Cool and Spicy » K-ON!

K-ON! Mugi-chan by Azone

anonymous_object — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:56:19 +0000

The never-ending stream of cute Azone dolls continues, this time with Kotobuki Tsumugi, or Mugi-chan as she is more commonly known, from the popular series K-ON!. And, of course, I have acquired this cute new Azone doll and am able to present to you the following review. Let’s start with some pictures ^^

You can rest assured that Azone did an excellent job recreating Mugi’s wavy golden locks. Not only that, but her cute, “daikon” eyebrows are present as well ^^;

Continuing the trend of including the girls musical instruments (except for Ritsu), Mugi comes with her electronic keyboard which is supported by its own collapsible stand for easy storage.

She looks incredibly cute standing behind her keyboard. It’s a bit hard to capture in a photograph but I think this one does a decent job ^^

Mugi-chan on keyboard ^^

Mugi-chan does come with her summer vest (not pictured here) as it did with Yui and Mio. I decided to just leave her in her default school blazer. But what I want to know is when Azone is going to give us Mugi’s school live outfit? They’ve already created them for Yui, Mio, and Ritsu. I hope that Mugi’s outfit will also become available.

Mugi’s lovely golden blond hair ^^. Azone did a nice job with the curly waves that she is depicted with in the anime. Overall, Azone has done a great job converting beloved anime Mugi into doll Mugi. The hair, the eyebrows, and the innocent cuteness is all here. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like her, but now I’m glad I kept her on pre-order. She’s a really cute doll :D

The keyboard that is included with Mugi is intricately detailed with various knobs, sliders, buttons, and a display screen. Sadly, it does not produce real music xD

And now, a special treat! So far, I’ve collected 4 of the 5 keion girls and wanted to display them each in a special outfit. Here’s what I have so far!

Alice Mio, Little Devil Yui, Ritsu in Lace, and Mugi in a black, ribbon-ed one piece. What do you think? Which outfit do you like the most? Sadly, I did not have enough matching shoes to go around so Mio and Mugi had to wear their school loafers >_<

K-ON! rabu!

And with that, I will conclude this post. Stay tuned for the Azone Azusa doll that is scheduled to be released in late July. I might have one more review waiting for you :)

Yui’s New Outfit + Headphones

anonymous_object — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:04:29 +0000

A quick follow-up to the images I posted yesterday. Here is Yui in her new outfit as herself (original wig). Plus there is a new addition: Yui’s new headphones!Sadly, it has been raining for most of the past week. Yui is tired of being stuck indoors ^^;

Yui in her new Iplehouse outfit. “Hey, what are you looking at!?”

“Just kidding! You’ll forgive me, right?”

Low-tops from Leeke World. These shoes are amazingly cool. I’m really impressed by their quality. And they just look good :)

Oh, and here are Yui’s new headphones. They say Sony on the side but since they come from a Chinese store… yeah, they’re not really Sony xD. However, they are real headphones. You can connect them to an audio jack and they’ll play music for your dollfie!

Yui listening to some Houkago Tea Time recordings ^^.

So, does the outfit look better on Yui as herself or with the “Mugi” wig? In other news, I promise I will be posting some non-Dollfie items soon. So, no, my blog has not been converted into a DD-only blog ^^;

Yui’s new wig and outfit

anonymous_object — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:22:08 +0000

Ah, it’s been awhile since I posted, hasn’t it? Some distractions have come up… Starcraft 2 beta, Assassin’s Creed 2, BFBC2, and replaying Deus Ex ^^;

Well, a few “presents for Yui” packages arrived and I just couldn’t resist posting about them! My girl Yui got to try on a new outfit from Iplehouse as well as a wig and pair of shoes from Leeke World.

More pics after the break ^^

The Iplehouse outfit has a sort of bad-girl look to it which I have a bit of a weakness against ^^; It was designed for Iplehouse’s YID Girl doll series, but fits pretty well for DD as you can see. The outfit comes in 3 pieces: The “What’s love got to do with it?” top, pleated print skirt, and lovely stripped socks.

