Saturday, September 30, 2006

Akihabara & Nakano sightings - 30 September 2006

Prices shown are store prices, mostly with 5% government sales tax included. All items are in mint condition unless stated otherwise. Interested buyers please contact me at tokyohunter@gmail.com as soon as possible so I can help you with obtaining these items on my next trip.

Hobby Shop Kotobukiya
Kotobukiya Red Wildfalken Limited Edition Hobby Shop Kotobukiya Exclusive - 2,940 yen (Click here for more info and pics)
Kotobukiya Togainu no Chi phone strap mascot set Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive - 2,000 yen (Click here for more info and pics)
Kotobukiya Togainu no Chi Chibi Figure Akira Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive - 1,000 yen (Click here for more info and pics)

Liberty
Kaiyodo Virtual-On Apharmd B - 9,240 yen
Kaiyodo Virtual-On Apharmd S - 7,329 yen
Kaiyodo Trigun Nicholas D. Wolfwood (without sunglasses) - 5,229 yen
Kaiyodo Trigun Vash The Stampede Wonderfest version with card (without glasses) - 6,279 yen
Kaiyodo Trigun Vash The Stampede Sinister Black Repaint (with glasses) - 3,654 yen

Mandarake
Enter Brain Fate/stay night Saber - 14,700 yen
Enter Brain Fate/stay night Saber EX Comiket & WonderFest 2006 Exclusive - 22,050 yen
Medicom RAH Wingman WonderFest 2006 Summer - 23,100 yen

Interesting sightings
Several interesting items on display at Kaiyodo Hobby Lobby Tokyo:
150 cm tall Ah! Megami-sama set of 3 statues on display. Retailed for 999,999 yen and SOLD OUT!
Bome Collection Kasumi Black version.
Patlabor statues on display.

Click here for more pics! Click on a picture and click on the 'All sizes' icon on top of the picture for all range of sizes from 75x75 pixels to 1200x1600 pixels! Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Client testimonial #12

Client testimonial #12 from a client in Malaysia. I got him a pair of Kaiyodo Wondershowcase Plus Authetic White ver Cammy and Fantastic Black ver Cammy. His testimonial is as follows:

Tokyo Hunter is highly recommended as the service is extremely prompt and the service is excellent. I received my toys in mint condtion within 36 hours via EMS. The packaging and packing was nicely done with added bubble bags with additional double plastic wrapping.

All in all, A+++++++

CL

Nice to do business with you and looking forward to your next order!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Toys @ Tokyo Game Show 2006!

I was quite surprised to find that they actually had some toys on display at Tokyo Game Show 2006! Square Enix had a whole bunch of upcoming toys on display at their booth showcasing their upcoming items such as the Master Arms series, Mechanical Arts series, Master Creatures 2 (Knights of Round and Odin rocks!), Pixar Formation Arts (I'm definitely getting the entire set of this!), FFXIII Play Arts Heroine (real name yet to be revealed), and FFXII Play Arts. I also saw MP04 packaging on display at Takara Tomy's booth. MP03 and MP04 will be released by this coming Tuesday! Other interesting things include Medicom's RAH MGS4 Snake, Felicia (definitely getting this gorgeous piece!), Biohazard/Resident Evil mini figures, and Basara trading figures.

Click here to check out more pics of the toys on display at Tokyo Game Show 2006!

Tokyo Game Show 2006 coverage!

Phew! What a day! I had just returned from my first Tokyo Game Show several hours ago and boy what an amazing show it was! It was so much bigger than Chara Hobby 2006 that was held in the same convention hall last month and TGS took up the entire building. All 8 halls! My feet still hurt from all the walking and waiting in line to play some game demos.

