Juggy's back in 2012 for more wacky misadventures and this time with his new set of friends

The long wait is over ladies and gentlemen and the most arrogant toy collector in the world is back to wreak havoc once more in 2012 with more seriously insane situations along with new, unfortunate souls bearing witness to his wacky flair for arrogance in ‘Juggy: The Arrogant Toy Collector.”

For his opening salvo, Juggy tags along some of his new friends as they go on a shopping spree only to learn later on that something was missing… something wasn’t just right. To find out more, click here and read more about our little Nimrod’s dilemma in Act 08 simply entitled ‘Pour “Home”.’ ‘Til next time folks, stay safe always!

My Azusa Nakano gashapon photographed in low-light

Azusa and her famous Fender Mustang

The anime K-On! was probably one of the last anime series that I got to watch in its entirety on TV courtesy of Animax for which Fairy Tail came in second on my list, but sadly never got to finish the first season’s few remaining episodes since my dad decided to switch cable providers and Animax was non-existent in their channel line-up… as I was beginning to like Erza Scarlet and her cool set of armor during transformation… phooey! Anyways, K-On! is your typical in-your-face, no-preservatives-added kind of anime series that is just oozing with 100% unadulterated kawaii-ness from start to finish. It’s one straight out cutesy anime about the girls of Sakuragaoka Girl’s High School who joined the Light Music Club until they decided to form a band they named Ho-kago Tea Time (or After School Tea Time) which also became their launching pad to be recognized as one of the best girl bands around. Though there were interesting factors injected into the series and one of them was the precise detailing (whether physical or verbal) of the musical instruments they used which included historical or factual details. If I’m not mistaken they even got to mention in one of the dialogues the names of legendary musicians Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page who also got to play the iconic Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Yui Hirasawa was using… So with this in mind, K-On! wasn’t just pure kawaii for kawaii’s sake… it also had substance as well.

While her guitar gently weeps...

Azusa Nakano is the youngest and one of the most talented members in the band who plays the Fender Mustang electric guitar, and oftentimes the only girl in the Light Music Club that Yui likes to tease. Though having that constant fear that all the other members will sooner or later graduate and leave the band, but as the story goes, Azusa will soon take the new role as president of the Light Music Club on the second season of K-On!! (notice the two exclamation points after ‘K-On’ which symbolically denotes the series’ second season.) Even though I became a fan of the anime but not even once did I own a toy figure of any K-On! member… The genuine figures are expensive to purchase and even the bootlegs are quite a bit pricey as well, and though it’s been a habit of mine to buy figures separately and not as a set makes it quite difficult for me to achieve since most toy shops sell anime characters in sets, but it was during last year’s Christmas Toy Fair at the SM Megamall where I got the chance to have my very first K-On figure and I was in luck since I got the last gashapon piece of Azusa Nakano selling at one of the participating stalls during the event. Though she may not be (technically) one of the main leads in the series but nonetheless, I like Azusa better than most of the girls of After School Tea Time… this is a start for me and hopefully in the future I can get to complete the entire cast of K-On! displaying inside my room among my toy collection. ‘Til the next toy feature ladies and gentlemen, stay safe always!

One of the legendary pioneers of Henshin: Kamen Rider 2 (Nigo)

Belated Happy New Year to all of you folks… For my very first blog entry for 2012, I would like to share to all of you another great find that I’ve purchased last December during the 6th Christmas Toy Fair held at the SM Megamall. And it’s none other than a gashapon figure of the legendary Kamen Rider 2 (Nigo). Just to give you a brief background history of Kamen Rider 2: The birth of the Henshin superheroes (Henshin meaning ‘transformation’ in English) came about in 1971 when Kamen Rider was conceptualized for television as a Japanese tokusatsu series by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, and Nigo is the second protagonist to appear from the tokusatsu programme franchise. Like his predecessor, they both shared almost the same outfit but with different color schemes and that prominent headgear which was modeled after a grasshopper. Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider 2 both rode on these really cool motorcycles and with their kick-ass moves and cinematic martial arts expertise, they vow to protect Japan and the entire world from the clutches of Shocker, a terror organization who was, in a way, responsible in creating these superheroes that luckily escaped the ‘final brainwashing‘, and with their moral conscience and sanity intact, the two Kamen heroes fought Shocker and its minions either side-by-side or on solo missions.

