by ZombieMiki | May 11, 2017 | I Love Eevee, UFO Catchers
And we’re back, this time with new UFO Catcher Adventures!
Three new Pokemon plush were released today into game centers around Japan.
Plush number one: a new Pikachu plush, called “Ash’s Pikachu” because he is wearing Ash’s Alolan region hat. Because we can never have too many Pikachu plush!
These plush are the usual “big” size of 25 cm or a little under 10 inches. They’re pretty cute, but they’re also weirdly flat? But I’m also semi picky about plush, so it bothers me when plush aren’t proportionately round.
The pose is pretty cute, though, and slightly reminiscent of Gangnam Style (although they were probably going more for looking cool but once seen cannot unsee).
Edit: I have been informed this is Pikachu’s Z-Move pose. In my defense, I got sidetracked by Festival Plaza and that’s all I do now.
The other two plush released today are part of the I Love Eevee series: Leafeon and Glaceon!
Like the other releases in the same series, both Leafeon and Glaceon are incredibly soft. They both have the weird wiring in the ears to help make the ears stand up. They seem a little smaller than the previously released Eeveelutions, but this might be due to the fact their tails aren’t quite as big. And as usual, Leafeon’s various leafy extra bits are felt pieces that are either sewn in to the plush body or attached with glue (the leaf on his forehead).
Overall, these two buddies fit in well with their Eeveelution brethren, so lovers of the series (and Eevee and Leafeon and Glaceon) should rejoice!
Bonus picture: my haul for today! This includes plush I won for other people as well as some figures for me, Nyanko Sensei for my girlfriend, and I couldn’t resist a chance to win some Umaibo. I picked up some great flavors – tonkatsu sauce, salami, and teriyaki burger, along with the Umaibo staples (salad and corn pottage).
Today’s UFO catcher adventures went pretty well, which is nice since I haven’t had a day go pretty well in a while! The majority of machines I played at where medium to easy difficulty, this in turn made it more fun to go around and win stuff. I managed to attract a small crowd in Akihabara which is always amusing.
Eeveelutions come out on Saturday and Pokemon news comes out tomorrow. Stay tuned for more excitement!
Until next time~
by ZombieMiki | Apr 30, 2017 | I Love Eevee, Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News, UFO Catchers
5.1
[Candy Figure] There Might Be Pokemon Nearby? Pokemon Chikaku ni Iru Kamo? (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Eevee, Gengar, Meowth, Pikachu, Psyduck, Squirtle)
5.11
[Banpresto] Large Ash’s Pikachu Plush
[Banpresto] I Love Eevee Large Plush (Glaceon, Leafeon)
5.13
[Pokemon Center] Eevee & Colorful Friends Promotion
[Pokemon Center] Eeveelution Pokedolls & Mascot Plush + Litten, Rowlet, Popplio Mascot Plush
[Pokemon Center] Ditto Transform Gacha Set 3
5.16
[Banpresto] Kororin Friends (Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu)
[Collaboration] Pokemon Love Its’Demo
5.18
[Banpresto] Kororin Friends – Large Pikachu Plush
5.20
[Pokemon Center] New Pokemon Center plush (Bounsweet, Pyukumuku, Cosmog)
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Center mascot plush (Alola Vulpix, Rockruff, Togedemaru, Cosmog)
[Pokemon Center] Look Upon The Stars
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Line Art Promotion
[Sanei] Pokemon All Stars Part 5 Plush (Rowlet, Litten, Popplio, Bewear, Togedemaru, Mimikyu, Alolan Raichu, Alolan Vulpix)
[Sanei] Pokemon All Stars Part 5 Mascot Plush (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Meowth, Psyduck, Snorlax, Mew, Rowlet, Litten, Popplio, Togedemaru, Mimikyu)
5.23
[Banpresto] Extra Big Snorlax Plush
5.25
[Banpresto] Pokemon Sun & Moon Plush (Alola Sandshrew, Alola Ninetails, Alola Marowak)
[Banpresto] I Love Eevee Large Plush (Espeon, Umbreon)
5.27
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Graphix
[MonColle] Alolan Meowth, Alolan Vulpix
by ZombieMiki | Apr 27, 2017 | I Love Eevee, Pokemon, UFO Catchers
A bunch of cute Pokemon plush came out in game centers on the 25th (Tuesday) and the past two days, I’ve been running around Tokyo catching everything I could! I finally had a little bit of free time to share some photos.
