My Dress-Up Darling

Image taken from My Anime List

I don’t know if I’ve ever written a blog post purely dedicated to a manga/anime series before, but no time like the present, eh?

I really wanted to write about My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru, which translates to The Bisque Doll That Fell in Love) today as it’s a manga/anime series I’ve really fallen in love with and it’s definitely fast become one of my favourites, which is crazy to think about. I know a lot of people have fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling too and especially Marin the main female protagonist, some falling for her a little harder than others.

I know today’s post is a little different but I wanted to share my thoughts about this series as I know so many people love it and season one is now completed, so I’d like to share what I thought of it in that aspect too.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers shared here, I’m not about that life. I will however share the basic information about what the anime is all about and more.

I’m just going to get straight into it, I honestly hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I think the last time I was into an anime so much I had to pick up the manga to read was A Silent Voice (2017). Me and Dane had been to watch it at The Electric Cinema in Birmingham, as I’d been recommended to watch it by adverts and they were damn right to tell me about it! Forbidden Planet/Worlds Apart is literally a stone throw away from the cinema so we ventured there prior to have a nose at geeky goodness, including manga. Dane walked out with Berserk (which was standard back in the day) and I left with the first three volumes of A Silent Voice. I binge read all the volumes in a week!

The same has happened with My Dress-Up Darling where I’ve binge read volumes one to three (still not started four) of the manga after watching the anime, although I’m holding off reading volumes five to eight online until they actually come out for us in the UK. I don’t know about you guys, but I much prefer holding a manga to read instead of just scrolling pages on my phone or laptop.

The anime is based off of the manga also known as Sono Bisque Doll, which released in Japan with its first volume in January 2018, with there currently being eight volumes of the manga, with volume nine on the way! In the UK there are currently six volumes, with five and six being pre-orders. The manga released to us in the UK in April 2020. With the release of the anime and its quick popularity with anime fans alike, the manga has sold out like hot cakes, with many manga stockists apologising and popping people on wish lists. There has also been a lot of scalpers on selling websites trying to sell volumes one and three (which are the hardest to get right now) for stupid prices!

At the time of writing this post volumes two and four are the main ones you’ll find available to purchase at the moment, with five and six being pre orders for the near future. I’ve found Amazon, Forbidden Planet and Wordery have been some of the best places to find volumes for sale.

I was able to snag volumes one and two from Forbidden Planet, as well as four on Amazon. Last week I was able to finally snag volume three through a lovely seller on Depop! She didn’t scalp or put the price up at all, especially with the volume being brand new.

With that out of the way, I’m going to talk about the anime first, just because that’s what I watched prior to reading the manga. It would be weird to talk about it the other way around when that isn’t how it happened for me. There are twelve episodes in season one with the season beginning on 9th January and concluding on 27th March 2022.

My Dress-Up Darling is about Gojo, a trainee Hinamatsuri (Hina for short) doll creator who has just started his first year of high school. One day during school Gojo is in the craft room at school making some costumes for his Hina dolls when Marin sees him. Marin wants to cosplay, but isn’t very good at making costumes, so once seeing Gojo’s talent, approaches him about whether or not he can help her create her cosplay costume for a character she adores. Whilst Gojo has no experience of this, he helps Marin regardless but one cosplay turns from one to more as the story progresses.

It’s a romantic comedy, slice of life manga/anime and my perfect style of anime/manga! In all honesty I’m a sucker for slice of life, no matter what, even drama you’d find on Channel 4!

Each week I’m a sucker for how Gojo and Marin’s friendship progresses, as well as finding out more about each of the characters and what cosplay Marin will work on next.

I don’t feel like this will be a spoiler at this point, but the opening credits for the anime shows what cosplay outfits Gojo and Marin are working on together, even in the order they do them as well. The covers for the manga volumes have the same images of Marin in her cosplay too. I’m so excited to see more in the future! My favourite so far as definitely been her first.

Dane is the one who introduced me to My Dress-Up Darling. I can’t remember how it came about exactly, as we were sick for the first few weeks of January, which is of course when the anime came out. I remember he was watching it and mentioned, “Everyone is going mad for this anime online and how good the animation is. Especially compared to Berserk!” For anyone that isn’t aware (I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before or not…), Dane is a massive Berserk fan and like many, was disappointed with the animation style for Berserk 2016.

What got Dane into My Dress-Up Darling was, “I had seen a gif on Reddit of Marin dancing in her bikini (taken from episode two) and without sounding perverted, I really liked the animation style and character’s design. I was immediately enamoured with Marin and wanted to know more about her… Besides her bikini choices.”

The GIF in question, more frames than Berserk 2016. Image taken from Tenor

I think Dane had watched a couple of episodes before I decided to give it a go, which he was more than happy about. I watched the first episode and craved more! We’ve been happily watching each new episode every Saturday morning ever since. It’s always been something to look forward to throughout the past couple of months, especially coming up to the weekends. Since the start of the year we’ve been having regular anime weekends where we sit and binge watch any that have new episodes or ones we’ve discovered and have started to watch together.

There is a huge elephant in the room when it comes to My Dress-Up Darling and it’s the amount of fan service, or arguably… Perverse shots that are in the show. It’s a topic that has blown up all over the internet, which I can understand. I don’t get some of the scenes in question that they chose to animate, and whilst I never feel uncomfortable, I do question it. I know a lot of people have also stated after seeing the “lewd” animated scenes, they stopped watching it, as they no longer wished to support the anime. I personally think its a shame that this happens as it affects everyone who has worked on the anime in question (not just speaking about My Dress-Up Darling here!). As I said, it doesn’t personally bother me, but I do question some stuff. The animators of the show (who may have also worked on the manga too) were probably given a clear vision to be like the manga, so, they have.

