by ZombieMiki | Dec 31, 2017 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon, Words from the management
Hello everyone~
There was no news this past Friday (as I kind of expected) so the next time I update with merchandise news it will be in January 2018.
A lot has happened over the past year. We started with the return of the Pokedoll line, which has continued on and off throughout the year, and in fact one of the first releases for 2018 is more Pokedolls. The Monthly Pikachu Pair Plush series ended. We had a massive Eeveelution promotion drop suddenly and unexpectedly near the end of Spring and 1:1 sized Eeveelution plush were released. Mimikyu seemed to lose popularity as the year went on, while Alolan Vulpix skyrocketed. We ended the year off with great Halloween and Christmas/Winter promotions and are starting 2018 with lucky bags, a cute Pokemon Center promotion, Lycanroc Pokedolls, and Rainbow Rocket Pikachu plush further in January.
Thanks for sticking around! I hope 2018 will continue to be amazing and give us lots of cute Pokemon merchandise.
I finally opened my official Mikitzune store!
Check it out~
Not only does it have charms designed by myself (both Pokemon and Animal Crossing) I’m also currently selling some items from my personal collection as well as extras of items I picked up while in Japan. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to get in touch or send me a tweet.
Like the blog and want to show support?
Check out my Patreon, buy me a Ko-fi, or consider commissioning artwork.
Finally, 2018 Lucky Bags!
I will be selling my extra lucky bags sometime after New Years. Keep an eye on my Twitter (@zombiemiki) for more information.
Happy New Year everyone!
by ZombieMiki | Apr 13, 2017 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon
Hello everyone!
I got a package recently from the always amazing Japan Stuffs, and I wanted to share some of the items I bought over the past few months.
I was excited for everything, honestly, but let’s start with the newest Pokedolls. As advance warning, the majority of this post will be Alola Vulpix and Alola Raichu. Even before Gen 7, I was a Vulpix collector, and as weird as it still is to me that the Alola version of Vulpix would be ice, all things considered, I still think he is a super cutie and have been doing my best to get whatever cute merchandise of his that comes out. (Same for Raichu!)
Like most four legged Pokedolls (notably the Eeveelution Pokedolls), he is top heavy, but can stand on his own thanks in part to the huge tail.
One thing of note is the lack of paw pads, I guess due to size – the paws are very tiny. Also, I noticed on a couple plush that one front leg is shorter than the other. In general this doesn’t affect whether the plush can stand or not, but if you’re into having perfect plush, I can see this being annoying. On the plus side, I noticed far less wonky/crooked noses compared to the original Pokemon Center and Sapporo Center plush.
This is actually the very first Alola Raichu plush I own! My problem with all previously released plush is he hasn’t been fat enough for me, but I knew the Pokedoll would be perfect and it is. I know some people were put off by the lack of nose, but I find it makes his face even more adorable. They even included little fingers and toes with yellow stitching on the paws. He stands easily on his own and is a perfect little bean.
Rockruff actually belongs to my girlfriend but she let me take photos! I don’t collect Rockruff, but I was close to getting one anyway because of how adorable his face turned out. Look at those puppy eyes and little snout! Even with his huge head, he stands fine on his own (although I can see how some plush might be a little top heavy). Also his little fluffy ruff is made of felt, so it could be softer. But he is still too cute for words!
Moving on to more Vulpix! This little guy is a Banpresto claw machine prize and came out in February. Look at his little foxie face: it’s perfect! Although less soft than the Pokedolls, I think I actually prefer this little guy. Also, unlike the Pokedolls, he has little paw pads, and his eyes are blue and green, which is closer to how Alola Vulpix looks in the game. His little tail is also rounder. My little guy stands up fine on his own, which is always a plus.
More Alola Vulpix and Raichu, in Pokemon With You form! As I’ve mentioned multiple times, the Pokemon With You line is one of my favorite lines, and I have a small collection of metal charms and badges of my favorite Pokemon. When I saw they were releasing charms of Vulpix and Raichu, I needed them for my collection.
Last but not least, the so cute I can’t handle it Vulpix and Alola Vulpix Pikachu poncho plush! I know some people are a little tired of Pikachu dressed as other Pokemon and would prefer more plush of the other Pokemon, but I love these plush, and the little ponchos are so soft!
I can’t say enough how soft these plush are. I just want to snuggle them!
Based on photos, I thought the normal Vulpix coloring was a little dark but in person, it’s actually a nice color in my opinion, and I still don’t know why poor Vulpix is less popular than Alola Vulpix. They’re both adorable! Another plus is they both can easily stand (sit?) on their own. And while I’m heaping praises on these plush, the tag art is beyond adorable.
Basically these plush are perfect!
