Live In Japan

UPDATE: Sorry - you can enlarge the photos in this article now - t’was a bug on this end.

Have you ever wanted to raid the Good Smile Company warehouses? If the answer is “yes” then come raid with me and Mikatan. ^^;

The warehouse is huuuge so we’ll need to feed our belly with some good grub at the Max Factory’s restaurant Indo Tei.

Located 150 feet underground are the Good Smile warehouses. I was blindfolded while they drove me to the secret location.
Upon arrival I see a stack load of Figma Lelouch being lead off to Amazon.

More Lulu Figmas.

Stack of Yuki Nagato Figmas freshly arrived from China.

Stack of the metal allow Tachikoma that I gave you a sneak peak at the other day.

Lemme explain a little bit about what Good Smile Company do.
Good Smile Company started off as a talent agency many moons ago.
They then went into making accessories and still do in their other company called Dico Kick.

Later Good Smile became the distributor of products for Max Factory. Good Smile handled the logistics, marketing, PR, Web development etc while Max Factory concentrated on making figures.

Now Good Smile manufacture their own line of figures - the standard scale figures and the Nendoroids.

Good Smile also handle logistics, Marketing and PR for other figure makers too which is why you will see figures from many different makers on their website.

And because Good Smile handle logistics for these companies, their warehouse is full of figures from a load of different makers.

The warehouse contains every single figure to date from Max Factory, Good Smile and all the other companies that Good Smile look after.

Boxes with red tape contain figures for free replacements.

I don’t know if they still have them on TV but do you remember the shows where a person gets to raid a supermarket and stuff as much as they can in their cart?
Its a great feeling ^^;

5 tons of Rize.

There recently was an Anime Blog Awards where many of you voted for dannychoo.com under “Best Figurine Blog.”

Thank you to all those who voted for me under this category. To me its an indication that you have been enjoying the figure coverage including the tours of the figure makers in the Japan Office Tour category and reviews of figures before they hit the streets like the Nida review, Hatsune Miku preview etc.

The boss at Good Smile is a good comrade of mine and we are working closely together to bring you *much* more figure related stuff in the future. 2008 is so exciting!

Do you remember the huge warehouse at the end of “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark?” - I felt like I was in such a warehouse but the goods in this warehouse were much more exciting than an ark that could talk to the gods.

Being in the Good Smile warehouses surrounded by figures is like being in heaven I guess ^^;

Without the guidance I’m sure I would have got lost ^^;

Good Smile have two warehouses - one for shipping goods to retailers and the other for general use.

This is the general use warehouse where figures can be easily picked.

A load of Mai, Kureha, Iroha and Rider figures.

Stacks and stacks of figures.

The warehouse also contains a load of packaging material.

A load of promo material lying around too.

Figures reaching up to the ceiling.

The molds for previous figures are kept here too. This is a mold for Max Factory Mai’s shoulder.

Good Smile Maid Saber.

There are also a load of exclusive figures here and there too. If you saw their rubbish bin then I’m sure you would commit seppuku ^^; I was like WHAAAT?!!!

Then its back to headquarters to continue meetings.

Cant wait to move to a bigger office and have these glass shelves full O figures.

One end of the meeting room has a load of Gunlpla made by the boss of Max Factory Max Watanabe. This is his Destiny.

Impulse.

Freedom.

Akatsuki.

Justice. Yes I still remember the names of Gundams ^^;

But this one is on the tip of my tongue ^^;

Completely forgot about this Max Makoto Sawatari figure.

And that’s it for today. Look forward much more stuff from us that will contribute to the figure collecting community and make it easier for you to get hold of figures.
If you are looking for other sources of figure news then there are a load over at Otaku.fm.

I get many mails from folks who started to collect figures after seeing the figure coverage here and I was wondering what the percentage was. Was you a figure collector before you started reading dannychoo.com or became collector after? Or do you have no interest in figures whatsoever?