My Kamen Rider 2 gashapon

The entire original series run of Kamen Rider lasted until February of 1973, but it left a huge impact on the imagination of the Japanese audience that it sparked a new revolution of science fiction superheroes belonging to the Henshin genre which later evolved to another form of superheroes called Sentai which will be dominated by legendary Super Sentai pioneers such as GoRanger (1975), JAKQ Dengekitai (1977), Battle Fever J (1979) just to name a few. Most probably a lot of you guys out there couldn’t relate with these characters that I’ve mentioned, but basically in the decades that followed after the birth of Henshin and Sentai, it became a staging point for the rise of other modern masked heroes like Shaider, Bioman, Jetman, (Mighty Morphin) Power Rangers, Saban’s Masked Rider and many others.

I was lucky enough to have found this wonderful gashapon of Kamen Rider 2 at the stall of Akihabara Toys during the Toy Fair and I never took chances and immediately bought it since Kamen Rider is all too familiar with yours truly who is, in a way, lucky enough to have been aware when Henshin, Sentai and the first Anime wave made its initial mark in the Philippines more than 30-years ago… But it was with Kamen Rider that changed everything… from the perception of crime-fighting superheroes as stereotype individuals in masks or capes with superhuman strength and powers to pushing the limits of one’s imagination in giving the audience new and exciting ways of vanquishing evil in this world through jaw-dropping battles and finishing off the main bad guy at the end of every episode with a final blow loaded with cinematic artistry that will leave everyone, literally, at the edge of their seats. And if you guys would want to check out the other photos I took of Kamen Rider 2, please do visit our Facebook page by clicking here. ‘Til next time folks, stay safe always!

The little, rare finds that you get to discover out of the blue... and this miniature diorama of Tetsujin 28 is one of them!

December 18, Sunday… It was the last day of the 6th Toy Fair 2011 held at the Megatrade Hall 1 of  SM Megamall and I was able to survive the impending Yuletide traffic that was starting to build up on my way to the said place. Though the crowd that greeted me during the event was not as intense and annoying, in some way, like that of the annual Philippine Toy Convention (ToyCon) being held also at the same venue. I managed to go about my business in taking snapshots for my blogs before I went straight right away in getting hold of some toy goodies that I’ll be using for work and at the same time add them to my collection. Anyways, the photo you’re seeing right now above is one of those great finds that I have managed to purchase from one of the toy stalls during the event, it took me a lot of rounds checking the stalls and their stuff before I got to discover this one and with its miniature size and all, you’ll definitely miss out on this one if you just do a quick scan and jump to the next stall.

It is a miniature diorama of Tetsujin 28 (for those in the United States, he is more popularly known as Gigantor) where he is depicted as somewhat soaring to the skies with searchlights on the background along with some small buildings underneath that provides as its base for the mini plastic figure. From the looks of it the make is quite good and even if it be a bootleg/fake, for something that small, every detail on the diorama is very polished… including the paint job mind you. And for Php 30 (roughly around $0.70) I never took that chance and immediately bought the item right away before somebody else sees it! Even my friend and fellow toy collector Adrian told me that for something that nice and affordable, it was definitely worth it. Either way guys, for me, it really doesn’t matter whether the toy item is genuine or bootleg. I’m just a random toy collector who just wants to get his money’s worth out of the item and more importantly, whatever floats my boat is definitely okay with me.

Aside from the photo above, I have several other photos of the Tetsujin 28 diorama uploaded on our Made in X Facebook page and if you guys would like to check it out kindly click here. I still have other great finds and steals tucked away from my little stash of goodies purchased from that event and I’ll be sharing each and every one of them soon. ‘Til next time folks, stay safe always!

I would like to wish each and everyone of you a meaningful Christmas and a promising New Year… Thanks guys for visiting and taking time off to read my humble blog and hoping that 2012 would bring me more inspiration to share more of my thoughts on Photography, Toys and other stuff to the world. Cheers!