And that concludes this post!
What neat Pokemon merchandise have you picked up recently?
Thanks for reading and until next time~
by ZombieMiki | Mar 29, 2017 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon
It’s almost the end of the month, and that means…
…the monthly Patreon bump! Supporting me on Patreon, even with only a few dollars a month, helps ensure the continuation of this blog and will also help towards me creating an even higher quality blog with better content.
Of note, I will be in Japan for about a month starting from April 18th, and so I added two Japan exclusive rewards to my current reward tiers!
My Patreon rewards include: access to Japan related blog posts, unwatermarked photos, access to a chat where you can suggest content for my blog or social media accounts as well as specific requests for photos, and cute original postcards created by me, among other fun stuff!
Here is a sample of the Patreon artwork rewards from March.
Along with the postcard artwork for March and two random pictures by me for an idea of the type of art I do.
Any and all support is appreciated! Check out my Patreon here!
And now the main attraction: Pokemon Kids! The Bandai Pokemon Kids series was seemingly discontinued for a long time and we thought we’d never see them ever again (along with Pokedolls) but they made a surprise come back at the end of last year with “Alola Adventure!” Everyone was overjoyed when we heard the news, but then the big day arrived and we realized to our shock and horror, Kids figures were suddenly blind packaged. Kids figures have never been blind packaged, and it made no sense why they would suddenly change it other than for some reason everything is blind packaged. So we were happy but depressed at the same time.
Fast forward to the second set of Sun & Moon Kids figures. We all assumed they would continue to be blind packaged but lo! and! behold! They’re back to being not blind packaged! And everyone rejoiced.
Unlike previous Pokemon Kids boxes, each box does not feature artwork of the figure inside but instead of the main Tapu Koko figure art. However, the name of the Pokemon inside is clearly written in the green bar below Tapu Koko. The name is also included on the top of the box.
Here is the side of the box and the back, which shows all the Pokemon included in this set (Tapu Koko, Bounsweet, Alola Raichu, Alola Rattata, Gumshoos, Pyukumuku, Mimikyu, and Bewear).
Each figure comes with a little sticker that lists the Pokemon’s name and Pokedex information. The beloved ramune candy has been replaced with gum, so if you hate gum like me but loved the ramune candy, shed a silent tear.
Here are the rest of the figures and their little stickers. For eagle eye observers, you might notice the paint jobs are sort of hit or miss which is pretty normal for Kids figures but is still a little frustrating.
I’m really happy with how Mimikyu turned out in this set! I love my little Mimikyu to be a little pudgier and it seems like most of the official merch makes him too long which makes him a little less cute. Aside from my little 3DS case, this Mimikyu figure is the first official Mimikyu merchandise I own, and it’s one of the cutest so I’m happy!
What do you think of this latest batch of Pokemon Kids figures?
What Pokemon would you like to see in the next set?
Until next time~ (Alola!)
by ZombieMiki | Feb 14, 2017 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon
Hello everyone!
I got a couple super cute Pokemon items for Valentine’s Day (along with chocolate) and I wanted to share ♥
First of all, a special thank you to Jen from JapanStuffs – without her, I wouldn’t have the Monthly Pair Pikachu! And a second special thank you to Kerstin for the lovely Valentine’s Day gifts ♥♥♥
First up, the Monthly Pair Pikachu plush from February. Technically I’ve had this plush since mid January, but it was an early Valentine’s Day gift so it still counts!
The Pikachus are really soft and feature one boy and one girl (the same as all the other Monthly Pair plush). The roses aren’t made of plush fabric, but they decorate the front of a heart cushion which is plush. It’s also hard to see from around the cushion but the Pikachu are holding hands.
When I originally saw the advertisement for the February Pika Plush, I jokingly said, “if someone really loved me, I don’t care about flowers and jewelry, I just want this” but I wasn’t really joking 😉 This plush is so cute!
I don’t order too much stuff from the American Pokemon Center store, but I would have gotten these items for myself if Kerstin hadn’t beat me to it! I’m a sucker for pins, but these are really cute. I like how they placed the five pins on separate little Valentine’s Day cards so if you wanted to, you could give them away as gifts. There’s even a space on the back to write a little message.
Even with how cute these pins are, I probably still wouldn’t have gotten them if it wasn’t for Umbreon. Being an Umbreon collector, I couldn’t pass up this cute little grumpy face.
And speaking of Umbreon, I couldn’t pass the cup up either (although I have way too many Pokemon cups!) For those who’ve never ordered mugs from the Pokemon Center store before, their mugs are very big and heavy, surprisingly so for the price (about $15 USD). Maybe my entire perception of what a normal size is has been skewed by living in Japan, but regardless, I recommend the US Pokemon Center mugs!