I arrived at 7:15am at the Makuhari Messe convention hall where TGS 2006 was held and checked out the line of people queuing up to enter the convention hall. The queue was so long that it circled the entire convention hall by around 8:30am and it's a very BIG convention hall that takes at least 15 minutes to walk around the entire hall! There are a lot of very dedicated game fans that camped overnight just to be one of the first in line to enter and play all the next-gen games. Big thanks to Entertainment News International for providing me with some business cards so I could apply for the press pass and enter the convention hall earlier and without having to line up under the hot sun! Media registration started at 9am and I managed to get the pass and enter the convention hall an hour earlier than the official opening time at 10am. I immediately bolted into the convention hall and took as many pictures and watch as many trailers and game demos as I could before the flood gates are opened to let the public attendees in. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to pick up my jaw from the floor after watching so many of the amazing PS3 and Xbox 360 games in action that I didn't even think of picking up the controllers to play them until after the rest of the attendees started flooding in. They were let in 30 minutes early at 9:30am and I had to scurry to take as many pictures of the rest of the booths as possible before it's all packed with people and having them obstructing my perfect view of the things I want to take pics of. I managed to take a lot of pictures that only the press can take pics of but there are still plenty of things there that even the press are not allowed to take pics or record it on video camera, especially the PS3 game trailers, demos, and Square Enix's closed theater presentations.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see everything and play all the games there. Nobody could. There are way too many things to see and hour-long lines to queue just to play a 10 minute game demos. There's a 2 hour wait in queue for trying out the Devil May Cry 4 playable demo! The rest are around an hour's wait in queue. I only managed to play a few games like Lost Planet, Resistance: Fall of Man, Heavenly Sword, Cell Factor, and Hellgate: London. I also attended a closed theater presentation of Square Enix's upcoming games including FFVII: Crisis Core, Monotone, It's a Wonderful World, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, and all three games of FFXIII including Agito and Versus! I almost drowned in my own drool while watching the trailer for FF Versus XIII... It's f'ing awsome!

The show ended at 5pm and when I got to the train station at 5:30pm, the place was completely flooded with people trying to get back. It was quite a long wait outside of the station before they finally let some in like a few hundred people at a time. It took me an hour just to get back to Tokyo station while it usually only took 30 minutes. It's not that bad though but getting packed into the train like sardines in a can is not fun.

I had an amazing time there and can't wait to attend next year's show! I'll definitely be a lot more prepared next time and focus on playing all the game demos of games that I'm interested and then take pictures later.

Check out my coverage of Tokyo Game Show 2006 here. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Second round of Tokyo Hunter eBay auctions has begun!

Check out my auctions here for a list of 7 exclusive and rare items up for bidding with a starting bid at my cost (some are slightly increased over previous starting bids because I had to cover my paypal and eBay costs) . Additional information and pictures will be provided upon request. Please contact me for shipping quotes to your country. Happy bidding!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Client testimonial #11

New client testimonial from a client in the US. I got him a Wonderfest exclusive Phantom Monev. His testimonial is as follows:

I ran into Joseph's blog through a random google search looking for a particular figure. I had never heard about his service before, nor have I ever known anyone who had dealt with him. I had no idea what I was getting myself into all I had to go on were other testimonials written from others who had used his service. The people were dead on, Joseph's dedication goes way past words not only does he stay in contact with you the entire time he even goes out of his way to locate other figures for you while he is getting things for other people. His service is top notch and you can be rest assured your figures will be arriving safely because he packs them with the
utmost care. I will definitely be using his service again to obtain hard to find figures not obtainable here in the states.

Arigato gozaimasu Joseph, job well done!

You're welcome! Thanks for your business and hope to hear from you soon!

Friday, September 15, 2006

Tokyo Hunter eBay auctions list

Here's a list of items that I plan on listing up on eBay by this Sunday evening.

Kotobukiya Shop exclusive
Kotobukiya Kingdom Hearts II Play Arts Brave/Valor Form Sora - limited to 3,000 pieces - click here for more pics.

WonderFest 2006 Summer exclusives:
Kaiyodo Wonda-chan Loves Evangelion Wonda & Reset
Kotobukiya The Art of Shunya Yamashita: Sera-chan repaint - limited to 300 pieces
Kotobukiya Shana red hair version - limited to 300 pieces

Double Hero Festival 2006 exclusives
Bandai 30th Anniversary Special 5 Red Set
Bandai Kamen Rider Kabuto White & Brown Worms set

Rare item
NECA Resident Evil 4 Regenerator chase variant - 1 in every 5 cases

Click here for more pics.