As I always do, when I really fall in love with something I always like to try and get some merchandise of it, official or fan made merch at that. I’ve seen one piece of official merchandise I’d love to pick up (key chain) but I’d also love a t-shirt with Marin on, especially pulling one of her many happy faces that she’s pulling during the opening credits of the anime.

Marin is very much loved in the community right now for both her personality, as well as for how pretty and “perfect” she is. I guess it’s because we can all relate to her one way or another as anime, manga and game lovers who just want to show off how much we love characters we watch, read and play as. I’ve personally only cosplayed twice, my first time as Lucy from Elfen Lied and my second time as Cartman’s The Coon from South Park. Both times were so much fun, especially the latter as so many people were telling me and Dane (he dressed up as Kenny’s Mysterion persona) how amazing we looked.

I’d love to cosplay as so many characters and people but I just don’t think I have it in me. I’d be so self conscious the whole day in case anyone judged, if I did the character wrong and more.

So, watching My Dress-Up Darling is a nice way of seeing how people DO get their cosplays together, how happy it makes them feel, the learning processes behind it all and more. Plus the friendships Gojo and Marin make together and with others is really lovely to see. OH and to add, it’s so cool to see how they drew parts of Tokyo. Me and Dane are especially missing Japan so far this year and are craving going back, especially when watching anime where it’s set in areas we stayed/ventured to.

Now I’ve spoken a little about My Dress-Up Darling’s anime, I want to touch upon the manga a little, which I’ve been speed reading the past week since I got volume three! I won’t talk too much about it, as I’ve already spoken a lot about the anime as it is.

The manga (from what I’ve read so far) is pretty much identical to the anime. I can’t say as I’ve noticed any massive differences so far, which I like. The manga style is gorgeous to boot by the way and is very similar again to the anime. I know some manga styles differ to the style when you watch the anime (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid being a good example of this…) but thankfully this didn’t do that.

At the time of writing this, season one of My Dress-Up Darling has come to a close and what a close it was to a show so many of us adored! I won’t say too much of what happens in the episode itself due to spoilers, etc, but for anyone who is watching (from January, or if you decide to watch it after reading this post), please make sure to continue watching episode twelve after the credits begin… There’s a bit at the end that really rounds up the season perfectly.

Overall I’ve fallen head over heels for My Dress-Up Darling, which is also bad news because now not only do I want as much merchandise from it as I can get my mitts on, but I’m also sad that the anime’s first season is coming to a close this weekend.

Image taken from Good Smile Company US Twitter

I’m already planning on watching the dub version, just so I can enjoy it all over again, as well as ordering the Marin Nendoroid when it releases too! Me and Dane have been talking about whether a DX version will release too, where Marin will have all her cosplay outfits to dress up in too! Otherwise, an additional set of outfits for this would be great. Good Smile Company would miss a trick not doing that!

If you’d like to watch My Dress-Up Darling yourself, you can find it on both Funimation and Crunchyroll!

So, have you been watching My Dress-Up Darling? If so, what do you think of it? Have you been watching the dub, or the sub? Of course, have you also read the manga? Maybe you hadn’t heard of it until now, has my post inspired you to watch? Make sure to let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time guys, have an amazing weekend and I’ll see you in April! 🙂

August Favourites ’18

YAY it is finally September, my favourite month of the year! I can’t wait to get started thinking about all the awesome things that are happening this month. I liked August, but it just lasted a little too long for my liking.

August was also an exciting month and I can’t wait to talk about both that as well as what this month brings in a post very soon.

For now though, it’s time to talk about my favourites from August and considering how much of a blur last month was, I worry I won’t even remember any of my favourites. 😛

Here goes, enjoy!

• The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion.

I feel bad as I already know I’ll have two The Body Shop products mentioned on this post, but sod it! Clearly they’re doing something right. Anyway, after finishing off my L’Occitane foot cream I’ve now moved onto FINALLY using and finishing The Body Shop foot lotion. I really love this foot lotion and have done since I bought it many moons ago. It’s old, I know but it certainly still does the job. It’s got a lovely peppermint menthol scent to it and leaves my feet feeling cooled, smelling fresh and feeling smooth all day. I use this in the mornings before I head to work. You can still buy their cooling foot lotion, but it doesn’t seem to look the same as it used to. Mine is pink, whilst the newer version looks blue on the website. Either way, it’s amazing stuff!

• Lime Crime Plushies in shade Gum Drop.

I’ve been so excited to mention on this product on my blog! I haven’t bought myself a lip product for absolute months now and in all honesty it’s due to how anxious I’ve been about wearing lipsticks. Not just that, but the effort of wearing it at work has also affected it. However, I really do miss wearing lipsticks and whilst I don’t wish to wear them everyday, I’d definitely like to wear them more often. I’ve had the shade Cherry Soda in my wish list folder for the longest time and decided to finally pick up that shade, as well as another. I’m so glad I opted on Gum Drop to be honest with you as out of the two, I feel like I’ve worn this one more. It’s such a me shade as it’s sheer berry shade and if there’s one shade I love, it’s berry. It reminds me a little of MAC Rebel, which is my favourite lipstick shade ever. I’ll be writing reviews on the Lime Crime Plushies soon, so keep eyes peeled for that!

• Tesco Comfort Eye Drops.

