Merch Mondays Megathread - Week of April 13, 2015

I thought I'd try something different for this week's Merch Monday thread...


Hello! If you've ever had the pleasure of watching a sweet show like Super Sonico: The Animation and followed the discussion threads during its initial airing, this pick up will come to no surprise to you:

Plushie Super Sonico presents the Super Sonico: The Animation, SoniAni Super Fan Book! Like the description says, this fan book has been filled with the radiance of Super Sonico's everyday sparkle! It is an interesting book with lots of SoniAni artwork and is as cute as I remember the show being!

  • Super Sonico: The Animation - SoniAni Super Fan Book!

If you have ever seen this panel, you might know where this is going. So, Sonico and Yukimura have a new friend and they decided to play Love Live! School Idol Festival. They picked their favorites and played together! (I don't think they really understand the game mechanics, but that's another story...)

Not only an Akagi plushie, but she also now takes care of my phone when not in use. She even holds it steady with one hand, while balancing a bowl of rice on the other!

  • KanColle: Kantai Collection - Akagi Plushie
  • KanColle: Kantai Collection - Akagi Smartphone Stand

"Histy, that last picture... the light is so bright at the end of the tunnel. It's like I can see heavenly angels..."


In fact, they are! A wall scroll of Kosaki Onodera and Seishirou Tsugumi. I could never choose between them, because I think they are both great characters and I wear the OnoGumi badge for life.

Currently, that badge only says Seishirō, but it is work in progress (it's actually a pocket-sized mirror, great for checking hair and makeup, while still disguised as character goods)!

  • Nisekoi - Kosaki Onodera and Seishirou Tsugumi Wall Scroll
  • Nisekoi - Seishirou Tsugumi Acrylic Slide Mirror
  • Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! - Sakura Hagiwara Acrylic Keychain

"But Histy, I've been around Merch Mondays and you post that keychain all the time! Why would you buy the same thing more than once?!"


Why? Why not?! In fact, if you haven't noticed, I have a third SekaTsuyo storage box! This means I can have all three sides of the box on display at once! The artwork is a bit jumbled to allow the storage boxes to face inward, but it is still really wonderful to look at! It's really cool!

On a side note, my favorite character ever (Sakura Hagiwara) in my favorite anime ever (Wanna be the Strongest in the World) is voiced by my favorite voice actress/seiyuu ever (Ayana Taketatsu). What a coincidence, right?!

Her albums Apple Symphony and Colore Serenata are part of my regular jams, as well as many of the character songs and as her role as the frontrunner of SekaTsuyo's fictional idol group Sweet Diva! So much that I bought some of her T-Shirts!

If you're wondering why she is on the cover of Comic Earth Star, she did voice roles for Iruka Shimano, the main character of one of their serialized manga Tokyo Jitensha Shoujo.

I really enjoy her work and her casting as Sakura was perfect with her ability to portray emotionally distressed characters, with the same passion as she did with Kirino (Oreimo: S1E3, S2E9) and Suguha (Sword Art Online: S1E22). I know it's common to bash the last mentioned show, but simply thinking about that vocal performance gives me goosebumps.

  • Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! - Blu-Ray/DVD Storage BOX
  • Ayana Taketatsu - Kajirikake no Ringo T-Shirt
  • 竹達 彩奈 - Wonderful Birthday T-Shirt (Blue)
  • Ayacchi/Azunyan - Wonderful World T-Shirt (Black)

Note: 齧りかけの林檎 was used as an OP for Denki-gai no Honya-san in which she voiced Fu Girl.


Like seiyuu, the entire production is important to make sure an anime gets off the ground (if you have watched Shirobako, you should have some understanding of this; if you haven't, go watch it)! And for a production team to work together, they need storyboards done to ensure everyone understands the direction of the entire project.

What I have today is the production storyboard of Episode 12 and some Blu-Ray extras of Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! There is a scene here SekaTsuyo Ep. 12 spoilers that shows a lot of hard work put in a matter of four cuts (out of many). This particular episode went over 300 cuts. Isn't Moe-chan so cute?!

It is nice how much effort is still put in for the animation direction to get started. Like in this cut for one of the Blu-Ray specials, the sketch is barebones, but allows enough information to understand the animation, camera work and how the current action and dialogue affect the seconds that pass by. Even though Chinatsu Suzumoto (who was voiced by the popular Mimorin) is still adorable. Although to be honest, it looked like they had too much fun drawing the third panel!

Included also was some script work, like this page from the 6th Blu-Ray special: SekaTsuyo Specials Ep. 6 spoilers, including lines from supporting characters like Hornet (voiced by Sora Tokui) and Yumbo (voiced by Ayahi Takagaki). It is crazy to think how stacked the seiyuu cast for the show was. Even though their lines aren't that long, they put in a lot of information into the script!

*"Wow, you are so right, I just watched Shirobako and now I know everything about anime production."


Only tangentially anime-related, but the US PSN is having a "Golden Week" sale with a lot of JRPGs and anime-related games. I thought it'd be worth a mention in case anyone was interested, because I picked up a handful of games, like Ar nosurge, Arcadias, Conception, Fairy Fencer F, Guided Fate Paradox and ReBirth2. There are a lot of games on sale I already have though and games I'm still considering too. Really looking forward to getting around to playing Omega Quintet.

TL;DR

TL;DR Album: http://imgur.com/a/fTnlR

/r/anime Thread