Sports Illustrated model Jessica Gomes: She's got the umph! that makes her tick

She’s of Singaporean-Chinese and Portuguese heritage, born and raised in Perth, Australia and is now one of the hottest models ever to grace Sports Illustrated… and she’s no other than the lovely and alluring Jessica Gomes. I’ve got to admit that I have fallen instantly for this beauty and it shows not only through her curvy features but with that lovely face that is truly disarming. And it was through this particular photo that I became one her biggest fans. She’s sugar and spice and everything nice!

An excerpt panel from Juggy: The Arrogant Toy Collector entitled 'Act 07: Argument'

On today’s hilarious misadventure of Juggy: The Arrogant Toy Collector… our small but terrible toy collector is fuming mad and he’s totally wreaking havoc inside a local toy shop over some rare item that he wanted but was no longer available, and he is now venting out his steam on the shop owner who was in total control of the situation as they engage in a little “word war” over Juggy’s issue

Be sure to check out Juggy’s latest comical, all non-sense escapade entitled Act 07: Argument and see how Nimrod learned to face defeat… the hard way!

Bumblebee on top of box (notice the Autobots and Decepticons logo on one of the flaps)

Of course these are not the real deal and they are most definitely genuine bootlegs from China, though it’s not an issue for me since I collect both originals and replicas and the important thing for me is that, for as long as it’s a toy it’s perfectly fine with me. The young lady minding the stall told me that it is selling for only Php 10/each (roughly around $0.23) So I decided to get one for myself and a couple of minutes later my dad arrived all done with his business there and we both went back home. As soon as I was settled in, I began tinkering on the small box along with the contents inside… and here’s my analysis.

A photo of the mini bootleg toy I bought along with its box

Another photo of the Lego-like toy with box showing its back portion

Since majority of what was written on the box is in Chinese, there were some hints of English on the label along with the famous Autobots and Decepticons logo printed on one of its flaps. What was clear to me is that the toy was supposed to be Bumblebee from Transformers, but being a bootleg toy and all it is a far cry… a waaayyyy far cry from the real Bumblebee we all know, but nevertheless I was interested to see what it looks like after I began piecing the parts together. After a few minutes I was done with the assembly and for someone like me who’s not that picky nor meticulous with toys, it wasn’t bad at all. I definitely agreed with what my friend Raipo had to say about the mini toy when I posted the photos I took. In its entirety it looks very interesting… only if the Chinese toy manufacturer gave it a standout identity and not, in any way, associating it with anyone from Transformers. But hey, they too need to make a living… even if it means doing it the “other” way, it’s all part of their marketing strategy. Later that evening I prepared my little tabletop studio, grabbed my camera and fired away taking a few snapshots of the toy and the rest of the photos are uploaded in our Made in X Facebook page. ‘Til next time folks!

I was sitting in front of the PC surfing and doing stuff while my family downstairs were hooked to the radio listening for updates on the Pacquiao-Marquez fight since you get more coverage and up-to-the-minute details rather than waiting it on free T.V. since it would take forever just to sit through the entire bout, and mind you, commercial airtime are much more longer than the fight itself! It was through Facebook and Twitter that I got somehow a clear idea that things were not going “as planned” and messages like “Pacquiao is getting demolished by Marquez” or “Si Pacquiao naliligo na sa suntok galing kay Marquez! (Pacquiao is bombarded with punches coming from Marquez!) makes you wonder what the hell is going on… Is this for real?!! It is no secret that Juan Manuel Marquez did train himself very well for this match and he equally focused his attention on getting himself very much prepared since he was on a do-or-die mission to end Pacman’s reign of superiority in the boxing ring. Marquez was ready to boogie… and with what I’m hearing on the radio downstairs, it sounded like JMM was doing the boogie like there was no tomorrow! Then there was talk that a couple of witnesses who saw Manny and his wife Jinkee arriving at the MGM Grand Arena somewhat were distant to each other and those who were there can’t help but notice the seriousness on Pacman’s face which was unheard of since the champ often would be in high spirits in each fight as he greeted the crowd with smiles and waves who waited for him outside the venue. Radio commentators would shrug it off as something like maybe he was trying to focus his attention on the match… but for those eyes and ears present that evening, there was already mounting tension between Manny and his wife before the fight and it didn’t look pretty… So the plot thickens…

