J's Chimes: TA-Q-BIN

TA-Q-BIN is a courier service based in Japan but had recently establish itself in the Singapore market. I only got to know of this company back when they had displayed their services at the Anime Festival Asia X (AFAX) back in November 2010. A survey was done to allow more people to get to know about TA-Q-BIN and a gift will be sent to them upon completion of the survey. Well it had finally arrived at my doorstep yesterday and am eager to open up the contents...


Was rather happy with the service as they would message you about the product date of arrival and will call you on that day of delivery. Rather smooth transaction which is similar to Speedpost in Singapore. But sad to say I would rarely use this service because ain't really got anything bulky to send or received in Singapore, not to mention overseas... (Unless... J's Chimes could have a contest and would use TA-Q-BIN to deliver the goods to those lucky winners...lol)


The contents include a TA-Q-BIN mascot plushy, a 'manual' fan and a letter of gratification. Not much for a surprise but its the thought that counts. Imagine having to deliver the same stuff round Singapore for those who take the survey and got the freebies... Anyway, now the Cat is displayed on my computer desktop... (Because it looks like Fenix the Cat from a classic cartoon...)


For more information about TA-Q-BIN, you might wanna visit their main website for Singapore residents at http://sg.ta-q-bin.com/. Perhaps you have some stuff to deliver so a best time to find a courier would be now...

J's Chimes: STGCC Loot

The Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention is over... Time does flies and you waited and waited and waited for it, and now its gone! However so, the STGCC this year is much to my disappointment because there really wasn't much in the event that got my attention. Not to mention the hefty price tag for the entrance. The loot is somewhat of better quantity I must say which somehow makes up for it.


Was one of the first 500 visitors to grab this Ghostbusters figurines... Though it wasn't of my tastes to collect monsters, but it's free so what the heck... Got plenty of comics too and especially so when you enter the convention again and again just to get these freebies... Comes with some capsule toys in it and one of the toys I adore most is this green Mario keychain which makes a sound when pressed.


A couple of postcards here and there from various shops that showcases their artwork and comics. The Breadou toy is one in which I got it from voting for the Cosplay competition performances on stage. It gives a bread scent and you could use it as a stress ball or something...


Got a couple of gaming magazines free... Well, it's free because its last month's issue... At least its better than nothing and it's still new nonetheless. Also got a Notebook and Iphone casing from Animax and a traditional fan with some bushiroad card game prints on it. Well, thats about wraps up all the freebies given in STGCC. Let's hope that these events get bigger and better next year to come...

J's Chimes: Have You Bought Your Tickets Yet?

The Singapore Toys, Games And Comics Convention is drawing near and will start on the 10 - 12 Dec 2010. You can get those tickets online at Gatecrash or call their hotline number to order one. Also, you can actually purchase them at AXS or SAM machines located around Singapore. Had mine purchased yesterday and it cost a whooping $25 for 3 days entry. Well, this event only happens yearly so I guess we do not really have a choice... Buy now to avoid disappointment and lining up over at the convention area just to get the tickets for entry...

J's Chimes: AFA Goodies And Stuff

Bought a lot of stuffs in the Anime Festival Asia X yesterday. Feared that I may even overspent more this year than the last... But all is well with the loot that I've harvested in this event. Ah, the joy of getting these is just so great but then again I didn't really have the time to appreciate it much because am so really tired after a whole day of 'shopping' and taking photographs...


The very first stuff that I grabbed was the copy of a picture book for the past AFA 2009. Really needed something like this to remember by... sort of like a souvenir for the Anime Festival Asia. Immediately make a dash towards GoodSmile to check out what they sell in their booth. Bought a couple of K-On! keychains before heading to the COSPA booth.


First priority in COSPA? Grab the Misaka Mikoto T-shirt straight from the shelf and began queuing... No questions asked. In fact, this was sold out early that afternoon. However the straps doesn't looked really appealing so had forfeit that to get something else instead...