First up, Kutsurogi (Relax) Time plush! This release featured four sleeping Pokemon: Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander. These plush are what I consider a medium sized claw machine prize; they’re bigger than mascot size, but smaller than large plush size. Generally, these plush can be some of the biggest pains in the butts to catch, depending on the machine and setting, especially Bulbasaur because of his bulb, but I lucked out big time as the Round 1 I went to had their setting down to super easy beginner level.
Next up, Eevee! From the most recent I Love Eevee releases, this Eevee is bigger than the other Eeveelutions (by a little), standing at 30 cm or almost a foot.
Finally, the stars of the day, Vulpix and Alola Vulpix!
All the game centers I visited over the course of two days either had the Vulpix on a D-ring (pictured right) or over some sort of gap (pictured left) where you have to push the plush down into the gap to win. Usually I’m really bad at the gap settings, but maybe because of the shape of the plush or the way that game center set up their claw strength, it ended up being the easiest for me.
I only caught 2 out of the 4 plush (due to I only got orders for Bulbasaur and Charmander) so unfortunately, I only have close-ups of these two, but they’re still very cute!
Some downsides for picky plush collectors: the fabric is the usual Banpresto velboa, so they’re not as soft as they could be, and the stitching is very blunt, which is something I hate. But the tag art is cute!
Eevee, on the other hand, is amazing. The newest I Love Eevee plush are super duper soft, so if you love soft plush, these plush are for you. The butt tag is cute and stylized with the I Love Eevee logo, and the hang tag is colorful and features all of the Eeveelutions. Note: they use this same illustration on all the I Love Eevee plush in this release.
The downside is the weird wiring in the ears. It’s to help the ears stand up, but on a lot of the plush I won, I had a hard time rebending the ears, and a lot of Eeveelutions ended up with ears going in different directions.
Still soft!
I can’t get over the Vulpix! They’re both perfect and adorable with their little foxie facies!
Even though they’re both made of velboa, so definitely nowhere near as soft as the Eevee plush, I still love both more than the official Pokemon Center plush. The overall shape is nicer, the seams are blended in a little better, and they have little footpads!
That concludes today’s exciting UFO Catcher Adventures! Until next time~
by ZombieMiki | Apr 20, 2017 | I Love Eevee, Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News, UFO Catchers
Hello everyone~
Today’s blog post is all about claw machine prizes, so if you love Banpresto and plush, you’re in luck!
A couple new Pokemon Sun & Moon series plush are coming out in May.
Alola Marowak, Alola Sandshrew, and Alola Ninetails plush will be released May 25th (Thursday). Each of these plush measures in at about 14 cm (5.5 in).
Ash’s Pikachu is the hot item this summer because of the summer Pokemon movie, and so consider this plush the first of many. Ash’s Pikachu, measuring in at about 25 cm (10 in) will be released May 11th (Thursday).
Finally, a large Snorlax plush (measuring in at about 35 cm or roughly 13 in) will be released in game centers May 23rd (Tuesday).
More Kororin Plush will be coming out in May.
A large Pikachu Kororin plush, measuring in at about 26 cm or 10 in will start appearing in game centers May 18th (Thursday).
A smaller set of Pikachu evolution line plush (Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu with each measuring roughly 12 cm or 5 in) will start appearing in game centers from May 16th (Tuesday).
The most recent I Love Eevee release will conclude with Leafeon and Glaceon (releasing May 11th – Thursday) and Umbreon and Espeon (releasing May 25th – Thursday). All the Eeveelution plush are soft and minky and measure in at about 25 cm or 10 in.
Moving on~
Since I’ve arrived in Japan, I’ve already visited a bunch of game centers (because what else do I do with my time?) and here are some photos of the Pokemon Banpresto prizes that are currently out!
Mew and Mewtwo Kororin Friends plush were released April 13th (Thursday) and are still very much in stock all over. They’re adorable legendary beans that need snuggling!
Komala (from the general Pokemon Sun & Moon series) and Sylveon and Jolteon (the first from the most recent I Love Eevee series) all came out April 6th (Thursday). Sylveon stock depends on the location of the game center and how difficult their machines are. The machines I visited today in Tokyo only had a few Jolteons left, but obviously this game center in Chiba still had a bunch.
Today brought us the next set of I Love Eevee plush – Vaporeon and Flareon! They’re both super soft, and Flareon is especially adorable with his huge poofy tail and his cute little fire face.
We’ll have a short break from Banpresto prize releases until the 25th (Tuesday) when Vulpix and Alola Vulpix plush come out, and before that, we have Friday Pokemon News to look forward to. So stay tuned!
