The Hatsune Miku Experience

Hatsune Miku has been one of the hottest anime characters ever to come out in recent times and every anime fan in this world knows who she is and surely they've got their own treasure trove of Miku items in their collection. Though I got to admit that I'm not that well-versed with this cutesy, green-haired babe and the only thing I know is that she rose to popularity initially as Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid mascot and most of her toy figures (particularly the ones from Figma and such) are quite pricey nowadays... every now and then when I go to any toy shop you'll never miss the chance to spot a Hatsune Miku figure on display, whether it be the normal one, the Nendoroid version or even the statue version that can fetch a really hefty price tag... Hatsune is just everywhere!

The Hatsune Miku toy figure as a keychain accessory

Though that thought of Hatsune toy figures being expensive and all has prevented me from getting one (or at least gave me that urge to exert some effort to save up for it) doesn't mean that I won't be able to find a way to get myself one at a more "reasonable and affordable" price... as a random toy collector, it never was an issue for me on whether the item is genuine or bootleg (unlike some people I know) what's more important is that I get my money's worth on the toy and basically that's it. One time I was at Greenhills doing some rounds in search of good finds until I stopped by the Comic Alley branch where they were having a sale on selected items, though the shop there wasn't that big so getting to find something to buy is limited or worse, you may not find anything to purchase at all.

Hatsune Miku as display figure sans the keychain

As soon as I entered I began browsing thoroughly on their items on display, then on the center row I happen to chance upon some of these Hatsune Miku Nendoroid keychains hanging on one corner and they were selling for only Php 99.00 each (more or less around $2.00++), since there were like 3 to 4 pieces left on sale, I decided to pick the one with less defects or paint job flaws and bought it immediately. Somehow I can consider this as my very first Hatsune Miku figure though it's not a 6-incher nor a statue or even a genuine one, it still is a Hatsune Miku after all... like I've said, as a random toy collector, the specifics aren't a big factor to me in any way. Having to be a keychain wasn't much of a problem since all I had to do was to twist out the chain screwed on top of the figure's head and she's as good as an anime gashapon on its own. To make it stand, a mini plastic base with stand from one of my old Nendoroid toy figures took care of that problem and voila!... You can now see Hatsune Miku in all of her blissful state holding aloft two celery stalks on both hands.

Back portion of the Hatsune Miku toy figure

Since there isn't much articulation on this figure and basically it is just good for display purposes so I'm limited to these three photos I took of her, but nevertheless I hope you guys like it. So until next time, folks... stay safe always!

Unknown kawaii gashapon...

Hey there folks! It's been quite a while since my last post update and yet again I would like to apologize for my long absence here on Made in X since yours truly have been preoccupied with other things and I somehow sidetracked with all of my blog post updates. Anyways it is nice to know that there are still a handful of you guys out there checking out my blog and I can't thank each and everyone of you enough for doing so, very much appreciated! On today's post I have here another good find that I purchased a couple of weeks ago from the toy shop that I frequent to and since I got it as a loose item for Php 100 (roughly around $2.00 something) I never got any concrete info on this gashapon though the female anime character looks familiar and that's the gist of it, no more, no less. But in any case she is definitely cute... no issues on the paint job and molding as well.

Though I have several guesses on the anime figure but either way I still can't make anything out of it on whether she came from an anime series or a PC/console game, though her outfit suggests that she may be some game character taken from a particular MMORPG but then again I might be wrong so it's identity is yet on a standstill. I have managed to take some snapshots of it and you can find more of the photos after the jump.


So until next time folks, stay safe always and I'll try my very best to give you more toy updates in the coming days here on Made in X. Thank you!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Tales from the Toy Fair: Lynn Minmay (not!)

At first I thought I bagged a real nice find when I found this cute gashapon of a blue-haired female anime character which looked like Lynn Minmay from Macross, tucked away deep inside this huge plastic container of anime gashapons. Even though I could see through the small plastic packaging that some of its parts came off, I was so ecstatic about it (knowing at first that I got myself a Lynn Minmay fig) and immediately bought the item right away along with the other figures I unearthed. A few days later when I took it out and pieced together all of its parts, I soon realized that this is not Hikaru Ichijo's (or Rick Hunter for all of you Robotech fans) love interest... for one thing, I don't clearly remember Lynn Minmay wearing something as skimpy as this outfit you're seeing right now in the photo, or in any of the entire Macross episodes for that matter. Though this unknown female anime figure has a microphone on one hand and she too has blue long hair, the tint may be the same but the hairstyle is definitely different. Modern version of Lynn?... I guess not, this unknown figure may probably be taken from another anime title (or possibly ecchi or hentai, who knows?) But nonetheless, I decided to play around with it and created myself a mini, pseudo-Macross diorama of this Lynn Minmay stand-in along with my Macross Plus YF-21 from Yamato.


