Merry Merchmas to ME!!!
Today started out okay. I watched this week's "Kodomo no Musical" with V1. It was called "The Cat Who Wanted to Be Human" and featured more barrel turns and pirouettes than West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, and CATS combined. It was a lot like Cats and JCSS, actually... only weirder. Very weird. Train wreck I couldn't stop watch...*shudder* Then I decided to buckle down and get stuff done...
Now, since I've gotten to Japan, I've really had the overall feeling that I'm just... too late. All my shows are over, all the merch is gone. I barely got in on a little Saraba Den-o stuff, but overall, I'm stuck pawing through recycle shops for used Ibuki trumpets. I'm stucking watching Kodomo no Musical, for heaven's sake.
Today I realized, that second hand fandom is really my best friend.
I started today with 3 missions: Turtlenecks, DVD player, Milk.
Mission One (Wings Pose) went easy enough. Uniqlo had a sale on with 690 yen turtlnecks. I am toasty warm now. Mission Two was not so successful at first. I went to my friendly neighborhood Yamada Denki to purchase a DVD player I'd seen before but hadn't had cash to buy. Today however, the DVD player was gone. No more in stock. I could have bought another, but this DVD player had the advantage of being A) under 10,000 yen, and B) small enough to be carried home on a bike. It was the only one I wanted. So I sniffed, and left.
Just on a whim, I thought I'd' try the recycle shop. I'd not seen a good DVD player there before, but you never know. New stuff comes in. I go and all I see is the same huge, ancient DVD player that they are overcharging for. I sighed, but noticed that Recycle Ojii-san was in today. R.O. actually owns the place and is much better at helping find stuff than the usual Recycle Monkey. So I ask R.O. if there are any other DVD players in the store. He says there's one more, leads me through the labyrinth of the store and eventually shows me a tiny DVD player (still in the original packaging) that was hiding under some water heaters. It's perfect. Fits in the bike basket. I'm sold. And it's only 3600 yen. ROCK! So I go to buy it, and not only does he discount it to 3000, but he throws in a couple of bath salts as a service. I love Recycle Ojii-san.
Well what good is a DVD player without DVD's, right? So I bike it over to the Recycle media store which is my fave store in town. Up to now I've only bought DVD's as gifts cuz I can't play them otherwise. There was a w-inds System of Alive DVD there that I almost bought several times, and now was my chance. The store was really crowded today (though I thankfully recognized no students). I run my usual route, notice that the movie aisle is blocked, and so I go down the normal books aisle.
Now I usually don't go down that aisle cuz normal books in Japanese don't help me much. What I failed to notice on previous visits is this is also where they keep children's books... like the Gekiranger Board Book with Foldout posters!
And what good are the Gekikids without a Rio-sama?
So yeah, bought that. Almost bought the Bouken board book too, but the fold outs were all in suit pictures so they weren't as cool. I continued on and noticed, "Hey, this is also where they keep the used mags." Now most mags don't interest me a whole lot and these are mostly endless issues of NewType. But among those, I realize, is a single issue of NewType The Live from September 2007. It has a big Climax Form and GekiViolet on the cover. It's mine. So is System of Alive. And a couple other things which must remain secret. In all 3350 yen. I feel like an idiot. But oh well.
I go home. I open the mag. The first thing I see is a big spread on KR The Next with some nice Kazuki pics. Not awesome pics, but all right. Then there's a big spread on Den-o the movie which features the greatest Yuu/Ryou pic EVER!
*ruffles hair* I love this.
We get to a Gekispread which has some cute Fukami brothers moments and a couple of okay Araki and Zukki pics. Also a fold out which contains Gekiglam shots that are all right. But inside the fold out is this issues free gift:
It's a Momo Shitajiki. I am Momotaros. Don't put the thing on my face.
Love this stupid show.
So I think it can't get more awesome, right? Surely not. The rest is mostly Garo and Cutie Honey with a little Hiro Mizushima trying to get people to watch GodSpeedLove. I'm down to the back of the magazine where there's NEVER anything good, and what do I find?
Why it's an Interview with Matsuda Kenji!!!!!! Who should never have facial hair, ever, but still, a Zanki interview! A pre-Kiva Matsuda Kenji! This is one jazzed out fangirl. I just... can't' contain my joy. I came home and called everyone who'd care (V1 and Yuuta...) Hooked up my DVD player and have been jamming with old school w-inds and Tokusatsu ever since. The whole sentai wall needs to be redone but I'm going to wait until I can take the mag up to V1 to do this. She has a scanner. Then I'll cut the good pics and redo the shrine.