So to make this long story short, The match lasted through 12 rounds, Manny eventually regained his title as the reigning WBO Welterweight champion with a majority decision. While on the other hand,  Juan Manuel Marquez, though getting battered in the ring, was never knocked down or knocked out, he gave his all in this match and he indeed put up a good fight against Pacman. Watching their actual fight, you could see the fire in his eyes as he viciously pounded the champ by launching a barrage of strong punches one after another. Upon hearing the decision from the judges, Marquez walks out of the ring somehow disappointed with the outcome as Manny and the rest of the team stayed on and celebrated their victory inside the ring… but not for every single Filipino who had seen the fight both here and abroad. Upon announcing Pacman as the winner, there was a huge roar of booing coming from the crowd inside the MGM Grand Arena, some were saying it came from the majority of Mexicans who were equally disappointed at the fight, but there was even talk that there were Filipinos as well who jeered upon the decision because Manny’s performance lack luster and he wasn’t in his ultimate fighting form the entire evening. The crowd was now somehow divided and people in a way showed more sympathy to Marquez because he was the more aggressive one in the ring and he fought his battle well. Even here in the Philippines shouts of victory and overwhelming joy was kind of lukewarm. People who came to see the fight in large movie theaters or at gymnasiums sponsored by the local government immediately walked out, went home and returned to their normal lives… as if nothing had happened at all! Pacquiao’s last fight with Marquez is indeed controversial and the public is left wondering what went wrong to their People’s Champ.

In my personal assessment as a common folk who isn’t a professional boxing analyst nor a sports writer in a way, this is what I understand and this is what I see from my own stance… Marquez is a great fighter no doubt about it, he showed to the world that he was bent on defeating Pacman and it showed through his outstanding performance inside the ring yesterday. During their match, it looked like Manny was the underdog as he received a bombardment of punches here and there from Marquez. From a spectator’s point of view, it will look as if Pacman wasn’t doing anything, Marquez was doing all the work while his opponent gets “Pearl Harbor-ed”, so in the end Marquez is left standing with Manny winning just a majority decision. But boxing isn’t all about the physical or performance aspect of the fighters, we must also remember that boxing is a sport and it is bounded by rules and technicalities, that is why there are judges situated near the arena to carefully watch and calculate every single punch or movement made by the boxer. Even though it looks as if Marquez was the predominant one, but according to the judges’ computation, the number of punches coming from Pacman that landed on Marquez made the more points against the counted number of hits minus the relentless number of punches unleashed by the Mexican fighter. In the end, it is still the judges decision that is binding and final. Second, there is a probable cause (though not yet confirmed) that Manny’s average performance in the ring resulted from a serious argument with his wife Jinkee just hours before the main event at the MGM Arena. Even the most disciplined and focused professional sportsman like Pacquiao can be greatly affected emotionally, mentally and physically with things like domestic disputes and personal problems, after all Manny is still human just like the rest of us. There are still a lot of questions left unanswered surrounding the controversial Pacquiao-Marquez match… But for somebody like me who is just an ordinary Filipino watching from the sidelines, I just witnessed two great fighters who showed great professionalism inside the boxing ring. Two brave and battered men who never faltered from the fight, giving their all for pride and honor to their motherland. One who stood tall and fought his greatest battle against a formidable juggernaut in the boxing world, while the other defended his honor and dignity despite the odds surrounding him that momentous evening, which everyone thought to be his impending “Waterloo”, but came out literally unscathed and victorious.

Juggy, Nen and Hannibal along with other new faces to grace upcoming issues on 'Juggy: The Arrogant Toy Collector.'

Juggy is definitely all over the place as new, unfortunate faces get into the picture sharing with this little Nimrod his wacky misadventures in this ongoing, all non-sense web comic series entitled ‘Juggy: The Arrogant Toy Collector.’

So be on the lookout for these new characters plus others more coming from time to time! Kindly click here to visit Juggy’s weblog for the latest comic tales and updates.