kitsune_no_ame

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Look a this and tell me you're not super-duper hyped for it?

I know my words for MadHouse's anime adaptations of US shows/comics have not always been the kindest and to be perfectly honest I never finished the Iron Man and Wolverine animes, but this time it's a movie, with the budget that goes with it and making it less likely that the plot will be dragged on.

This will go on sale on April 16th, aka shortly before the theatrical release of Iron Man 3. I'm glad this time Marvel didn't miss their window. I hope I can get my hands on it before I see the movie (although those are different story/time lines/universes right? Because unlike movie-verse, in comic-verse Black Widow is sent to kill Tony Stark, and this looks more like it?). If I were still in Japan, I'd be at Tsutaya first thing in the morning -_-

Since there will be many Shield agents (I spotted Maria Hill I think?), could there be some Coulson too? I mean if you must add the Punisher, isn't that a little random?

Just give me an Avengers/Thor anime already Madhouse (preferably with all the crazy stuff that you can't put in movie-verse, like genderbent Thor and Loki. Those ladies would look slammin' in anime design). I'd even buy a BR player for that...

My Tokyo dream is over -for now- and I'm back to my regular, busy life. I don't have so much "post-Japan-blues" this time, because it was simply such a great and perfect time that I want to cherish these memories and not tarnish them with depressive feelings. Gotta keep looking up etc etc geez I'm so positive these days you wouldn't believe it.

Anywhoo, that doesn't mean I don't have a hard time readjusting to my old life style. Occasional Japanese slips when I'm not really paying attention to what I'm saying, I caught myself removing the labels of the bottles before throwing them away, "I've forgotten how cheap/expensive this was", I'm confused that Japan has now become "over there" and is not "here" anymore etc.

But mostly I'm just annoyed how downright RUDE people are here in Europe. Today for example, I was browsing the DVD store with my mom (because I gotta catch up with my shows and that store had 30-50% off). Mom grabs a DVD ("A long weekend") and asks me: "Hey he looks really familiar, do I know him?"
Me: "Yes mom, that's Mr. Reese".*
A couple standing just a few meters next to us half-whispers "OMG he's called Jim Caviezel, know your shit". And then leaves.
My mom was so shocked and I couldn't believe such behavior existed outside the internet.  On the bright side, someone else here watches Person of Interest. Yay?

Later, I'm walking down the street past two men are standing on the sidewalk, smoking, as one notices my boots and comments to his friend "those are some ugly-ass boots". I stop. flabbergasted, turn around and give them the eye. They turn around and walk away hastily.  What. The. Everliving. Fuck.
I know how some people complain the Japanese smile is just polite and fake, but I'll take fake politeness over in-your-face rudeness every time. But maybe that's just me, eh.

*I can't be the only one with parents who can't remember actors' names, right? Please tell me you also refer to them by their characters' names to help your parents.

I met with reimaru last week, which reminded me that I still haven't posted the full pics of my fukubukuro loot! Well then, on to the pics & explanations:

Fukubukuro 2013 (Tokyo):
I woke up extra early on January 1st, first at 5:30am to see the first sunrise of the year, then again at 6:30 to get ready and be in Harajuku at 8am, in time to pick up some cash and start looking around. LaForêt said they opened at 9am, but most people were already inside and buying at 8:30 when I got there. The stores in Takeshita doori only open at 10am, but some like Matsumoto Kiyoshi were already open and selling. Their makeup fukubukuros sold out real quickly, I managed to get these 2:

-Matsumoto Kiyoshi Fukubukuro 2013:
Price: 1000Yen and 2000Yen


As you can see, none of these bags were much of a surprise, since the contents were displayed on the bag so you could guess what would be inside.


These are also pretty good deals, considering the first one for 1000Y has a mascara worth 700Yen and the bigger one contains eyelash glue worth approx. 1000Y already.

My favorite is the first one, because BB cream as well as mascara and eyeliner from Heroine Make for only 1000Yen is a pretty nifty deal. Sadly they were sold out in the morning, or I would have gotten another variation of the 1000Yen ones.