The top is a bit loose on little Yui though. If she had an M or L bust, I think it would fit very nicely, but even with her default S bust, it looks pretty good. Quite fittingly, the top comes with a cute music note ornament for our clumsy little rock-star.

Too bad the outfit is primarily dark colors with black threading. I had to remove the outfit quickly after shooting these pics in order to avoid staining Yui. I wish I could leave it on her!

Along with the new outfit, Yui received a new wig. What do you think? Long, wavy blond hair is cute ^^. It wasn’t my intention but she kind of looks like Mugi-chan, doesn’t she?

Complete look at the wig. Leeke World makes nice wigs!

So how do you guys like the look of this new wig and outfit? ^^

I have more pics of the outfit with Yui as herself. I will post those tomorrow! Also another outfit is waiting for Yui but I haven’t had a chance to try it out. More on that one later :)

K-ON! Ritsu and Mio by Azone

anonymous_object — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:03:22 +0000

More K-ON! dolls! Following the unbelievably cute Hirasawa Yui, Azone has released the next two dolls in the K-ON! series, Ritsu and Mio! I and just so happened to acquire said new dolls ^^. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Feisty drummer girl Ritsu makes her appearance!

Azone pulled an evil move and made Ritsu a Wonder Festival exclusive item. Well, not exclusive to the event itself, but she was only sold online at Azonet and TBS ishop. Had to use a deputy service to order her and ended up costing quite a bit more than Yui. Not cool, Azone!

Well, aside from that nonsense, Ritsu is great! She comes with her school uniform like Yui but her’s is slightly different. Keeping with her slightly tomboyish style, Ritsu has her jacket open and shirt untucked. In fact, Azone didn’t even include buttons on her jacket so it’s always open xD And her skirt is really short ^^;

Sadly, no drums were included with Ritsu but they did give me some drumsticks ^^; She also came with an alternative outfit which you will see a bit further down.

Huge forehead! xD Nah, I’m just kidding. I love ya, Ritsu ;)

Karate chop!

Really liked this photo, but I was so occupied with posing her that I didn’t notice that her hairband was falling off until I was editing the images. Doh! >_<

And Mio! She’s much cuter in person that the pre-production photos made her look. I like her a lot :3

Like Yui and Ritsu, Mio comes with her school uniform. However! We also get her bass guitar ^^

Shiny bass ^^

Mio rocking out!

Mio looks genuinely good holding her bass :D

Like Yui’s Gita, Mio’s bass is nicely detailed with real strings and all.

Oh yeah, she comes with neko mimi :3

Lovely long, black hair.

And accurate pantsu too!

At the same time Azone released Ritsu, they also released some accessories for the K-ON! girls. One of the items had Yui’s guitar case.

Yes, it’s a real case. It has a zipper and you can place Gita in it. The photo above actually shows the bag while Yui’s guitar is inside :)

The other item in the bag set was Yui’s school bag.

Now on to the really good stuff :D Remember how I said Ritsu did not come with her drum set? A bit of a disappointment but understandable considering how large and detailed it would have to be. Instead, Azone gave us an full, extra outfit for Ritsu. Her school festival live outfit ^^.

While Ritsu’s live outfit was included in her package, Mio’s and Yui’s live outfits were separate accessories. I decided to buy them ^^. They’re fairly well made with a soft, polyester material. They have fuzzy linings and each comes with a removable sash.

Ritsu’s yellow outfit.

Mio’s purple outfit.

And Yui’s pink outfit ^^

Matching sandals included ;)

My Azone K-ON! collection is now 3/5 complete. Only Mugi and Azusa remain. Unless they decide to release Ui or some of the other secondary characters ^^; I’m not entirely sure if I will be completing the rest of the set. As much as I like these dolls, I definitely like Yui the most and Mugi and Azusa probably won’t change that. Plus, they’re a bit expensive and I’ve been trying to save for other things. Well, I currently have Mugi on pre-order. I might just decide to keep it that way ^^; Hope you liked the piccies. Until next time!