Please email me if you have any questions regarding these items.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Client testimonial #10

I've just received my 10th client testimonial from a very satisfied client from Germany, for whom I've helped purchase some Wonda-chan sets, Toranoanna Maroone & Pram sets, Mai Otome Subaru World Rally Team version figure, some SRDX Xecty Ein figures, and a WonderFest Pinky exclusive for him and his friends at Chara Hobby and WonderFest 2006 Summer. His testimonial is as follows:

I found out about Joseph and his service on play.com.my and decided to ask him if he could visit Summer Wonder Festival 2006 and buy some of the exclusive figures on sale there for me and some of my friends. When he said yes, I was very happy, because NONE of the other purchasing agents I've done business with so far will ever actually leave their office and visit festivals or real shops to buy stuff! They will only purchase things that are available on the Web (webstores or Yahoo).

So I already knew that Joseph was a bit different and more serious about getting the things his clients want. HOW different and serious he really is, I learned a bit later when it turned out that he had actually spent the night before the festival camping in front of the venue! Some of the figures we wanted were extremely limited (a few hundred for 35,000 visitors or so) and he wanted to be among the first being allowed in in the morning, so he could secure them for us! And he really managed to get almost all of our items that way, something I hadn't even dared to dream of happening before!

The rest of the transaction also went very smoothly and professionally. Joseph is always nice and easy to talk to. Our parcel arrived within a few days after shipment and was very carefully & securely packed. He had even thrown in some goodies he had gathered at the festival (some promotionals items & leaflets) free of charge! So we're a very happy bunch of figure collectors now, all thanks to Joseph! ^^

Morale: Joseph is a great guy who offers a great service for a very reasonable price! I can only wholeheartedly recommend and encourage anyone to use it! I know WE will!

Many thanks for your testimonial J.Z.! ;-) Looking forward to hearing from you soon about your next orders!

Brave/Valor Form Sora & Final Form Sora pics

I had just opened my Kotobukiya Kingdom Hearts II Play Arts Brave/Valor Form Sora & Final Form Sora figures today and decided to take some pics to post on my blog. It's truely amazing how articulated the Sora figures are with over 20 points of articulation on each figure AND the Sora figures can hold a pose and stand upright better than previously released Play Arts figures that require stands to prevent them from falling over everytime you put them in a pose. Probably the main reason why these Sora figures are more stable is because of Sora's gigantic McDonald-size shoes!

Click here to check out the pics!

HobbyLink Japan still has Final Form Sora in stock (at the time of this post). If you're looking to get the Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive Brave/Valor Form Sora, please e-mail me at tokyohunter@gmail.com for more info!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Client testimonial #9

9th client testimonial, also from another client in Malaysia. I got him a Bome Kirasaki Yui Replicant exclusive and Animate exclusive Pinky:cos Captain Animate 2P. His testimonial is as follows:

I am a collector of BOME and had been searching to get a hold of Kaiyodo Bome Collection vol 5 Kirasaki Yui for some time. Coincidently happened that Joseph a.k.a. Venom which I come across in PLAY forums (www.play.com.my) posted the picture in his blog and he had been my go through person for exclusive figures not found outside of Japan.

So far I have not met anyone as dedicate as him to hunt for toys every weekend. His service is top notch as he is online every night via MSN Messenger and pricing wise very reasonable. It is good to know we had someone who we can depend online to help hobbyist to find stuff that is within one's budget.

Arigatou gazaimasu Joseph-san for a splendid service and may your passion burn forever.

Thank you! It's been a pleasure dealing with you. Your eBay items will be shipped out on Monday via EMS, so look forward to your package within the next 3-4 days!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

EVA Store exclusive Revoltech EVA-01 now open for reservations!

Evangelion Store began taking preorders for the EVA Store exclusive Revoltech EVA-01 Yamashita Ikuto Original Color version on 21 August 2006 and the figure is scheduled for release sometime in December, made-to-order quantities for customers who placed their orders through their website only. It's basically the same Revoltech EVA-01 figure but with some parts made of clear purple plastic plus lots of decals, based on the original color design by Yamashita Ikuto, original mecha designer for the Evangelion series. I had already placed my orders for the exclusive figure last month and plan to set aside 14 pieces available to anyone for reservation. Strictly ONE figure per person. If you are interested in reserving this piece with me, here are the calculations for the total cost of the item excluding shipping fee:

Item cost = 2,000 yen (rounded up from original retail price of 1,995 yen - 5% government sales tax included)
Shipping fee to my apartment = 500 yen
30% commission fee = 750 yen
Paypal fees (3.4% + US$0.30) = 200 yen

TOTAL excluding shipping fee to your country = 3,450 yen

Please contact me immediately at tokyohunter@gmail.com if you would like to place a reservation for this exclusive figure. Currently, 4 people had placed their reservations with me prior to this post. I only have 10 pieces left for reservation.