This is such a random product to add to this list this month, BUT these eye drops were a life saver at the time of purchase. We’d headed to Coventry to see Dane’s parents for the afternoon, which was lovely but as we left and were on the way to theirs my one eye was incredibly dry and VERY sore. At one point I was even worried that I had an eye infection heading my way. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on eye drops but I needed something decent. These cost me less than £2.00 and they did such an amazing job. I don’t feel like they’ve done anything dramatic for my eyes, but they definitely make my eyes feel better, especially whenever hayfever was around in August! It’s made me realise that I need eye drops in my daily routine now.

• The Body Shop Passionberry Lip Balm.

I picked this lip balm up a couple of months back, as whilst I don’t need anymore lip balms in my life, I always end up buying more. In all fairness I get through my Vaseline tins quite quickly, especially when I’m using them at work all day! Since my lips haven’t broken out and been gross and infected for almost a year now, I feel more comfortable with wearing coloured lip balms! I picked up two of these, but the one I was after the most was this purple shade in passionberry. Oh my it smells divine and is a really thick lip balm too. I feel like this really nourishes my lips and feels more like a gel butter instead of a balm. I also picked up strawberry, which is a gorgeous red shade. I know for a fact I’ll be wearing these loads throughout autumn and winter during work, as well as out on the go.

• Lush Plum Rain Shower Gel.

I’ve only recently been using this shower gel after owning it for about 2 or 3 months! My manager actually bought it for me as a belated birthday present, which was incredibly sweet! I remember her saying, “I went in to get Snow Fairy as you said how much you love it. But seeing as they didn’t have that, I got this for you instead.” How cute is my manager?! This shower gel is one I wanted to try from Lush when it first came out. Although I probably won’t pick it up in the future, I am definitely loving using it! It’s a gorgeous dark purple colour (which is my favourite colour) and foams up so well from just a little bit of product. It also smells amazing, just like plums! It reminds me of Christmas to be honest and this is purely down to The Body Shop plum shower gel they had out for a few years.

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken fromm Giphy

Favourite TV Show – Attack on Titan Season 3.

I feel like I mentioned this recently… But in all honestly I don’t recall at all talking about season 3 of Attack on Titan! It’s been out for quite a few weeks now and me and Dane watch it every Sunday morning/afternoon on Crunchyroll. As each season has aired and played, the story has just gotten so much better. I am for sure loving season 3, as so much is coming out and it is AMAZING! Dane already knows what’s happening as he’s up to date with the manga. There have already been some awesome scenes and massive pieces of information coming out, especially in last weeks episode. However, I’m not going to talk about this here though so I don’t spoil anything for anyone. BUT if you have always wanted to watch Attack on Titan, I honestly tell you to go and do it and if you want a new manga to read, go and read the manga too. 😛

Image taken from Giphy

Favourite Film – A Quiet Place.

Me and Dane watched this recently over the August bank holiday and oh man I WISH so badly that we had gone to the cinema to watch it. It’s stars and is directed by John Kransinski and his co star Emily Blunt is also his wife! I learnt this whilst watching it, which was pretty awesome. It’s basically about some alien style creaters that come to earth and if you make a sound the aliens will hear you and kill you. The film is CONSTANTLY on the go and keeping you on the edge of your seat. Me and Dane felt so tense throughout the movie in our living room, so God knows how we’d have felt if we were in the cinema! We didn’t buy this, we rented it but I would have happilly paid for this, it’s such a great film. I heard a few days after watching this that they’re already planning for a second one, which I’ll definitely go and see in the cinema.

Image taken from Giphy

Favourite Book – Persona 4.

I saw my best friend Gabriella for her birthday in August and we had such a lovely girly day together! I had her birthday presents with me and she had my belated birthday presents with her! She bought me an amazing Persona 5 Morgana t-shirt as well as Persona 4 Vol. 1 manga! I’ve been meaning to pick it up for ages now but just not got around to it just yet. I’ve already read it and I loved it so much, far more than Persona 3! Persona 3 Vol. 1 before the shit out of me, but Persona 4 has left me wanting more and I can’t wait to pick up the next one(s) already. Such an amazing present, thanks again Gab! 😀

Favourite Song/Album/Artist – Radio Bam and Hoobastank – The Reason.

So I’ve popped Radio Bam on here this month as I’ve been doing nothing but listening to full Radio Bam episodes most of this month. On and off over the past 10 years I’ve been listening to Radio Bam and I always end up stop listening as I just get bored of it, or I just can’t be arsed with it. Thanks to YouTube and someone uploading all the episodes to their channel and playlist I can keep up with what episodes I’ve listening to. I also love listening to Radio Bam whilst I do blog work, get ready in the morning before work and when I wine down in the evenings. I wish I could get the episodes on my phone or iPod so I can listen to the podcasts on my way to and from work.

Alongside Radio Bam I decided to add Hoobastank – The Reason as I forgot about this song existing! I remember when it came out in 2004. I would have been 14 when this came out and DEEP in my skater phase, with my emo one just around the corner. I remember it would come on KERRANG! all the time, both the radio as well as the music channel and I didn’t really like it much as the video confused the hell out of me. It randomly popped up on my recommendations recently on YouTube and I gave it a listen. Now I’m in love with it and intrigued to check out the rest of Hoobastank’s music.

Image taken from Giphy

Favourite Game – Viscera Cleanup.

Over the bank holiday in August me and Dane ended up buying this game and played it together on the Sunday and Monday and it was so much fun. I understand why it got so much hype when it first came out and even now! Basically some weird murder sprees have occured in work style places and it’s your job to clean up all the blood, guts, body parts, etc. We’ve played a couple of levels but the one that broke us both was the Christmas one where Father Christmas has gone on a mass murder of all his elves and reindeer. The funniest part was we would find TNT all over the place and it would constantly blow us up without even realising. It was hilarious and crazy all at the same time. I definitely recommend you watch people play it if your PC or laptop isn’t powerful enough to play it. Oh man, it’s hilarious!