It would have been nice if I paired off the YF-21 with the real Lynn Minmay figure but unfortunately she somehow resembled just like her and I guess it won't hurt to do my own "modern" rendition. I have here some of the photos I took sometime around last week and if you guys would want to see the rest of the album, please do visit our Facebook page by clicking here. So until next time folks, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Tales from the Toy Fair: K-On's Azusa Nakano gashapon

When the anime K-On! first aired on Animax a couple of years ago here in the Philippines, I did somehow expected it to be one of those cutesy anime series with adorable girls in school uniforms forming a band until they realized their dreams and made a name for themselves. But what struck me the most about the entire series are the instruments and their "historical or factual relevance" (which is mentioned from time to time in several episodes) used by the girls of Ho-kago Tea Time (or After School Tea Time in the English-dubbed series), particularly the stringed instruments used by Yui Hirasawa (who's using the legendary Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul), Mio Akiyama (Fender Precision Bass in the manga version and the Fender Jazz Bass in the anime version) and this cutey member I'm going to showcase today who's seen using a nifty Fender Mustang electric guitar... and yes she's no other than Azusa Nakano or fondly called by the moniker 'Azu-nyan' coined by Yui.

From what I can remember during the entire first series and if my memory serves me right, Azusa came only into the band several episodes later, making her someone like Ringo Starr who joined The Beatles a little bit later until he became, finally, a part of what was to become a timeless, legendary band in music history. Oftentimes I confuse her with Mio since both of them look almost alike and the two characters sport really long black hair, a little bit of getting used to has helped me train my eye in spotting who's Mio and who's Azusa. But in the level of cuteness in anime standards, I say Azusa tops them all maybe for her physical aspects in the anime spectrum... and since she's the youngest among the rest of the band members, no wonder Yui couldn't stop teasing her as 'Azu-meow' since she looks very cute and adorable like a cat or whenever Yui asks her to wear those Cat's Ears headpiece or tricks her to act like one eventually. Two season series and a movie on K-On! have passed and not even once did I get to have their toy figures, whether solo or in set... Maybe I was too preoccupied then in collecting other anime characters or for some strange reason I couldn't remember anymore. Anyways, I finally got my chance during the 6th Toy Fair held last December when I chanced upon this stall selling these gashapons of K-On! and luckily I got the last piece of Azusa Nakano's figure and bought it right away!

It would have been nice if I got the bigger, 12-inch version of Azusa but getting this gashapon of her is a start and hopefully I get to collect the rest of the K-On! characters sometime soon. I took some snapshots of the Azusa gashapon yesterday and I've uploaded some of those photos here and you can check the rest after the jump. Hope you guys like it and 'til next time, stay safe always!

(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Tales from the Toy Fair: Kamen Rider 2 gashapon

The legendary Kamen Rider 2

Happy New Year ladies and gentlemen! I hope all of you guys had a wonderful time doing a lot of merrymaking and partying as we kickstart 2012 with new hopes and dreams of a better and peaceful year despite the controversies surrounding the mystery behind the December 21 prediction for which we all strongly wish, hope and pray that it will never happen... But as they all say, "Live life to the fullest, do the things that you like the most and enjoy every single day as if it were your last." Anyways, I would like again to share to you this wonderful find I purchased last year during the 6th Christmas Toy Fair held at the SM Megamall, and this time, it's none other than a gashapon figure of Kamen Rider 2.


Kamen Rider 2 can be categorized as one of the most famous and legendary fictional characters ever to come out in the Japanese Tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider back in the early 1970's. The only difference between the first Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider 2 is the color scheme of their costumes for which it was modeled after a grasshopper (particularly the headgear that they're using.) Riding on those big, cool and classic motorcycles, these superheroes are out to stop the terror organization Shocker from dominating Japan and the entire world using their kick-ass fighting skills and martial arts until they deliver that final blow to the "enemy boss" using cinematic finishing moves at the end of every episode. It was with this and the other Kamen series of the 70's that brought forth a new generation of Super Sentai heroes that evolved over the decades which includes the likes of Bioman, Shaider, Power Rangers, Saban's Masked Rider and many others.


I happen to stumble upon this nice gashapon of Kamen Rider 2 at the stall of Akihabara Toys during the Toy Fair and it sure was nice to have one of these in my collection since Kamen Rider is all too familiar for someone like me who grew up in the 70's and 80's. I eventually did some low-light photography on the gashapon but I'm planning to come up with another set where you guys can get to see Kamen Rider 2 in full, clear detail. But for now I give you folks this small photo set and please do stay tuned for the others very soon. So until next time, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)