Deposit of 3,450 yen for the exclusive item is required if you would like to place your reservation with me. I can refund your deposit if you would like to cancel your order but I will need to deduct 200 yen for Paypal fees from your deposit and then refund the balance to you. Please do NOT send me the payment until you have contacted me to place your reservation and after I have confirmed that one piece had been reserved for your order.

Client testimonial #8

New client testimonial by Horseck from France! I helped him purchase this SIC Vol 29 Faiz Blaster form & Autovajin box set. He kindly provided me with his testimonial in both English and French!

English testimonial:

First and foremost, please excuse my bad English. I have met Joseph under the name of Venom at the Malaysian forum named PLAY (www.play.com.my). Everyone there was speaking flatteringly of him. When he decided to do his business, I was looking for a lot of rare and pricey toys in my country (France). So I gave him a wanted list of different items like my SIC vol 29. He found a lot of these items very quickly at reasonable prices and was very communicative with me. He attached pictures almost every time if he had possibilities of taking the pictures. Communicative and very PATIENT be cause I'm a sort of anxious maniac. He took time to answer to my numerous questions and tried to satisfy any of my desires about shipping possibilities and costs.

My SIC was sent by EMS. He gave me the registered number and indicate me how to track my package. The packing was very professional. And the SIC was VIEWTIFUL, mint in box. Joseph had attached the receipt with the package.

I'm very satisfied of TOKYO HUNTER services, and I will ask him to find more toys if he can survive to me!! (^__^) He is reliable, friendly and still very professional. Don't hesitate!

Arigatou gozaimasu Joseph –san!

Horseck.


French testimonial:

Salut à tous,

Ce petit mot pour vous dire qu'il ne faut pas hésiter à demander les figurines, jouets, poupées, jeux vidéos que vous n'arrivez pas à trouver en France auprès de Joseph alias TOKYO HUNTER. Je l'ai rencontré sur un forum nommé play.com.my consacré aux jouets divers et variés. Connu sous le nom de Venom, il y est très apprécié.

Quand il a décidé de mettre en place son service via ce blog, j'avais une pleine liste d'objets qu'il a réussi à trouver pour la plupart à des prix avantageux par rapport à la France. Il a toujours été très communicatif, il joignait des photos des objets avec leur prix pour me convaincre.

Il est communicatif, patient car je l'ai mis à rude épreuve étant très pointilleux.
Il a réussi à me mettre en confiance et atténuer me inquiétudes que ce soit au sujet des types d'envoi possible et des coûts de ces derniers.

Mon paquet m'est parvenu en 3 jours, j'ai pu suivre sa progression sur Internet grâce au numéro de suivi donné par Joseph. Mon objet était bien emballé et mon SIC volume 29 extraordinaire de beauté. Il sentait le neuf et je l'ai payé en dessous du prix constaté sur EBAY.

Je suis extrêmement satisfait des services de TOKYO HUNTER et je continuerai à lui en demander tant qu'il pourra supporter mes questions. Joseph est quelqu'un de confiance, très amical et professionnel.

MERCI BEAUCOUP JOSEPH.

Horseck.

Thanks a lot for the excellent testimonial Horseck!

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Client testimonial #7

Client testimonial #7 from a client in Malaysia. I helped him purchase a WonderFest 2006 Summer Pinky exclusive. Here's his testimonial:

Million thanks for helping me to get WF Pinky Exlucive at retail price. I received my item in very good shape and within estimated time. The item is nicely packed and with some free booklets. Easy to commicate and very fast response. Really appreciated the fast and efficient service. Thanks again!

Thank you very much for your business and I'm looking forward to your next order!

Haul pics - 09 September 2006

As mentioned in my previous post, I managed to get 2 piece of Kotobukiya Shop exclusive Brave Form Sora for myself (one to open for my own collection and another for sale on eBay with starting bid at my cost price) plus another piece for my client. I've also found and purchased a Trigun WonderFest 2002 Summer exclusive Phantom Monev for another client. Click here for more pics.