By Danny Choo on 2008/06/28 13:48

From Live in Japan Source

Do you work in an office in a 9 to 5 job? Do you sometimes feel that your job is getting to become to routine and that you are getting bored with your 8 hour work day? Well, maybe you should quit your job and head on over to Japan. The newest thing […]

From Live in Japan Source

Have you ever felt that no matter how many example sentences you read from your Japanese textbook, that when you try to read Japanese websites, newspapers, or magazines, it seems like they’re using a completely different language?Well, this is a problem that most people who study Japanese will run into at some point, and it […]

From Live in Japan Source

This show continues to leave me terribly confused, and not in a Kara no Kyoukai “this dialogue makes absolutely no sense whatsoever” way. I just find Miharu so utterly enigmatic - I have no idea what he wants or why he does the things he does. At least Yoite, King of Emo, sort […]

From Live in Japan Source

Benjamin Ong Pang Kean presents part two of his article on Tokyopop’s global manga creators at Newsarama. This one focuses on the fate of the series—some will continue as planned, some will go online, and some will be canceled outright. Some are in limbo, as the creators haven’t heard yet. Stay tuned.Translator John Thomas sings […]

From Live in Japan Source

I was interviewed today on NPR about the influx of Japanese Game Shows on both network and cable television here in the states. The show was ‘The Bryant Park Project’ which we don’t get here in LA but I hope gets here soon. It seems like an NPR for a younger generation which is cool.The […]

From Live in Japan Source

秋吉台

Located in the middle of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Akiyoshidai is the largest karst in Japan, encompassing about 130 square kilometers.

A karst is the geological name for a limestone plateau, and 300 million years ago Akiyoshidai was a coral reef. In historical times it was forested just like almost all of the rest of Japan, but farmers gradually cut down the forest and replaced it with susuki, Japanese Pampas Grass, for thatch and animal feed.

Nowadays Akiyoshidai offers the visitor an unusual (for Japan) scenic view; rolling hills covered in Pampas Grass dotted with limestone boulders and outcroppings. In each of the seasons it is worth a visit.

In early February the dried grass is burnt back to ensure that the grass grows again, and the forest doesn’t reclaim the land.

Driving along Route 23 (the Akiyoshi Skyline) is the best way to view Akiyoshidai. At the south end there is a large parking area with a viewing platform and a network of trails across the plateau.

Across the road from the parking lot is a free museum with exhibits explaining the geology of the area and giving information on the natural environment. Without a car, the plateau can be reached by bus from Hagi, Yamaguchi City, or Shin Yamaguchi station.

Akiyoshi International Art Village
50 Akiyoshi
Shuoho-cho
Mine-shi
Yamaguchi
754-0511
Tel: 0837 63 0020

The Akiyoshi International Art Village in Shuho town is a well-equipped art space for both Japanese and overseas artists in the fields of music, art, dance, and theater. The center is located near to the limestone karst of the Akiyoshidai National Park.

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From Live in Japan Source

Kiichi and the Magic Books, vols. 1 and 2By Taka AmanoRated T, for TeenCMX, $9.99The title of this series suggests one of those earnest reading-is-fun kids’ books written by well-meaning adults, which is a shame, because it’s actually much better than that. This is manga, after all, so the books don’t open up new wonderlands; […]

From Live in Japan Source

Occasionally J-List has some pretty cool products available and this one caught my eyes.A Domo-kun Flash Drive, and it’s 1 Gig which makes it practical as well as cute!If you’re wondering what Domo-kun is like, check out Domo-kun on YouTube for a healthy sampling of Domo-cuteness.- Harvey

From Live in Japan Source

My faith was rewarded - Monochrome Factor is back to being entertainingly naff again!Kengo gets all huffy because Akira doesn’t want him in on the kokuchi fights. This apparently means there is hidden darkness in him, which Nanaya (the evil guy who’s been unleashing the kokuchi) takes advantage of by seeding him three of […]

From Live in Japan Source