1.30.16 - Site Updates, GEM Virus Gabumon update

Megahouse tweeted this picture for the upcoming WonFes (Wonder Festival) event:

Thanks to Lark for the link!

Most of the new site is ready (at least, Yamato's section is complete). I am holding off until I get my deputy package for the year, as well as some last-minute ebay stuff before I update.

1.14.16 - Garurumon GEM Final Update

Here's my last update guys!

If you're in the UK, Figuya is a good place:
If you're in the US, get him from Crunchyroll, it's the best deal you'll find but you gotta pay upfront.
If you're in the US, DenDen is a good option where you don't have to pay up front.
A third option, AnimeIsland.

Other news is a little slow, but we should have some live events streaming soon!
I'll probably make a collection update later today. ^^
Take care~

1.8.16 - Otomedia Feb Issue, FEBRI magazine, and a collection update

Hey all! With Tri. Part 2 approaching, there's lots of stuff out and about!

Can you guys believe it's been an entire year since they started putting out these Otomedia posters? LOL This is a preview of the Valentine's one for this year:

 This issue will include more fan-bait interviews, BUT if it's like last year we probably won't get a translation... :/ If anyone is willing to do some small spot translations for me, I have the original issue as well.

Also, you may or may not have heard about FEBRI Magazine's Vol. 32, which features Tri. I'm betting there is some Yamato and Hosoya related stuff, so I picked one up off of Mandarake.

Speaking of Mandarake... this also lead me to finding an insanely good deal. I've purchased from them before but never from their SAHRA Warehouse! Items are Spot-Sale, which means they are in-stock for you. I snagged the Koushiro GEM for a measely $75! Now all I need is Mimi for a complete set :3
I also have another small collection update!

This is one of those acrylic stands (I believe I covered the left image, the signboard keychains, already). They are beautiful and sturdy and I can see why they are trending in Japan!

These are images of a lot of gum wrappers I'm getting from a collector in Turkey. I think my favorite is Gabumon in the car!

Lastly.. it was Hell, but I finally won an auction for the tote bag/towel set! Just a reminder, these are limited to 300 only! I paid around $65 USD via Y!JP Auctions, almost double the retail~ Another reminder that these will be up on Premium Bandai but will sell out quickly. You may want to keep an eye out!

12.29.15 - Garurumon GEM update #4 - Preorder at Toku Taku!

Hey guys!

Toku Taku toys has the Garurumon GEM up for preorder! You can do a split payment (half+ shipping now) or pay in full!

Figuya and DenDen still don't have him listed, but they will in the future if you miss out at this site. As of writing, TT still has him in stock.

12.28.15 - Garurumon GEM update #3

Just a quick update on the Garurumon GEM.

DenDen Hobby will get him soon.

Figuya is in negotiations.

And Crunchyroll hopes to get him, but is having difficulty.

Will post when more places are up.

Garurumon GEM update #2

We got a small update from webshop Figuya:

Looks like they will get the preorder up in a few days, with some luck. A little less Engrishy translation:
"*NEW* Yamato and Garurumon are Premium Bandai/Megatrea shop exclusives. We hope we are able to offer this beautiful set within the next few days! Currently, the negotiations are ongoing."
Check updated status on all the preorders here. Thanks to Elise for the information!

12.26.15 - New trivia, major site update, Garurumon GEM preorder update #1

Previously discussed BEAMS mook had some interesting info about Yamato I added to the trivia section:
Yamato carries: his band's sheet music, a military pattern CD Walkman (!), earphones (looks like the Apple ones) and two types of Mintia mints (popular brand here): Dry Hard and Cold Smash. (Special thanks to Squit on FF.net for the translated info. Go read Paradigm Shift, it's really good!) 

I have also made numerous updates to the collection pages. I've gotten alot of Tri/Anniversary merch!

Also, not many places to preorder the Garurumon GEM yet; all US sites have sold out so far. However, there is still a slew of sites that should get him, including Figuya that said "they hope to get him soon". Premium Bandai is accepting orders until March, if you're desperate.

Check this post for updates as we get them~

12.25.15 - Merry Xmas, heres some preorder links!

The D-3s and the Garurumon GEM went up for preorder today.

The D-3s are limited to 3000 each but several sites have had them up for order. We finally have pictures of the art cards included with the first press run:

Next up is a list of sites you can preorder the Garurumon GEM. I will update as sites have the item up for order. Keep in mind his retail price is 11232 Yen (roughly $93 USD), so try not to overpay for him if you can (although, if it comes down to it, I wouldn't mind!)

