Godzilla 60th Anniversary - "King Caesar"

Back in the 80's, and 90's when I was still a young lad I would often times venture to the local video rental store with my brothers, and family to rent a VHS Godzilla flick. We loved watching the old B&W films as well as the more modern in-color releases like many kids did back then. Heck going to the video rental store was a treat in itself. Looking back at those past experiences I do pity those who missed that golden age of video rentals, and Godzilla movies. The experience of browsing the rental shelves, and looking at the VHS cover art was a worthwhile experience. Sadly over the years both Godzilla, and the VHS rental places became a memory of the past that most would merely reflect on from time to time. It wasn't until the modern-day US Godzilla remakes debuted that the king of monsters once again made himself known to the US movie goers. Sadly even in his return the newer Godzilla still did not capture as much attention as he did back in his glory days. With the release of the new film (2014) though also came the usual merchandise, and toys as one might expect. Like many other companies looking to capitalize on the 2014 remake's hype Bandai also decided to release a "Godzilla 60th Anniversary" toy series of their own that took in account creatures from past Godzilla films ...

POP! Vinyl / POP! Rides - "Batmobile"

Recently, while out shopping at Walmart I decided to buy a 'POP! Vinyl' figure for review. I liked reviewing the Vocaloid figures, and wanted to start collecting some of them on my own. One thing you have to understand about Walmart, and my trip there for the 'POP! Vinyls' though is that there's slim pickings in regards to 'POP! Vinyl' figures within the store. Unfortunately my options were severely limited, because of this. Most of the figures on the store shelves were of 'My Little Ponies', 'The Walking Dead', 'Game of Thrones', and 'How To Train Your Dragon 2'. Stuff that nobody wanted to buy, and figures that have been on the shelves for months now. The only figure that caught my attention amongst the lot was the classic Batmobile plus classic Batman combo. I had on my mind many other 'Pop! Vinyls' I'd rather have had, but the Batmobile package was an alright choice. So I bought it.

POP! Vinyl / POP! Rocks - "Kagamine Rin & Kagamine Len" (FUNKO)

In December of 2007, as the Vocaloid phenomenon continued to evolve Crypton Future Media, Inc. decided to take their Vocaloid2 engine a step further, and introduce a new musical concept using two voicebanks instead of the usual one. The concept was to combine both a female, and male voicebank along with the usual synthesized sounds. Ultimately the Kagamine twins, as they have come to be known were created, and given the names "Rin (Female)", and "Len (Male)". These names were inspired, and given accordingly in regards to their Vocaloid voice actress Asami Shimoda's fond childhood memory of two similar characters' names (Ken & Rin) which originated from the "Hokuto no Ken / Fist of the North Star" anime/manga series. The "Kagamine" portion of their namesake came from the code development terms "Kagami (Mirror)", and "Ne (Sound)" which also kept true to Len, and Rin's twin-like nature. As with prior Vocaloid traditions the twins were also given an age, amongst other life details. Their age which was mutually shared was '14', and reflected their young appearances. The original illustrator of Rin, and Len (KEI) incorporated details that are seen on both "POP! Vinyl" versions of the characters. These details include a YAMAHA KX5 on the back of Len, and their boots which sport a YAMAHA EOS inspired design amongst other things.

POP! Vinyl / POP! Rocks - "Hatsune Miku" (FUNKO)

First off I'd like to take a moment's time to thank Allison of Funko for entrusting me with these toy reviews. I feel extremely privileged to be able to deliver my thoughts, and background history on each of the three POP! Vinyl "Vocaloids" that were sent my way! Domo arigato! ...

At first glance I can tell you that I was personally beyond impressed with what I saw in regards to these latest FUNKO toy offerings. They looked absolutely stunning to say the least. Without giving away any early spoilers though I will simply state that in total I received 3 Vocaloid 'POP! Vinyl' figures. There are only three in the series (with possible exclusives), and they are each allocated to the "POP! Rocks" listing. Included in the trio are "Hatsune Miku" (which is probably the most recognizable of the group), "Kagamine Rin", and "Kagamine Len". As with all 'POP! Vinyl' figures each of the Vocaloid figures are brought to life in a super deformed way which is very similar to the "Chibi" art style that is featured in some anime series.

For those of you who do not know what the "Vocaloid" phenomenon is in relation to the anime aspect of each offered figure you'll find that it was originally a music synthesis program made to mix human vocals with synthesized sounds from various electronic instruments. It wasn't until a little later on into the early 2000's that the project expanded upon it's conventional use to include promotional characters such as "Hatsune Miku (originally, "Hachune Miku")" which were each made known by various artists through video game adaptations, virtual concerts, and specialized Japanese Vocaloid magazines. It is this pop culture phenomenon known as "Vocaloid", and the combined anime inspiration that come together collectively through artistic means in the form of these three very special 'POP! Vinyl' figures.