Last night I was checking referral data for my site the last few days.  Noticed two search terms that were leading to increased referrals were “DD Sakura” and “Dollfie Dream Sakura” – so being the curious person I am decided to Google those to see where I fell in the search results.

I pull up Google homepage, and to my surprise I noticed that now a background appears.  It also looked like you had the option to change the background to some approved images as well.  But what really caught my attention was the option to upload your own backgrounds.  So I decided to play around with it using an image of my Rin Tohsaka Dollfie Dream =3

As far as the decision to include background images, the move seems a bit…Bing-ish…to me, but certainly nice feature.  I am interested to see if this feature will be a permanent addition to Google or if its just a test.

Have you tried it out yet?  What do you think of it?  Do you like it or not?  And please, feel free to share links to your custom Google homepages.  Interested to see what others are doing too!

If you would like this wonderful pic of Rin for your Google homepage, its available for download here.

I have always been fond of Rin and she has been my second favorite Fate girl after Saber.  But my fondness for Rin has grown over this last year because of my lovely DD Rin!!  So I had to have this art book.  Also figured it would be a good time to get the Saber book since I neglected to do so last year.  I opted to get two copies of both books, I’ll explain the reason behind this shortly.

Here we have the back cover of the book.  Like the front, it has small thumbnail previews on the strip that wraps around the dust jacket.  Speaking of which, what do you call that paper strip??  Usually included on anime artbooks but never given what it is called much thought until now ^^

Inside the cover we see the previous Saber book.  No doubt to remind those folks that don’t have a copy to pick one (or more) up for their collection.

Okay.  So why would I get two copies of an artbook?  The answer is simple – one I plan to keep as part of my collection and one I plan on destroying.  I love anime artbooks, I love being able to see the artwork on paper and being able to flip through it.  But I also like to have digital artwork that I can use for things like desktops for my computers.

I like to have digital copies for my own use, not to plaster them across the internet.  In fact, my main reason was to try out the debinding technique I read about on Hunting the Elusive.

Lovely shot of Rin in her school uniform.  Obviously a must for a Rin artbook.

Rin enjoying a hot beverage on a cold day.  Love this outfit.  Another reason I wanted this book was figured it could give me ideas on things I could try with my darling Rin ^o^

I think this is  my favorite shot from the book.  It highlights that not only is Rin an intelligent girl but that she has a sexy side.

I don’t recall previous illustrations of Rin in a swimsuit being this eye catching!  If you prefer school swimwear, there is also an illustration for you in this book.

Another school related outfit from Rin.  Uniform, swimsuit, and now gym.  Rin takes school very seriously.  She has a cute expression in this picture.

Rin in her magical girl gear.  Believe this is from Fate / Hollow Ataraxia.

Image on the left is Rin dressing in Saber’s casual clothes, which is funny because in Saber Portraits it is Saber putting on Rin’s casual wear.  The right image to me plays on Saber’s rocker look from her portrait book as well.

In fact, I think I may replicate this look for my Rin.

Rin in her maid outfit, also from Hollow Ataraxia I believe.

Some lovely Rin cheesecake because you know you love it (I know I do ^^)

This would be a cute look for my Rin…

… but I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have this look for her.  Super Sexy ^o^

Concept art of Rin’s pendant, used to save Emiya and summon Archer.  Why take picture of this?  You guessed it, I want to make one!!

The Rin Tohsaka Portraits artbook also contains in the back this sealed envelop.  Being that I can’t read Japanese, the contents were a mystery to me.  I assumed it was cards, which is cool because I like cards.

What is contained was actually set if very nice photos featuring artwork from the book!!  Very thin, very glossy photo paper.  They are actually quite nice and absolutely gorgeous.  Rin insisted we show some of her favorites.

Had to show my favorite illustration again.

The school swimsuit I mentioned above.  Very cute.  Looks like all the two page spreads were made into photos.

And of course I had to show off that delicious slice of cheesecake again.  Yum Yum!!  =P

I know as of late there have been quite a few Fate / Stay night posts here.  With the release of Unlimited Blade Works last month and news of various Fate related merchandise coming out, I just felt that I had to share it with you all.  I love the Fate franchise, and would dare venture to say it holds number one spot on my list.

I think this book does a great job of showing off the many sides of Rin Tohsaka.  Not just the tsundere side we are accustomed to, but also the softer, sweeter, and sexier side of her character.  The artwork in this book is top notch in my opinion.  Of course some of the illustrations appealed to me more than others, but each of them did provide a nice look at Rin.

