Language is an exquisite element of human existence. Words sew the seeds of meaning, sprouting into lush forests of communication and expression. These lands of linguistics are vast, their limits reach as far as your knowledge, understanding and imagination.
Students of a foreign language, however, must become the intrepid explorers of a new realm. Grappling with comprehension is like journeying into the wilderness, a place that can only be survived by plotting new maps of meaning. This is achieved only though dedicated study.
Alone, this can be an unrelenting struggle, yet for the Methodology of English, there is a guardian angel to light the path of the confused and weary student. Enter Pastel Ink! Popping into life with the peppy protestation
“I’m always gonna be by your side. Please don’t worry… I’ll show you how to do it!”Equipped with her whirlypop wand and 1000 of the most commonly used words and phases, her genki charm wraps a ribbon of courage around the melancholy of study!
Courage: We need courage to pay all the money for goods without thinking about where your next dinner will come from. But such barbarous courage is a part of real courage
-Moetan, Lesson 6, “Spare the rod and spoil the child”In the infamous study guide, POP paints the trials of academic adversity with a pretty pastel tint! Expressing English via exemplary enthusiasms of Akiba-kei, you too can learn English the otaku way. In the explosive fusion of art and imagination, character culture conjures a candied connection between the signifier and the signified!
This sweet sensei happily helps her devoted students at every turn, baring all the quintessential magical marks of the mahou shojo. Moetan is a chaotic concoction of cultural commentary whirled into the whimsical aesthetics of the loli moe!
Good Smile Company’s Pastel Ink Pop Up Vignette is the model answer to the Moetan pop quiz. Springing out of the dynamic diorama, Ink is the image of an explosive imagination! She gleams with the brightest enthusiasm to inspire the intellect and to rouse a studious spirit in us all!
Spiritual: He feels spiritual comfort in the embrace of a life-sized pillow.
-Moetan, Lesson 5, “Better have it than hear of it”
This is a wonderfully extravagant piece that showcases the very best in Good Smile’s creative capabilities. The expressive quality and combination of intricate elements conjures up an ambitious picture popup panorama in 3D.
Pastel Ink prances from a pedestal of an open textbook, her magic popping forth from a jumble of plump pastel motifs, wrapped in up in miniature warped world. The dizzying composition is distinctly dreamlike with the heady pleasures of a Lewis Carrol adventure. It glows with beguiling charm of nostalgia with a dusting of sugarplum lolicon. Its presence is like that of the ultimate gashapon diorama, the jumbo scale accentuates the illusionary elements and the carnivalesque cuteness that is so indicative of Ink-chan.
The sculpt itself is delightful, the finishing and rendering is rich and lovingly applied to perfectly portray the iconic style of the infamous illustrator POP. The misty shapes of the wraparound landscape encapsulate the cuteness of the Moetan world, in an irresistible arrangement that brings cheer to any collection.
Ink’s wrinkled oversized garments accentuate her dinky dojikko proportions. The frills and folds are the sweet frostings that envelop her muffin cup form to create a costume that is a totally audacious erotic accolade of magical girl moe. Good smile have inked the stitching in the white swimsuit with exceptional care and precision.
This miniature marvel is utterly irresistible, both larger than life and incomparably cute. The only frustration of this figure is attaching excruciatingly fiddly arrangements of ribbon fixings that are a compositional must… if you are prepared NEVER TO TOUCH THEM AGAIN!
For my taste, this is one of Good Smiles finest works in finishing, a pieces that really is the last word of excellence in tribute to the Moetan etango phenomenon.
I had a fastidious weekend, as tends to be my habitual way of ploughing through a storm. The best cure for a dark spell, I always say is to bake! Conjuring up some chocolate cookies and giving some love to my Airi cosplay filled a Saturday with sweetness and light, some of which I thought I’d share here.
The cosplay is still in it's various pieces but the elements are coming together to form my dearest dream of playing a maid so there've been many hours of hand sewing, gathering lace and appliqué to make a monumentally moe ensemble! I can’t wait to be all finished so I may flounce about with feather dusters and scythes!
The cookies, in the shape of batfish (specially made for my family, diving enthusiasts) were a Martha Stewart creation ~ cocoa shortbread with white chocolate stripes, something I found on recipe recon this week. 
How do you make a bishonen like Lelouch more delicious? Have him pose with dessert!!! (Lulu quite literally became sweeter post shoot. After sitting on the plate, ended up with a white chocolate frosting on his butt…)
Adored by collectors and cosplayers alike, Rittona Yoko has been the shiny red apple of the hobby sculptor’s eye since Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann broke through heaven & into our hearts last year. Seeing exceptional immortalisations of this busty babe from the legendary 
A fearless fighter and a hot-headed honey, Yoko has an irresistibly sweet heart and an innocence that belies the bawdy bikini style she favours. 
When the Wave Web store posted preorders for this tasty little limited piece, I had set the sweetie square in my sights for sniping! 
I like Wave, their works have the integrity of expressing a character’s charm and great consistency. I have always loved them for a continued connection to a pair of my enduring fangirl followings ~ Gainax and Yoshizaki Mine.
