Cards, Cards, Cards!

This post may be slightly strange since it doesn't have any figures.  What gives?  Honestly I have been really into card collecting lately.  Well pretty consistently actually.  Like my previous pokemon card post I felt like it was time to update on some of the card sets I've been collecting.  I'll try to recall prices and places I bought these from. This is months of pictures compiled into one post so I may be fuzzy on details.

First up: Pokémon TCG Sylveon Collection

I picked this set up at my local grocery store, of all places, for 19.99.  It's pretty hard to walk by this box and not pick it up!  I've seen this set floating around online at different card shop sites, Amazon, and Ebay for anywhere between 20 and 30 buck on average. 

This box, and I quote:
Includes 4 Black & White Series booster packs
Includes Sylveon and ALL the Eevee evolutions as special foil cards
Includes a Fairy-type Energy card to power Sylveon's attacks
Includes Sylveon as an awesome collectible figure

If you or someone you are buying for, is an eeveelution fan, this box is a steal at 20.00.  Most promotion box sets like this are around those prices anyway. The real bonus to this set are the 9 promo cards! It also introduces the new fairy type cards with a holo Sylveon to boot.  Which is actually a really cute card in my opinion ^^;  Plus these sets are one way to get promotional figures.

 





 

 



 

 

This figure is no slouch.  It's larger than a lot of my other promotional pokemon figures.  It has a few dings on the white parts, but this can happen with smaller figures anyway.

The real draw to this box is the guarantee of cool Holo cards.  These really stand out with the patterns and clean cut art.  I completely forgot to check if these were decently playable (Espeon has Solar Revelation at least) but I have a feeling people will still prefer to use eeveelutions from the plasma packs anyway.  This cardboard card display wheel was really interesting to me, and it was easier to pop the cards out of it safely than some of the plastic panels on other box sets.

Here are close ups of the promo cards since these are the real draw for this set.  These are what made me purchase this box anyway.  A lot of online stores and local card/comic shops will sell these individually for collectors that are more selective.

Here is what feels like the bonus to this box, the B&W series packs Next destinies, Exalted Dragons and two Legendary Treasures.  I've opened so many B&W packs so far, but it's always exciting to try my luck on packs!  Here are the a couple of the cards out of Legendary Treasures that I pulled.  I love the designs on the Rare Collection sets.

Second Round: One Piece Miracle Battle Cardass: Part 10

I am very new to collecting Miracle Battle Carddass cards, despite knowing about them for a long time.  I really should do video recordings of my card openings because I'm always delighted by these cards.  I tested the waters with a Film Z box and loved them.  At least I remembered to grab my camera for this one:

(Sorry my walls still aren't painted) I've always liked the fishman island arc so getting cards from it were a major draw.  I paid 45 bucks for this one from an online card shop (free shipping).  Usually these sets are 30 or 40 USD if you can preorder it from amiami.  I'm not sure where else to purchase these; anyone else out there know?  These boxes can be 60 to 70 bucks on Ebay!

The card ratios are 40 commons, 20 uncommons, 10 rares, 8 super rares, 7 miracle rares and 6 omega rares.  These ratios change from set to set but are mostly around the same amounts.  I loved the miracle rares in this set which were on the back of the box.  I wanted X drake, Pell, Marco, and Chopper super bad, so I was hoping my 2 cards would be one of those.  Boxes usually only have 1 omega rare, but every once in a while they come with 2.

Here is the inside: 20 Packs, 8 cards per pack.  And some come with promo cards!

I was grinning so much when I pulled X drake and Pell as my Miracle Rares, and Red Haired shanks as my Omega!  I Love having cards of my favorites characters! 

 I Love the Promo Luffy too.  It came with 5 Luffy promo cards so my other ones are still in plastic.

Here are just a few of the Super Rares and Rares.  These cards are just lovely.  Gotta sa,y I am shocked that they still aren't translated (French, English, etc.) and sold in other countries.  I would love to play this game! And buy these easily.  I'll enjoy what I can get when I can though.

 

Lastly:  Persona 4 The Animation Trading Cards

This was a random pickup from many months ago when I was filling up an order from amiami.  It was a sale item that is no longer up for sale.  (Sorry guys)  This box is nice and only highlights from the show/character arts.  There isn't much to say about these, other than the pure fun of collecting cards from a series you like:

That's all there is! At least for now.  I'll try to do more types of reviews and photo shoots.  I look forward to another year of fun collecting and silly posts.  Thanks guys!

Taito Prize Figure: Tatsumi Kanji and Shirogane Naoto

It's persona time again, this time with Taito's Persona 4 Arena prize figures!  It's a fact that I like a good prize figure and I love some Persona 4 Kanji and Naoto merch, so naturally I had to pick these up.  I preordered the pair for 30 some dollars and then completely forgot about them until they showed up at my house a couple of months ago.  It's finally time to open these up and see what we have going on:

First up is a quick look at the boxes.  Not too shabby, simple Persona 4 Arena design with photos figures on the outside parts. Also, for whatever reason, the Atlus sticker is on the bottom of these boxes, so that makes it difficult for purchasing online on ebay or something like that.

First up Kanji!  I love this guy, he is one of my top ten all time favorite characters, and this figure would be a knockout of him if it didn't have so many tiny problems!  Now he is a nice figure, he fills up the space on the base, he has a nice action pose, and the painting on his clothes is ideal.

 My major issues with this one have to do with his hair and his chair.  The hair seams are far to noticeable and the paint is blotched on the front! noooo....  I'm happy to report in other comments and reviews they didn't have this blotch problem, but it's pretty bad on mine.  As far as the chair goes, it is well done and a neat addition, but when in his hands it looks more like he is resting it on his head than being threatening with it.  I'm not sure if this is a warping issue or if I just got a bad draw on him.  Otherwise, man I really dig this figure, the flowing coat especially. 

I'm happy to report that the chair can fit in a variety of ways, so it's been fun to play around with that.  I gotta say... I know yellow is the color of Persona 4 through and through but I'm not feeling the base on these.  They are a little too large and a little too plastic looking for my taste.  Again, for a 15 dollar figure, he is still considered a good figure (not the best, but not the worst either) in my book.

Up next is the detective, who looks surprisingly well done.  The oddest parts however have to do with paintwork.  The stripes on the hat, the lines/buttons on the coat, the handgun; they all have a bit of a fuzzy feel to them.  A little sloppy.  Truly odd considering how dead on the pants are compared to the rest of the outfit.  Still no major complaints, Naoto is a lovely addition to have with Kanji. (I wasn't even planning on getting this one; it was a choice on a whim!)

 I dig the shoes and the outstretched hand in the back, they are nice details for a prize figure.

All in all that's the scoop!  I'm pleased pretty much with these (wish Kanji had better hair, but it's ok)  I suggest if anyone out there wants to pick these up, don't spend more than 20 bucks on either of them.  It's nice that prize figures fill the role of providing fans with the less popular characters, but these are prize figures through and through.  I've had really amazing luck with some prize figures and way less quality with others.  Look online for more images of these two that are not promotional shots before making a choice.  For now I need to find a spot on my shelf for these two.  I'm out!