Sunday Spotlight: Lychee Parfait

11 / 1 / 15

If you follow my Twitter, you’ll know I’ve spent the past week catching up with Mr. Sushi’s family in Sydney. In between eating and shopping, I’ve been chatting with one of my sister-in-laws and learned that she’s also dived into the world of blogging! Her site, Lychee Parfait, is all about food and travel in Sydney in Japan, and I guarantee her posts will leave you very hungry.

Maneki Neko from Lychee Parfait — Sydney Night Noodle Markets

Lychee Parfait has a lot of write-ups on sights I’ve been to but never posted about myself, such as Kiyomizudera, so if you’ve ever wanted to go to Japan and enjoy Asian cuisine, definitely check it out. Sydney residents may even find a new eatery or two to try out while you’re at it!

Sunday Spotlight: Ataro’s Figure Photography

10 / 25 / 1510 / 25 / 15

Can you believe this is the last Sunday Spotlight of October? Before you know it, it’ll be 2016! Ok, I’m going to try not to dwell on the inevitable passage of time. I know just the thing to lift the spirits: cute figure photos!

は、箱買いしてしまった…！

A photo posted by エーたろ (@ataro878) on Sep 18, 2015 at 5:24pm PDT

This week’s Spotlight features Ataro, aka ataro878, an amazing figure photographer on Instagram. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t have any other social media or a website, which is a darn shame, but at least there’s one way to ogle his gorgeous photos:

サウンドトラック「スプラチューン」を聴いてノリノリな夜

A photo posted by エーたろ (@ataro878) on Oct 22, 2015 at 7:06am PDT

腹減ってきた[ ⚪︎▲⚪︎]

A photo posted by エーたろ (@ataro878) on Oct 4, 2015 at 6:48pm PDT

Check out Ataro’s stunning use of color! His main subjects are Nintendo figures such as Link, Kirby, and Splatoon items, but he also features Danbo and a Metal Gear Solid figure quite often, as well (apologies, but at this point I have no idea which Snake is which).

This guy deserves a lot more exposure, so go give him a follow on Instagram if you can!

Sunday Spotlight: VerdelishJP Let’s English YouTube Channel

10 / 18 / 1510 / 18 / 15

Despite starting a YouTube channel over a year ago, I still feel very green when it comes to world of video-based media. Because of this, I’m always looking at new channels for inspiration and to see what kinds of videos are popular with viewers. That’s why for this week’s Sunday Spotlight, I’d like to highlight a YouTuber whose content I find particularly impressive: VerdelishJP of Let’s English!.

Vedelish sets herself apart from other YouTubers by doing Let’s Plays of games only available in Japanese, with a special touch: she subtitles all of the game in English, so viewers can understand and follow along! Since subtitling entire games is very time-intensive, she only has two main series at the moment, one for above otome game Beyond the Future: Fix the Time Arrows, and her popular “Yandere Hell” series featuring Harem Tengoku da to Omottara Yandare Jigoku datta. I’m sure you can tell that my personal preference is Beyond the Future, but both series are definitely worth checking out!

You can follow VedelishJP on YouTube and Twitter. Her channel updates weekly.

Sunday Spotlight: Abstract Cactus Fan Art

10 / 11 / 15

I’m quickly realizing that it’s going to take a lot of willpower not to just feature amazing artists in my spotlights every week! There are simply too many awesome people out there making art, whether it be fan art or otherwise Makku of Abstract Cactus is an artist I’ve been following for over a year now, and she stands out in particular for a really eye-catching, signature style.

Like Romy, who I featured the other week, Makku is a big fan of otome games. Head over to her Tumblr and you’ll quickly realize that Hakuoki is her otome game of choice, but she also has many illustrations of other popular nerdy characters. Some of my personal favorites include Lina and Naga from Slayers sharing a parfait and a slightly unsettling Hatoful Boyfriend birthday image. I also can’t neglect to mention the gorgeous Masato Hijirikawa (from Uta no Prince-sama) fan art she drew for my birthday last year!

Okay, so if it wasn’t obvious already, I’m totally partial to Makku’s work. Be sure to give her a follow on Tumblr and Twitter if you are, too! She’s also currently open for commissions right now and in need of money to pay some medical bills, so if you like her work, do consider hiring her to draw your favorite character!

Sunday Spotlight: XO Mia Cosplay and Geek Lifestyle Blog

10 / 4 / 1510 / 4 / 15

Happy first Sunday of October! For the first Spotlight of the month, I’d like to urge you all to check out Mia, an awesome cosplayer and blogger at XOMia.com.

I first learned of Mia’s site after stumbling into photos of her adorable Isabelle cosplay. I love how all of the Animal Crossing characters in the group photo above have been translated to humanoid versions, but Mia’s Isabelle takes the cake. She even has a makeup tutorial if you want to recreate the look yourself!

Like me, Mia specializes in all things cute and nerdy, but her particular area of focus tends to be cosplay and con recaps. I don’t go to a lot of cons myself, so I really love being able to live vicariously through her! If those things sound up your alley too, I definitely recommend her fun site.

Sunday Spotlight: Romy’s Video Game Fan Art

9 / 27 / 15

Happy Sunday, and welcome to the first of what I imagine will be many Sunday Spotlights featuring awesome artists! There are a ton of artists drawing amazing video game fan art, to be sure, but how many of them are drawing iconic otome game characters using selfie sticks?

I’m pretty sure the only person who can claim that brilliant title is Romy of Strawberry Core. What I love about Romy’s art blog is that it features all kinds of fun otome game fan art, including art of characters from mobile games such as NTT Solmare’s Shall We Date? series. I also spy some Yowamushi Pedal and 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, which tells me we pretty much have exactly the same tastes in nerdy Japanese media. If you’re in the same boat, definitely give Romy’s blog a follow, or check them out on Twitter!

Sunday Spotlight: Pinkcheeks Toy Photography

9 / 20 / 159 / 21 / 15

I can hardly believe it, but it’s been nearly two years since I started buying figures! While Nendoroids based on my favorite anime and video game characters have largely been my poison of choice, I’ve had to cut back on my purchases simply because of how darn expensive they can get. But while I can’t always plunk down my own hard-earned cash for a gorgeous scale figure or limited edition Nendoroid, I can still live vicariously through the many amazing toy photographers out there who capture the impressive craftsmanship that goes into Nendoroids, figmas, and more. One such photographer is Pinkcheeks, a Filipino photographer who goes above and beyond static poses on plain backgrounds to craft props for her figures, making for some really jaw-dropping photos.

https://instagram.com/p/6wDldsQzJO/?taken-by=lovepinkcheekshttps://instagram.com/p/5hiXkzwzL3/?taken-by=lovepinkcheeks

This is me during WonFes ?? #wf2015s

A photo posted by Pinkcheeks (@lovepinkcheeks) on Jul 26, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

Pinkcheeks’ #FeelingCrafty series that showcases the various items she makes by hand for her photoshoots along with her Behind the Scenes post are especially worth checking out for tips for aspiring toy photographers. I could spend hours browsing through her blog for ideas! Brainstorming fun and interesting ways to photograph your figures is a great way to extend your enjoyment of your collection and keep them from gathering dust, don’t you agree?

Be sure to check out Pinkcheeks’ blog for high res photos, or like her page on Facebook to be notified when she posts new shots!