Well in any Anime Festivals so as to say, it has got to be the scale models and figurines... Bought the Black Shooter Nendoroid because it's just simply irresistible. Not to mention Mio with her lovely guitar... (Together with 2 keychains bought from GoodSmile)


Saw someone holding a Miku fan and decided to grab one too... Kinda cute and makes you smile... Was then in the stage area watching the performances and the Gundam movie before deciding to buy something else... And thus saw this dakimakura from Code Geass which caught my attention and decided to buy it regardless... (Though I do not really have a good impression on Odex, this little thingy brought my attention to purchase the dakimaura too...)


Yup... This 3D poster of Nuranihyon No Mago is just so nice that had decided to purchase it. It would cost lesser to purchase it with the dakimakura so had decided to go with the flow~


And what's the first things first when you got home? Unwrapped your toys!! Love this Nendoroid a lot... Just gotta touch it... They are just so cute not too...


Finally, Black Rock Shooter comes alive and leap out of the box... Gives a glaring stare and then back into the box she goes... Too tired to display her as of now as am so groggy after a long day of 'shopping'.


The Nendoroid comes with a free Black Rock Shooter DVD too. Wow! Hopefully I have the time to watch and know what this anime is really about... This is perhaps probably the very first Nendoroid with a DVD as a free gift...


Mio is the next out of her confined box. Posed it a little and give her some fresh air before going back to her default display casing... Perhaps I should put her on my computer desk? Let's just leave it to after the AFA convention...


Day 2 of AFA X will commence once again this morning at 9am and will be there once more for some major phototaking and video recording of this festival. The AFA photos will be out from Monday onwards so do stay tune for a whole week of AFA updates...

J's Chimes: Adult Toys With An Anime Twist...

What better way to attract anime fans to buy anime related 'health' products featuring girls who look mysteriously similar to the anime K-On!... (Except with a title that reads Band Girls...) These adult products seriously gives me the creeps and all eyes will be on you if you'd intend to purchase it in a store or something... What's also amazing is the price tag for the product which is 1200yen = SGD$18... What's even more surprising is the creative way they present or advertise the product. Though we might all love animes, probably won't go that far to entertain your wee wee with...

J's Chimes: Itasha PSPs

Yup. You've seen it done on phones, Ipads, laptops and even the Iphones... But has you really seen one done on your favourite handheld game such as the PSP? Guess someone came up with the idea of pimping their PSPs with some cute anime characters and somehow it turns out great nontheless... This is my personal favourite because it looks so cool and even the screen wallpaper matches the cover.


Forgot what this eroge character is but it certainly looks good at the back of the PSP. Now where would you fond this anywhere in Singapore?


If am certain, PSPs run on Mac OS but some brilliant minds decided to pimp it up with the Windows OS design for the PSP back cover. Reads 'Window Vista Portable'...lol.


Another cool design for Hatsune Miku Fans... Perhaps a much more Chibi version of her? Hmm... Just realised that these are done on the older versions of the PSP...


Another Eroge character in which I forgot again...Looks pretty good in all ways... However I'd prefer a horizon picture instead as you're playing it horizontally and not vertically for the people in front of you to 'appreciate' it.


Lastly, one of the more sophisticated designs for the PSP cover... Too much of a complication does affect the looks of the PSP don't ya think so?

J's Chimes: Cosfest Event Photographs

Cosfest has finally come to a closure yesterday and had finally uploaded the photographs for all to see. Somehow there seems to be a lot more cosplayers around this year pretty much thanks to the cosplay culture that is slowly but surely spreading to Singapore. In any case, this has been an eventful day for me as taking photographs from morning till the evening without rest is truly an experience I would not want to talk much about... However, there are plenty of good cosplayers around this year so it's a good sign though. Anyway, stay i tune with J's Chimes for more posts on the Cosfest 2010. To view the photos for the event, you can click on the link on the right taskbar or simply click to view them here.