Yoko’s portrayal in this sculpt by Shima Masaru is uncommonly kawaii. The crouching pose makes her prettily puchi, her bright and shiny eyes illuminate the little face snuggled into her muffler. This genki gunner straps herself into tight for more combat ready capers.
The purin plump body in the silky pink stockings is all strawberries and cream and totally delicious.
Finishing and moulding seams are little rough around the edges, nether amounting to material illusionary excellence nor intolerably shabbiness (this is in part, due to her scale that disguises more of those finicky issues). The one major design defect is the presence of a nasty seam that spans the underside of her iconic cleavage. While this is conveniently concealed by the pink strap of the sniper rifle it somewhat mars one of her most prominent points of appeal.
And yes, I am *all* over Penguin Musume… 萌え!!!
The piece is alive with a predatory power, her beauty has a dark ferocity like that of a panther, Kanu is a wild creature of grace wrapped in robust musculature.
Within the heart of the whirlwind composition is the taught body of a warrior. Her form is draped in the girlish pleats and ties of a high school uniform that ripples away from the curves as if caught in aura of her spirit.
Ikki Tousen girls, by their very design, were made to be undressed. Their clothes are superfluous, temporary obstacles in the way of fanservice that have but one destiny; to be torn to shreds in the heat of battle. The flimsy garments vaguely resemble high girlish attire but they are completely incongruous with their mature battle ready bodies. In reality, the clothes are disposable decorations to be ripped off with relish, the Ikki Tousen girls just come gift wrapped.
Sculptor Mirano’s crafting presents Kanu’s character with perfect execution. The combination of the robust form and the skimpy sailor ensemble expresses all the potency of her power dressed up in the trashy mores of uniform fetish. It is the perfect image of a pulp heroine icon.
The whole composition moves with a dancer’s rhythm. The silky whips of hair that sinuously swirl into elegant spirals create a choreography of pure energy. The undulations of curves and raven tresses are bisected by a length of steel. A proud and unyielding guardian Kanu arches her body against the pole of weapon she wields with a steady and sultry gaze.
Kanu Unchou is a popular sculptural subject in PVC portraiture but Alter’s latest version is perhaps the most faithful and formidable to date. For me this is a work that retains her nobility whilst achieving the necessary juxtaposition of pop culture trash aesthetics.
For all the transcendent qualities of the character sculpt, the highest points rest upon the full firmness of the muscular thighs as they meet the curve of her buttocks. The view is too good to be confined to a castoff and is exposed by the fluttering veil of her pleated skirt. Ensnared in a pair of tiny white panties, the peachy flesh is gorgeously curved and delicately shaded. This is possibly one of the finest posteriors in PVC.
Ayumi is a mighty marvel of the arts and by virtue of her latent crafting genius, she holds legendary status among the pottery department alumni. The fragile elegance of her works and the delicacy of a porcelain feminine façade, however, belie a ferocious spirit. Cross Yamada and you are in for a world of pain.
This is the world of Hachimitsu to Kurova, a whimsical portrait that paints in pastel hues the most painfully profound elements that move and make the human heart.
As for quality, the figure falls foul of Yamato’s production shortcomings. The sweetness of the pastel palette is soured by a messy painted finish that mars the promise of the smooth preorder promos. The piece is still charming and her petit stature helps to conceal the more problematic elements of her facial sculpt.
The narrative course plotted in One Piece storms full speed ahead towards the uncharted horizons of the sublime. In the dizzying whirlpool world of wonders, it is the startling individuality and vivacity of the characters that hauls the reader aboard the madcap voyage.
The Mild Portraits capture the nostalgic flavour of each character’s unique historical interlude. These tiny treats possessed, to my surprise, a charm unsoured by what could have been sickly brattish facades. The kids are wonderful little souvenirs of childhood, like trinkets from different ports to mark the moments of a journey.
The larger than life persona of gutsy Gumdrop Captain Monkey D. Luffy is encapsulated in this tiny piece that expresses his appetite for adventure (and for a feast). Ready to embark upon epic journeys and meals with relish, he raises knife and fork in a celebration of an insatiable hunger for life.
Little Sanji, kusogaki, stands proud in his cook’s uniform equipped with a shining blade. Before cutting through the legions of ladies in his lascivious later life, Sanji is ready to carve up a cordon bleu carnival in the kitchen.
Young Robin holds close to her studies, clasping a large tome in her arms to symbolise her love of knowledge. A stayed and uncommonly mature girl, she has the budding of hints of elegance that later blossom into the stunning beauty of her womanhood.
Steering a quite a different course from the chibi figure fare with these perfect pocket sized pirates, Mega House have excelled in their customary crafting create a unique collection, which by the time of this posting sets sail for new horizons with Zorro, Nami and her sister, Nojiko! 
Bright as sunflowers and as sumptuous as the rosy flesh of sliced watermelon, Miina sexily sizzles in the high heat of summer sunshine.
Despite the 2005 vintage, the production work is accomplished to perfection. The effects of the finishing are not hampered a lack of sophistication whatsoever and boast a rich tonal palette that combines flawlessly with the sculpt with optimum results.
Miina’s sweetness has refreshing flavour like a spoonful of iced berry sherbet. The taste is reminiscent of the irresistible bitter sweet tang of first love encounters under the endlessly blue summer sky that is mirrored in her eyes. 
