Hauls: Pre-Birthday Clearout!

Hey, guys. Been a while. Hope you're still all safe out there in the nastiness. On to business, I've got a couple of things to archive here before my 29th Birthday on Sunday, so let's blow through some more nerd paraphernalia!

But first...

I've actually moved since my last post, so here's a peek at my new digs! Been really enjoying it here. (Just being able to play console games from my bed again is a significant upgrade to my situation.)

Now that that tangent's out of the way, on with the stuff!

TMNT Vintage Super Shredder Figure

This guy was a neat surprise! My parents actually found him at a thrift store a little while back and I was shocked by how intact he was. Still had his armor AND his belt. Actually have quite a bit of nostalgia associated with this guy (both because Secret of the Ooze was the TMNT film I grew up on and because he's one of the earliest TMNT figures I remember getting), so it's really nice to have approximate Kevin Nash here back in my collection after all these years. He'd make a great companion to NECA's upcoming Super Shredder figure...if I can manage to score one.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Rabbid Peach Figure (Amazon)

World of Nintendo Cranky Kong Figure (Amazon)

This order was half patchwork, as that Cranky Kong figure I bought specifically to replace one that got lost in the previously-mentioned move. (Good thing he was still a decent price.) While I was browsing Amazon for that, I found that the smaller scale Kingdom Battle amiibo-esque Ubisoft figures were readily available, so I decided to use the opportunity to add one to my collection. (Went for Rabbid Peach, as she was kinda the star of the show in that game.)

WarioWare Gold (Amazon)

Speaking of Amazon, this was an amazing deal. I had never played a WarioWare game (aside from the Game & Wario spin-off that I got free from Club Nintendo), so I was really interested in WarioWare Gold when it was announced. (Both because it featured a lot of microgames from throughout the series' history and because it had full voice-acting.) However, I never got around to picking it up because it was hard to justify buying a full price 3DS game in a series I had never jumped into in a Switch-dominated world.

However, that all changed when Amazon had it down to ELEVEN BUCKS at the start of the month. I just COULDN'T pass up a deal that good! (It was even better than that time I got Project X Zone 2 for thirteen bucks!) Beat it a couple weeks ago. Really fun and hilariously quirky. Definitely worth the full price, but ABSOLUTELY worth the severely discounted one. Glad that I was able to jump on it when the opportunity arose.

Mega Construx Pokemon - Psyduck (Cracker Barrel)

Mega Construx Pokemon - Ditto (Cracker Barrel)

Another find from my parents! They picked these up for me at Cracker Barrel while they were caught in the middle of an intense saga of car troubles. (Don't ask.) These are my first Mega Construx Pokemon and they're definitely neat little things. Having a Psyduck figure with arm articulation is a very amusing novelty and I didn't have that much Ditto merch to begin with, so they're nice additions to the collection.

Nintendo Heroes: Mario and the Incredible Rescue (Amazon)

Here's a random one! Picked up this old Mario book I had my eye on for a while. (Chiefly because Origami King hype put me in the mood.) Why did I have my eye on this one specifically? Well, it's because the content of this book is made up of the most eclectic and disparate Mario references despite the year it was published. (2006.) This book not only features all the usual Mario beats and characters you would expect from a typical kids book based on the franchise, but also locations and a couple minor players from Super Mario RPG! Yep, this is the only other story in the franchise to feature appearances from Frogfucius and Toadofsky despite SMRPG not even being on the Wii Virtual Console when it was published! Crazy, right?

Being the huge Mario RPG fanboy that I am, I just had to get it based on that detail alone. Story itself is okay. Just a simple plot about Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Yoshi finding magic Mushrooms to repel evil ghosts summoned by Bowser. The odd-for-2006 references are easily the best part. It's not even just Mario RPG nods, either. They even throw in a detail from MARIO & WARIO, a game that didn't even release in the West! Someone seriously knew their stuff. Very unique addition to my personal treasure trove of Mario merch.

