Akihabara 2013

It's been a little over a week since Take-chan and I returned from our two-week vacation in Japan, and it was such an amazing trip! The last two times I visited were during the winter, so it was nice to be able to experience summer this time. The humidity was pretty crazy, though! The moment I'd walk outside the house, my skin would already feel sticky. U__U Not to mention the huge typhoon that was on its way to Japan at the time, and almost every morning there'd be crazy thunderstorms. But strangely enough, it never really rained when we'd go out, so we were really lucky!

After my previous trip to Japan, I really regretted not taking more photos. I'm happy to say that I did much better this time and even got a new digital camera from Take-chan's mom as an early birthday present (♥), but there's still a part of me that wishes I took even more photos! Next time I shouldn't feel so embarrassed about looking like a total tourist. :P

So for our first full day in Japan, I surprised myself by not heading straight to Shibuya. Instead, Take-chan and I hit up Akihabara first, and I was even more surprised that we spent almost the entire day there! We've been watching a lot of anime lately, so it was fun to look at all the merchandise at each store. When it comes to figures in Akihabara, the trick is to check out all the stores for the best price! Because of that, I was able to score a gorgeous Asuna figure for only ¥1,200. ♥ I also bought a bunch of other stuff (mostly Free!, Kuroko no Basuke, and One Piece stuff).

Ready to do some shopping!

Beard Papa! I was so sad when the one in my local mall closed down. T__T

We were bound to run into Shingeki no Kyojin! There was a good amount of SnK merchandise, but nothing cool or cute enough that I wanted to spend my money on. Didn't see any figures, either. It was mostly clear files, keychains, manga, t-shirts, etc.

We entered the first arcade we ran into and found this little cutie sitting on top of some One Piece gachapon machines. One thing I have to say is that I'm extremely glad that Take-chan and I finally started getting into One Piece this year, because you'll find One Piece pretty much everywhere in Japan, be it merchandise, an entire restaurant and stores dedicated to it, or even just tiny references here and there. I would feel so giddy every time I saw anything related to One Piece. ♥

Kuroko no Basuke! I love how Kuroko and Kagami look like they're peeking at you. :3 And for the record, this type of UFO catcher is so rigged! If you look closely, you'll see a pink rubber ball with the shiny prize dangling from it, and Take-chan and I are convinced that it's meant to make you spend a good amount of yen before actually winning. It's difficult to get it in one round due to the friction of the ball against the plastic plate, plus the fact that the prize is weighing the plate down. You pretty much have to edge it little by little on both sides of the plate before it falls, and what's more is that the claw is so weak!!! U__U /rant

There it is again! One Piece appears even when we're just waiting to cross the street. xD

There were arcades everywhere! But more importantly, how cute is that giant alpaca? :3

I kept seeing posters of this gorgeous Junko figure. I haven't played or watch Danganronpa, but I'm particularly interested because Junko is a gyaru! ♥

Chopper dressed up as Buggy!!! I think my heart just melted. ♥

Funasshi army!!! O__O

We stopped to take a break at this random crepe place, and it tasted so amazing!

Mazinger Z is the anime my parents used to watch back in the day (that and Voltes V).

Sailor Moon iPhone 5 cases!!! *__* ♥ And sadly, I don't have an iPhone 5... But I bought a case anyway! I guess that'll be my next phone. :3 I wanted to buy more Sailor Moon merchandise too, but all I could find were these cases and the same so-so figure that ran for at least ¥4,000 at pretty much every store. T__T

I was debating between these two, and I ended up getting the second one. I love how vibrant the colors are! *__* ♥

Portrait of Pirates by MegaHouse is hands down one of the best series of One Piece figures! How I wish I could've taken Zoro home with me. :3

Kotobukiya is also very consistent with producing high quality figures. If I had to choose only one place to visit in Akiba, it would be this store!

So I'll have to post all of my Akiba gets later because I haven't taken any photos of them yet! D: Next post will be about Shibuya. Thanks for reading! ^__^ ♥

OtaSummer 2013 & My Cosplay Debut

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to cosplay as one of my favorite anime or video game characters and attend a big event like Anime Expo. Sadly, I never learned how to sew, nor did I have any money to invest in anything cosplay-related. Now that I have a stable job, I finally saved up and bought a costume! The only thing is that everything was too big, even though I ordered XXS. U__U I felt bad asking the seller to re-do my entire costume, so I only told them about the sleeves and stockings, and just figured I would pin everything else down. But then about a month later, my good friend Risa introduced me to her pro cosplay friend Taka! She normally cosplays as hot anime guys, and she always looks so amazing! *__* She's really talented at making costumes too, and she helped fix my costume for me and it looks a million times better now! ♥ I was able to wear it with much more confidence at OtaSummer 2013. So for my first cosplay ever, I went as...

Asuna Yuuki from Sword Art Online! ^__^ I fell in love with SAO from the very first episode. Not only is it a gorgeous anime, but it also brings back fond memories of when I used to play MMORPGs all the time! On top of that, Asuna is absolutely adorable! ♥

Me and my Take-panda! :3 We both had solo performances and then we did one performance together. He danced to Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis, I sung to Crossing Field, and then we both sang and danced to Guren no Yumiya.

Full view of my costume! I'm so used to doing gyaru poses that I had to exercise some serious willpower to keep my gyaru-ness from coming out. Posing for cosplay is so foreign to me! I need to practice more... T__T

Me and Risa from Cherry Jelly Productions! Major props to her for coordinating and hosting this event while always keeping a beautiful smile on her face. ♥

Mary is so cute!!! I don't know what anime she cosplayed from, but I just wanted to pick her up and put her in my pocket. :3

Rivaille Heichouuu!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ And Eren photobombing in the background. :3 I was fangirling so hard over these photos. ♥

Brinni as Eren and Nicolette as Rivaille!

With one of the best villains in One Piece ever: Crocodile! He made the hook himself. *__*

Probably my absolute favorite photo of the night. Me with Taka as Haruka Nanase!!! *__* ♥ ♥ ♥ Total ikemen!!!

I had so much fun cosplaying for the first time, and I can't wait to do more cosplays in the future! Everyone was so friendly, too... T__T ♥ I definitely wanna go to more events like this!