Yui gets a new outfit

anonymous_object — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:41:10 +0000

I have already dressed Kagami in a different outfit, so now it’s Yui’s turn! Decided to go with some a little more naughty for Yui ^^;
Say hello to little devil Yui ^^

Yui guarding the gates of hell?

“Stop! None shall pass without the express written consent of Hirasawa Yui, little devil version!”

“I’m serious, I won’t let you by!”

“Why would you want to travel to hell anyway? It’s really hot here!”

“Ok, you’ve forced me to take action!” *Stab!*

The boots are quite nice ^^b

Ok, enough nonsense xD. Yui’s outfit came from three individual pieces: The dress (top, skirt, cuffs), the knee high leather boots, and the silver trident. Each was sold separately but were obviously meant to go together ^^.

Complete with cute bat wings :D

Yui’s outfit by Azone was purchased at Hobby Search. The total price for all three pieces was about 4700 yen. A bit pricey but the outcome is amazing! You can find the items here: Dress, boots, and trident.

Introducing Yui Hirasawa by Azone International!

anonymous_object — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:57:36 +0000

After discovering the irresistible Hiiragi Kagami by Mama Chapp, it was inevitable that more dolls would follow. Today, Hirasawa Yui joins the family ^^.

Specifically, Hirasawa Yui from the popular anime series K-ON!. I don’t think I really need to explain what K-ON! is, right? Well, I always liked Yui’s super energetic, albeit air-headed personality and when I heard Azone would be making a doll version of her, I couldn’t resist ^^

Yui even came with her favorite guitar/friend, Giita!

Yui comes dressed in her full school uniform with blazer, shirt, blue ribbon, and pleated skirt. One thing she did not come with is her distinctive yellow hairpins. Well, Azone included a piece of paper along with a strip of double-sided tape that was supposed to be used to cut out thin strips of yellow paper to serve as hairpins These hairpins would then have to be wrapped around a lock of hair. The problem, however, was that the tape really didn’t stick well and Azone only included a small amount of yellow paper that could be cut into hairpins. After 30+ minutes of trying to wrap the tiny yellow pieces of paper into hairpins, I got frustrated and just made my own out of some yellow sticker labels (of which I had a near endless supply of).

So the hairpins you see above are actually my own creation and looking at them more closely in these photos, I might have made them a bit too thick but it was a chore to get them on so I will probably leave them ^^; Anyway, I blame the hairpin fiasco on poor design by Azone. Of course, my hands aren’t very adept at working with such small, fragile things… Anyway, was not happy with the hairpins but it is the only major complaint I have with the set ;)

Only problem with Giita was that the switch you see on the top came broken. At least I think it did ^^; As soon as I took the guitar out of the package, I saw it floating around on the bottom of the container so maybe I broke it off trying it get it out :o

Nya~
Yui had a bit of difficulty with this sitting position. Her legs only bend so far forward which makes sitting her flat with her legs out a challenge. Had to prop her up just a bit ^^;

Super close look at Giita. Not quite perfect but nicely detailed nonetheless. What I really like is how the guitar’s strings are real! Yeah, I figured they would be pieces of plastic or paint or something, but they are actually strings that and it almost makes you want to strum them xD

The other side of Giita. No, I did not attempt to tune it ;)

So, what if it’s summer and Yui is getting a bit hot with her blue school blazer? Well, you can take off her jacket, of course!

Or, if it’s more to your style, Yui can don her school sweater (or is it a vest? I don’t know these things…).

Even more clothing extras! The final accessory is Yui’s Honeymoon (ハネムーン) T-shirt. Why “honeymoon”? I honestly don’t know. I don’t remember this specific shirt from the anime, but Yui wore a lot of strange shirts so I probably just missed it >_<. I think there were also some other special editions of Yui from Amazon and another store that had a different shirt in place of this one. Amazon had one that said “Paradise” but looked pretty similar otherwise. Ordering from Amazon would have been more expensive so I just got the regular version with the Honeymoon shirt ^^.