Akihabara & Nakano sightings - 09 September 2006

Prices shown are store prices, mostly with 5% government sales tax included. All items are in mint condition unless stated otherwise. Interested buyers please contact me at tokyohunter@gmail.com as soon as possible so I can help you with obtaining these items on my next trip.

Kotobukiya Shop
Kotobukiya Shop exclusive PTX-016L Wildfalken - 2,940 yen - mid September 2006 release
Kotobukiya Shop exclusive RPT-007TT-2 Gespenst Mk-II Mass Product Model Type-TT - 3,150 yen - mid October 2006 release

AndToy
Kaws Companion Pushead version Original Fake exclusive - 35,000 yen
Kaws x Pushead "Companion" realmad Hectic limited color glow in the dark version - 30,000 yen

Mandarake
Fewture Models Alien statue sculpted by Takayuki Takeya - 26,250 yen


Interesting sightings:
Kingdom Hearts II figures just out this week at Kotobukiya Shop, including Kotobukiya Shop exclusive Brave Form Sora selling at 3,990 yen. There are some Brave Form Sora figures left since it went on sale on 04 September but I don't expect them to have any more by next week. Thankfully I managed to get my sets including one for my client.
Revoltech display at Kaiyodo Hobby Lobby Tokyo.
Revoltech EVA-01 EVA Store exclusive display.
Revoltech EVA-01 exclusive - Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3
Revoltech Ingrams - Pic 1, Pic 2
Revoltech EVA-00 Blue - Pic 1
Revoltech EVA-00 Clear yellow - Pic 1
Berserk Garo & Damaged Zaruba box set on sale at AsoBitCity - 3,980 yen!!
WTF?! Berserk Garo & Damaged Zaruba box set selling below wholesale cost at Kotobukiya Shop - 2,980 yen?!?!?!?!

Click here for more pics.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Client testimonial #6

New client testimonial just in! Got him a Chara Hobby 2006 exclusive Kira Yamato Azone doll.

As a fan of Kira Yamato from Gundam Seed (and Gundam Seed Destiny), I already knew Kira Doll from Azone will be finally released in Chara Hobby 2006 as one of the exclusive items. However, getting the exclusive item is very hard for non-residents of Japan unless you delicately plan a trip in advance. So, I was almost going to give up getting the goods, but I did Google search and found Tokyo Hunter.

And there it was!

Tokyo Hunter listed out Chara Hobby 2006 Exclusive Items as well as the item that I was looking for. Reading his postings in the blog, I could trust that Tokyo Hunter is a really fan of Anime—unlike some other people/companies that provide the service—and he can help me getting the item. So without further due, I emailed him and asked about it. With prompt responses and friendly communication, I was very impressed that he actually took a lot of efforts and personal care to get the exclusive item! (Thank you so much!!!!) I strongly recommend Tokyo Hunter for anyone out there who is looking for goods related Anime/Manga from Japan!

Glad to be of service and look forward to your next order!

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Haul pics - 02 September 2006

I bought these for my clients today at Akihabara. The haul include Wonder Showcase Plus Cammy white & black versions, Bome Kirasaki Yui repaint version Replicant exclusive, and Pinky:cos Captain Animate 2P Animate exclusive. More pics here.

Akihabara sightings - 02 September 2006

Prices shown are store prices, mostly with 5% government sales tax included. All items are in mint condition unless stated otherwise. Interested buyers please contact me at tokyohunter@gmail.com as soon as possible so I can help you with obtaining these items on my next trip.

Liberty
SNK KOF 10th Anniversary Special Present PinkyAthena Asamiya blue outfit version - 7,140 yen
Max Factory Guyver BFW Present Campaign Dr Hamilcar Barcas - 12,600 yen

Yellow Submarine
Pinky:st Air Gear Perfect Gear Box 01 Ringo - 5,800 yen
Pinky:st Air Gear Perfect Gear Box 02 Agito - 4,200 yen


I saw these on display at Kotobukiya Shop in Akihabara:

Kotobukiya Togainu no Chi - Akira - Animate exclusive - 4,410 yen
Kotobukiya Togainu no Chi - Shiki - Animate exclusive - 4,410 yen
Takara Tomy - Transformers Masterpiece 03 Star Scream - Pic 1 - Pic 2 - Pic 3 - Pic 4 - Pic 5 - Pic 6

Click here for more pics.