Premium Bandai (need a deputy service, full payment required - $93 USD + any deputy fees)
Bandai Online (full payment required, free registered SAL shipping)
Big in Japan (sold out, full payment required) *Note: This sold out in 5-10 minutes!
Nippon Yasan (sold out, deposit or pay in full)
MyKombini (sold out on 12/26, 50% deposit required)
Figuya (they say it will be up soon, payment due on shipment + reservations are able to be cancelled; also they do not guarantee stock of an item) *They should have the preorder up in a few days!
Toku Taku Toys (availible now, half+shipping or pay in full)
DenDen Hobby (TBA, 20% deposit or pay in full, free shipping) 
Crunchyroll (TBA, full payment required)
Anime Island (TBA, 20% deposit or pay in full)

Looking into the following shops as we speak. Will get back to you all asap!

Please keep in mind TBA means I'm expecting these shops to get them (because they've had the angels or Wizarmon):

BigBadToyStore (TBA, payment due on shipment)

AnimeBLVD (TBA, pay in full, free shipping with $50 over)
KirinHobby (TBA, pay in full* or payment due on shipment)
AniMarket (TBA, deposit required)
MHToyShop (TBA, pay in full now or payment due on shipment)
Kolektakon (TBA, pay in deposit, slowly pay off as you go)
Image Anime (TBA, pay in full)

*KirinHobby will let you pay later, but if you pay in full you get priority, which means if they have 100 of an item, you get first dibs, despite when you ordered. I don't recommend ordering here as it seems risky that you won't get one.

Finally, we have an updated picture of the Yamato figurearts zero from JumpFesta:

12.24.15 - Garurumon GEM preorder and info, other GEM reprints!

Okay guys! PB has put up the Garurumon GEM. Before you guys go nuts trying to preorder, keep in mind that sites like RightStuf, DenDenHobby, and Crunchyroll have been getting these figures! Just be patient~ With that said... they are also reprinting Mimi/Koushiro, Joe/Sora, and Ken GEM figures, for those that missed out. I hope this eventually leads to a reprint of the angels, too!

Mostly, I wanted to share the news that Yamato is detatchable from Garurumon. I thought this was a nice touch. Here's some other photos from PB's site:

12.24.15 - Garurumon GEM preorder ; Cafe exclusives not so exclusive?

First off, a quick reminder that the Garurumon/Yamato GEM figure goes up for preorder within the next 24 hours! It still looks to be a PB exclusive, but I would hold out for Crunchyroll and DenDenHobby if you can. They will save you a bundle in deputy fees.

Now, something I found much to my irritation. The previously cafe-exclusive signboard keychains are now availible on AmiAmi, for almost $25-$30 each... hurts when you paid $50 a box a few months ago. Makes alot of us wonder what really is exclusive and what isn't anymore.

Volume 1 Set with Yamato/Gabumon
Volume 2 Set

On the bright side, though, I managed to snag the color theatre signboard recently for a decent price ($15) on Y!JP. Most of the boards are going for around 1600-2500 yen. Not bad considering the current exchange rate.

Merry Xmas / Happy Holidays everyone :)

12.18.125 - Jump Festa - Hosoya's name in Digimoji; Garurumon GEM color prototype

Just a small thing from Jump Festa. Taichi's voice actor, Hanae Natsuki, writes fellow actor for Yamato, Yoshimasa Hosoya's name in Digimoji (the Digimon alphabet).


The associated Tweet translates (poorly) to:
Jump Festa information !
Pair it early ? ! It is the Taichi role - Hanae -san and Agumon role Sakamoto 's New Year's writing let me decorated by Toei Animation booth .
Hanae 's challenge Digimon character ! The real thing by all means at the venue ★ 

Also revealed at Jump Festa is the color prototype of the Yamato/Garurumon GEM figure. The retail is 9800 yen, roughly $85-88 USD? Preorders begin on Christmas and the figure releases in July 2016.

12.17.15 - New Movic items (can badges), VirusGabumon DataColle, Otomedia special interview #2,, and update on Garurumon GEM

Lots of news. First up, Animate's online shop updated with a few items:

Can Badge - Retails for around 300 yen each (aka 2400 yen a set). As with most Animate items, these are only sold on Animate's site and only in a set. I would advise finding the one you want on Yahoo Japan! Auctions.

This Twitter scan (source) shows a DataColle collection of Virus Type Rookies, aka BlackGabumon. I won't be buying this set, but I wouldn't mind tracking down BlackGabumon later. There's also a small add for the Yamato/Garurumon GEM. Speaking of...

