First Purchase From Kawaii Republic

Earlier this month, the adorable site Kawaii Republic opened. I made a post about it and made a purchase later that night. The site was very popular and Eevees were selling out left and right. I barely got one before she also sold out.

Today I received this sweetheart, so it's time for a proper review!

I placed my order on July 8th. She promptly shipped to them from the supplier, which took ten days. On the 18th, she was sent out via FedEx. It was estimated that would take two weeks. She arrived ahead of time yesterday and swiftly appeared in the States on the 28th. Today, she's here!

When I opened the box, I was greeted by this adorable bonus from Japanese Snacks Republic:

I plan to keep the wrappings after I eat the snacks. Hopefully I can clean the interiors well enough. I can't bear to throw away Eevee merch!

Underneath, wrapped in a bag, was this darling:

Unfortunately, after so much travel in the horrible heat, most of her flowers are unglued. I rested them on the ribbon to take the pictures. I'm debating whether to go buy fabric glue today or sew them on. Sewing is normally my preference, as it's stronger, but I don't want to damage the lovely ribbon by poking holes in it.

She is very soft and her fur is a darker tan than Banpresto's/Bandai Spirit's Eevees usually are. I also assumed she was the same size as my I Love Eievui 2013 Eevee that I prize so highly, but she is not! As soon as I lifted her out of the box, I was shocked by her size! Look at the comparison:

It's incredible this sweetheart was only $30!

Shipping time from Japan was very reasonable and she was packaged securely and safely. I am thrilled with the purchase and the fun extra.

This week the site ran a promotion and sent out $5 coupons. Within two hours, nine Eevees blinked out of availability. They had just got one in I've been wanting, so I snapped her up and within an hour, she was also sold out. Kawaii Republic is definitely something people want and I find it to be just as good and reputable as Otaku Republic, where I get Kalin and Radley doujinshis. While Pokemon Center merchandise is still expensive here more often than not, Banpresto and Bandai Spirits plush are simply incredible prices 99% of the time. It's a wonderful resource for finding these brands, and more products are added frequently. I have been seeing new arrivals weekly.

I am looking forward to receiving this latest purchase from Kawaii Republic. The first purchase didn't disappoint and I have every confidence in them for the next one!

Leather Jacket, My Beloved

I have been a devoted costume fan all my life. I have generally only been able to enjoy wearing them at Halloween, but I spend many hours planning them out and collecting all that I need. Sometimes I start the gathering in July.

I first started making my own costumes when I realized at age 9 that they just didn’t seem to make the characters I wanted to play as. So quite naturally, my solution was to do it myself. At first it was mostly masks and tails for animal characters. Later on, the costumes for both humans and animals became more elaborate. My Rouge the Bat costume was especially fun to put together, even though I messed up the heart by sewing it on the wrong side. I also particularly enjoyed The Riddler, based on the much-maligned version from The Batman cartoon but with a new outfit inspired by The Animated Series version.

Both these costumes are depicted here: https://insaneladybug.livejournal.com/photo/album/2622

My current favorite character to play is Radley from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds. And unlike with previous costumes, this one I’ve been breaking out at other times of the year to do photoshoots and the occasional video. The jacket I’ve used has been the wrong size. On my desperate quest for a faux leather jacket two years ago that wouldn’t break the bank, the only one that looked right came a size or two too small. But since sizes run differently depending on the brand, I took a chance and ordered it anyway. To my relief and joy, it fit! I just couldn’t close it, but that wasn’t a big deal anyway since Radley is never shown closing his. Nevertheless, I always stayed on the lookout for a jacket that looked like his in the right size that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. I have actually wanted a faux leather jacket for many years, as they always looked cool to me, and I wanted one in the right size that I could just wear around on cooler days.

Finally, at long last, almost two years later, I found it! It was an especially long grocery trip this week, having to go through the check-out two extra times to add other items, but I couldn’t complain when I saw this beautiful thing on our way out the door!

At Walmart, I’ve noticed that especially awesome merch can fly out within a week, so I wasn’t willing to take a chance on losing this one. I immediately bought it. $25 for a beautiful faux leather jacket in definitely the right size, that I can wear and close as much as I want!

Here is a comparison of both side by side.

The new one is heavier. Of the two, both are very similar to Radley’s canonical jacket, but the too-small one is slightly more accurate in that there are no zippers on the sleeves and there is a belt around the bottom. But I love both and intend to play Radley in the new jacket as well as the original one. My headcanon is that he has more than one jacket!

Kawaii Republic: A new shop for Pokemon, Sanrio, and other cute and adorable things

Today I received a very exciting email. I occasionally buy doujinshi about Kalin and Radley from Otaku Republic, and I receive email updates on the site and on the other Republic sites, as there are several. Each focuses on a different aspect of collecting Japan-produced merch. There is even one dedicated solely to Japanese snacks!

