In some earlier posts about my trip to Japan, you saw the following two pictures:

Before I go any further, yes, I did spend way too much money on toys when I was overseas. Fortunately, my plane ticket back was already paid for, so I couldn’t have wound up like Piro and Largo. Now, after some wait time, here’s the unveiling of the loot from Japan!

And what a pile of loot it is! Going from top to bottom, left to right, here’s what’s in that juicy picture:

• Suzumiya Haruhi no Yutsu PS2 game, with SP Haruhi Figma
• Figma Drossel
• Fujibayashi Kyo, from Clannad
• Figma Konata Izumi – Summer uniform version
• Fate/Unlimited Codes PS2 game, with SP Saber Lily Figma
• Natsuki Kuga, from Mai-HiME
• Saber Lily, by Good Smile Company (new release!)
• Yoko Dollfie
• Narusegawa Naru, from Love Hina
• Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ 2010 calendar (from TGS)
• Original set of production notes from Mai-HiME, Episode 18
• Original set of production notes from Aa! Megami-sama II, Episode 9
• Original set of production notes from ARIA (unknown episode)
• Original set of production notes from ARIA the Natural, Episode 10
• Original set of drawing instructions for Karin (presumably used by artists working on the series)
• Production sketches for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
• Original sketches, backgrounds, and animation frames for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ~Quiet Country Cafe~ OVA 2

Not pictured:

• AQUA vol. 1 (Japanese language manga)
• Lucky Star walking guide 2009 ed. for sights around Washinomiya (obtained from cafe at Washinomiya Shrine)
• Various swag from TGS
• Various swag from Microsoft Japan company store
• Do As Infinity’s new album, Eternal Flame
• Kuraki Mai’s new compilation album, All My Best
• Charms from all the shrines I visited
• Snacks (all of which have been eaten)

While most of the stuff I picked up is pretty standard fare (figures and such), a couple things in this pile really stand out as unique. First and foremost, Yoko. She was made available earlier this year as a limited item, and I managed to score a brand new one from one of the various Mandarake stores inside Nakano Broadway. She did cost me a pretty penny though…

My absolute favorite pickups though, were the various original storyboards and production sketches. These truly are one-of-a-kind items. Even with those as photocopies, there is evidence they were actually used in the creation of the show, as most of them carry doodles from their owners (the one for Aa! Megami-sama, for example, has “I want steak” written above Peorth’s head).

If you zoom in on the image on the right, you’ll see it’s for this scene… Pretty cool, huh?

I’d also picked up similar packets for ARIA and Karin.

Of all the ones I got, my favorite is the set of concept sketches for the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou OVA. While the others were photocopies, these are all original pencil drawings from (presumably) the original artist, Ashinano Hitoshi. When I first saw the packet sitting in the display case, I thought to myself “I know who she is, but why?” Upon asking the shopkeeper, he started to say “Yokohama…” and my eyes immediately lit up. There were two sets of drawings here, both for different shots in the same scene out of Quiet Country Cafe OVA2.

These are relatively cheap collectibles, considering how much other things like figures and dolls cost. Each set of production notes cost around 1000-1500 yen and the YKK production sketches cost 4000 yen (it came with a lot of pages). For one-of-a-kind items, that’s a steal!

For more loot pictures, hit up the full gallery!