Wow this post feels like it took forever and to be fair it really did… But I have a reason why!

I might have bought myself a new laptop to be honest with you… 😛 So my day was starting this post, stopping to look at laptops, ordering the laptop to pick up, going to pay and pick it up, setting it up at home, having dinner and FINALLY finishing off this post!

If I get the chance too I’ll definitely talk more about my laptop in the future. I just wanted something new and lighter. I’m already so happy with my decision to buy this and the past 10 months of saving for this has been totally worth it!

Anyway, what were your favourites from August? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

TV Shows I’m Loving At The Moment

Now I wouldn’t exactly call myself a coach potato but I feel like this is pretty much an accurate term for me lately. As of late after both me and Dane finish work we either sit and play games online with friends or binge watch various TV shows. Mostly the later though…

There just seems to be so many TV shows out lately with new series that we need to watch! There’s so many that almost everyday we have a new episode to catch up with. This sounds worse than it actually is… 😛

So come and have a read about what TV shows me and Dane have been binge watching lately. You never know, you may just get some inspiration for what you can watch yourselves. 😉

• RuPaul’s Drag Race – S9 (Netflix)

I’ve been a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race for as long as I can remember and as soon as a new season comes out I always make sure to keep up with the episodes. Spoilers are one of the reasons why, but it’s mostly due to wanting to keep up with which queen(s) are doing the best. I’ve always watched the show with Dane, which is really nice to be honest! I didn’t think he would be interested in giving it a go due to what it’s all about, but he loves it! My favourite in this season so far is Nina Bonina Brown. This being said though I’m not a massive fan of season 9 so far… It just seems like the queens don’t give much of a shit, or give too much of a shit. No one is really standing out right now for me. I just hope someone does soon! I want another Jinxx Monsoon! She’s my favourite queen! For the first time in the UK this is available on Netflix as and when a new episode airs. I used to have to look online for videos to watch when it came to getting my RuPaul new show fix!

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid – S1 (Crunchyroll and Funimation)

Out of all of these TV shows being mentioned in this post this is definitely one of my favourites. I’ve mentioned this show on my blog before. It’s about a dragon who is pretty much adopted by by a human and who falls in love with said human. More dragons come to the human world, another one who comes to live with them and others who live with other humans. It’s a very funny show and heart warming at the same time. I’ve started to read the manga of it and it is amazing!

• Attack On Titan – S2 (Crunchyroll)

Both me and Dane have been waiting what feels like forever for season 2 of Attack On Titan to come out! We both love the show and we’ve been worried that the next season would never come out. It’s been out for a couple of weeks now and it’s amazing. Dane pretty much knows the basics of what is going to happen due to reading the manga. I haven’t yet read the manga for Attack On Titan and I’m unsure when and if I will. If you loved the first season of Attack On Titan then make sure to watch this season!

• 13 Reasons Why – S1 (Netflix exclusive)

On this list this has to be my favourite one on the list! As soon as me and Dane watched the trailer for this on Netflix we knew that we would want to watch it! It’s based off a novel of the same name and the show is said to be loads better! The show is about Hannah, a girl who has committed suicide and records 13 tapes explaining why she killed herself. It’s an emotional roller coaster and to be honest it made me feel really low at the end of it. It’s an amazing show though and one I recommend everyone to watch as soon as possible! I might pick the book up in the future to read if I fancy it. This is a Netflix exclusive so if you want to watch it you need to have a Netflix account… Or you can be naughty and find it online to watch.

• K-ON! – S1 and S2 (DVD)

Like Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid this is another one of my favourite TV shows on this list. Dane recently became interested in watching K-ON! and popped it on for us both to watch one day. Since then we have been hooked and it’s definitely become a massive new love for us both. We haven’t finished watching season 2 yet, but I’ll be sad when we do however. I was going to buy Dane all of the seasons on DVD as well as the film on blu-ray but I left it in the end. I’m sure we’ll buy them on our week off together next week. I’ve bought all of the manga of K-ON! and I’m loving it so far!

• Masamune-kun’s Revenge – S1 (Crunchyroll and Funimation)

This is a show I have loved and then been bored with… Which is strange! Dane has felt the same way about it as well. We usually stop watching things we get bored with, like anyone would be to honest. The only reason we have kept on with it is because we have watched so much of it already. It just doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere right now and we’re about 10 episodes in. I was going to buy the manga of it to read but I am so bloody glad I haven’t… This show just doesn’t feel like it’s going to have a decent outcome. This being said it is good… But I don’t recommend it. I would recommend all the other shows on this list more!

• Peter Kay’s Car Share – S1 and S2 (BBC iPlayer)

This is one I haven’t really watched with Dane. He’s not particularly interested in stuff like this and although I’m not a MASSIVE fan I do love this show! It reminds me of the summer I was at university studying my MA and when Dane practically lived with me for 3 weeks whilst my family was away on holiday. It was lovely and pretty much a test drive for what it would be like if we lived together. So when season 2 came out recently I had to watch it as soon as possible! As the title suggests it’s about a car share. He drives and his colleague keeps him company in the car. You see their relationship grow from just colleagues to friends, to possibly something more. I was disappointed to learn after watching episode 4 that that was it… No more episodes for season 2. I mean what the fuck Peter Kay?! I say this due to how the last episode of season 2 ends. I can’t say anything without giving away any spoilers, but it’s a mixture of really shit and the perfect cliffhanger. Both season 1 and 2 are on BBC iPlayer at the moment so go and check them out if you’re interested.