How can anyone resist this cuteness? Seriously? Now you see why I had to get Yui. She’s just too cute :D

And finally, a comparison shot with Mama Chapp Kagami. You can probably pick out differences by the photo but I’ll summarize what I found:

Kagami definitely uses a Obitsu type body whereas Yui uses… I have no idea. It doesn’t match any of the types I saw on Obitsu’s site so maybe it’s custom? Still a doll noob…
Update: Yui’s body is the Pure Neemo Flection.
Anyway, the end result seems to be that Kagami is more flexible and easier to pose. For example, Kagami’s legs and knees are able to rotate farther and her arms and hands have more movement range. Overall, Kagami is more flexible. The advantage Yui’s slightly less flexible body has is that it looks better ^^; The joints aren’t so obvious and her body is just shaped more naturally. Yui has a much harder time standing without external support. Different shoes may help this though.

A side note is that Yui’s body also seems more accurately proportioned. Although they are both dolls, Yui looks more realistic to me. Yui’s head in particular is naturally shaped and proportioned whereas Kagami has more of a anime-ish look. Yui is also slightly taller. Both are good, just different ^^

Lastly, and Yui wins here hands down, is the clothing. Yui’s school uniform is very high quality and fits nice and snug whereas Kagami’s school uniform looks overly large and stiff in comparison. I really, really like the 3 (partial) outfits that come with Yui. Definitely a huge plus for me!

So, the final verdict? I love Yui!

Yui can be found Hobby Search and Amiami although Hobby Search is currently out of stock. Both are priced around 13,200 yen. While not cheap, it’s not that much more than some higher priced PVC figures. Definitely worth it for me ^^

Parting shot of Yui rocking out with Giita!

Wonder Festival Summer Highlights

anonymous_object — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:20:55 +0000

There’s certainly no short supply of coverage for the Summer Wonder Festival that just finished up. Wcloudxkumo has a nice summary of the new and upcoming figures that were on the display. Tons of awesome new figures on the horizon ^^.

Here are some of the figures I found most interesting:

K-ON Nendoroids by GSC

We all knew this was coming ^^. K-ON! was absurdly popular and the inevitable Nendoroids of the four girls were displayed. They’re not jump-off-the-screen cute but they all look good, a very likely get for me. There are also pics that Mio is sporting her shima pantsu ^^; I believe reservations for Mio and Yui will begin in a few days.

Nendoroid Minami Chiaki from Minami-ke by Gift

Finally, some Minami-ke Nendoroids! Chiaki looks pretty cute here in her mostly expressionless face ;) I hope the other Minami-ke characters are forthcoming in their own Nendoroid forms. Scheduled for December release.

1/8 scale Black Rock Shooter with Black Blade by GSC

A new Black Rock Shooter figure by GSC. I didn’t reserve the first BRS figure that’s due out in August and I’m not sure if I regret that or not. This is mostly the same figure but with her sword instead of her Rock Cannon. Also, her jacket is off. It’s pretty hot ^^; Since I didn’t order the first version, I just might be tempted into getting this one. No price or release date (that I was able to find).

1/8 scale K-ON figures by Alter

Now here’s some good stuff ^^. 1/8 scale K-ON! figures by Alter. Given the popularity of the K-ON! series there is no doubt we will be seeing many figures of the girls but to have Alter start things off is a good sign. Mio and Yui are first up and look energetic and cute in their school uniforms and with their instruments (which look amazing). Quite tempting. Both are supposed to be released near the end of the year but no prices have been announced.

1/8 scale Mercedes from Odin Sphere by Alter!

I’ve been watching this figure for a while. The previous unpainted photos I had seen were promising and now the painted PVC version is arriving. The Alter Gwendolyn that matches with this figure is absolutely stunning and I expect this figure to be the same. Due out by end of year, no price yet.

