Thursday, March 15, 2007

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love

The creators of the Tokimemo series flip the script and give girls control of the dating action. Males are generally seen as the aggressors in the mating ritual but it's really the female who controls the courtship process with subtle gestures and maneuvers. In Konami's twist on the Tokimeki franchise, you play a female high school student who enters a private high school for a three year stint. In that time, one uses charm, guile and good clothes to catch a man and perhaps love. Clothing plays an important factor in the game since it helps attract the opposite sex. The NDS version of the game features a new boy named Jin Tendo who joins the regular cast including the dreamy Kei Hazuki, the impish "friend" Sakuya Morimura, rose-loving Shiki Mihara, and many more. «more»

Super Mario Bros Sound Nuigurumi

When Mario bops his noggin underneath a bonus block, a jingling chime sounds out to indicate his reward. That, or a big old mushroom leaps out and starts to vamoose. Banpresto exploits their seemingly perpetual Mario license by announcing two big and beautiful Mario-themed plushes which measure approximately 23cm or 9.05" in height and nearly that much in length. The plushes appear to be standard toys but they're fitted with a sound module with speaker inside which make sounds when bopped. For example, punch the bonus block and listen to the classic Mario coin jingle or bop the Goomba and listen to the "Hekoso" sound. «photos + video»

Funchi Sping Set

Unchi is the Japanese word for "dung" and NCS has chronicled recent unchi toys here and there. Since unchi is so boring and just sort of sits there, Japanese manufacturer Epoch has elected to spice things up. Enter Funchi. That's right, FUNchi with the emphasis on the FUN. Loaded with a spring underneath, NCS imagines Japanese children pushing down on Funchi and releasing so that it jumps up like the dickens. Push down three in a row and watch them fly up like an unchi gang. Fun just doesn't get much better than that. Please note that due to split shipments, three Funchi variants are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. «photos + video»

Tachikoma Plush

The Tachikoma is arguably the best mech in existence. Forget Gundam, Votoms, Mazinger, and even the Evangelion. Give us a couple of Tachikoma and we'd rule the world.... or at least take over the local bodega. To celebrate the greatness and abject superiority of the Tachikoma against all other mecha, Japanese manufacturer Cospa releases a big blue plush which measures 33 x 25 cm (12.99 x 9.84") in dimension. The original preorder photos made the Tachikoma look massive but now that we've received them, the plush isn't really that big. Nonetheless, it is the biggest Tachikoma toy that we've seen so far.
The Tachikoma plush is soft to the touch but its construction is bulked up with rigid filler and material inside which allows the mech to stand on all fours and maintain its stature without a stand or extra support. «photos»

Appleseed EX Sega Direct Version

The Sega Direct limited edition of Appleseed EX includes two items in addition to the game software itself:

» Shinji Aramaki Model "Deunan Knute" Limited Edition Figure
» K-2 Garthim Battle Damage version + 45 caliber 10mm Hand Gun

Shinji was the director of the 2004 Appleseed movie in case you're wondering what the "Shinji Aramaki Model" refers to. Deunan measures approximately 5" tall in her crouching position and the body suit above her left thigh has been rippedto reveal some gratuitous leg. Packaged in blister pack.

» Appleseed Side A&B manga reprint
A thick and hearty manga (B6 size) which spans 328 pages and captures the entirety of the animated movie in its pages. The comic is in full color and printed on smooth and glossy paper. The manga tells the story featured in the Appleseed movie in panel by panel sequence. «photos»