Wii Fit Trainer amiibo (Best Buy)

Ordered Ms. Trainer here when I pre-ordered some other amiibo from Best Buy. (Stay tuned for those.) I like having all the weirdo characters, so she'll be right at home on my amiibo shelf.

Remember in 2014/2015 when these three were the most rare, sought after amiibo in the line at that point? The Lazy Shell remembers.

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cartoon Two-Pack - Slash and Leatherhead (Zavvi)

Finishing up this post with a DOOZY! A little while back, I got in NECA's Slash figure based on his appearance in Turtles in Time. I also mentioned a couple of their other upcoming TMNT figures that I was interested in and thanks to Zavvi's US site, I was able to score two of them without having to deal with the bot-dominated nightmare of Target distribution: the 1987 Cartoon versions of Slash and Leatherhead! 

Some of my earliest memories of watching the '87 Turtles involved renting the old "Bad Guys Series" VHS tapes and "Turtles vs. Leatherhead" was easily my favorite. Not only was it the only video in that series where BOTH included episodes involved the villain spotlighted on the box, but Leatherhead himself was just a cut above that show's usual recurring threats. Jim Cummings' super entertaining performance slathered in cajunisms made him really likeable and he held his own against the Turtles far better than Bebop and Rocksteady. Leatherhead's been one of my personal favorite TMNT characters ever since and he might've even helped to spearhead my lifelong affection for Alligators, so to have an incredibly nice, high-quality figure of the version that introduced me to him complete with way more accessories than I know what to do with is simply amazing.

As for Slash, well, he's mostly a bonus, haha. I was introduced to Slash through Turtles in Time, so to later see him in the cartoon with his...unique redesign was more than a tad underwhelming. Still, it's really fun in a way to finally have a toy version of this design and he looks great next to his Turtles in Time counterpart. He even comes with his binky! 

That's all for now, but stay tuned in a few days for my 29th Birthday haul!

Hauls: Self-Isolation Stuff

Sooooooooooo the world certainly took a turn since my last post, didn't it? Hope ya'll are staying safe out there. Anyway, got some more hauls, so it's time to catalogue them!

Fangamer Banjo-Kazooie Plush Necklace

Following up on my last post, Fangamer got in more stock of their Banjo plush and as such, sent me the necklace missing from mine as promised. So nice to see it complete!

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Gold Ranger (Walmart)

Another sort-of follow-up to the last post, I found Nate's Lightning figure, completing my Beast Morphers good guys so far. Looks quite nice next to his buddies and now I NEED a Steel to complement him.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Amazon)

Invader Zim Volume 3 Deluxe Edition (Amazon)

Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension The Complete Season (Amazon)

Sonic the Hedgehog Ticket Stub 

A little while ago, Amazon had a buy-two-get-one-free offer on games, books, and DVDs, so I had to take advantage while it lasted. 

Mario and Sonic Tokyo was on my radar, but I was apprehensive about the $60 price tag. (Especially after owning most of the previous, very similar installments already.) Luckily, a $20 discount just happened to fall around the time of said Amazon deal, so this was the perfect chance to finally pick it up. It's a lot of fun, with the highlights being the goofy Story Mode and the neat retro events.

Also decided to continue collecting the Invader Zim comics with the deluxe version of Volume 3 becoming item #2 of the deal. Highlight of this particular collection is the Virooz four-parter, especially the second part where Zim basically spends the entire time criticizing the logic of AI.

Last but not least, I claimed the Battle Dimension set as my free item, bringing my Pokemon DVD collection up-to-date and continuing to prove that any negative opinions I may have expressed about the Sinnoh arc in my past on the internet was just a lot of hoosafudge and misplaced aggression. I'm quite enjoying my time with it. (Though, Pika and Goliath still frayed my nerves a bit. Mostly Sho. Why would you write a character to speak this way for an entire episode? No wonder Team Skull don't have their gangsta linguistics in the anime. They used them all up on this one annoying filler character.)