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A 3-days' quest that challenged my patience, endurance, feet and demanded a strong will (i.e. to resist and not buy every single things because OMG SO SHINY COME TO MEE!!)

I'm proud to say that I've completed my first pilgrimage to teh Comiket Market aka Otaku mecca. Now I can die in peace*


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*lies. Obviously no one's dying before seeing the end of Phase 2 (and possibly Phase 3), silly.

What are fukubukuro? What is inside? Are they worth buying? Why is Japan crazy about them?

The word "Fukubukuro" (福袋) is consists of the kanjis for "luck" and "bag", so naturally the most common translation is "lucky bag" (but you will also see "good luck bag" here and another possible less literal translation would be "grab bags").

The tradition emerged early 20th century when Japanese shops bundled unsold items from the previous year (belief is that you need to make a fresh start in the new year by getting rid of things from the last year). In closed bags, a couple of items are sold on January 1st, for a price much lower than the combined value of the items (or so it should be). Although January 1st is a public holiday in Japan, many shops open just to sell fukubukuro (but some, like Mister Donuts or Liz Lisa for example) start selling them last week of December.

There are fukubukuro for everything; from grocery stores, to clothing and electronic items. Nowadays almost all shops here in Japan sell fukubukuro. While the clothing ones might be the most common ones (Harajuku and Shibuya are especially wild around that time of the year -people even line up in front of 109 or LaForet the night(!!) before), more and more stores join the excitement (Starbucks and Apple for example).

In more concrete terms, what is inside a fukubukuro? Well that is the fun of it all, you DON'T KNOW! Usually it's "unwanted' items, so don't expect any really popular items, although some stores create pieces solely for the purpose of being sold in fukubukuro (just like some shops produce new pieces for the sales period).
Generally speaking, it is a good bargain if you like the brand/shop anyway. For example:


Mister Donuts fukubukuro 2013

For 2000Yen, I received 20 coupons for a donuts/pie each. An average doughnut costs 130Y and a pie 150Y, so if you do the math you see that I made quite a good deal. No to mention that all the Snoopy goodies came for free (I consider them bonus, as I bought the fukubukuro for the donuts in the first place, not the goodies).

MisDo is an example of items produced only for fukubukuro. They also reveal the contents of their bags on their website before they go on sale, so the surprise is kept to a minimum. So does LizLisa:


Liz Lisa Fukubukuro 2013

Some other stores sell fukubukuro that all have different contents because the contents are really leftover items. So it's cheaper than buying the items separately, but it's also a gamble. Not gonna lie, some grab bags are real garbage and leave you disappointed. With food (Baskin Robbins, MisDo etc.) at least you get the value back in coupons, but sometimes you're just unlucky. Some stores play fair game and warn you about the crappiness of the contents by labeling their bags as "fukoubukuro" (misfortune bag). Usually fukoubukuro are sold even cheaper, about 500Yen.

The average price of a fukubukuro depends on the brand of course. Apple plants some IPads in theirs, so don't expect to find anything under 30,000Yen. LizLisa and other 109 brands usually have some for 5,000-10,000Yen, smaller shops like Claire's and supermarkets have pretty fun bags for only 1000Yen.

If you're the kind of person who likes to take a gamble, likes everything from a particular brand as not to be disappointed or just want to join the pre-sales frenzy in Tokyo, fukubukuro are for you!

I hope this was informative and/or helpful in some way or another =)

(OK only on Tuesday actually, but I have time to update NOW)

3-months anniversary! *throws confetti at self*

Sorry for the terrible lack of updates. I really REALLY mean to, but where the heck is my time? I feel I don't do anything besides university work (which is the main reason I'm here, so it's kind of obvious, but I certainly did not expect it to be THIS time-consuming).

2 weeks ago my cousin came to visit so I was busy showing him the Tokyo sights.
The last week k_u_r_o_g_a_n_e came over for some excessive shopping (on his side, I remained very reasonable)

Next week it's lucy_hp's turn to visit. Besides our glorious quest to Comiket, we'll have tons of extremely nerdy fun. I will have to turn in papers for uni, but between all of it I seriously plan on updating (last part of AGF, Otome Road update post).