Today's message announced a new site, Kawaii Republic, with all things cute and adorable. There is a huge Pokemon section and many precious Eevee figures and plush. There are great deals on several I've been wanting, and I found other adorable ones I hadn't known of before. Their focus is on plush sold in Japan, with many options from both Pokemon Center and Banpresto. This is an excellent way to get out of print and hard to find plush and figures!

https://kawaii-republic.com

One frustration of buying imports is, of course, inflated prices. It is hard to find the items and sellers will often hike the prices for that reason. With no other ways to get the items, a collector has little choice but to pay the high prices. Kawaii Republic charges very reasonable prices and most of the Eevee plush I saw was priced either competitively or far better than what I find them on other sites. I will absolutely be buying from them and I will keep checking back to see what other treasures they add.

I have been very happy with Otaku Republic every time I've ordered from them. The doujinshi prices are reasonable, as are shipping costs. I know they are a reputable company and I am so excited by the launch of Kawaii Republic! This will be wonderful for collectors of Pokemon, Sanrio, and other adorable characters.

Electronic Toys: Yay or Nay?

Love them or hate them, electronic toys are big and have been big for quite some time. And I have to say, unless one is a parent with highly enthusiastic kids who never seem to get enough of activating the electronic features, I don’t understand the hate. They stimulate creativity, give lonely kids something to talk to that will actually respond, and they’re just plain cute and cool.

Some of my earliest toys were electronic, including a hopping bunny, a walking, bleating sheep, and a teddy bear on a rocking horse. I spent many fun times playing with their features and finding them enchanting. I also enjoyed a roller-blading doll and a remote-control car.

It’s strange, but for all of my love of electronics, I have never owned a Furby. I certainly remember the Furby craze of the late 90s. I found them cute and not creepy, and yet I wasn’t compelled to ask for one. Hearing that there was no Off switch did concern me a little, enough so that they were never a serious consideration.

Over the years I have happily acquired a talking Road Runner, a talking Salem cat, a talking Twilight Sparkle, the classic talking Boba Fett figure with original voice, a talking E.T., and others, including plushies and figures and dolls. The majority of my purchases on QVC seem to be fun electronic toys they bring out for their Christmas sales. I bought dancing Snoopy and Woodstock a couple of years ago and just purchased the Flying Ace Snoopy over the weekend.

One of my most treasured electronic toys is the beautiful 32 inch Elsa made by Jakks Pacific for Frozen II. I had been disappointed that I hadn’t found anything I wanted to buy during QVC’s Christmas in July celebration, and then the final day I happened to be watching when Elsa debuted. I was enchanted. It was one of the most expensive purchases I’ve ever made, toy-wise, but I knew Elsa was coming home with me.

The day she arrived, it felt like Christmas morning from childhood. I sleepily brought her in and then set her up in my room in her box. I dreamed about it being Christmas with Elsa under the tree. When I woke up, I did a YouTube video to show her in-box and then did two more videos after deboxing. I delighted in activating her phrases and her “ice-making powers” via the blue lights in her hands. She sits on a small chair next to me while I type at the computer each day.

Of course, being a fan of all things Eevee, I also have electronic Eevees. I jumped at the chance to buy the My Partner Eevee figure, which is adorable and actually interacts with you when you talk to it. I still haven’t fully explored everything this sweetheart has to offer. The packaging boasts of 50+ reactions, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard that many!

The other talking Eevee I have is the Tomy plush My Friend Eevee. He is adorable and so soft. Unlike some of Tomy’s fare, touching him is like petting a powdered donut. (Not that anyone would want to pet a powdered donut, but just to illustrate the level of soft.) I enjoy both the English and the French voices and all the cute phrases. My only objection is the sad/disappointed sound he makes if you activate him and then don’t play his sounds for a minute or so. Way to make everyone feel guilty for disappointing an innocent animal, Tomy! Of course, that is no doubt the hook meant to keep kids playing for a long time. They don’t want to make Eevee sad!

I rather regret I do not have the sound box for the Build-a-Bear Eevee. But I have her tag and have considered taking it in someday and scanning it to get the sound box for her. I do have a sound for Leafeon, whom I had to purchase via the online bundle, but that is a story for another post.

I am just a big kid around electronic toys. My only real objection to them is how hard it is to open the battery boxes on the newer ones. I have an electronic penguin I have never been able to activate the features on, simply because no matter how hard I fight with it, the battery box will not open! I have also been unable to open Elsa’s, even after struggling with it for an hour. Thankfully, her demo batteries still work. (No, she is not on Demo mode.) It was a miracle I got the dancing Snoopy’s open. I get that they want to keep kids from getting out the screws, but it’s rather counterproductive to not even allow the adults to do so!