J's Chimes: Youth Parade Cosmo 2010

The Youth Parade Cosmo 2010 in the Shine Youth Festival had finally concluded today with a couple of cosplayers here and there. I would probably believe that most cosplayers have gone to the Cosfest at downtown East instead as it's a bigger scale event than this. But in any case, there are a number of interesting things happening around Orchard Road with this event that brought about many onlookers trying to figure out why there is a sudden wave of cosplayers parading around Orchard Road... A small bazaar selling anime goodies and stuff are also setup below the new SCAPE Mall in Orchard Road.


What comes as a surprise for this event is the appearance of popular cosplayers Alodia & Ashley from the Philippines. This is probably the 3rd time I see them in Singapore after AFA 2009 and the cosplay competition. Indeed they are so popular that a bunch of photographers kept chasing them to take pictures.


The second surprise visit would be Gundam Exia by 00 Emotions. Once again, they are the most sought after for photos and stuff... The cosplayers later parade the streets of Orchard Road with plenty of curious onlookers. With such, that concludes my day at the festival because a downpour is coming the way. In addition, tomorrow will be any busy day at the Cosfest 2010 in Downtown East. For more photos of the Shine Youth Festival Cosplays and Events, please click on the link at the right taskbar or simply click here.

J's Chimes: Cosfest 2010

Yup... Once again Cosfest is back this coming weekend that will be taking place in D'Marquee at Downtown East. Programmes include Anime Karaoke Competition, World Cosplay Summit Singapore Finals, Graffiti Wall and Booths. There will also be a Cosplay Compettion and Cosplay Meet. Due to the fact it collides with the Shine Youth Festival this coming Saturday, it gets pretty annoying... In any case, this will be another big event of the year so powerup your cameras and ready your cards as phototaking will surely be a must in such events...

J's Chimes: Shine Youth Festival 2010

The Singapore Shine Youth Festival 2010 is coming up once again this coming Saturday at the New SCAPE Shopping Center located at Orchard Road. The main events takes place on the 3rd of July next month with plenty of performances, songs and of course.... Cosplays! However, it collides with the Cosfest 2010 which is happening this coming Saturday and Sunday too so you might wanna consider... Anyway, will be going to Shine first on Saturday and then Cosfest on Sunday (Since most of the best events would happen on Sunday...). More details on Cosfest on next post. Anyway, the Shine Youth Festival is of some priority first... Gonna do some photo taking then... For more details please click here.

J's Chimes: Pokemon Pan

Pokemon has been around for a very long time and is still seemingly popular with the kids till this day of age even though it's about a decade ago. It's popularity even brought about many products to be sold in Japan and all around the world including toys to foodstuff. And here's an advertisement of Pokemon Pan or Bread on Japan TV. Seriously I can't believe that even a simple thing as a bread be branded with the Pokemon logo and stuff... Play and watch Pokemon not enough, you must even wanna go eat it too... Perhaps they even have Pokemon toiletries too?

J's Chimes: Secondary Pocky Crave

Bought 3 new type of flavours of Pocky Sticks from the Singapore Food Fair at the Expo Convention held a wee back or so. And I must say, they are definitely much more expensive than the ordinary types probably because of the certain extra added to the sticks. The black one contains Almond crush with bitter chocolate on a stick and sweet chocolate for the white one. Pocky Tsubu Tsubu is the one with the pink stick with strawberry and flakes on it.


The first crave most likely goes to the one with Almond crush and chocolate on the sticks... Amazingly attractive and really nice to consume... Now that's heavenly considering that it's only Pocky. Perhaps you can make a mock up one with chocolate and almond crush as dip with a biscuit stick...


A span of 2 days makes me crave for the Pocky Tsubu Tsubu flavoured sticks... Looks just like the ordinary strawberry flavoured sticks but added with real strawberry flakes that makes it taste even sweeter and tastier... Sweeten up your life with Tsubu Tsubu. Let your loved ones have a bite and see what their reaction is...


Shared the Almond Crush chocolate sticks with my family for the last Pocky box and definitely taste just as nice as the black one. Was wondering where to get them until I stumbled them back at Meidiya in Liang Court. Unless you looking for more flaovours to chew on, perhaps ya should look into these too?

