Midori na Silhouette

Toyz N Hobbies- another shop on the lowest floor in Cineleisure, Damansara.

The shop focuses highly on Gundam and mechas. When I say focus on Gundam, I don’t mean just Gunplas, but also stuff like Gundam War (a Gundam TCG), and Gundam trading figures.

The prices of Gunpla there range from around RM120~160, which is pretty expensive. There was also a Perfect Grade Gundam Wing Zero Custom going for RM 539. However, if it’s Gunpla you’re looking for, I highly recommend Time Machine in Times Square KL. They have much cheaper Gunpla there.

As for Gundam War… when I saw it at this store, it was my first time ever seeing a Gundam TCG (trading card game). ^^; I have not noticed any other shops selling this, so if you want to pick up Gundam War, this is the place to go.

Aside from Gunpla, this store also sells other otaku goods, such as bishoujo figures, and Gashapon (as you may have noticed from the first picture). No pirated DVDs and the like here.

But these “other otaku goods” are much lower in quantity as compared to the mecha goods.

As you can see, bishoujo figures on the top shelf, and mecha goods right below it.

That’s one half of the store. The other half is suddenly arts and craft (like, ribbons and stuff). ^^;

Overall, I’d say it’s an okay store, but there are much better places to go for both Gunpla and figures. If anything at all, come here to find Gundam War, or Gundam trading figures.

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Here’s an otaku shop I discovered recently.

This place is called suncomic. If one had heard of the name alone, one would’ve probably thought it’s a comic store.

Far from being *just* a comic store, suncomic sells pirated DVDs, art books, figures, Gunpla (and some other plamo), cosplay outfits/accessories, ita-shirts (shirts with anime characters printed on them ^^;), and yes, comics too.

The store consists of two “floors”- the first floor is where the gunpla, artbooks, figures, DVDs, and ita-shirts are. The comics and cosplay accessories are found on the second floor.

But what I really wanna highlight about this store is this-

Suncosplay Cafe

This cafe, located at the back of the first floor, is, as the name indicates, a cosplay cafe. When I saw this I thought, “WHAT? A COSPLAY CAFE IN MALAYSIA?” I was at this store after watching Eva 1.0, and the cafe was closed then.

So I mailed them to ask about the suncosplay cafe, and this is what they said:

Yes, the Cosplay Cafe was intended to be a true cosplay outlet for cosplayers. We used to have part time cosplayers working there but unfortunately, the crowd in Cineleisure has been poor and we were unable to realize our intention for that place. Right now the cafe is functioning as a normal cafe with food and drinks without any cosplay elements at the moment.

We do hope someday the crowd in Cineleisure will improve and we can then bring back part-time cosplayers as waiters / waitresses, even organise cosplay events as well.

T’was very disappointing to hear that. I think we’re gonna need to support them a lot more before they can resume activities as a cosplay cafe.

Maybe they should have some meidos outside Cineleisure to give out flyers or something. That would surely attract tons of Malaysian otaku.

Anyway, if you wanna visit this store, it’s located at Cineleisure, Damansara, on the lowest(?) floor. It’s just two lots away from ShiokToys.com.

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ShiokToys.com - a shop located in Cineleisure, Damansara. As the name would suggest, it’s also an online store.

While they do sell “otaku figures” (Gunpla kits, bishoujo figures, etc), it is not the focus of this store. It also features quite a lot of “Western figures” (Superman figures, US NAVY SEAL figures).

I’ve not much experience with this shop, as I’ve only visited once, but personally, I’d rather go to a place like XL-shop, where there are more “otaku” goods available.

But that is just the physical shop. What about their online store? It’s pretty neat, and easy to navigate. It’s comprehensible, which is always good for the newcomer.

They accept international orders, but I’m not sure how good their shipping is, so you might wanna do some of your own research before ordering from them.

BTW- it seems they sell Stormtrooper armor as well.. ^^;

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This store is called “Time Machine” and is a “hybrid toy store”.

It’s a fantastic place to look for Gunpla- they have excellent variety. Not only is there a good selection available, it’s the cheapest Gunpla I’ve ever seen. Some prices: Justice Gundam 1/100 going at RM88, Astraea Gundam 1/100 and Over Flag 1/100 at RM100.

Besides Gunpla, there are also quite a number of other mecha items (such as Keroro in Action?! kits and Armored Core figures). This shop also has a section for bishoujo and etc figures, but the mecha still dominates by far.

Maybe it was because I didn’t take a good look, but I don’t remember spotting any Macross kits here. Neither did I notice any Knightmares.

But still, it’s a wonderful place to go to if you’re looking for Gunpla. While in this store, you might hear the staff speaking in Chinese, but don’t worry- they speak English too.

This store is located at Times Square KL, but I forget on which floor ^^;

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While I was in Melaka, I visited the famous Jonker Walk.

On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the pasar malam opens up there. (What is a pasar malam?)

Trishaws at your service.

It’s a little different compared to pasar malams in my area.

See? I told you the CJ7 alien was popular.

Most of the stuff for sale were women’s items (necklaces, bracelets, etc), food or some decorative items- not much stuff for the average male.

Some pets for sale.

This uncle was nice enough to let me take a picture of his work. Very nice indeed. Something you won’t find in pasar malams in KL.

However, the people have not forgotten us otaku- this is the proof:

I must get me one of them Smash Warrior Gundams ^^; (Had to sneak this shot, so I used my phone camera)

Some other stuff for sale I couldn’t get a picture of: Wooden swords, BB guns, self-defense weapons, and other miscellaneous things.

In the morning, Jonker walk reverts to being a busy one-way street.

