A couple of thoughts on Anime Blogs in general...

During the last couple of days while I have been busy reinvigorating this blog I got to looking around the net at other Anime/Manga blogs out there, and I noticed one trend, almost all of them had the same information.


What I found was that they all had information about new releases in Japan and what was being picked up for release in the west, with very little variation. For me thats a bit of a downer, as much as I am looking for news, I am looking for opinions and articles as well, its making me realize how I want to make this blog different and cater to another side of fandom.

That begs the question, how will it be different?

I am going to try and focus more on reviews and articles, and opinion pieces than I am news. Of course I am going to get news out to my loyal readers, but there will be a greater emphasis on homegrown content than stuff that can be gleaned just anywhere. Its going to be a challenge, but I believe that in the long run its going to make for a better experience for my readers.

Have thoughts or comments? Please leave them below, I promise that I will try to repsond to as many as I can.

Later!

Haruhi Suzumiya Dollfie

On the heels of the article yesterday about the Dollfie's, I thought I would post a picture of one of

the more sought after limited edition Dollfies that has been made.

Isn't she beautiful? Like all of the Dollfie Dream line, Haruhi is 60 cm tall, made of soft vinyl and is fully poseable.

UPDATES - 04/06/09 - Schedule Update

Ok, I hope you all liked the Dollfie mini article last night, I am going to be striving for more of these types of articles going forward, short quick articles about something fun in fandom that I run across in my travels on the net.

I am back to work full time now, so I am going to try and get back to a regular posting schedule here on the blog. I am looking at the following going forward:

Monday: Term of the Week change
Weds: Review [DVD/Bluray/Manga]
Friday: Article

Other days I will be posting news and other stuff as it comes along, but those for right now are the scheduled posting days.

In addition I am going to be adding google adsense to the site, it has the potential to make this blog start paying for itself, and that can only be a good thing right? ^_~

Out for now!

Dollfie: Figure Collecting at its extreme

So browsing around the net the other day and I stumbled upon http://www.dannychoo.com/ and noticed a section for something called Dollfie, they looked like regular anime figures with actual hair, so I figured I would take a quick peek to see what this was all about.

Dollfies are Japanese fashion dolls, not unlike Barbie's, that range in size from 22 - 60 cm and use ball joints that allow for an amazing level of articulation and posability. They are produced by Volks in Japan, and available through their USA site http://www.volksusa.com/

Dollfie dolls generally come blank, ie, their heads are not painted. When an artist paints a Dollfie, the technique is referred to as a "face-up" or "make-up". This is usually done using acrylic paints and special sealer to keep the color from coming off with play.

Volks has multiple lines, everything from realistic looking people to the far more stylized Anime inspired ones. Super Dollfies are also available, 60 cm tall and made of resin they are considered to be some of the most collectable.

Looking through their site you will see that the Dollfies don't come cheap, they are most definately a premium product! Volks from time to time does what they call Dolpa's [Doll Parties] where limited edition figures and accessories become available. I saw a limited edition Mikuru from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya listed for $598! [I saw this same figure on the secondary market for nearly $1500!] Add into this the price of clothes and accessories that can rival the prices of major brand label clothing and its not impossible for a single Dollfie to cost over $1000!



I have to be honest, if one day I have the funds I am going to try and get my hands on one of these for a mascot for the site, they are wonderful pieces of art, and a definate crown jewel in any Anime/Manga collectors collection.

Starting up again

So here I was sitting here wondering what to do with this blog, ironically, I have a lot of material that I could post reviews for, I just haven't wanted to do much with the computer for awhile.

I was laid off on the 9th of Feburary, and I just haven't had the passion for much recently, the thing that I have realized is that writing is one thing that I can do with joy still, I just need to do it...

Here goes, I am going to try and get this going again, it might be a challenge but it is one that I am up to I believe.

Give me some time, and you will see this back to how it started.