• Eromanga Sensei – S1 (Crunchyroll)

This is a new anime to be added to Crunchyroll recently and it’s one people either love or hate due to what it’s about. I’m watching it for a mixture of reasons. 1. The main female character is so fucking adorable and 2. I like the fact that she’s a manga cartoon artist and that her brother (the main male character) is a manga/light novel writer. These are both the sorts of job roles and creative talents I give my characters when I write. The part about the show that is riling people up is the fact that the two main characters are siblings (well adopted siblings…) and they’re meant to have a relationship together… Awkward… This aspect doesn’t appeal to me at all but the story line otherwise really does. It’s only 2 episodes in at the moment so I’ll see how it goes, but so far this relationship side hasn’t really shown. A few creepy bits have though… Otherwise it’s pretty funny at the moment and I’m enjoying it.

So those are some TV shows I’m loving right now! I feel like I have a show a day to catch up on, which is really sad but it gives me something to look forward to after work I suppose!

It’s not on this list but I’m currently watching Sirens, which aired on Channel 4 6 years ago! WOW I FEEL OLD!!! What TV shows are you loving and binge watching right now? Are you watching anything that’s on my list? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you had a lovely Easter and are equally having a lovely week.

Christmas ’16 Wish List

Ahh Christmas is just 20 something days away and it’ll be here before we know it! I pretty much have most of my Christmas present shopping done now which is great BUT what do I want for Christmas? Let me just add that this list was pretty damn hard to do as this year I found that I didn’t want all that much… I wanted a lot of make up if anything (Jeffree Star, Kat Von D and Korean beauty mostly!) so I didn’t want my list to be full of those things. Check out my wish list to find out what I decided to put on my list to Father Christmas. 😉

• South Park: The Fractured But Whole The Coon Figurine – £11.99 (link)

If regular and old readers haven’t realised by now how much of a South Park fan both myself and Dane are then what the hell have you NOT been reading? We love South Park and I especially love the video games. I have 100% completed The Stick Of Truth and I’m eagerly awaiting the next game, The Fractured But Whole. I’m currently collecting the figures from the first game and of course I couldn’t NOT collect the ones from the second. Not only that but for Halloween in 2015 me and Dane both dressed as South Park characters, Dane as Mysterion and me as The Coon. So getting this would mean an awful lot to me. Although me and Dane have discussed about getting the bundle of these figures, which you can check out here.

• Pokemon Pikachu Molded Mug – £15.00 (link)

Dane actually showed me this mug about a month ago when he was looking for some Christmas and birthday present ideas for me and I shrugged it off and said, “Meh we don’t need anymore mugs in the house.” BUT after a lot of thought I changed my mind and said how it would make a lovely edition, due to how unique it is. That and it reminded me of a Pikachu mug I made in art/pottery class well over 10 years ago when I was at school. It was awful but I loved that mug and used it as a pencil pot instead. So it would be lovely to use this in the cold mornings before work.

• Pokemon Center Mew MokoMoko Plush – £28.99 (link)

Another Pokemon item! This time it’s Mew. I love Mew just as much as I love the Eeveelutions and sadly although my Eevee plushie collection is building up nicely, my Mew one remains small with me only owning one plush… Sad times. I’m hoping to change this next year however and what better way to start that than with this beautiful and soft looking Mew plushie! Of course from the Pokemon Center in Japan. It looks so soft and fluffy but sadly it isn’t cheap and I would have to wonder how big this must be to be at such a high price.

• ColourPop x Hello Kitty Lippie Stix in shade Let’s Play – $5.00 (link)

Ew I said I wouldn’t add make up to this Christmas wish list but urgh I have to add something! One item won’t hurt, surely??? When I found out that ColourPop were going to have a Hello Kitty collection I went a little bit ape shit but said I wouldn’t buy anything due to the expensive shipping prices. However thanks to sellers on eBay it doesn’t cost as much as it would do to order from over the pond. I really love Let’s Play as it’s a gorgeous cranberry red with pink shimmer throughout. Perfect for the Christmas and winter season to wear to parties, at work and for shopping trips. I might end up treating myself to this on payday next week instead though. 😛

• CraftyFoxCollective Iridescent Metal Effect Purple Quartz Crystal Pendant Black Leather Cord Necklace – £5.25 (link)

I’m not much of a jewellery wearer for many reasons, my main one due to work but I would love to start wearing necklaces I have always wanted to. I wear my one choker quite a lot and bought a thick velvet choker a few months back to wear (even though I hate it…) so I want to start buying more. This is a necklace I really like the look of and it doesn’t even cost that much! I saw some like this when I went down to London last month and I regret not buying it! Rainbow crystals like this one just make me happy to look at, so I would love something like this to wear all the time. They’re pretty easy to find on Etsy, but this was my favourite of the bunch.

