculpted and the pose of this figure is nice. As expected, Alter's mass-production model is of high quality, not diverging from the prototype very much at all, except for the face, as I had just mentioned. It also comes with a metal pin that goes into a strategic place on the figure itself, so I don't foresee this figure becoming a "leaner" in the future.