Also saw the Sonic movie the same day I got this stuff in and now I want ALL the sequels.

TOO BAD. WALUIGI TIME (Kickstarter)

Waluigi/Daisy Bookmark (Kickstarter)

Also finally got this in a couple weeks ago from Kickstarter. If you're a Nintendo fan and have never read the adorable/gut-busting web comic, Brawl in the Family, then I suggest you remedy that quickly. This book is the latest hardcover release from its creator focusing mainly on his extremely distinctive take on Waluigi and the numerous hijinks he gets up to. It not only reprints all of Waluigi's Brawl in the Family starring roles, but also throws in a good number of brand new comics, making it a worthy addition to any BITF fan's library. It definitely looks quite nice on my shelf next to my three hardcover BITF volumes and it's always nice to see more of this silly world following its end in 2014.

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Slash (Megalopolis City of Collectibles)

Oh man, as you can probably tell by the number of shots dedicated to the above item, this is a HUGE one for me. People who know me well are already quite aware of this, but this is the first time I'm bringing it up on the blog: I LOVE SLASH. He's my favorite TMNT character and everything about him from his black mask to his gnarly spikes to his claws I am ALL ABOUT. 

So, when NECA announced that they were not only making a collector-quality figure of him, but ALSO basing it off of his appearance from the SNES version of Turtles in Time (a game I grew up on that introduced me to Slash in the first place), I don't think I had ever experienced such intense NEED for a toy. 

It was a LONG road from his initial reveal in like 2017 to his eventual scheduling for November 2019 to my asking of him for Christmas to him getting delayed a few months to me switching around where I had him pre-ordered two separate times based on factors like pricing and stock waits to him finally getting here yesterday, but WOW, was it worth it. He's the first NECA TMNT item that I've owned and he absolutely will not be the last. Just handling him and feeling the quality of the material at hand combined with all the neat little touches like his rotatable bandana knot just impress me so much and he's easily the nicest plastic representation that Slash has ever received. I can't friggin' WAIT to get NECA's '87 cartoon versions of both Slash and Leatherhead as well as their recently-revealed Tokka, Rahzar, and Super Shredder so I can start building a collection.

That's all I've got. Hope all of this gushing over Turtles with spikes brought you some entertainment and escape from this difficult time and I hope that the next time I get back to ya'll, we'll all be in a much better place. Until then.

Hauls: Welcome to 2020

Happy 2020! In just five years, aliens will live alongside us and we'll be protected by spandex heroes who summon giant robots in our cities, so look forward to that! Anyway, time for some fresh hauls, starting with a few things that I actually got in 2019:

Nintendo DS Lite w/ GBA Case

This was a neat pick-up! My Mom found this while she was out thrifting and got it for me. I'd never actually owned a DS Lite before (I stuck with my phat all the way up until the DSi. Yes, really. Personal reason.), so it's a nice addition to my Nintendo hardware library. (Don't have the right charger for it, though, so gonna have to pick one up on Amazon eventually.)

Funko POP! Aggretsuko: Aggretsuko (Retsuko) (Amazon)

Got an adorable reminder of one of my favorite Netflix shows for the best price ever: FREE! Yep, thanks to credit awarded on Amazon from a previous game pre-order, I was able to add Retsuko here to the POP shelf for absolutely no charge. Ain't life neat sometimes?

Earbuds w/ Case

$25 Target VISA Gift Card

A few days after Christmas, some dear family friends presented me with these gifts! Extra earbuds are always useful in a pinch and that gift card was put to excellent use. (See a bit further down.)

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Blue Ranger

This is the last of my 2019 pick-ups, courtesy of another giveaway won from razzle1337 on Twitter! (Yep, same dude who finally added MMPR: Pink to my GN shelf.) What better way to end a year than by bringing my recent winnings up to a phenomenal FIVE items? (That's Lightning Collection figures of Tyler and Ravi, the hardcover Art of TMNT book, MMPR: Pink, and a Detective Pikachu Blu-ray, for those just tuning in.) I can only hope that 2020 is as generous.