Until tomorrow~
by ZombieMiki | Mar 16, 2017 | I Love Eevee, Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News, UFO Catchers
The official Banpresto site updated with a list of prizes and dates for April! This post will cover everything coming out, along with the prizes for the Ichiban-Kuji [Pikachu & Friends Happy Beach Time] going on sale April 1st.
There will be three large size plush coming out in April from the general Pokemon Sun & Moon line-up.
These plush will be roughly 24 cm each, or a little over 9 inches.
Komala will be released in Game Centers starting from April 6th (Thursday).
Both Vulpix and Alola Vulpix will be released in Game Centers starting from April 25th (Tuesday).
The I Love Eevee series makes a come-back in April, with a new line-up of large size plush and 1 extra large size Eevee.
Eevee measures in at about 30 cm or roughly a foot, while the other Eeveelutions will be about 25 cm each, or close to 10 inches.
Sylveon and Vaporeon will start appearing in Game Centers from April 6th (Thursday).
Vaporeon and Flareon will start appearing in Game Centers from April 20th (Thursday).
Extra Large Eevee will start appearing in Game Centers from April 25th (Tuesday).
The rest of the Eeveelutions should be available in Game Centers in May, but for now, information coming soon.
The Kutsurogi Time (Relax Time) series also makes a comeback in April with some cute sleepy time plush versions of everyone’s favorite Gen 1 starters (and Pikachu).
The normal size plush will all be roughly 13 cm or 5 inches, while the big sized Pikachu will be 26 cm or 10 inches.
All the Kutsurogi Time plush will start appearing in Game Centers from April 25th (Tuesday).
April will feature one release from the Kororin Friends series.
Both Mew and Mewtwo are part of the Larger Size line-up of Kororin Friends, with each measuring about 26 cm or 10 inches.
These plush are usually super cute because of the roundness and a nice size to hug!
They will start appearing in Game Centers from April 13th (Thursday).
These cute mascot plush sized pokeballs will be available in Namco Game Centers only starting April 25th (Tuesday)!
That wraps up the Banpresto prize releases for April.
Moving on…there will be a new Pokemon Ichiban-Kuji coming out April 1st (no joke!) The entire kuji has a beach theme to it, and the prizes reflect this.
This is the first big kuji to have new generation 7 Pokemon, including Alola Vulpix and Mimikyu.
Each kuji pull will cost the usual 620 yen, and it will be available at game centers, hobby shops, Animate, Tsutaya, book stores, and the Pokemon Center (among some other places). I have a feeling this kuji will be popular, so if you’re planning to play yourself in person, get there early!
(more…)
by ZombieMiki | Jun 4, 2015 | I Love Eevee, Pokemon, UFO Catchers
I’ve been looking forward to June 4th since before I even knew the release date for the Umbreon and Sylveon mascot plush.
Pet peeve: I greatly dislike all the Espeon and Umbreon paired merchandise. I understand why Pokemon does it, and I assume a lot of people like it, but Umbreon is my favorite, not Espeon, and although I collect Umbreon merchandise, I tend to stay away from forced pairings with Espeon. On the other hand, I really love Umbreon and Sylveon together, especially after seeing the Eevee summer short film (Eevee & Friends) from 2013, and so I was both thrilled and upset that Umbreon and Sylveon were included in the same set of mascot plush.
Upset, of course, because of all the three sets of plush, I wasn’t going to be in Japan for the 1 set that had 2 out of 3 of my favorite Eeveelutions!
Thankfully, my husband (Adam) is still in Japan and he was willing to head out to the game centers before heading off to work today.
Game Centers open around 10 am, but because today was the release date for the last batch of mascot plush from the I Love Eevee summer line, most of the centers didn’t have the plush out yet in the machines!
A couple places had their shipments delivered as Adam was standing around, waiting for plush to appear.
Waiting patiently. Or more like impatiently in my case.
This is better!
From what I heard, it sounds like the machine difficulty was similar to how it’s been for the past two releases: not easy. It should get a little easier over the next week or so, but considering how popular Sylveon is (and Umbreon!) I’m not sure how long these plush will last.
Adam was able to win at least 1 of each plush! I especially love this Sylveon because of the head tilt.
All the Umbreons have tiny frowns, which is perfect. I love how grumpy he looks!
And of course, Espeon. As mentioned, I’m not an Espeon fan, but her little smile is still cute.
The release of the I Love Eevee mascot plush starts the Eeveelution weekend a little early. Saturday will bring us the Pokemon Time promotion, and pre-orders for necklaces start as well. Stay tuned for more Eevee!
(Speaking of Pokemon Time, there is still time to order Eevee plush from the Pokemon Time promo! Check out my friends store – Hoshiiya.com and satisfy your Eevee craving)