1/8 scale Aisaka Taiga from Toradora! by Wave

Yes, yes, and yes ^^; Here is Aisaka Taiga in 1/8 scale by Wave. After watching Toradora, I’ve fallen in love with Taiga so I’m very interested in this figure. She is wearing her angel outfit from the school festival. Just based on the unpainted concept model, I like it. If the final, painted version turns out anywhere near as good as I expect, this will be a must get figure for me. No date or price yet.

1/6 scale Saber Maid Ver. from Fate/Stay Night by Alter

Another maid version of Saber by Alter. I’ve been eyeing Alter’s first version for a while but it seems to be sold out everywhere… so this figure might be the one for me. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a Hobby Japan magazine exclusive which means it may be horribly expensive for me to acquire :(

Lucky Star Summer Seifuku versions

The last items of interest to me are the Lucky Star summer seifuku figma by Max Factory. I already have the winter seifuku versions but I like the summer versions more (maybe it’s the blue ^^). More pics at Moeya. Konata is supposed to come with a head for Yutaka so you kind of get a free Figma with her ;)

And that’s it! Whether or not I will be getting these figures is not yet decided but I should probably start saving up in any case ^^;

So K-ON’s over…

anonymous_object — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:59:25 +0000

Now what? It was, by far, the most popular series of the season and now that it’s over, what did you think? Personally, I thought it was a good series though not as epic as some fans anticipated. It was arguably the most hyped anime series since The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Maybe a bit too much hype? Yeah, I’d probably say so but that doesn’t detract from the fact that every week I had fun watching the latest episode ;)

And despite the huge fanbase that formed around Mio, she didn’t end up being my favorite character. For me, it was Yui with Azusa in a close second. Mio was entertaining most of the time but I think her ‘scaredy-cat’ personality was overdone a bit. Ritsu and Mugi-chan also were fun characters and we can’t forget about the super-cute imouto, Ui :3. Honestly, that’s what made this show worthwhile; the characters were great. The story itself was fairly mediocre but the characters and their interactions kept the pace, laughs, and fun going ^^

Moe moe kyun!

So, yeah, K-ON! wasn’t a miraculously awesome series or anything but it is was fun ^^. Hmmm, now I need to think about the next show to watch… Maybe I should catch up on Hayate or Eden of the East.

More pics of Azu-nyan and the rest of the K-ON! gang can be found at e-shuushuu ^^b

K-ON! Preview

anonymous_object — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:14:49 +0000

Well, since I’m late to the party (as usual?), I decided to find out what all the rage is about with this new anime.

Well, the cliche opening wasn’t encouraging… alarm clock goes off, girl wakes up, late for school, falls down in a hurry, rushes out the door with a piece of toast in here mouth… not such an original beginning -_-

However, it was uphill from there. I’m not going to bother with a plot summary since it’s plastered all over the interwebs already but I can say that the story gets interesting. Not only that, it’s pretty funny ^^ I really did have a few good laughs watching this episode. Ritsu kicking Mio under the desk was great xD

Is this attention warranted? Welps, only time shall time. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a one way street in in the world of otaku. There’s already tons of fanart of the 4 girls some of which has already made its way to my image board, shuushuu (shameless ad). Mio in particular seems to gaining popularity at a surprising rate.

I’ve kind of equated each of the K-on! girls to one of the Lucky Star girls (is this wrong? ^^;). Not a perfect fit though there are some similarities. Tsumugi is the obvious Miyuki match and Mio seems the closest to Kagami. So, who would be Tsukasa and Konata? Not sure on that yet ;) Based on clumsiness, Yui would be the Tsukasa equivalent but Yui doesn’t seem to be much of a Konata counterpart (yet?). Anyway, I think Ritsu and Yui seem a bit too much alike though that might change with more character development.

So, I’m definitely in for more episodes of this. I may even break my habit of waiting for anime to finish to watch this series. I’ll see how next week’s ep turns out. If you haven’t already watched it, go out and give it a try!