toyboxdx toy blog brog: is graceful art of daily expressing japanese toy  

The fucking streets of Kichijōji rocked hard tonight. Heavy weights rockin’ the Iseya izakaya and faux piss alley were in full effect. If you didn’t know any better, Koji was taking Maz out for a drunken spin around the neighborhood. That’s how hard well roll. The best part about it is we don’t even have to try. LOUD drunk white assholes are known to do this, and in our case do it incredibly well. Anyway….

After an unsuccessful trip to “Cosmo Knight Alpha” in Ekoda, and 4 train transfers later, the call was made and the plan was put into play. Alt sent out an underwater sonic transmission that brought he, Maitland and myself into contact with the James Bond 007 of Japanese robot collecting (otherwise known as “cohiba” or “slimemolds”) in my favorite low brow, punk rock neighborhood in Tokyo.. Kichijoji! A place where you can smoke hooka on the street with Devilman and drink from deaths flask with wealthy old men perversely pretending to be homeless.. It just so happens Alt actually lives here, so that explains alot.

So, here we find our hero getting blasted… This is what the famous author ofSuper #1 Robot, Hello Please! and Yokai Attack! (found here: Alt’s scribe) does all day while he takes your hard earned otaku cash..

Look at me manhandle this little bitch..

His majesties trademark.. The expensive and infectious Cohiba Cuban cigar. This speaks volumes.

So, as we come to the end of this post you might be thinking to yourself, where the hell is the “toy” content? Well, sonny, the shit that crossed the lips tonight of your aforementioned otaku heroes will be talked about for years to come, believe me. Unfortunately we’re just in the process of carving the stone tablets, so hold your horses.

Stay tuned for more info on this pivotal meeting of the minds, I mean “rinds” soon..

To make it legit, I share with you the RAREST sofubi super robot find of all time. Compliments of Masa Yoda, I give you 7 inch Poseidon, patchi super robot sofubi, unknown year…

Sjoen

Thanks to Sjoen, I now need to find “α” and “γ” to go with my “β”! It’s all Greek to me.

Seriously, anyone got the others in the series? Please? Anyone? *sob* ANYONE? I’ll take ’em loose. I’m not proud.

(This dude sure seems to have the Albegas goods…)

Should I even be sharing this??? Probably not so much…

I wouldn’t typically joke about something so serious, but these Jumbo Machinder buy-prices seem much less daunting considering Matt and I were just holding 3 of the 4 rarities pictured on this first page just hours ago.. As the reality sets in, I’m starting to finally realize that I will NEVER actually own them…

You like that? The longest “Brog” title of all time.. As much as you might think I’m wasting your time, I’m really not. I’m going to reassure you of the fact that the magic does still happen, and when it does it’s unimaginably nice..

So I’m sitting around watching baseball waiting for my friends to show up from Hiroshima.. I just sent off all my shit to Shinjuku, Tokyo via Takuhaibin, so I’m left with nothing to accommodate my ADD.. I decide to get drunk as I know that there is a Hanshin Tigers game (I am in Osaka) tonight starting at 6:05 vs. the Chunichi Dragons. It’s about 5pm at this point. What the hell am I going to do for the next hour or so? I’m reminded of something I saw the day before at a local shop that’s across the way that I would really like to get for my traveling partner whom I haven’t seen for a couple of days, so I roll over there in hopes of putting the “own” on it.. I throw an extra 10,000 in the coin purse just incase..

Super Position, which is directly across from my hotel and literally 25 paces from my floor level elevator, is a massive toy store with a 50/50 approach of old and new. 3 MASSIVE stories of literally every genre of Japanese toy goodness. I don’t know the address, but it doesn’t matter. If you go to Osaka and hit “Den Den Town” you would will not miss it..

So, I head up to the 3rd floor which houses the Tokusatsu toys and make it a good 40 feet down the isle to the item I’m looking for and I see something calling me in my peripheral. It’s a fucking KING JOE POPY CHOGKIN GA-94!! What the fuck is that doing there I think, as all the good stuff is locked up behind glass? Well, as it seems some unassuming retail worker made a mistake. I throw it in my basket and walk on..

That’s right… A fucking Popy GA-94 Ultraman King Joe for 2000Y C8 in C8 box with accessories and paperwork. I walk up to the attendant, who is in her early 20s and she looks at me slanted.. She triple takes the Joe and proceeds to throw it in the bag and let me walk.

Honestly, at this point I’m more concerned about catching the first pitch so I run upstairs, crack a Suntory Reserve and start breaking my score out. As I take pics to share my experiences with you guys my batteries run out so I only get a couple of pics in. I hope you appreciate them suckers…

Believe it or not, the deals are still out there. How, why, when and where will always be suspect, but fear not, they will happen..

Baseball is calling.. Later! Over and out..