But what makes this place popular, is not the items they sell, but the food.

This store, “Jonker’s Delight” sells “Durian cendol” which is one of the main attractions in this area. More about that in another post tomorrow.

More trishaws

Jonker Walk is also famous as a place to find antiques.

There was lots of graffiti all over.

Too bad there’s no Gundam graffiti ^^;

While you’re there, you might want to visit the tomb of Hang Kasturi, one of the five great warrior brothers.

The English portion of a board that gives a brief history of Hang Kasturi- do give it a read. It’s kinda amusing to see so many spelling and grammar mistakes when it’s considered to be a historical site.

Same board- this one in Bahasa Melayu (Malay language).

They also had it in Chinese and Japanese.

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Yo~ Chong Mizunaga, back and reporting!

Today, it’s Anime·Tech, which I’ve mentioned a few times before.

Mid Valley Branch

They sell lots of anime-related stuff, such as these figures and plushies. Took the following picture when the sun was out and shining through the (glass) roof. Coincidentally, most of the light is focused on the Bishoujo figure shelf ^^;

More figures-

Lots of books. I’m not too sure, but I think these are artwork books? Some correct me if I’m wrong.

Code Geass stuffs.

I usually get my accessories from this place. However, sometimes the accessories can get to be quite crap, like this Lucky Star one here:

Other goods you can find in Anime·Tech are OSTs, singles, original PIRATED DVDs, some cosplay items, jigsaw puzzles, and other miscellaneous stuff. No games, dakimakuras, or oppai mousepad here though. No Gundams either (Gundams can be found in Jusco, Toys ‘R’ Us, and in some other hobby shops). A lot of their goods are China products (I.E., pirated stuff).

Overall, I’d say their stuff is pretty overpriced, and you should avoid buying stuff from here, especially figures. If it’s figures you’re looking for, you should try the XL-shop instead. The most worthwhile thing you can get from this place, IMO, is the accessories.

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Here’s a figure shop I visit often- XL-Shop (Mid Valley branch).

This be the MidValley Megamall branch.

It’s a pretty small store, with about six shelves.

Today there was a Tsuruya nendoroid on the shelves. Didn’t see any other nendoroids though.. No love for Tsuruya?

In this MidValley branch, you’ll see lots of these trading figures. Have always wanted to buy just one box, but they’re all sold in sets. These figures take up 1/6 of the store.

A regular in figure shops: Bishoujo figures.

They have a few Gunpla, but instead focus more on the figures.

One thing this shop features that I don’t see elsewhere (or don’t notice), is an abundance of Saint Seiya figures.

They’ve been around for a long time, and the amount of those figures doesn’t seem to have decreased.. is it because no one’s buying them, or because it is too good?

One plus of the shop, is that they have lots of Gashapon figure sets for sale. This, of course, saves you from the trouble of trying to get it from an actual Gashapon machine, but with a little extra charge.

XL-shop also carries goods from English manufacturers, like Mattel, so don’t be surprised to see a ransformer or two in there.

There is also another branch in Times Square KL, which is slightly bigger (I think).

Check out XL-shop’s website here.

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Was just paying a visit to one of the 100 Yen shops in Petaling Jaya, and thought I’d show a little of what’s inside. Most of their products change often though, so what you see here now might not be available in a few weeks time.

There are bags and pouches of sorts..

Uh- some stuff I don’t remember and don’t recognize now

Kitchen appliances and some tools

Massage tools

Tupperwares

And lots of food ^^

Drinks as well- a huge can of Pepsi for RM 4.90 (500 ml). No Boss coffee though

Slippers- they weren’t here the last time I visited

Halloween goods- I don’t know why it’s around, but it is. Isn’t it too early/too late for Halloween?

Leather belts

Novice’s Knife- Level requirement: 0

Cups- both English and Japanese teacups

Some tools if you feel like making a Higurashi AV. Using tools like this will probably give you a bad video like what TMA did though.

Must get one of these for myself one day

Strangely, there was a -single- Model GD lying around. There weren’t any more in the shelves.

BTW- My first time seeing a Model GD in Malaysia.

And below that was a Rinoa “Play Arts Action Figure” for RM 99.

My loot for the day- ベビースター　ドデカィ　ラーメンチキン. (Baby Star’s Chicken Ramen Dodekai)

Strangely though, everything in the shop is about RM4.90, when 100 yen = 3 ringgit.

There are many branches of this 100 yen shop, but didn’t memorize the locations. Their logo is a red background, with “100 ￥ｅｎ　ショップ” in white. It’s easy to spot.

You has 100 yen shops in your region?

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EDIT (13th October, 2008): Unfortunately, this place has now closed down. I suspect it was due to a lack of business, but whatever the reason, it is sad to have lost an otaku store.

A while back, Squee asked the question- what are the usual otaku haunts in KL?

I don’t really know what the usual haunts are, but I’m going to start a series of some of the places I visit regularly.

This be “Youth Comic Station”.

Located @ 2nd Floor, Pearl Point, Old Klang Road.

Has been a sale going on for a long time now, but nobody’s buying anything. It’s all manga, but it’s in Mandarin. And I, unfortunately, can’t read Mandarin.

Is a very good place to get Chinese manga, and some pirated VCD box sets. Also available are some figures (quite a number. But I am guessing they are bootlegs too), posters and many accessories. This be where I got my Dirge and Alastor.

I usually come here to get my accessories- bought a new one today, along with a poster.

Will review them sometime tomorrow. I’m having a bit of a headache now.

So if you’re down in Malaysia, and it’s not out of your way, you might wanna just take a look at the place- lots of good products for cheap (and they’re not pirated goods).

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