I am sure you noticed that I did not scan a single illustration used in this review.  My purpose for two of the same art book is because I do plan on scanning the images, but for my personal use.  I believe that a true otaku supports the cause, which in this case means buying the art book over downloading it from some image site.  I included photos so that those interested in purchasing the book would know what to expect once they get it.

I ensure you photos and scans don’t compare to holding the actual work in your hands.  Especially when talking about a book full of gorgeous illustrations like this one.  I would highly recommend picking this up this book.

I got my copies from Amazon Japan.  It was my first time ordering from them and have to say the experience was a lot easier than I thought it would.  In fact, I got my order in about two days after placing the order.  I will definitely have to try them again for another art book been looking at getting.

You can pick up Rin Tohsaka Portraits artbook at the following retailers:

Amazon
J-List
Hobby Search

You can also read punynari’s impressions of the book at Moe Passion.

This pic of Rin and Yoko is actually from earlier in the month.  Meant to post it before now, but got a bit sidetracked.

This was taken shortly after I received my copy of Volks News Vol 35.  I ordered it because I wanted the magazine, but those who ordered the magazine would be eligible to order these two special items also.

But since Volks USA ships everything UPS Ground, ordering a $3 magazine would cost a little over $13.  So I decided to order the L bust for Rin while I was it at and two wig caps for both my girls.  Rin already has a little staining on her head from the wig, which doesn’t really concern me because I don’t plan on displaying her bald.  My plan is to actually get some additional wigs for both girls so I can try different styles out with them, so the caps are more to keep wigs snugly on their heads.

So about the picture above, this was taken after Rin received her transplant.  I have to admit that she looks pretty good with the L bust and surprisingly her default outfit still fits, though a bit tight in the back.  Her academy shirt unfortunately will not fasten, but if you like open shirt posing it would work ^^

Speaking of open shirts, I decided to open up Yoko’s gown a bit, which I don’t know why I didn’t do before as Yoko looks hotter like that.  Still looking for some nice clothes for Yoko, should have something cool within the next two weeks I hope ^^;

Like I mentioned above, looking for some nice wigs for both Rin and Yoko.  Over the last few month seen a lot of great pictures of Rin sporting different looks and styles, and looks good doing it.  I love her default wig, but I want to experiment with some different looks for Rin because I think she can pull off any look.

Yoko’s wig on the other hand is just a big mess.  I have read several complaints about bald spots on their Yoko’s wigs and even my Yoko has a couple that can be hidden by moving her bangs a bit or turning her head a certain way to hide it.  But overall, I am a bit disappointed with it construction wise and looking for a change for Yoko.  At the moment I am leaning towards this one, as I think it would look good on Yoko.

I think that is about all I have for now.  Trying to get a few more things together for something special.  And I finally completed my Lily Trinity, so I do own some photos for that.  I must apologize, actually did not mean to go so long between updates ^^;;

On the recommendation of my Xbox Live friend Motoko Yamamoto, I decided to check out the site Dollmore and picked up a few new threads for my girls.  There were quite a few things I wanted, but I had to pass on some of it for now ^^;

I will say that Yoko’s big hips and chest certainly makes it hard to shop for her.  Rin on the other hand…I didn’t think she would look as good as she did with those pants =D

You can see more pics on my photostream over at flickr.

A couple of weeks ago it was announced that Type-Moon’s hit series Fate / Stay Night would be receiving a theatrical feature revolved around the Unlimited Blade Works scenario of the original game.  For those that remember, the 2006 anime series mainly focused on the Fate scenario with some of the plot aspects of Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feel put into it.

Now it seems that a trailer of the upcoming movie has been released at Comiket 76 this weekend.  Check it out below.

Personally, looking forward to seeing the movie’s version (or interpretation) of the UBW scenario.  And certainly hoping the Archer vs Shiro scene is epic.  The conflict between Archer / Shiro was something I wished was covered more in the anime, because there was a lot of backstory to work with.  And I was certainly expected more after the brief sequence in the second opening…so I was disappointed it didn’t pan out.

It appears that the movie will be released January 23rd, 2010 from the looks of the trailer.  Also have an official website up, but seems to be lacking any notable content at the moment.  Though I do want one of those green posters with what appears to be Saber Lily in casual clothes ^o^  (I call her Saber Lily because of her hair style in that picture).

Looks like 2010 is going to start off on a good note.  Will post more news about this as it comes in, as I am certainly interested in this franchise.

