I just picked these figures up at the Asahiya bookstore on Sawtelle in Santa Monica. That region of Sawtelle (between Santa Monica and Olympic Blvd, west of the 405 fwy) has blossomed into a pop cultural beacon of all things Japanese over the last 15 years because of the awesome presence of stores like Giant Robot and some really yummy Japanese restaurants (Asahi Ramen, Furaibo).

Every time I'm in the area I love to visit the very hidden Asahiya bookstore to check out the latest ongoings in Japanese Manga and Japanese Toy Magazines. This time around, I was lucky enough to stumble upon these beautiful Ultraman Pocket Figures!

For a little less than $5, you can purchase a blind box containing a 1.75 inch tall figure. Figures are injection mold pvc, non-poseable, fully painted, and stand on a black plastic base.

I'm a sucker for Japanese SD (super deformed) style figures. SD style figures are a huge inspiration for our Tcho by Ohm! line (and I'm really planning to one day do our very own Lucha Libre SD line). These Pocket Figure Series Heroes appease my SD needs with their chunky style... I'm just a bit bummed that I wasn't able to get any of the awesome Kaiju (monster) figures. As you can see from the photos I took of the full color checklist that comes packaged with each figure, there are a whole bunch of amazing monsters in the series. I just got 2 'Ultra' heroes (Ultradad & Astrobot/S Robot). They're just TEMPTING me to buy another one. Argh!

The only quibble I have with these figures is the black plastic base. Yes, I understand it's an efficient way to ensure that the figures can stand. It's really tough to create balance in a figure with such large heads (we know by experience). But I like the purity of a standfree figure even if it means they are not free-standing (M.U.S.C.L.E.S./Kinnikuman would suck if they had stands).

All in all, my purchase was a happy one. Ultradad rocks hard with his quantum dumbbell/vibrator. Astrobot/S Robot (sorry, my katakana skills are rusty) is super blinged with his copper chains and belt. Their mini-size make them very discreet and encourage you to buy more friends and foes to battle.

Kami Robo literally translates to 'paper robot'. But there's far more to it than the title suggests. Yasui, the founder of Kami-Robo, initially created robots out of paper to play with as a means of letting his imagination run wild without destroying his favorite plastic and metal toys. This quickly became an obssession that would take a life of its own. His homemade paper robots almost immediately stopped resembling his favorite Gundam robots and begun to manifest unique personalities that came through in their fighting methods. Yasui even began tinkering with the craftmanship behind the robots construction. Unlike action-figures who's ball joints allowed them to move into awkward positions no human could ever do, Yasui attempted to create joints in his robots whose limitations accurately reflected the limitations of human joints.

Flying robot battles became more and more like wrestling matches. Yasui made a wrestling ring and created an intricate wrestling federation. 200+ figures with their own backstories were made. Kami-Robo became an ambitous homemade toy universe that existed in the mind of Yasui.

In 2004, 22 years after Yasui first began making his paper robot wrestlers, Yasui began filming his wrestling matches and posting them on a website for others to view. In 2005, Yasui started having public matches. In order to ensure he could give matches complete concentration (as he fully controls both wrestlers in matches), Yasui has his back to the audience. The audience can watch the match on screens showing different views of the fight as it unfolds.

I find it incredibly courageous and fascinating that Yasui commited to 'playing' with these homemade toys and that, with time, it was able to find an appreciative audience. As with any true Artist, it seems that these wrestling matches speak through Yasui. There's a whole universe in Yasui and his paper warriors are his means of getting that universe out of him.

I remember seeing Kami-Robo set up at San Diego Comicon in 2007. Unfortunately I was unable to watch any of Yasui's fights.

Here's some great videos about Yasui and Kami-Robo:

I haven't played LITTLE BIG PLANET on the PS3, but I love the concept and design of Sackboy, the main character. As posted on Kotaku, a blogger named Maggie has done some amazing Sackboy dolls with Crochet. Thus far she'd done an adorable Star Trek Spock Sackboy and is working on a really cool Hellboy Sackboy.

CLICK HERE to see her original post.

Maybe I should ask her to do a Tequila Sack boy? :-)

I had the pleasure of adding 2 more Transformer Animated figures to my collection this weekend: Autobot Jazz and Decepticon Soundwave. Designs are pretty cool (especially for Jazz!)... but they feel a little on the flimsy side. I've pulled off Soundwave's legs twice already. So I'm not all together sure he'll hold up with multiple transformations.

That being said, they're very nice figures (especially when you consider the super affordable $10.99 price point). Once again, my poor transforming skills were put to the test (hence the limbless Soundwave dilemma).

The Jazz is a gorgeous redesign that gives props and reinterprets the original design. I love the exhaust pipe nunchuks!

Soundwave is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It's smart to make him a Scion truck/van that still has design elements that harken back to his days as a stereo boombox. But in robot form, Soundwave has difficulty standing sturdy.

All in all, I'm really happy to add them to my collection. Now I'm waiting for the release of that decepticon triple changer I saw at San Diego Comicon.

I just bought the Transformers Animated Bulkhead figure. I love the damned thing. It's my first Transformer purchase in 20 years and I love every plastic joint, wheel, and man boob. I miss the diecast metal pieces and metallic decals my old transfomers had. But Bulkhead won my heart with it's chunkiness and decent transformation complexity.

I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't figure out how to transform the damned thing. My girlfriend had to give me a helping hand in figuring out the instructions (for shame!). But with some concentrated practice I can now transform from robot to truck and back to robot again in 0.127 seconds (don't ask for a youtube video).

While photographing Bulkhead, I realized I have a man crush on green and silver cyborg/robot type thingees. I gathered my favorites to create a green and silver toy posse led by Mini Gobi Original. But at the very moment I was considering the eventual world domination by green and silver objects of badassery... out came 2 vicious feline monstrosities to upstage their badassery.

Here's a rare glimpse at my "Divine Cabinet of Perfection". Seeing it with your own eyes is equal to things like King Tut's tomb or that fake Jesus towel. It's way better than that overrated "Body Works" exhibit of embalmed dead people.

While the majority of you have generic Ikea display cases made by Chinese robots, my display case was made 100s of years ago by skilled carpenters in the dry lands of India! Each panel of wood has the scars of hardship and Nature's scorn. It's the PERFECT cacoon for our figures (the GUTS of Muttpop).

While I wait to fill the remaining 2 shelves with more Muttpop perfection, I'm keeping those shelves busy with only the finest of Japanese Kaiju and some sentimental Western classics.

Jerry nearly sobbed of jealousy when he saw my cabinet. Photos can do it no justice... but alas there is no other way to capture it's beauty.