• Yankee Candle Cherries On Show Large Jar – £21.99 (link)

OMG when I saw this in a couple of Yankee Candle shops I was so damn happy! Sadly it isn’t on the official UK website… Why? I don’t have a clue! This was a permanent scent for Christmas years and years ago but after two years it was discontinued so when I saw it was back I got super excited and have told loads of people that I want it. QVC have them on a special offer at the moment, so I may try and persuade someone to get one or two for me whilst they’re around. 😛 This is one of my favourite Yankee Candle scents so I would love to have it back in my life again. 😛

• Black Milk Clothing For Fox Sake Grey Toasties – $80.00 AUD (link) and For Fox Sake Cap Sleeve Skater Dress – $90.00 AUD (link)

I LOVE Black Milk Clothing and I search at least two or three times a week for items I can pick up second hand on eBay, so when I watched their latest YouTube revealing their Christmas collection this year I got super excited. They have not just one but TWO fox themed pieces this year which look adorable! Of course there are the pictures above of the two pieces of clothing, leggings and a dress. The leggings are my favourite of the two at the moment due to them being toasties, which means they’ll keep your legs lovely and warm when it’s cold outside. Could definitely do with those for Christmas! I’d wear them for New Years as well as my birthday. The dress is Dane’s favourite of the two and I do get why. It would be lovely to team up with a burgundy cardigan, some tights, boots and a big coat for Christmas parties, as well as for Christmas day. I doubt I will get either of these for Christmas as they are hella expensive, but I’ll keep hopeful for them… Or at least one of them. 😛

So that is my Christmas wish list for this year! What items do you have on your lists?

Throughout the Christmas period I will be writing a couple of gift idea posts including Final Fantasy for definite, possibly Christmas jumpers, as well as many many more!

What posts would you like to see though throughout December? Make sure to let me  know in the comments down below! I know I’ve been really quiet recently due to me being super busy with work and the house, but I’ll be trying to write plenty of posts throughout December.

I hope all my readers are well and until next time, take care all!

Christmas Present Ideas – Geeky Guy

I said before I left for my holiday that from the start of December, until the last Wednesday before Christmas I would be posting Christmas present idea lists up on my blog. I’m not going to do your casual present guides, instead something a little different, and quirky. For my first list my boyfriend is here to give me a hand with a geeky guy present ideas! Him being a geek himself, this is pretty much his wish list for Christmas. So I hope you enjoy his choices, and they help you get any ideas for those geeky men in your life!

Howdy everybody! Natalee is still away on her holiday, so she has roped me in to do another post. It’s coming to that time of year where we openly let a fat bearded man into our homes and steal our milk and mince pies. I never understood why we do that but that thought is for another day!

With Christmas coming up I thought it would be a good idea to give people ideas on what presents to get a geeky guy like me. I know Nat has some difficulty getting me presents as I tend to buy stuff when and if I need it, and I am pretty sure it is the same for a lot of guys out there. My dad in particular is pretty hard to buy for as he isn’t really interested in much. So to give you ladies, and even guys a helping hand with what to get any of the neckbeard* men in your life.
*www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neckbeard

• Xbox Elite Controller

I’m an Xbox loyalist; I will state that straight away so forgive me if your man has another console or belongs to the master race (PC). I don’t believe there is an equivalent for the PS4 and the master race will always praise using mouse and keyboard so this is not for them. This is one thing that I am really looking forward to getting. The customisation, the responsiveness… It just looks cool, and so on. Just watch this official video:

The only drawback is the price, at £120 it is pretty steep for an accessory that most people probably don’t need. That is why I have asked for assistance with getting mine for Christmas, I could get it but I can’t justify buying it myself for the full price.

• Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4

I suppose an alternative is the Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4. It just looks tasty with the Darth Vader print on the front, funky looking limited edition controller, and general presentation. It also gives me an excuse to be a double agent in the console wars. It is more expensive than the controller so it isn’t really an alternative at all, plus it will never beat the limited edition R2D2 Xbox 360 with sounds and lights. However, for those that want to splash the cash, for those who may be into it, and for those without a PS4 it is a great present. I know Nat really wants one for herself!

• Nendoroids (and I suppose Pop! Vinyl Figures)

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to figures, even though I am new to collecting them. Due to this I don’t know names of other brands other than these two and could never see myself buying the proper expensive ones no matter how cool they look. They really would be too unfair on my bank account.

http://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/4553/The+Colossus+Titan+TAKAYUKI+TAKEYA+Ver.html

Personally, I dislike Pop! Vinyl figures. As the brand has grown in popularity the quality seems to have diminished. I don’t like the look of them, they are manufactured in greater quantity so the paintwork tends to be iffy at best, and there isn’t much to them other than they’re a potentially cute looking figure. They are very easy to buy, popular, and cheap brand of figures so yeah, go for it if you’re on a budget, or there is a particular figure that will appeal. Older figures like Nat’s Wall-E are really decent, whereas newer ones like the Colossal Titan seem badly made. If there was one I would get it would be the Brotherhood of Steel Pop! from the Fallout collection, as I have had my eye on it for a while. Otherwise I’ll tell you about Nendoroids, a figure that I think will give you a hell of a lot more for your buck.

For those that like a bit more quality to their figures, Nendoroids are the way to go. I already own a fair few of them; nearly all the Attack on Titan collection (just missing Cleaning Levi), both Kirito and Asuna from the Sword Art Online collection, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, and the Star Wars Stormtrooper.

They are manufactured by a Japanese company called Good Smile so a lot of their products are based around manga and anime, making them the perfect gift for someone who loves that sort of stuff. They are incredibly well made, pose-able, and all come with unique accessories that reflect the character. Some examples being Solid Snake has a cardboard box, the Stormtrooper has a blaster, and Mikasa has her red scarf.