Sjoen

Ladies (ha!) and gentlemen (double ha!), may I have a moment of silence to commemorate a momentous occasion? I have finally completed my collection of “standard sized” Takatoku vinyls of Bryger, Baxinger, and Sasuraiger. Let us bust out the parachute pants in appreciation for that most Eighties of anime series, the J9 shows. All zipped up? “Fat laces” laced? “Members Only” jackets on? Hair gelled and Rubik’s Cubes greased? Great. Here we go.

Bryger (1981, front ‘n center) was the first J9 show, a super low-budget SF ripoff of — I mean, homage to — the wildly popular Lupin III. Apparently forgetting that he lived in early Eighties Japan, the director originally proposed making the show without any robots in it at all. I imagine that wildly creative idea persisted for roughly fifteen seconds into the first conversation with sponsor Takatoku. Anyway, “J9” is the name of a team that features prominently throughout all three shows in the series. The screenwriter, Yu Yamamoto, supposedly named it after a 1980 Sony SL-J9 Betamax deck he wanted but couldn’t afford. It was a trememdous hit that spawned two sequels. The show, I mean. Not the Betamax. That didn’t spawn any sequels at all.

And lo, Bryger begat Baxinger (1982, back left), which was a sci-fi anime re-telling of the famous story of the Shinsen-gumi, a 19th century group of lawmen that you’ve never heard of but is legendary in Japan. How they managed to squeeze the twenty-strong Shinsen-gumi crew into five tiny vehicles, we’ll probably never know. It’s set six hundred years after the first series, in a terrifyingly far-flung future where really ugly motorcycles can fly. And magically grow in size. And combine into giant robots.

And yea, Baxinger begat Sasuraiger (1983, back right), which is in turn set two centuries beyond its predecessor, and is loosely based on Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days.” It stars a handsome ne’er-do-well who lives aboard a gasoline-powered (!) steam train / spaceship / giant robot that races across the galaxy. Why build a robot that transforms into a train in space? Hmm. In any event, know this: “Sasuraiger” is about as punny of a name ever to be coined in Japanese, coming from the word “sasurai” (“to wander.”) It’s like…”The Wanderizer.” “Wan-dorr!” “Wan-derrr?” Whatever. You bought the ticket, you ride the damn train.

Oh yeah: here’s a little parting shot.

The Astekaiser tin from Yonezawa has always been one of my favorites. It is completely unapologetic in its garish colors and design. The 1970’s Japanese hero perfectly encapsulated. Total personification of “da funk”. Astekaiser is the big boss with the oversized pinky ring, among a worthy gang of characters . I think it is his “Big Wheel on crack” bike however that sets him at another level, in which even the likes of the beloved Kamen Rider, seems tame in comparison.

How can you not want to ride that thing out of a Karaoke bar at 3am smashed on Calpis Sours ?

3D Battle Chocolate!!! (Compliments of Tokyu Hands)

After Josh Fraser (he’s the ST version of Josh Bernard) had dinner, we played with some toys. During our unsuccessful attempt at making funny for the internet, Josh made the observation that Rodimus Prime has a gigantic crotch area. Here’s a good look at it just for you.

-Andrew

My man “repairtechjon”, aka Jonathan Riddick, posted a link to this ridiculous auctions end in the cafe..

Godsigma for chump change. $$$

The price of shampoo bottles are going way the hell up and it seems the poor slobs perpetuating this sad phenomenon are idiots like you and I…

Just check out this “hottie”.. Are you into it??

Of course you answered yes.. But $3300USD beautiful??? C’mon..

This is just out of fucking control… The reality is that there were more than 5+ bidders with unique feedback driving the madness, which confirms that people are just that god damned nuts.

I can tell you with certainty, that there are no tier 2 or 3 Jumbo Machinders to be had at a retail level for reasonable prices in Japan. None that I can find at least. I’ll be checking Kobe and Nagoya in the next couple of days and update this post if I find any..

Nakano Broadway Mandarake in Tokyo has a Sun Vulcan (loose) and a Poseidon (boxed c8-)for $1K each and that’s pretty much the most variety you will find in the shops these days.. Every shop has “one”, but that one is either a Maz Z/great, Getter Dragon or Raydeen. Sucks ass..

This will absolutely be my last trip to Japan exclusively for toy shopping. I’m not saying I won’t go out of my way to check a toy store out here and there, but I won’t be going hardcore and be mission toy hunting anymore. There are far more worthwhile things to do here than burn the midnight oil over some lost idea of finding the diamond in the rough..

Everything worthy, with the exception of the elite Mandarake live auctions (ask Alt per Saito), goes directly to the internet these days. Every shop owner that isn’t hoarding their collection over here in Japan does exactly that. They throw it on YJA and let it ride.

Anyway, when I see a sorry one armed Dangaurd A jumbo going for $600 I know it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. So, if you’re going for it, I’ll be seeing you guys on the field. Better bring your JM “a” game…