What The HECK Did I Just Inherit? Figures Galore

 At my friend's workplace he shared with three other artists, someone's brother had donated a bunch of those anime/manga/hentai figures you see lining the shelves at shops like MiniQ, Razor Concepts and even BookOff, and since no one was "into" the genre, no one knew what to DO with them!

Glancing briefly at the full bag and seeing some decidedly risque and scantily-clad figures in the bunch, my friend remembered my obsession with artist Shunya Yamashita, (and in particular the lingerie-clad statue of his character "Shouko-san", which I gushed about here), and thought, "HEY, ya know what? Z would DIG these!"

Shouko-san

Dropping by the other day to go grab lunch, he reminded me about that bag of dolls and told me to see if there was anything I liked. His co-worker waved his hand and said, "Dude, you can take them ALL! It's just taking up space!" My friend nodded and said, "This has been sitting here for MONTHS and you're the only one who's even remotely into this kind of stuff!" And so it was that I hauled home that whole bag of ziplocked goodies!

Spent a whole AFTERNOON sorting through the contents, and after trying to figure out what went with what ( and only partially succeeding), I took the time to arrange them all to see just exactly what I had, and was ASTOUNDED at just how MUCH figures were stuffed IN there!

Will you LOOK at this MASSIVE haul!!!

I recognized some FINAL FANTASY and DRAGONBALL Z characters, but I gotta tell you...MOST of these characters, I had NO IDEA who they were! And STYLES- Man, this load of collectibles really ran the GAMUT of genres: Figures went from the Sleek and Cool, to Sexy and Alluring, toVery Shoujo Manga-esque…and even to the zany, KOOKY, and totally WTF!

 

I must say, there were quite a few figures that I really loved that will probably make its way to my CD.DVD shelves, but I have no clue what to do about the REST of it! This is the first time I'm going through Action figure OVERLOAD, LOLOL!

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan by Kishirimo

 Was recommended a new manga series by a fellow Chainsaw Man/SPYxFAMILY fan, called “Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan~ A Useless Idol and Her Only Fan In The World”, which, as the title might suggest, follows the interactions between and hopelessly clumsy and untalented idol, and her unwavering number one fan! Only took one read and I was LOVING it!!!

The titular “Useless Idol” is a spirited and sassy girl named Urumin, whom, no matter how hard she tries, just can’t hit the notes, can’t stay on beat and can’t find her cues! But  she has one fan, one who has stuck with her from the very beginning. He is Okuta Kimiya, and is the one reliable support she gets every night!

Now, you’d think Urumin would be thrilled to have such a stalwart fan on her side, however, this guy is highly critical of her, always pointing out her mistakes and critiquing her performances, driving her out of her mind!

Luckily for her, far from being put-off by Urumin’s shortcomings, Kimiya finds them cute and endearing! 

Gotta admit, I fell in love with the series right away! After watching dramas like “Dakara Watashi wa Oshimashita”, was well-versed in the goings on with Idol support, fan meetings, etc and to read this strip taking on the wackier side of things is too hilarious!

Example: In a regular situation, a fan buys a CD of the idol and gets to talk with her for a minute. But even she has to wonder why the time limit even matters since there’s no one else in line!

As Urumin's Number One fan, Kimiya's been there from the beginning, buying all her merchandise...including the early goofy out of focus shots that she'd rather he FORGET! But he treasures them and refuses to get rid of them!!! A true fan!

When taking a photograph with his Idol, Urumin figures she'll give Kimiya a thrill by posing with the 'heart" hand gesture...but he doesn't do HIS half, leaving her hanging, AHAHA, I was cracking UP reading this one!!

Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori Dake no Fan has recently announced that it is being picked up for mainstream serialization, so hopefully we’ll be seeing even MORE of it in days to come!

What I'm Reading: I Want To Eat Your Pancreas

 After glowing recommendations from not just a few friends I picked up the manga for the popular story “Kimi no Suiz0 o Tabetai~ I Want To Eat Your Pancreas” about a girl diagnosed with cancer who befriends a reluctant shy boy in her class.

 Right now I’m about halfway through and so far it’s pretty much your standard “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” trope, i.e. “Spritely girl shows introverted guy how to really live life and then reveals she is dying which is what made her life life to its fullest”…

I’m wondering if there’s going to be some big dramatic turn that I’m not expecting coming up, because so far, though it’s been enjoyable to read, it hasn’t really lived up to all the hype I’ve been hearing about it!

I see that an animated movie based on this manga came out last year…maybe I’d better check that one out and see if it grabs me more…

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com