Coreidae beetleWhile doing a small photoshoot of Alter’s figure incarnation of Mio from “K-ON!”, heard a buzzing noise and spotted this beetle stuck against the inside window, trying to get out into the sun again.
As I had my Canon 450D on hand with the EF 100mm f/...
Alter Akiyama Mio figure reviewAlthough she arrived on my doorstep a while ago, hadn’t made time yet to snap some photos of Alter’s gorgeous 1/8 scale PVC figure of Akiyama Mio from “K-ON!”.
The first release of Alter’s “K-ON!” figure series, she turned out to be a truly excellen...
Hideyoshi sketches by GofuSketch artist Gofu has an uncanny knack to often create art of characters from series I like or happen to watch, something which I can only rejoice.
After having recently sketched the lovely girls from “So-Ra-No-Wo-To”, Gofu has drawn several excel...
Maria†Holic DVD setWith the unstoppable onslaught of irresistibly cute trap Hideyoshi from “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu”, I’d near forgotten an anime DVD set was due out for the hilarious yuri/trap comedy “Maria†Holic”.
After spotting the release advertised at Archonia,...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 9Looking up at the clear blue skies after having hung up the laundry, Kanata muses it is time to bid goodbye to summer now that fall has come.
Joining her fellow soldiers in tending to the platoon’s vegetable garden, Kanata hears Kureha tell the tale...
Queen’s Blade 2nd season Allean and Nowa yuri specialVolume 3 of “Queen’s Blade ~Gyokuza Wo Tsugumono~” contains episodes five and six as well as a short three minute OVA episode. A tradition for all previous BluRay/DVD volumes, these special episodes put the “Queen’s Blade” maidens in situations where...
Flower macro photosAfter showing photos of some red roses taken with the macro zoom setting of the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens I recently bought, thought to show a few flower photos taken with a full fledged macro lens, the EF 100mm f/2.8 macro USM lens.
A...
The desire of Kinoshita HideyoshiIn light of carefully having examined the content of the past episode of “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu” I can only submit a heartfelt objection to the current course this series has taken.
Surely you all must have been shocked too upon seeing the appal...
Kagome C77 doujin ‘Yoke of the Damned’Do realize that Comiket 77 is long past but still wanted to mention the ‘Yoke Of The Damned’ doujin by artist Kagome of whom also showcased the terrific C76 “K-ON!” themed book ‘Jangling Automation’ before.
This time, Kagome (籠目, homepage, Pixiv) c...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 8Perspiring, Kanata sits tensely in front of the 1121st platoon’s emergency phone, the table in the dimly lit room filled with empty bottles and other assorted things, a pile of soaked laundry rests in the corner. How did Kanata get into this predicam...
Gofu’s So-Ra-No-Wo-To sketchesHad been a while since I visited Gofu’s website, was glad to see the artist seems to have taken a liking to ‘So-Ra-No-Wo-To’ and created several excellent sketches of the cute girls from the 1121st platoon.
Especially like this black and white illust...
Red RosesAfter picking up the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens yesterday, off course my fingers were itching to try this new lens out.
Next to snapping a few random photos to verify the lens operated well, soon set my sights on a small bouquet of red...
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lensAlthough there’s still much for me to learn and discover in photography, lately felt the default EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens that came with my Canon 450D was lacking in terms of performance.
While the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens I have ach...
Japanese manga lootWith the second volume of Amano Kozue’s latest manga “Amanchu!” having been released last week, couldn’t pass up on acquiring it after having enjoyed the first volume of this terrific manga.
As I also got the original Japanese release for “Aria” volu...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 7The night is set ablaze by the flashes of cannon fire as a heated battle rages on in the wasteland of mankind’s once great cities. Terrified, Felicia nonetheless performs her duties as a gun loader, guided by the voice of her captain as their lone ta...
Valentine cookie and rose macroWith the Valentine’s day festivities yesterday, felt like sneaking in a macro photo when I saw the heart shaped cookies and roses, so made a quick composition before the cookies were devoured.
Just a simple shot made with my Canon 450D and the EF 10...
Backup with RobocopyConsidering my main computer stores important data such as documents, mail, music and more on its single Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB hard drive with a 600GB data partition, having a backup is essential.
Having tried the built-in backup function when I...
The despair of Kinoshita HideyoshiBarely had I recovered from last week’s episode of “Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu” which brought us not merely hilarious scenes but great fanservice with Hodeyoshi, that this week’s episode delivered nothing less than a fatal blow by featuring the gree...
