Magazine: Oekaki Hime July 2020

In which we find a whole pile of Hime, and just when we can’t tell which one is which we get distracted by fun furoku. These Hime publications seem to have no end! There are so many of them, all titles ending with ひめ (hime means princess). There’s Jewel Hime, Kisekae Hime (kisekae can mean […]

The Get List: Tokyo Catch: Sumikko Gurashi Halloween Plush Mascot (4/4)

In which I’m delighted by plush quality, gender equality, and Halloween frivolity. Japanese can make it both easy and hard to guess someone’s gender in something like a manga setting. On the one hand, there are stereotypically feminine/masculine personal pronouns and ways of speaking (but these change and are complicated by things like being so […]

Magazine: Steady June 2020

In which I receive, no joke, my favorite furoku of all time. Lest you think I spend my money only on candy, toys, and magazines oriented toward children, I’ll have you know I also spend appalling amounts of money on clothing and makeup. I figure I may as well make sure to leave the most […]

The Get List: Tokyo Catch: Sumikko Gurashi 80s Sailor Stadium Jacket Plush (3/5)

In which, for once in my life, I seem to have more pictures than words — and I couldn’t be more pleased with these wins! It’s ironic that these were such relatively easy wins, because they are among the most darling plush I’ve seen in a while. They are perfect! Each one measures about 6 […]

The Get List: Tokyo Catch: Gudetama Music Plush

In which I tie emotional trends to character good trends and talk a lot about my weird, picky eating habits, and there’s Gudetama in there somewhere too. Gudetama isn’t one of my favorite Sanrio characters, but that isn’t his fault at all. I get him a great deal — honestly, I feel Gudetama is very […]

The Get List: Tokyo Catch: Sumikko Gurashi Fluffy Plush XL Premium

In which I wax philosophic on trust, customer service, and bonus/chance items before snuggling the hell out of this awesome plush. One thing I’ve loved when dealing with Japanese shops and sellers is a feeling of “getting a little treat.” The very first things I bought from Japanese shops were Sanrio toys, and I remember […]

Sumikko Gurashi: Plushies from Jellybeet (+ Mini Table)

In which I get some great items and have a really positive shopping experience, and hey! That’s pretty awesome. I’ll never get over how much less of a niche hobby Japanese culture/goods have become in the USA over time. From my teenager niece-in-law recognizing a gachapon machine to the aisles of manga — even BL, […]

Anime Goods: Sarazanmai: Goods Roundup I

In which I talk about merchandise for a recent “mature” anime with both some of the most immature butt jokes and some of the most mature depictions of love, hope and, uh, Amazon I’ve ever seen. (Beware of spoilers) 2019 wasn’t a great year for me, and it wasn’t for pretty much anyone else I […]

Re-Ment: Sanrio Dolly Case

In which I get nostalgic, get grumpy, settle back into nostalgia, and eventually learn to stop worrying and enjoy what’s essentially a set of Sanrio “pimp cups.” The two factors that really made me collect things were Sanrio and Re-Ment. Sanrio was part of my life since I was a little girl two hundred thousand […]