Some stuff I found being auctioned on Japanese Yahoo auction site.

Alien 9 Complete Manga collection (Japanese) cover.
I guess the girls are at a prom? I wonder what Yuri is doing on the right? Maybe she spilt food on her nice dress.
It's really pretty seeing the girls all dressed up formally.
And Megumi the teacher is totally sloshed! Bad example to the kids

Picture by dojimaru564


The cute pin that comes with the first release/press of the first Japanese DVD (whilst the English release only had 1 DVD for all 4 episodes, each episode was released on one DVD for the Japanese release). It's nice that its Yuri, she looks really adorable, just like her chibi version at the start of the episode. I think the big white shine on her eyes (white circle) is overkill though, makes her look a bit crazy!

Picture by usasitsupo


I dn't know if these figures are official, I suspect they are fan-made and sold at one of those limited fan conventions in Japan. Very good quality. Certainly better than just the tiny gashapons (the only official figures I know of).

Picture by wildezaw:




And now... the best for last.......




.... ready?





...sure?





Here is an AMAZING garage kit (you have to assemble/paint it yourself, these are often quite expensive because perfectionists love to be able to customise the colours to their liking and make it as they want, whereas mass produced stuff can have defects... but personally I'd make a mess of a kit, pre-painted figures look perfect to me)





More info:
Otani Yuri (Garage Kit)


Description: This item is a fixed-pose resin-cast figure kit. It requires both cement and painting to complete or use. 43 parts. 30cm high when completed.
Price: 18,000 yen (About $153.20 USD; €127.28 Euros; £87.89 GBP)
Released: August 2004
Status: Discontinued
http://cwoweb2.bai.ne.jp/bunga/gallery-yuri.htm

_________________
- -- --- Alien 9 / Alien Nine Unofficial Website - Since November 2003 --- -- -

Wow, that stuff looks awsome. Megumi looks funny, I can't stop laughing at that. the statues look awsome too.

Tight, I didn't know they had stuff like that. Animes are probably a lot more popular in Japan (DUH), well particularly this one. My friends think A9 is stupid.

Believe it or not, it isn't. Anime over there is viewed the same way many people view "cartoons" in America. If you're an anime fan in Japan, many people will consider you to be a strange person. This is also why some anime fans outside Japan get all huffy when you call anime "cartoons." (In fact, anime and cartoons are all the same thing; anime is just short for "animation" in Japan.)

_________________
"My Mom stole my boyfriend!"
"Your boyfriend stole my wife! Let's get back at them by dating each other! Wait a second. Daddy didn't think that one through."

Crystalline Academy -- Personal website.
My DeviantArt Gallery

I think it depends on how far you take being a fan though right? I know that 'otaku' in Japan actually is a negative thing... (meaning someone who stays in their house 24/7 watching/collecting the stuff).

I think the Western view of animation is more that it is mainly for kids though with some breaking that mold. Which I'm guessing is why the Japanese animation you mainly see on Western television is the kids stuff thats good for merchandising. Japanese animation seems to by majority in comparison be for a wide age range and genres. I think that animation and comics are more accepted there as something to be taken seriously by all rather than a niche market. Comics there can be found almost everywhere I think? Even on little market stores out on alot of streets etc. whereas here you'd have to go to a specialist comics shop or bookstore unless you want My Little Pony Monthly which would be available in any newsagents/cornerstore. However this is fast becoming a thing of the past as you are now starting to see a small selection of stuff in mainstream stores.
Of course I haven't personally been to Japan but this is my impression based on some documentaries I've viewed and the general output you see from Japan.

Although I guess if you go to great lengths to collect stuff from anime and so on, you're probably right about that some would look down on that just like they would here. Anything taken to extremes will always have detractors... (personally I think if it makes someone happy and isn't bothering/hurting anyone then I don't see a problem).
Unless it was just a translation thing, in one manga, Hot Gimmick, there is a boy obsessed with collecting Gundam gashapons and so on and they call him an 'otaku' and don't take him seriously.

I don't know how popular Alien 9 was. I don't think it was that popular... otherwise the ofifical website wouldn't of been reduced to a single page. And the people selling merchandise on Japanese Yahoo Auctions is very few... covering maybe 2 pages whereas other series may have 50.

_________________
- -- --- Alien 9 / Alien Nine Unofficial Website - Since November 2003 --- -- -

still looking for an official soundtrack of the alien 9 animes, cant find it anywhere....

_________________

yeah, i don't get some of their songs, either. As for the animes over there, that's true, but I'm sure if you talked to a manga/anime artist they'd say otherwise. The cartoons over there aren't always anime, though, but they do have similar styles. Now I want to watch animation...

The thing about manga is, it has had a MUCH bigger impact on Japanese culture than anime has. Other than that, you have almost completely lost me.

_________________
"My Mom stole my boyfriend!"
"Your boyfriend stole my wife! Let's get back at them by dating each other! Wait a second. Daddy didn't think that one through."

Crystalline Academy -- Personal website.
My DeviantArt Gallery

Needless to say animes still cool. Manga I don't know anything about. I even picked up some Digimon book and it said "Manga" on the back. I thought it was neat, even though it was Digimon, so I looked up manga and got into it. After i saw some other kids drawing/watching it, i tried it out myself. Now I love to draw it and stuff, and am trying to see more anime. I just saw Spirited Away. I think it's pretty good, but it's kinda wierd for me.

Digimon is nice, it is aimed at kids though so nothing deep but still fun and its a good companion to Pokemon. Pokemon had better battles but Digimon had better character development.

You should see if you can get http://www.theanimenetwork.com/ in your area... wish we had a 24/7 anime channel in the UK (that didn't just do reruns of Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh etc. )...

_________________
- -- --- Alien 9 / Alien Nine Unofficial Website - Since November 2003 --- -- -

Woah! Awesome! I wish I could buy some of those figurines, and that manga cover is really cute.

I wish I could buy that stuff, if they did have it here I don't think I'd be able to because I'm broke.

All this stuff's pretty cool, I think. Sai's right about P/G mon, even though I don't really like them.

those are so inredibly awesome!

I wish there was an episode of them at a prom T.T That'd be so cute! lol Megumi's sloshed.. that's so hilarious

_________________
Everyone...
Everyone...
Is An Alien....

I love Digimon!

_________________
Everyone...
Everyone...
Is An Alien....