Anyway, Ravi here beefs up the Grid Battleforce rep on my Ranger shelf. Still need to pick up Nate so I can have most of the team covered. (Hoping Steel and Zoey roll down the pipeline eventually. Maybe we'll see them at Toy Fair?)

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lord Drakkon (Amazon)

My main purchase with the above gift card was yet another Lightning Collection figure. However, this one's special: it's our first comic representation, Lord Drakkon! Perfect for leading a collection of villains and evil Rangers on my shelf! So glad I was able to snag this guy easily despite him being one per case. (Hoping I luck out in a similar way when Ranger Slayer hits.)

Number 37: Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark (Amazon) 

Prinzessin (Amazon)

Burned through the rest of my gift card the way I usually do when there's only a couple bucks left on it: by ordering Yu-Gi-Oh! cards! 

I snagged totally-not-Cinderella-Disney-nope-we're-not-using-the-name-from-this-public-domain-fairy-tale-for-the-actual-card-despite-using-it-in-the-anime-NOPE Prinzessin because the bushel of cards I got from my brother-in-law last year had a couple of her support cards but not her.

The other guy I've been wanting to own ever since I first saw him in the Zexal manga. I mean, just...LOOK at that name. Take it in. Analyze it. CONSUME IT. Isn't it simply the most resplendently beautiful/ludicrous name you've ever seen? HOPE. WOVEN. DRAGON. SPIDER. SHARK. It's like the crossword puzzle in an Animal Planet coloring book went nuts and turned into a Monster! It's simply the most amazing card in my collection and I will cherish it forever.

Toy Factory Squirtle Plush

Another of my Mom's thrift finds! It's a fairly recent plush (dated 2017) and even still has its tag! A very nice addition to my shelf currently covered in Pokemon plushes. (Special shout-out to my pal Jeff! I know Squirt's your man!)

Fangamer Banjo-Kazooie Collectible Plush Set

THIS is what I spent my Christmas cash on. Ever since I was a kid, I've DREAMED of a Banjo-Kazooie plush that'd be able to fully separate to mimic the duo's skill in Banjo-Tooie. However, the only previous Banjo plush I've owned (a tiny keychain) didn't prove up to the task. (I actually ended up ripping the sewn-in Kazooie out and taping straws to her stump to give her the illusion of legs. Tough times.) 

However, a short while ago, Fangamer announced THIS beauty among their new crop of officially-licensed Banjo-Kazooie merch and I KNEW that I had to have it. What better way to further celebrate the duo coming home in Smash? 

Unfortunately, there was a piece missing with mine (Banjo's shark tooth necklace), but Fangamer's very helpful customer support has assured me that they'll get Banjo his neckwear free of charge as soon as they get in more of the plush next month, so no big deal. It's still an absolutely gorgeous set that's well worth the price to any fan of the bear and bird.

Tomy Tails Comic Pack (Walmart.com)

Since I got the Metal Sonic Comic Pack for Christmas and knew that Tomy's Sonic stock was running low, I had to get the matching Tails Comic Pack to complete the set before it disappeared. Again, the figures are neat, but the REAL draw of these are the translated Sonic Channel comics included. You won't find these English/print versions ANYWHERE else and despite some typos ("Miles Tails ProwLer" and several incorrect uses of "Chao's" to name some examples), they're fantastic to have for any Sonic fan. Just fun little slice-of-life comics starring every Sonic character under the sun. (Except the Deadly Six, oddly enough.)