The Ace of ace is hereReleased at the end of January, Alter’s 1/7 scale figure of Nanoha Takamachi from “Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS” in her Exceed mode finally arrived on my doorstep today after being stuck at customs for two weeks.
Like Fate, Nanoha comes in a...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 6Tidying her hair, Kanata is looking forward to spending her off duty day visiting the flea market in town. Seeing the girl’s enthusiastic smile, Rio asks Kanata if she plans to buy herself something using the very first paycheck she received the day...
Daring Sacred Blacksmith dakimakuraWhile browsing various online stores last week in search of one that still had the “K-ON!” Azusa nendoroid available for pre-order, spotted a large add on the Hobby Stock site for a hugging pillow cover featuring Lisa from “The Sacred Blacksmith”.
Ha...
K-ON! Nendoroid and Figma frenzyBarely did the Good Smile Company Azusa Nakano nendoroid figure open for pre-order yesterday morning at the usual online stores that the reservations closed and she was marked as sold out.
A few weeks ago Max Factory surprised everyone by announcing...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 5Inside the Takemikazuchi’s command module, the five soldiers of the 1121st platoon are holding a training exercise to hone their skills as a team to control the complex tank.
Having destroyed the enemy unit displayed on the tank’s training mode scree...
Rangetsu C77 doujin ‘Yellow Noise’In their series of “Code Geass” books, Rangetsu (also known as Stormoon – website, Pixiv) from the circle Creayus released the ‘Yellow Noise’ doujin at Comiket 77.
Unlike their C76 release ‘Noise Pollution’ which was an all color fan book filled with...
Fresh snowLooking out the window this morning was quite surprised to see it had snowed a lot during the night, covering the entire landscape with a white carpet of ice crystals.
As the morning sun had only crept above the horizon shortly before and the skies...
More Windows 7 moe themesWhen Microsoft released Windows 7 last year, the Ultimate version for Japan came bundled with an exclusive Aero theme featuring the cute Windows 7 mascot Madobe Nanami.
Nanami is voiced by Mizuki Nana who also did Fate in the “Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Na...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 4With rain pouring down under ominous dark clouds, it is a depressing morning at the 1121st platoon base for some of the girls. Kanata laments being unable to do better at playing her bugle and Noel is unsuccessful at installing a new lens in their ta...
Kämpfer Akane dakimakuraFans of last season’s ecchi comedy “Kämpfer” can rejoice as next to the Shizuku Sangou hugging pillow cover, one featuring Mishima Akane is due out in February.
Haven’t spotted much “Kämpfer” merchandise at all, but these two dakimakura boast terrifi...
Amanchu! volume 2 out soonOften receive mail from Amazon Japan featuring their advertised sales or personal recommendations for items one may be interested in based on previous purchases.
The message that arrived in my mailbox today advertised the second volume of “Amanchu!”,...
Shinozuka Atsuto “Queen’s Gate” Majikina Mina artbookAlthough it was already released in November last year, hadn’t caught onto any scans for the “Queen’s Gate” Majikina Mina book until recently.
Illustrated by artist Shinozuka Atsuto, this particular “Queen’s Gate” book is all about Majikina Mina (真...
K-ON! 14 OVAWhen the opportunity arises for the light music club to play at a live house event on New Year’s Eve, the girls are initially divided on whether they should participate. While Ritsu and Yui are enthusiastic about this terrific chance, Azusa and Mio d...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 3While her fellow soldiers are still asleep, Kanata heads up in the tower to play the morning call on her bugle as the sun rises over the distant mountains. Regardless of the enthusiasm she puts into her music, her performance is still poor.
Luckily t...
Aria sketch art by KisetsuHaving mentioned liking sketch art in the previous post, thought might be nice to show more such illustrations, this time by artist Kisetsu (Pixiv).
Spotted Kisetsu’s art online quite some time ago, while initially saw mainly “Strike Witches” sketch...
Kantoku C77 doujin ‘Hiragi’After the ‘5年 Memorial’ book at C76 and the recent publication of the commercial artbook ‘Ashiato’, well known artist Kantoku from the circle “Afterschool of The 5th Year” (5年目の放課後) released the ‘Hiragi’ doujin at Comiket 77.
About 20 pages th...
Omamori HimariAnother manga adaptation airing this season in anime form is “Omamori Himari” . Based on the manga created by Matra Milan, the story revolves around the adventures of Yuuto, a high school boy protected by cat spirit Himari when he becomes the target...
So-Ra-No-Wo-To 2Having made a poor impression with her bad performance playing the morning call on her trumpet, Kanata is disappointed when Rio instructs her to practice using a mouthpiece only until she gets better.
Before heading down from the tower, Kanata spots...
