My Youth in Anime Mags

[SteveH]

Sounds like it's time for some people to start making contacts inside Japan again! I did that through a seller on Ebay about 18 months ago. Now I can order and have shipped anything my little heart desires. Of course, these days there isn't a whole lot I want from Japan anymore. I might want some of the models from Yamato 2199 and some other merch if anything comes out (and there seems to be so little of it) but that's about it. Freight costs are actually reasonable on some items I have been getting with free shipping, which is something I can't offer on my own auctions. Been getting a bunch of stuff from Japan and China that way for the past little while. Mags are off my list though. Since I can't read the language and no translation software I know of can take a scanned page and convert it into something readable (a la Google Translate) there isn't any point.

Tim can give better detail but let me tell you, if you like spaceship kits and you're grooving on Yamato 2199, Bandai finally pulled their finger out and are giving massive love to the show!

I think the biggest news is how all the ship kits are consistent 1/1000 scale. I'm thinking of it as Yamato's 'HG' branding (hat tip Gundam) now.

Downside is, it's the Gamilas who get all the love for now. Earth gets the Yamato, the few Battleships, cruisers and destroyers that existed, and that's it. (well, and sexy beautiful 1/72 scale fighters) Gamilas is just...really, seriously, at this point it seems EVERYTHING is getting kitted.

Now the only thing that's a shame is that the kits are running in the 3000 Yen and up range. A far cry from all the 800 Yen 'box scale' kits from the old days.

If the production staff get to make a remake of the Comet Empire series (which likely won't be called Yamato 2201 but should be) I have high expectations for a blizzard of Earth Fleet ships.

[_D_]

I'm figuring the Gatlantis ships will also be available after that fan service scene in episode 11. Would like to get the updated music for that scene alone...

Yes, I read the article on the Tim's site for the standardization of sizes for the models. Lets hope they keep the figure kits to the 1:6 it seems to be now. Not much shelf space for anything larger. My bud's store has tons of the Marvel character figures and they do tend to be on the large size. Expensive and just too big to display unless you have a large display case.

[TimEldred]

Amazon.jp is worth a first look for the product discounts. You can order a lot of the same stuff from CD Japan, but the individual prices will be higher. CD Japan ships via USPS, so that might be a little cheaper, but I find USPS to be so intensely aggravating that I will gladly pay more for DHL shipping from Amazon. The sting goes away when you buy multiple items and ship them together. I don't have any rates memorized; I suggest putting sample orders together and see what it totals up to.

As for blu-ray box sets, I think they're fair game. I ordered the Yamato series 1 BR box last summer, no problem. I really don't know why there's a restriction on what you can order, but anything other than media is no-go.

[TimEldred]

The "updated music" in the Gatlantis scene is not updated at all. It's from the 1978 disco album, which was issued on CD for the first time last year. Get all the info here:

http://www.ourstarblazers.com/758_Sound ... index.html

[SteveH]

Amazon.jp is worth a first look for the product discounts. You can order a lot of the same stuff from CD Japan, but the individual prices will be higher. CD Japan ships via USPS, so that might be a little cheaper, but I find USPS to be so intensely aggravating that I will gladly pay more for DHL shipping from Amazon. The sting goes away when you buy multiple items and ship them together. I don't have any rates memorized; I suggest putting sample orders together and see what it totals up to.

As for blu-ray box sets, I think they're fair game. I ordered the Yamato series 1 BR box last summer, no problem. I really don't know why there's a restriction on what you can order, but anything other than media is no-go.

Point of order: CD Japan also ships FedEx which I have found to be both cheaper and INSANELY fast and efficient.

Not that I order that much, but so far it's been quite nice.

Amazon.JP and toys/models and such like, I recall the official stated reason they can't sell such things has to do with licensing issues, supposedly such things are not meant to be sold outside Japan. Selling you a $400 Super Deluxe Chogokin Mazinger Z would break the law. I *think* this is more about sexy Japanese Electronics not sold in the U.S., and the inability for the manufacturers to provide customer support, and Toys/models got caught up in it.

That, and I'm sure Amazon.JP doesn't want to deal with the insane Italian post office/customs with all the Grendizer toys that would get ordered.

Kind of too bad, actually. While a global company, Amazon isn't TRULY global, where anyone can order anything from anywhere. Content restrictions and trade barriers stubbornly persist. It's a shame, for example, my Amazon U.S. account isn't automatically ported over to Amazon Japan. Probably for the best.

[_D_]

Yeah Amazon has a lot of content protection but so do many other suppliers in the US. Ever try buying MOD (Manufactured on demand ie. burned copies) DVDs and Blu Rays from the Warner Bros. archive? No ship to Canada! Luckily, indie sellers on Amazon WILL ship the same discs at a discount so I'm not complaining.

[_D_]

The "updated music" in the Gatlantis scene is not updated at all. It's from the 1978 disco album, which was issued on CD for the first time last year. Get all the info here:

http://www.ourstarblazers.com/758_Sound ... index.html

Thanks! I'll check that out...

Oddly enough, the referenced Star Wars disco album I was looking at my copy last night. I think I might have played it a total of 1 time back in the day. I still have a lot of my Star Wars discs including the soundtracks, story albums, etc. Most are played but The Empire Strikes Back is still sealed. Probably should flip that one as it goes for about $70 on Ebay and I still have another copy in mint condition.

[_D_]

Maybe I should start an old fanzine thread:

[kndy]

Maybe I should start an old fanzine thread:

Go for it!!! That would be cool!

[greg]

Although I live in Japan, I do not have access to Amazon Japan's Marketplace since those transactions require a credit card. If items are sold through Amazon, I can pay for them at the convenience store. (Conveneince stores in Japan are CONVENIENT. Which reminds me, I should pay my electricity bill tonight at 7-11.)

Conversely, Amazon USA's Marketplace sellers will not ship to Japan, so it goes both ways. Amazon JP is pretty cool because you get free shipping after only 1,500 yen, instead of $25 with USA's Amazon.

I had a subscription to both Dengeki Hobby and Hobby Japan from '07-'09. Then gradually, less and less of the content appealed to me. Maybe just the novelty wore off, but it seemed like the stuff I recognized and liked seemed to diminish. They would have cool stuff like a buyer's guide to airbrushes and how-to instructions on building Gunpla, but eventually I ended my subscription. Gundam models are cool, but I wish they would focus on more than just that. The last issue I bought I think was Dengeki's February 2012 issue, which featured a really cool Blade Runner Spinner diorama. The first third of each magazine is dedicated to Gundam, then they have some other stuff like Yamato, Super Robot Taisen, etc. Then the cool toys and stuff, then the anime figures that are almost always girls, who are usually either pedophilic or slutty (I got so tired of that Queen's Blade monster titties crap), then some other car/plane/train models (yet not enough, I think). Model Grafix has a more balanced approach. It's just a complete contrast to US plastic model magazines like Finescale Modeler, which seems loathe to include any SF models at all, much less Gundam stuff.

I had bought a few '80s Animedia magazines off YAJ, mostly for the posters included. I gave them to Daniel, though.