Original news source for Trailer: Project Saber

Image Source:   Nat @ Animepaper.net

So recently I decided to enter the world of ball-joint dolls (BJD), namely Volks’ Dollfie Dream.  And to be honest the decision was influenced largely by Danny Choo’s coverage of his Saber Dollfie.  Being the Saber fanboy that I am, obviously tried to locate one but soon realized that I was too late and my only options would be after market listings on auction sites like Yahoo! Japan.

I had heard of BJDs before, but never really found anything interesting about them.  But the Dollfie Dream (DD) is different because they are more “anime-looking” than Volks Super Dollfie line or some of the other BJDs out there.  And it was that aspect about the DD that really appealed to me.

So after missing my chance to get Saber, when I heard news that DD Rin Tohsaka was being released I had to try to get her.  Mainly because  I am huge Fate / Stay Night fan and Rin is pretty cute.  Now Rin, like Saber, was part of a special event called Doll Party (or Dolpa) and you could only purchase her by winning a lottery draw.  Rin came with her iconic red top, miniskirt, stockings, underwear, and loafers.  You had to also enter for her academy uniform as well; so I entered for both items.

So I was notified that I won and informed that I could expect Rin about the end of June.  And now here she is (yeah, I know…its the middle of August…so why did I wait so long to introduce her ^^:)  Part of the reason was I didn’t want to mess her up.  Though it doesn’t do any good having her if I keep her cooped up in a box ^^;

But just as Danny got me interested in dollfies, he also motivated me to show off my darling Rin thanks to the Miss Dollfie Summer 2009 contest he was hosting at figure.fm!  Seemed like a good opportunity to show off Rin, plus who knows…possibility of winning ^^;  The contest is stuff going until August 17th, so we’ll see how it fares.  I win regardless because after spending three days playing with Rin, I don’t regret acquiring her or freeing her from her confinement.

And while on the subject of the contest, which you can read about by following the link above, the outdoor photo portion of the contest was probably the most difficult for me.  Not only was the weather against me, having rained for days with more forecasted; but finding the right place to do it.  I chose a location that I knew would be provide some good shots; but what I didn’t expect was the number of people that would be around.  Nothing quite like getting stares from onlookers as I carry about a 24 inch dollfie and a camera bag.  ^^;  But I was on a mission and I think that I got some good photos thanks to that location.

One of the other criteria was you had to do a swimsuit / lingerie.  If you were without either, you could do nudes as long as “their hands should be stylishly covering their v-zone and pupils.”  I played with a couple of different things, including using an handkerchief  like a towel like above.

I even used a pillow set from my To Heart 2: Nanako-Chan.  I think this little pillow made for the perfect prop…

…when it came to shots like this.  In fact, it was this little pillow that inspired me to go in that direction with my shots ^^;  I debated on posting the “buff photos” because I thought they may push the envelop a little too much.  But after thinking about it, I decided to go ahead because I felt that they were done in good taste.

And I also felt that I was abiding by the stipulations of the contest as Rin was stylishly covering her pupils and angle of the shot was covering her v-zone ^^;

So yeah, the contest was a good reason for me to get to know Rin better.  Since then I found her a place on my workspace.  I had to hunt for a stand for her, because I didn’t have one at the time of the photo shoots.  And while she can stand on her own, she falls over a lot without the support ^^;  (Clumsy Rin =P)

So Rin is my first dollfie, but certainly not my last.  I have a Yoko ordered which should arrive next month (a birthday present to myself ^o^).  And I continue to check the various auction sites for a Dollfie Saber.  Since I don’t know any Japanese, having to wing it with the translation programs when searching for her on Yahoo! Japan.  But it seems that no matter what she will cost me at least $1000+ @.@.  Had a few bad experiences with online auctions, coupled with it being in a language I can’t understand and relying on a third party to act as my proxy makes me a bit hesitate.

I even found a Saber Dollfie head for sale…for like $500 US.  I love the face of Saber Dollfie, but its not the same without Excalibur and at least her gauntlets and boots.  I would probably do without the dress due to the staining factor and after seeing the Saber Lily costume, I love that variation over the blue Saber dress.  I will have her one day though, that’s my dream anyway.  But I have Rin (and soon Yoko) to keep me company until that day ^^.

They do require plenty of love and care, which is why they are considered musumes (or daughters) by their owners.  But they are certainly a lot of fun and I can see why so many people adore dollfies now.  Certainly a decision I am glad I made.

Expect more Dollfie related coverage in the future =3

Also, check out my Flickr for more photos from this photo session and my Miss Dollfie entry!