The drawbacks with Nendoroids are availability, price, and variety. You can see them at conventions (but be careful they’re not fake!), and very rarely in places like Forbidden Planet but the best place to get them is online. Always use trusted partners (http://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/partnershops/) or shops other people recommend like Sushi Noms, Crunchy Roll and so on. Due to the way Good Smile release them affects how easy to acquire they are. You will find it difficult to find older figures outside of eBay and even then they have a chance of being fake or overpriced. Speaking of price, they can be on the expensive side. For example, I got Nat a Mawaru Penguindrum (Google it) Nendoroid which I would consider quite rare for just over £20. That is good, right? On the other hand the Pokemon Red is priced up at £160… Yes, that much! Then there is the trouble of bootlegs which there is a major issue with. Good Smile does bootleg warnings which are great and helpful, but you still have to be careful. I fell victim to it using eBay. It looked real on the pictures, but I could tell instantly it wasn’t when it arrived, and returned it straight away.

Even though these are some issues, I still recommend Nendoroids over anything.

• Games (Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront, Just Cause 3)

Games are a simple easy present to get. They are released constantly and if it were me I would be happy to receive any game, hell even Viva Pinata! Just check out the hype for the upcoming games and maybe take a little look at their current collection and it should give you a good idea on what sort of games they’re into. At the moment I am playing Fallout 4 and Star Wars: Battlefront and anyone would have a blast playing either of those. The problem with these though is they are out already and said person who you’ll be buying for will have most likely bought them already (like I have), so what do you get? Well one idea is to buy something similar to what they have already, no harm in that is there? An older game I want is the Master Chief Collection, I’m glad I didn’t get it at launch because it was shrouded in problems but they have fixed them and it would be a great addition to any Halo fan boy. I already own the original Xbox and 360 copies of Halo 1,2 and 3 so I would love to be able to play them on my Xbox One.

You could even go retro, have they ever spoken about the good old days playing the Sega Mega Drive or the Super Nintendo? You can find them pretty cheap on eBay, I got hold of a Mega Drive for £30 and it included 10 games. Mega nostalgia for any gamer!

What if you want to get something new for them? Or your partner has everything already? Or you don’t know the difference between Battlefield and Battlefront? Or you can’t work out why you shouldn’t get Duke Nukem Forever?
Well the answer to that really is Just Cause 3. Why? You ask. Because explosions. Every man wants to be Antonio Banderas and not look at explosions and this game gives you all of that with no risk of being branded a terrorist or creepy for trying to be Antonio Banderas.

Antonio Banderas isn’t actually in this but I think the character is based on his [film career] life. It is a silly game that you shouldn’t take seriously, but that is what makes it fun. I have played the two original games and they are beautiful and amazingly fun to play another game that anyone would love to play. I am actually looking forward to it coming out in December. That is why I am suggesting it as whoever you may buy it for won’t have it just yet so it makes a perfect present to get. Just make sure they haven’t pre ordered it!

The best advice I can give for when buying games is to ask them straight up what, if any, games they would like. Then you have no trouble. It may ruin the surprise, but if they are anything like me I appreciate the thought that you want to get something I am actually interested in rather than having to feign happiness that you got me Ride to Hell: Retribution because you saw I liked Sons of Anarchy (FYI: It is a terribly bad, bad, bad, bad, baaaaaaad game).

If you really want to surprise the gamer, make the notes of what games they have and go into any gaming store. GAME staff in particular are incredibly helpful and although they want you to buy stuff regardless, I still feel like they want to help you.

• GAME Gift Cards
  

When I say game store, I don’t specifically mean the chain of stores. You can buy vouchers for pretty much all the major game outlets. Xbox store, PlayStation Network, and Steam all have gift cards available, and depending on what system they use you can tailor it to them. If all else fails, get GAME gift cards. Anything that helps me buy more is always welcome.

• Portal Board Game

I recently got this to play with Nat, but we haven’t got round to playing it yet. It took a while to understand the rules, we were tired and it was late so please forgive us for not being able to truly review it. Most gamers and geeks will know about the video game Portal, so this is a brilliant gift for any fan of the series. Valve, the creators of the series, are probably one of the biggest hitters in the gaming industry so you can’t miss what they have released. Not sure when it released but I had no idea about it until I randomly spotted it in a Games Workshop. It looks fun and I hope we get round to playing it soon. It would be a great gift to open on Christmas and play with the family.

• Stormtrooper Costume

I don’t really know what to say to persuade anyone to buy this…

http://www.stormtrooper-costumes.com/24,stormtrooper_costumes.html

… But I am damn sure I want one.

A full PVC outfit of a Stormtrooper with holster and blaster would be fudging amazing! I have always wanted one, but that price is a bit painful on the soul, if I had one…

• Stocking Fillers/Novelty Clothing

These are awesome little ideas that you could buy someone. I know that I have largely focused on gamers with a heavy dosing of Star Wars but this is really for any geek. There are tons of websites and shops out there to get little presents and random bits of clothing.

Here are but a few:

www.gamer-heaven.net

www.redbubble.com

www.forbiddenplanet.com

www.crunchyroll.com/store

www.tokyotoys.com

www.sushinoms.com

www.tofucute.com

www.animuk.co.uk

Just look on the websites for whatever they are into and you can easily find something. If it is clothing I would recommend sticking with T-shirts as not all nerds and geeks are confident enough to walk around wearing a Naruto jacket, a Survey Corps hoody, or even like having to explain what their clothing is from. Most people don’t understand how adults can be into these “childish cartoons”. Not even when Lucy from Elfen Lied tears people in half creating a bloody massacre whilst strolling naked through a military complex. T-shirts allow people to express their interests, yet be able to cover up when visiting grandparents. There is nothing more awkward than having to explain over a cup of tea why the cake is a lie. Just don’t put them in that position!

• Shit-Bucket

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shit+Bucket

Stay with me here and give me a chance to explain.

