August 11, 2001 CURRENT RUMBLE Sonuva Bullmark! Matt Alt 8.11.01 Man, I love these S.O.Bs. I just can't help myself. The record, such as it is, is pretty clear on one fact: I'm no particular fan of Gashapon, those cheap-ass capsule toys sold through vending machines all over Japan. But I have seen the future of vinyl collecting, and it is the Soul of Bullmark Gashapon series. Not that they're standard Gashapon, mind you. Not that solid, unposeable PVC stuff. No, sirree. We're talking a TOTAL PARADIGM SHIFT. A nifty little trick pulled off by Bandai with the help of Yuji Nishimura, president of M1, and Ishizuki Saburo, who used to run Bullmark. Y'see, they're made out of the exact same material, albeit thinner and softer, as the big guys. They even feature the infamous running-bull logo on the feet. In fact, the little buggers look like nothing so much as...Bullmark larvae. Soft, hollow vinyl. Jolly, candy-like vinyl. At under two bucks a pop! Pinch me, I'm dreaming! Of course, this brings up a question that probably shouldn't be asked for the sake of our own sanity. If they can pull off little TWO inch vinyls for two hundred yen each, why are NINE inch repro-vinyls retailing for $50 plus? Who knows. Cast doubt aside and snatch these babies up while you can: they're going to fly off the shelves. Or machines. Whatever. In spite of the name of the series, three out of the five first releases are actually mini-repros of Marusan vinyls, not Bullmark. But hey, who's counting? Look for Gomess, Namegon, Pegira, Kanegon, amd Garamon at finer Japanese convenience stores at the end of August.  RUMBLE INDEX  |  CURRENT RUMBLE