J's Chimes: A Glico Crave

Ever since I saw the video on Youtube the Pocky Commercials, suddenly have a crave for these flavored sticks and thus bought a pile of them to munch while watching animes. And I must say they taste really great, especially since ya haven't eat it for a very long time since childhood days... Anyway, Glico does have other types of these edible sticks like PRETZ. My favs are the Ham and cheese sticks and the Pizza sticks which taste so much like the real stuff...


One of the major commercials that made me started pecking away on the sticks is this advertisement by Yui Aragaki doing her absolute dance moves in tune with the choco stick which acts like a wand or something... Kinda addictive to watch, especially with the song by Orange Range.


Another commercial with Pocky. Seriously nice and fresh. That's 1 think I like about Japanese commercials. They are so creative and brightens your day. If only commercials in Singapore are like that too...

Hmm... speaking of which, maybe I should go hunting for Japanese snacks from time to time then. Kinda fun and nice eating those... Time to go to Liang Court's Meidiya Supermarket for some options...

J's Chimes: Digital SLR Get-to!

Bought a new DSLR at the Singapore Great Electronics Sale 2010 at Suntec City, Woot! It's a Canon EOS-550D at a price of SGD$1449. Darn, it really cost me a bomb here but al the more am feeling rather happy with the results it has given me in photo-taking...


Once again, the joy of opening up a new gadget is thrilling... As this is the latest item after the EOS-500D, gonna take some photos with it for remembrance... lol. Anyway this photo is taken using my Panasonic Lumix Camera...


And this photo is taken using the DSLR that I've bought... The photo is no doubt many times sharper and clearer than a compact digital camera... Click on the pictures and see it up close by comparison. Anyway, the EOS-550D comes with 18 Megapixel, 3.7fps, 3 inch LCD Display, Full HD recording, DIGIC 4 Processor, Live View and Integrated Cleaning System... Cool...


All wrapped up and nice is the SLR inside the packaging. Took me an hour to fully exploit all the goodies and freebies they throw into the set. Seriously need to get accustomed to the new camera now...


And finally, here are the freebies included in the set. Instead of buying only a camera, I've got freebies that are so much and even bigger than the camera itself... And they include:

1.) Additional flashlight attachment
2.) Cleaning Kit
3.) Screen Protector
4.) USB Card Reader
5.) Additional Battery
6.) 2 x 8gb Memory Card
7.) Protective Lens Cover
8.) SLR Carry Bag
9.) Camera Dry Box
10.) Tripod Stand

And now will be the time to take quality photos from Conventions and Events which am so eagerly waiting for... Tomorrow is a Sunday so might wanna go out for a photo shoot...

J's Chimes: Period Of Compulsive K-On! Spendings

The ever so popular K-On! has finally debuted this season and many fans cheered for its return and also compulsive spendings on which ever K-On! products that featured in advertisements and even stuff that appears in the anime. Devoted fans have somehow tracked down items as shown in the opening and ending themes of the anime and found out that Mugi uses a Hammond New B-3 piano with a Leslie 122XB speaker behind. Next would be Mio's microphone which is the Audix OM-5 and finally the Nivea Lip Cure lipstick used by Yui. Well if you are really that rich, maybe you could invest on the piano or the microphone. In any case, loved this anime a lot too and eagerly waiting for the next episode...

J's Chime: They Are All Connected To Anime...

Some people just don't understand the importance of Japanese anime in our lifestyle so I thought that a little 'Education' is necessary for you to know why. Of course you do know how anime begun and stuff but do you really know that they actually connected to all industries around? Think harder and you will get the gist of it. They are as per follows:


Anime inspires mangas & doujinshi and vice versa:
Till date, most mangas are now being made into anime because of their popularity. Some examples are Bleach to Naruto. Some animes also become manga and such would be Suzumiya Haruhi to Code Geass. Sometimes the storyline deviates from each other or that the style of art is different.