Tomy Sonic Collector Set (Sonic, Zavok, and Infinite) (Walmart.com)

Speaking of the Deadly Six and picking up Tomy Sonic toys before they went completely extinct, also picked up this set, featuring the very first official plastic representations of Zavok and Infinite. Especially happy to have Infinite, as I found him to be a really cool new villain in Sonic Forces in that he was just a merc hired by Eggman who went a little power/revenge-crazy with a fancy gem rather than the usual ancient behemoth the Doctor fancies waking up. It was refreshing.

Now I wish they had made a Chaos figure. With these and my Jazwares Shadow and Metal Sonic, he's all I'm missing to complete Eggman's world-conquering squad.

Richter amiibo (Walmart.com)

Dark Samus amiibo (Walmart.com)

Last but certainly not least, another vampire hunter and a Phazon doppelganger up the Echo Fighter rep among my amiibo. Now we wait for the DLC figures to come. (I will be ALL OVER Banjo.)

That's everything I had to share for the moment! Probably going to be another haul post next month that's a tad smaller, so stay tuned for that! Best of luck in the coming year to all of you!

The Christmas Fallout - 2019!

Happy Holidays, guys. Hope you had a great one. Christmas this year was kind of a rush, honestly. Thanks to a late Thanksgiving launching us straight from one season to another without much delay, it just kinda came and went.

Still, despite the strange holiday it's been, I was treated VERY well by my loved ones in the gift department. So welcome to the annual Christmas Fallout post, where I share my haul and you guys can join in by listing yours in the comments. Let's get the holly jolly started!

Toy Story 4 (4K Combo) (Target Limited Edition)

Spider-Man: Far from Home (4K Combo)

Teen Titans GO! to the Movies (Blu-ray Combo)

M.U.S.C.L.E. Street Sharks Sets

$20 Nintendo eShop Card

$10 Regal Gift Card

Peanut Butter M&Ms

Crispy M&Ms 

Other Candy

The stocking filling really hit it out of the park this year, with the Street Sharks M.U.S.C.L.E. figure sets being an absolute highlight. (These have actually only been found in the wild at Five Below stores so far, but you can also easily snag them up on Ebay.) Regardless of their bizarre, out-of-nowhere release, I HAD to have the first official Street Sharks toys in years.

Rounding things out are movies, eShop cash, Regal cash (perfect for Sonic in February), assorted candy, and both of my favorite (in production) flavors of M&Ms.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (Switch)

Pokemon Shield

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition (Switch)

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy (Switch)

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch)

River City Girls (Switch) + Original Game Soundtrack + Limited Run Trading Card

GAMES! Quite a variety this year, including double the ghost-busting and monster-raising. (Thank you Switch for giving me a good opportunity to finally pick up Hacker's Memory.) Also looking forward to experiencing the original Spyro games in full after being more casual with them during the old PS1 days. (Can't beat more 3D platformers on Switch!)

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Set (Neon Red/Neon Blue)

Digimon Fusion: Season 1 (DVD)

Digimon Fusion: Season 2 (DVD)

More Joy-Cons to increase potential play options and the last of the Digimon DVDs I still needed to pick up. (With the exception of the out-of-print Digimon the Movie.) Interested in rewatching Fusion, as I remember feeling it was just "okay" by the end after keeping up with airings week-to-week. Maybe binging all of it together years later will give me a fresh perspective. (I also got these now because I was afraid they'd go out of print soon and I'd be screwed. Conveniently, the show also left Netflix this month.)

Power Rangers: The Ultimate Visual History 

Power Rangers: Shattered Grid Deluxe Edition 

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 1

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 2

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Lost Chronicles Volume 1

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Lost Chronicles Volume 2

Power Rangers: The Psycho Path 

A big theme of my wishlist this year was playing catch-up with Power Rangers' 25th Anniversary LAST year, so half of my stuff is PR-related. 

Been meaning to get ahold of the Visual History book ever since it was first announced. Looking forward to learning an interesting tidbit or two before sliding it on the shelf next to my TMNT one.