The Umbreon mug is sold as a set with a matching Espeon one for about $30 so you’re saving money compared to buying two mugs separately. Keep them both and use one at night and one in the morning or give one to someone you love!
And that concludes today’s special Valentine’s Day Merchandise Review!
Whether you’re single, dating, married, divorced (cough), alone, surrounded by family, or even if you hate the holiday, Happy Valentine’s Day! And until next time.
Edit: And I’m back sooner than expected! Just after I posted this, I checked the mail and my package from the US Pokemon Center arrived! What was inside?!
Substitute Hoodie! The Substitute promotion that was released in Japan last year in May finally came out (sort of) in the US Pokemon Center store. There were some neat US counterparts to the Japanese items (like the blanket), but the one thing that caught my eye (and my heart) was the hoodie.
The lining in the hood features the Substitute Pikachu pattern, there is a Substitute illustration over the left breast and a big Pikachu Substitute on the back (pictured here). It’s very, very soft and super comfortable. I was a little worried before trying it on, but no, it’s perfect.
The hoodie is dark green (not black! I know it’s hard to see in photos).
Here is a comparison between the pattern on the Substitute t-shirt released in Japan and the pattern on the inside of the hood.
Like with all clothing from the Pokemon Center, the hoodie runs large. Having never bought a hoodie from the Center before, I had to make an “educated” guess based on the numbers listed and comparing it with the shirts I already own. I ended up ordering a Large, which thankfully was perfect for what I like (I usually order XL but I would have been swimming in it). With that said, and as I mentioned, it is incredibly comfortable and soft and I 100% recommend it. It comes with two pockets which means you have space to carry two mini Substitute plushies!
And on that note, I’m going to bed. Goodnight!
by ZombieMiki | Dec 16, 2016 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon, TCG
And we’re back with part 2 of two weeks’ worth of merchandise announcements.
Let’s start off with something exciting!
P-P-P-P-Pokedolls!!!!
That’s right, no adjustment of your computer screen necessary. Pokedolls are back! Or at least they will be in January 2017. As part of a special promotion at the Skytree Pokemon Center location (which will be explained in more detail below), these three Pokedolls will go on sale first at the Skytree Pokemon Center on January 1st! If you don’t feel like braving the New Years crowds for an early glimpse of the brand new Pokedolls, never fear, as they will be available nationwide starting January 14th.
Note that Pokedoll price has once again increased, with each doll retailing for 1,296 yen.
Of further note, it was erroneously reported on the official Pokemon site that along with the Sun and Moon starters, we would also be getting Pokedolls of Pikachu, Ditto, Bewear, Rockruff, Alola Vulpix, and Alola Raichu, however, this is not the case. Only Rowlet, Popplio, and Litten will be released as Pokedolls on January 1st at the Skytree Center location and then at all Pokemon Centers and Stores around Japan on January 14th. The other Pokedolls currently have no known release date, but as soon as a date has been decided within the Pokemon Company, they will make another announcement. So you can cry a little but they will exist at some point.
Moving on… Monthly Pair Pikachu! The February pair Pikachus are adorable and might even make a better present for your loved one (or for yourself) than chocolate. But why chance it; get both maybe.
The Pair Plush will go on sale at all Pokemon Centers and Stores across Japan January 7th and will retail for the usual price of 2,808 yen after tax.
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by ZombieMiki | Jul 4, 2016 | Merchandise Review, Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News
This post will cover a brand new stationary x every day use item mini promotion that just came out, called “Pokemon Kana?”
The name of the series can have two meanings. In Japanese, “ka na?” can be used at the end of a sentence to signify uncertainty, with a rough translation being “maybe?” The Pokemon pattern created for this series when viewed from afar doesn’t automatically look like Pokemon, so the casual observer might do a double take and think, “Wait, was that Pokemon?!”
Kana is also how we refer to the characters used in written Japanese. There are three forms of kana: kanji, hiragana, and katakana. The designs used in this series uses a combination of Pokemon and objects to form the first hiragana character of that specific Pokemon’s name. In the example here, if you look closely, Pikachu, combined with the electric cord, form a ぴ (pi) for Pikachu. (Isn’t that cool!)
It’s a very unique and interesting addition to the Pokemon family of merchandise, and that the items are handy and useful only makes the line-up better.
The majority of items in this series come in both black and white versions. I prefer the white background because I find the designs easier to read and recognize against white. With that said, the Pokemon kana have a more neon feel on the black background, which is kind of neat and probably unintentional.
The exception to this rule would be the postcards and stickers which have a rainbow effect, making them look especially nice on the black backgrounds!
What do you think? Which Pokemon design is your favorite?
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