I've been to Akiba, but too briefly too look for decent cosplay stores.
Then again I spent 3 months dilly-dallying, I might as well wait for January sales.

The only thing I was able to keep up with is my anime schedule:
Sukitte Ii na yo!
Kamisama Hajimemashita
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
K project
Magi the Labyrinth of Magic
Shirokuma Café

Not much, but enough for me. Most of these end with this season, I'll check out new shows later.
Are you watching anything good this season?

As for US TV shows I'm only up to date with Elementary, because I have to stream everything since this new anti-DL bill was passed in Japan, and it's such a bother. Shorter things like Fringe and GG final seasons will be marathoned upon their completion anyway.

Let's be perfectly blunt: there were enough opportunities and it was definitely possible to throw yourself in the abyss of financial ruin in just one day at AGF. Along with the conventionally overpriced games and CDs, AGF had a lot to offer in terms of limited goodies. A look at Animate's AGF shop can give you a good idea of what to expect.

And to be even more blunt: 70% of that stuff was completely useless.
I really, really wanted Diabolik Lovers goodies, but aside Animate's set there was absolutely NO-THING DiaLover related that wasn't a drama CD which I can get for 50% off at K-books. The bag turned out to be ugly and the charm really cheap-looking. The fact that it was sold out only made it easier for me not to regret anything.

I also checked out Magi's bento box set, but the bento box was one of those child-sized boxes -__- Excuse me Japan, I'm one of those 180cm tall gaijin gozillas who need a decent amount of food every meal, that chibi bento just isn't gonna cut it. My 100Yen-shop bento box will be sure fine for now.

In the end, this is what my meager loot looks like:

AND I'M PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH IT! I really wanted the Amnesia carry case and was relieved to see it wasn't sold out. I began having doubts when I saw that most people on Saturday first headed to AGF shop (located at the former Animate flagstore) before entering the con, afraid things would sell out before the con ended.

Alongside I have a PSP cover sticker for my blue PSP and a Karneval clearfile they were distributing -I was almost squished to death by an army of fujoshi to get this but I was victorious in my attempt to grab free stuff. The Karneval desktop calendar was sold out before lunch, sob.

Other things include a StaSka contact lenses set and a DiaLovers bag which I take with me to classes every day because it's the exact size for my course notes.


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Part 3: Upcoming figures preview (tomorrow)

This year's Animate Girl's Festival stretched over two days, November 17th and 18th in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro.



I attended only Saturday 17th; judging by the size of the event, 1 day was enough, but a second day would have been useful if you wanted to attend the various events -different ones every day- and get a hold of all the goodies (there was a limited amount you could get every day, the really popular stuff -AGF shop, Karneval, cheap sets and BL- were sold out by noon). At least the people who only attended Sunday stood a chance to get at least some things.


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Today I've been in Tokyo for 60 days. This is not the longest time I've been abroad, but it's twice as long as my longest stay in Japan so far.

Things are going well for me, I love the life here, made friends but university keeps me insanely busy, so much that I've barely traveled so far! I think I will use the opportunity of my cousin and lucy_hp coming over to visit some places with each of them. Cous' arrives this month, so we should be able to do some momiji viewing.

I don't really know what to write here, 2 months isn't such a milestone for me. Sure it's crazy that I'm finally in Tokyo, but that's about it. I love every day of it, but I also start to miss my parents. I miss it that my IRL friends barely contact me. I get a handful of emails (you know who you are), but I get kinda jealous when roommate/classmates talk about how much they talk on Skype, receive letters and even packages from their friends while I just sit there and refresh my email inbox every day in hope of. I guess everyone is busy with their own life, but I can't help feeling a little left out. Luckily I have all my wonderful online friends who don't really care about time zones and still interact with me like nothing changed^^


Occasionally, I do something cool on weekends. Tomorrow is such a day, I'm going to AGF 2012. I will use the opportunity to take pictures of Ikebukuro/Otome Road and finally update the master post, because quite a few things have changed in 2 years.