According to MegaHouse's Twitter, "[Digimon] 12/19, 20, held at the "jump Festa 2016," G. E.m. "garurumon & Ishida Yamato" painted prototype first exhibited decision! Digimon are other exhibition more... (Secretly come to the megahouse booth MB ♪ ‪#‎digimon‬ ‪#‎デジモン"
Basically, at Jump Festa 2016, we'll see the color prototype of Garurumon's GEM figure, as well as some other new items.

Lastly, this is a bit of old news, but work/sleep has kept me from updating. Otomedia did another special with the characters. Here are the bits relating to Yamato.

"This Year Is Special! We’ve Delivered Q&A Vol. 2!

How Grown-Up Taichi And His Friends Will Spend Christmas 

Yamato Ishida: Maybe as an annual custom!? Yamato will hold a Christmas concert and sing a new song with his new band. He might also prepare to perform some sweet Christmas songs for his fans. Uniting with them, he will have an exciting gig.

Sora Takenouchi: Sora will go to Yamato’s concert with Jun Motomiya. She still can’t get into Jun’s aggressive moshing. However, she might get carried away by Yamato’s voice and watch over him fondly.

Takeru Takaishi: Takeru might assist Yamato with his concert. To create a good mood he will invite lots of girls from his school and have fun. If he writes a blog about the concert later, he’ll probably take it upon himself to document everything.
"

There was also some mention regarding the Yamato/Takeru scene in Tri, somewhere, but I can't remember where I found it. It was basically just reminding everyone of the importance of their conversation (that they have grown closer) and of fanservice. I'll update if I find it!

11.27.15 - New Yamato / Garurumon GEM and new cafe charms~

AmiAmi has the Memo/Magnet set!

Also, this image has been going around. It's in the GEM line and probably will retail around $80-$100 USD like the Takeru/Hikari ones. Not sure if if will be PB exclusive but I imagine Crunchyroll and DenDen Hobby will get them too. If I had to guess it will go up in early 2016.

Also, thanks to Jess over at my group on Facebook, she found these exclusive cafe charms. They're random like gashapon and obviously exclusive to Japan, so if you're gonna track these down you may be scouring Y!JP auctions.

10.15.15 - New magazine poster, tons of Toei webshop merch, GEM re-re-release, Gabumon UFO catcher

Since my internet is spotty, I'm a bit late to update, but hope you all enjoy it anyway.

Let me start by saying I'm leaving out some pretty cute Gabumon-relevant merch, so you may want to search Toei's Webshop and AmiAmi thoroughly.

Toei has more can badges (of course), except this time they are long! I am particularly pleased with this set, because not only is there lots of Yamato, but there's lots of characters represented, including Zero Two variants. The set retails for around $60 USD, but AmiAmi is kind enough to have preorders closer to $40. Thank you, AmiAmi, for rescuing my wallet.

On the bad news side of things, this art is reused for a new set of those damn randomized posters. You remember, the ones where you get 8 out of 16 variants randomly in a box? Ugh. Since Yamato had more than one or two in this set, I ordered 2 sets for around $55 USD, also from AmiAmi.

Also, somehow this sticker slipped through the cracks. It's still on AmiAmi, too, for around $5?

Now, I'd like to mention this cute Gabumon, at least. It's a crane prize, so check Y!JP for him:

Finally, there has been quite a bit of posters going on in various magazines. Here is the new Tri one to be released in Japan's Newtype November 2015 Issue but there are also non-poster related spreads in Animedia and HyperHobby.

 

Also, before this slips away, Yamato's GEM figure is getting a third release (second re-release). AmiAmi has him here.

2.8.15 - Plush, GEM line update, and ANOTHER can badge set...

Wonfes (Wonder Festival) was today and new images from the GEM lines were shown, which include Punimon, Tsunomon, and Gabumon. The in-trainings will be a set and then Gabumon is sold seperately, each for about $5. 

The large plush we keep seeing but hearing nothing about showed up on Twitter. The size and detail is great but I'm not digging that black line for Gabumon's mouth. I hope it isn't as noticable at other angles... Again, no word on availibility or price.

Also, this is actually old news from the official 15th Twitter, but Hobby Stock announced their own can badge set... It's limited (lottery prize?) I think. I can't find anywhere to order them and there's 2 secrets. My guess is probably WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon judging by the colors... so I'm not looking forward to Y!JP prices on these.