I love you Japan
Now, since I've gotten to Japan, I've really had the overall feeling that I'm just... too late. All my shows are over, all the merch is gone. I barely got in on a little Saraba Den-o stuff, but overall, I'm stuck pawing through recycle shops for used Ibuki trumpets. I'm stucking watching Kodomo no Musical, for heaven's sake.
Today I realized, that second hand fandom is really my best friend.
I started today with 3 missions: Turtlenecks, DVD player, Milk.
Mission One (Wings Pose) went easy enough. Uniqlo had a sale on with 690 yen turtlnecks. I am toasty warm now. Mission Two was not so successful at first. I went to my friendly neighborhood Yamada Denki to purchase a DVD player I'd seen before but hadn't had cash to buy. Today however, the DVD player was gone. No more in stock. I could have bought another, but this DVD player had the advantage of being A) under 10,000 yen, and B) small enough to be carried home on a bike. It was the only one I wanted. So I sniffed, and left.
Just on a whim, I thought I'd' try the recycle shop. I'd not seen a good DVD player there before, but you never know. New stuff comes in. I go and all I see is the same huge, ancient DVD player that they are overcharging for. I sighed, but noticed that Recycle Ojii-san was in today. R.O. actually owns the place and is much better at helping find stuff than the usual Recycle Monkey. So I ask R.O. if there are any other DVD players in the store. He says there's one more, leads me through the labyrinth of the store and eventually shows me a tiny DVD player (still in the original packaging) that was hiding under some water heaters. It's perfect. Fits in the bike basket. I'm sold. And it's only 3600 yen. ROCK! So I go to buy it, and not only does he discount it to 3000, but he throws in a couple of bath salts as a service. I love Recycle Ojii-san.
Well what good is a DVD player without DVD's, right? So I bike it over to the Recycle media store which is my fave store in town. Up to now I've only bought DVD's as gifts cuz I can't play them otherwise. There was a w-inds System of Alive DVD there that I almost bought several times, and now was my chance. The store was really crowded today (though I thankfully recognized no students). I run my usual route, notice that the movie aisle is blocked, and so I go down the normal books aisle.
Now I usually don't go down that aisle cuz normal books in Japanese don't help me much. What I failed to notice on previous visits is this is also where they keep children's books... like the Gekiranger Board Book with Foldout posters!
And what good are the Gekikids without a Rio-sama?
So yeah, bought that. Almost bought the Bouken board book too, but the fold outs were all in suit pictures so they weren't as cool. I continued on and noticed, "Hey, this is also where they keep the used mags." Now most mags don't interest me a whole lot and these are mostly endless issues of NewType. But among those, I realize, is a single issue of NewType The Live from September 2007. It has a big Climax Form and GekiViolet on the cover. It's mine. So is System of Alive. And a couple other things which must remain secret. In all 3350 yen. I feel like an idiot. But oh well.
I go home. I open the mag. The first thing I see is a big spread on KR The Next with some nice Kazuki pics. Not awesome pics, but all right. Then there's a big spread on Den-o the movie which features the greatest Yuu/Ryou pic EVER!
*ruffles hair* I love this.
We get to a Gekispread which has some cute Fukami brothers moments and a couple of okay Araki and Zukki pics. Also a fold out which contains Gekiglam shots that are all right. But inside the fold out is this issues free gift:
It's a Momo Shitajiki. I am Momotaros. Don't put the thing on my face.
Love this stupid show.
So I think it can't get more awesome, right? Surely not. The rest is mostly Garo and Cutie Honey with a little Hiro Mizushima trying to get people to watch GodSpeedLove. I'm down to the back of the magazine where there's NEVER anything good, and what do I find?
Why it's an Interview with Matsuda Kenji!!!!!! Who should never have facial hair, ever, but still, a Zanki interview! A pre-Kiva Matsuda Kenji! This is one jazzed out fangirl. I just... can't' contain my joy. I came home and called everyone who'd care (V1 and Yuuta...) Hooked up my DVD player and have been jamming with old school w-inds and Tokusatsu ever since. The whole sentai wall needs to be redone but I'm going to wait until I can take the mag up to V1 to do this. She has a scanner. Then I'll cut the good pics and redo the shrine.
I love you Japan