From: rmc@wang.com (rmc)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Anime Paraphernalia Review
Date: 8 Jan 93 20:02:09 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Wang Laboratories, Inc.

This is the third part of my Nikaku order.  The review is much shorter
than either of the other two parts.

Ever wonder what Nikaku Animart means by "Idol Cards"?  Or "wallets"?
As part of my recent order, i decided to pick up some "paraphernalia"
and see how i liked it.

Idol cards are about credit card sized, thickly laminated so you could
almost carry them in a pocket without munging them, and have a single
picture on one side.  I got the Urusei Yatsura set of 5, the Silent
Mobius set of 5, and the single Maison Ikkoku card.  The MI card was
the closest to what i wanted.  It really did look like a drawing from
the manga, like the three color splash page at the very beginning of
the compilations.  This one has Kanrinin-san, Godai-san and Kentaro.
Kyoko-san has red hair, but that's just the 3 color convention for
Kyoko-san.  The Silent Mobius cards have Katsumi, Yuki, Kiddy and
Rally in single figure head and shoulders poses, and Katsumi, Kiddy
and Nami in a group pose.  The group has the most motion.  The colors
look like cels from the movie, or maybe the trailer.  The big
disappointment is no picture of Grosspoliner - Katsumi is holding a
*gun* in her singleton card!  Ick!  The Urusei Yatsura set has 5 cards
of Lum, all in the recent style.  (Have you seen the Chinese Lum
T-shirts?  With the eyes a bit too big, the ears almost horizontal,
and the hair just a bit too bright of a green?  Is this what's called
"Lum '91"?)  Two cards are quite nice, two would be so-so if they
weren't of Lum, the fifth is so-so even though it is of Lum.  I got my
$1.50 worth on all of them i guess.

Of course, if you're buying cards, you need someplace to keep them, so
i got the two Maison Ikkoku wallets.  They lend credence to the theory
that one of the animation character designers for Maison Ikkoku also
worked on Kimegure Orange Road.  The woman is drawn half-way between
Kanrinin-san and Ayukawa, and the guy half way between Godai and Kyosuke.
But the vinyl was cooled slowly enough so they don't look like they'll
crack right away, the paint doesn't look like it will rub off right
away, and they do provide a place to keep the above idol cards.  I
guess i'm easy to satisfy this month.

Last item on the list is the "Sazan Eyes" mini-poster set.  This seems
to be four cover illustrations from the manga, or at least water
colors in that style.  One of their best features is that they are
about 20" x 14", so i can find wall space for them around monitors and
scattered stacks of books in my office.  Finally, moving away from
Ballet and Prisoner motif to Anime and Ballet!  They are done on normal
poster stock, with the intense colors you expect if you have seen the
manga volumes, or the covers to the Innovation translation.  They are
all group shots, all contain both Pai and Yakumo, and all have
interesting backgounds.  The horizontal poster is the nicest, and is
outside my office.  I have the ice scene in near my monitor, and will
put the shot of Yakumo carrying Pai, with Pai wearing a too-short
skirt, in my living room at home.  (Well, i don't think the skirt is
too short, but at the office you never can tell...)  The only thing i
don't like about the set is that the third eye is always open, even
though only the ice scene has the Sanjiyan personality showing.

Was this review useful?  I know the "Kyuuketsuhime Miyu Cel Book"
review was well received, and people seem to like longish reviews of
OAVs so they know whether they should shell out $35, but no one else
seems to have reviewed paraphernalia.  Maybe that's not of interest?

R Mark Chilenskas
rmc@wang.com