Anime comes from Eroge and vice versa:
Same as mangas, some adult games do become anime (Other genre includes ecchi and hentai) and vice versa. Some examples are ToHeart, Comic Party and School Days. Surprisingly, Eroges seem have better storyline in some cases. Thus its inevitable that people who loved anime will definitely get to know Hentai too. Of course there are still Eroges that came out as a decent anime like Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro Na, Izumo or Utawarerumono instead of making it into a H anime.


Anime creates Artwork, Fanbooks, Fanarts and vice versa:
A good example would be Queen's Blade in which the artwork are kinda popular that it becomes an anime a few seasons back. Anime also brings market to the art industry which also brought about making characters for games, movies, etc. An example of such Artist is Tony Taka who drew up characters for Shining Tears, games and anime.


Anime helps develop games and vice versa:
A nice example would be the Suzumiya Haruhi game on PSP and an example of games becoming anime would be Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia, etc. In fact, games are made to look like anime characters and you could name many though in the market.


Anime releases movies and vice versa:
Anime creates movies in both live action, animation and 3D. Examples of live action includes Death Note, Animations as in Summer Wars and 3D animations like Final Fantasy The Spirits Within. In fact there are more of such movies and popular ones like Death Note live action has been watch by many people whom includes those who don't like anime. But the thing is, it originates FROM anime, so why are you complaining?


Anime brings about products into industry and vice versa:
With anime's popularity comes about toys for kids, daily necessities like food to tissues or plates etc, stickers, cups, straps, wallets, clothes, appliances, electronics and many many more stuff in the market which in turn generates profit. If you for once think that anime is useless or should be ban, won't all of these industries be affected and create loss of jobs, revenue, opportunity costs?


Anime becomes hobbies and scale models and vice versa:
With anime, it brings about demands for scale models of favourite characters and stuff. Thus bringing about new hobbies for people. Anime creates new demands like daimakura, card games like Bushiroad's Weiss Schwarz, Gundam modeling, Gashapons, etc.


Anime relates to Cosplay and vice versa:
Without animes, there won't be cosplay and without cosplay, there won't be animes. Similarly a new industry in regards to cosplay for example fashion, makeup, wigs, clothing stores would be affected if not for anime which inspires people to dress as their favourite character. With that there won't be conventions and such around.


Anime spurs conventions, competitions, events and vice versa:
Would there be comicon, comiket, AFA, Coscon, Cosfest, EOY and such happening around the world if anime does not exists? Won't there be a bit less entertainment for the general public if anime wasn't around? Think again....


Anime composed Songs & Music and vice versa:
So you've heard many songs in Japanese? Out of the few you've listened, there would bound to be one that's from an anime series. So you say that anime songs are bad... Are you saying that the idols who sang these are bad too? Take note that some of these anime song are sung by popular bands like Orange Range to Ayumi Hamasaki.


Anime brings about Seiyuus, Voice acting, writers, artists, Idols, etc:
May'n is an example of popular idols in Japan. Voice actings for anime characters, giving a boost to art in a country, etc are what anime could expand into. Without such there wouldn't be voice acting schools, artwork, writers around wouldn't it? Singapore is slowly picking up with animations and stuff in relations to IT so it wouldn't be surprising to see animation films by local people in future.


Anime brings about photography in parts of the world and also tourism in Japan:
Cosplay = Photography and I would be surprise if it wasn't... Such brings about also tourism in Japan by tourists from around the world who loves anime too. What else would also be popular in Japan? Hardly I can't think of any besides it having delicious food and shopping, scenery and culture...


BEST PART ABOUT Anime? Everything is linked together...
Anime = Mangas = Eroge = Artwork = Games = Movies = Cosplay = Models = Conventions = Songs..... Talk about any and it all adds up and links well together. Any other reasons to hate anime now? Take out either one and they will all fall like dominoes. Think deeper and you'd understand what animes really are... Of course there are still more connections in which animes could link to and no doubt it is a part of our daily lives before you know it. Your push toy to your phone strap could very well be from an anime when you least expect it...