With the exception of The Psycho Path, this year's batch of comics is dedicated to one thing: SHATTERED GRID. The first two Go Go trades and the Lost Chronicles volumes help set the stage while the Deluxe Edition collects the whole event in one beautiful hardcover book. This is one that I CANNOT WAIT to dig into later.

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lost Galaxy Red Ranger/In Space Psycho Red Ranger

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Magna Defender 

Power Rangers Lightning Collection In Space Psycho Blue Ranger

Wouldn't be a PR-heavy haul without some more Lightning figures! Especially happy about this particular selection, as I finally get to own figures of the sick Psycho Ranger suits and one of my favorite classic seasons, Lost Galaxy, even gets some love! (This is the first Magna Defender-related toy I've owned that actually has a cape.)

Tomy Metal Sonic Comic Pack

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Lord Zedd

My Sis and her husband got me these. Lord Zedd joins my Lightning figure haul with his best plastic representation yet and a couple of alright Metal Sonic figures present the REAL prize: an exclusive printed comic book featuring official translations of the adorable 25th Anniversary Sonic Channel webcomics. (Featuring stories starring everyone from Storm the Albatross to Eggman Nega!)

$20 Nintendo eShop Card

Finally, my favorite cousin got me some more eShop cash so I can prepare for Smash Ultimate DLC: Year 2.

(Also got some cash from my Grandma that I've already spent, so look forward to seeing just what I bought with it in the new year.)

How was everything for YOU guys this year? I'd love to hear about your own personal Christmas Fallout in the comments below.

Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel - FINALE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE and welcome to the grand finale of Astral's Advent Observations: The Kuriquel!!

LAST. BOX.

Our final card is one of the newest branches to be added to both the Kuriboh AND Performapal family trees: Performapal Kuribohble!

General Observation:

You can think of Kuribohble here as an official game take on the anime version of Kuribon. Much like that card's animated equivalent, when you're about to suffer a direct attack, you can special summon this card to take the blow. Then, again like Kuribon, your damage is converted to extra LP instead. 

However, there are two key differences. First, Kuribohble increases YOUR points rather than your opponent's, and secondly, he's destroyed like any other defending Monster instead of returned to your hand after battle. The former makes him quite a useful card for a last-ditch defense against an uber-powerful Monster. Plus, since he's both a Level 1 AND Performapal Monster, there are a myriad of ways to bring him to your hand with the right deck.

Trivia Observation:

Kuribohble is actually the first brand-new card to be featured in an Advent Calendar. This means it has no previous TCG set to mention. However, it DOES have a single manga appearance in Scale (Chapter) 23 of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V where Yuya Sakaki uses him to defend. Yuya joins the exclusive club with Yusei of protagonists who had to wait until their manga to get their own personal Kuriboh and his TCG art is even taken from that original manga appearance. (As seen above.) 

As for odder trivia, this card's actually called Kuribohrder/Kuriborder in Japan and the English manga respectively. Not sure why they changed it or what either name is a possible portmanteau of (Kuriboh and Snowboarder maybe?), but that's how it is.

Personal Observation:

Super neat to get a brand new card, especially one that uses appropriately festive reds, greens, and stars in its design. Still need to catch up with the ARC-V manga, so I can't wait to see this guy in action.

That's all she wrote for the Kuriquel! I'd like to thank every one of you for joining in for another year of me trying to seem knowledgeable about card games. It means a lot that you stuck with me through this fun holiday journey that briefly subverted my infamous laziness. These are a ton of fun to do. Will there be a follow-up? Well, we'll have to see what Konami says, but chances are, if I can find ANY kind of Advent Calendar based on something I'm interested in during future holiday seasons, you'll see it here.

Anyway, have the happiest of holidays and the merriest of Christmases. I hope all of you can find some peace and contentment this season and partake in a good bit of personal joy to top the year (and decade) off well. As for me, I'll be back for the annual Christmas Fallout post, so be sure to stay tuned to the blog in the meantime. As my furry friends above would likely say: KURIBYE!!