I don’t necessarily mean buying your partner a commode and letting them excrete into a bucket, unless you really want to. I mean giving them the gift of letting them zone out and enjoy their games. Book a day off work for them (and yourself), keep up their supply of Monster and Doritos (possibly with melted cheese), and take an interest in what their playing. I know it is hard to just watch someone play but having support from loved ones means a lot, it’s the thought that counts. Hell, you could even empty the bucket for them…

I joke.

So there you have it, my quick gift guide for that special geeky person in your life. I don’t want this to be limited to just guys as I’m sure some women out there would appreciate the intricacies of a poop bucket. So if you have a geeky guy or girl hopefully they would appreciate some of these things that I myself would love to receive from the bizarro burglar know as Santa.

Ciao for now!

Thanks again to Dane for writing this post for me! The last present idea really did make me giggle! What did my readers think of his ideas? Make sure to let me know in the comments, Dane will be reading them whilst I’m away on holiday.

I’m away for another week yet so I’ll see you all when I get back! Take care.

Currently #2

I know it hasn’t been too long since the last currently list (just over two weeks to be exact!) but I felt the need to do another one, as I have currently been doing, and loving so much stuff! All whilst working a lot… Which is the reason I’ve been so quiet on my blog lately.

Watching: I’ve been watching Jackass again lately. Every time I re-watch it I am once again reminded how much I love that damn show, but at the same time I forgot just how much I miss Ryan Dunn. As well as Jackass me and my boyfriend recently downloaded the Crunchy Roll app, and we are in love with it! It’s an app like Netflix that allows you to watch anime, as well as Japanese drama, and regular readers will know how much I love all things Japan (apart from octopus balls… Ew) so this app was a definite must have for us. Thanks to the app I was able to finally watch Himouto! Umaru-chan, something I have wanted to watch for AGES! It’s an anime about a high school girl who outside of her house and in school appears to be perfect, in every way. However as soon as she goes home, she turns into a lazy, gaming nerd. That is legit me… Apart from the perfect in every way… That isn’t me. 😛 BUT it is such an amazing anime and I am already a huge fan. I recommend anime fans to check it out ASAP. I’ve linked a video above with the introduction to the show. I don’t want to link anything that will ruin the show for anyone.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Playing: There’s one game I’ve been playing loads this month and that’s Lego: The Hobbit game. I had neglected it for a while until recently when I decided it was time to finish it… I’m not even halfway through it… DOH! I loved The Hobbit films, and although a lot of people disliked them, they were my favourite out of the Lord of The Rings series… Please don’t hate me LoTR’s fans! Alongside that me and my boyfriend finished Life is Strange, after the last episode came out last week. I’ve loved that game so much, and I really want to play it from start to finish soon. The story was amazing, and the way it ended was incredibly sad and not at all predictable like most games, movies, books, etc are these days. I recommend Life is Strange if you like gaming, especially games like Heavy Rain, and Beyond Two Souls where you need to choose how the story ends.

Listening: I honestly haven’t listened to much different from I usually do… I usually listen to Bloodhound Gang of late, but alas this hasn’t been the case the past couple of weeks. On my drive to work and back I’ve had my iPod on shuffle, but this being said a certain band has stuck out lately, and I’ve listened to them quite a bit not just in my car, but also in my boyfriends car. I grew up listened to Limp Bizkit’s album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (gosh, what a mouthful!) so whenever I listen to it now it takes me back to when I first started to discover nu metal/rap metal and how much I loved it. To name a few of my favourite songs from the album would have to be, “My Way” (which is my favourite Limp Bizkit song tbh…), “Livin’ It Up”, and “Getcha Groove On” (which I have linked above in a YouTube video as it’s my favourite song from the album).

Image taken from weheartit.com

Eating: I’ve been eating so much Japanese food lately, it’s crazy. With the new Grand Central opening in Birmingham, and also a new Yo! Sushi opening up in there too, me and my boyfriend thought we would treat ourselves to Japanese food there. Only to do the same again the weekend after, but at a Japanese restaurant in Coventry called Chi Bar. My friend also wanted to visit the new Yo! Sushi, so I went again, and like before we also went to the Chi Bar that same weekend too! It sounds really bad eating so much Japanese food, diet wise, but oh my it was so worth it! I’m such a fan for the sumo bowls at Yo! Sushi, as well as any flavour gyoza. Yummy!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Wearing: I’ve still been wearing my Dr Martens boots loads, but sadly they have been giving my feet a bit of trouble so they’ve been retired for a few weeks to allow my feet a much-needed break. Instead I have been rocking my Star Wars Vans again, a pair of shoes that I have been loving all of 2015 so far, and I know this will continue. They’re so perfect and easy to wear, with any outfit really. I really want to pick up another pair, just incase my current ones fall apart or anything worse! I do however have some new Vans, which I will be showing off on Friday!

Image taken from Jeffree Star Cosmetics official Instagram page

Wanting: Honestly there isn’t all that much I am lusting after at the moment… Which comes as a shock to me to be perfectly honest. 😛 If there is one thing I really want right now, it is one of the Christmas shades from Jeffree Star Cosmetics, this one of course being Hoe Hoe Hoe. It is a beautiful dark red shade, with pink shimmer running throughout. I haven’t seen anyone else do this with a liquid lipstick, and not to mention it is very beautiful! I’ll be ordering one as soon as they are put live on Cocktail Cosmetics website!

What things are you currently into? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below. I apologise that I have been so quiet lately, I am now working full-time at work again so I am trying my best to try and juggle work and my blog. It’ll all be okay! ^_^

Until next time all, take care and I hope all my readers are having a lovely week so far.