Swooning Over: Utsutsu Nendoroid

8 / 28 / 16

I’d never thought the day would come when I owned a Nendoroid wearing a bikini, but here we are! I just couldn’t resist grabbing a Nendoroid based on one of Kinako’s amazing Gatchaman Crowds character designs. While Ichinose Hajime is actually my favorite character from the series, I was unfortunately a little disappointed by her Nendoroid‘s accessories. When I saw Utsutsu’s adorable Nendoroid form, however, I just couldn’t resist!

AnimeKoumi Subscription Box Review

5 / 20 / 16

Over the past couple years, I’ve reviewed my fair share of monthly subscription services. AnimeKoumi, however, offers something I’ve never seen attempted in a subscription box before: merchandise featuring unique, anime-inspired illustrations every month! Designed to bring a little anime spice to your everyday life (“koumi” does mean “spice” in Japanese, after all), this box from artist AnimeSpice is perfect for anime fans looking for something a little different.

Sunday Spotlight: Skip Beat! Kickstarter

4 / 10 / 16

For this week’s Sunday Spotlight, I wanted to do something different and highlight a Kickstarter that needs your help! Pied Piper, Inc. is passionate about bringing the classic shoujo anime Skip Beat! to a wider audience with an official North American DVD release, and after a rocky start as an Indiegogo campaign, the Kickstarter now has a little over $16,000 left to reach its goal with 6 days left before the campaign closes.

Skip Beat follows Kyoko Mogami who, after being snubbed by her childhood friend and pop star crush Sho, decides to get revenge by entering the show biz herself. If you’re looking for a series with a lot of heart and a strong heroine, this is it! Ann of Pied Piper, Inc. is adamant that without this Kickstarter, Skip Beat! would remain locked in TV Tokyo’s back catalog with no official North American DVD release, which would be a crying shame. The Kickstarter seeks to provide the best DVD release possible, with all-new subtitles and a star-studded English voice actor cast including Vic Mignogna, Robbie Daymond, Grant George, and Erica Lindbeck.

I spoke with Ann about the possibility of other shoujo anime Kickstarters in the future, and she was confident that “if this campaign is successful, we will have demonstrated that fans will rally together to create a high-quality release. There are other shoujo titles in need of rescue. I’m not at liberty to gives names, but I do have my eye on a few titles.” So, if you want shoujo anime like Skip Beat! to see more recognition, be sure to help make the Skip Beat! North American DVD release a reality!

Skip Beat! is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Sunday Spotlight: The Anime Nostalgia Podcast

3 / 20 / 163 / 20 / 16

Would you believe this is the first time I’ve featured a podcast in a Sunday Spotlight? Considering the number I listen to, I’m shocked! It’s high time I change that, and there’s no better show to start with than The Anime Nostalgia Podcast hosted by Dawn, aka Usamimi.

Each episode of The Anime Nostalgia Podcast features Dawn and one or more special guests as they discuss a classic anime in depth, or dig into an anime-related topic from the prospective of nostalgic series. I just so happened to guest on an episode where we shared our favorite anime couples, and while I’m obviously biased, that’s a great place to start! But regardless of your anime inclinations, there’s sure to be an episode of The Anime Nostalgia Podcast that caters to your interests.

While I decided to put the focus on her podcast for this week’s Sunday Spotlight, Dawn is actually an extremely talented crafter, as well! Her Etsy shop, Bunny Cartoon Creations, showcases some of her awesome nerdy embroidery pieces, as well as tons of fun vintage items, so definitely check it out!

Dawn can also be found on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow her for nerdy crafts and all kinds of nostalgic anime musings!

Sunday Spotlight: Flowermiko Scans

3 / 6 / 16

I am always blown alway by people who take the time to meticulously scan, edit, and upload images from their collection to share with the world. I’ve already featured a Pokémon goods scanner and a retro Japanese magazine scanner… But Flowermiko stands out for sharing scans of all of my favorite kinds of Japanese media, from anime such as CardCaptor Sakura of otome game images!

Beastmaster and Prince Flower and Snow illustration scanned by flowermiko — Illustration of the characters from *Beastmaster and Prince -Flower and Snow-*, an otome game currently on Kickstarter! (source)

Flowermiko’s scanning blog, The Cherry Blossom’s Image Emporium, is chock full of gorgeous images such a new CardCaptor Sakura lottery prize illustration, a rare Snow Miku clear file, a gorgeous Code: Realize wall scroll, and more! If you’re a fan of any of these things, you absolutely must check out her scans!

Not only that, but Flowermiko has recently published a very helpful guide on how to edit and clean up images in Photoshop. I hope this encourages more collectors to scan and share their own merchandise! I’m definitely eager to try it out with some of my things…

You can follow Flowermiko on both Tumblr and Twitter.