Banpresto CraneKing Figures | Japan Award Haul

Hi guys! January is officially going to be the month of catching up on posts that I've been meaning to write for a while! Better late than never, right? :) I'm so happy to finally be sharing this post because I've been really looking forward to showing you all the absolutely marvellous figures that I purchased through one of my favourite YouTube channels, Japan Award! It's seriously been so hard not to share any photos of them on social media, but that would have ruined the surprise! 

Back at the end of October, I blogged all about my first time playing Ichiban Kuji, which if you didn't know is a Japanese lottery game where you buy tickets and are guaranteed to win a fabulous prize each time you play. You can learn more about kuji and see my prizes here. I mentioned in that post that I had some other items to show you guys and that is what is going to be the subject of today's post. I also said I'd blog about them a week later, but we all know how fun 2018 was for me, so yeah, that never happened... :') But it's happening now, and I hope you all enjoy! 

I was so over the moon to have stumbled upon the Japan Award channel one day through my recommended videos; not only is the channel super fun to watch, but after years and years of wishing I could get the amazing products from Japan that I so desperately wanted in my life, I now had the chance!  Of course, there have always been a few ways to source products from Japan online, but I could only ever find sites that were pretty pricey and this is all back when I was still a student, so I couldn't really afford to pay what they were asking! 

I love ordering through Japan Award because Horacio & Lin, the YouTube hosts, are super friendly and lovely people! They make you feel really welcome and together with all the other followers, it feels like one big happy kuji-loving family :D As cheesy as that sounds, if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I have anxiety disorder and this means that I have a really tough time interacting with people, but they are very approachable and sweet, and I can't thank them enough for making it easy for me to get in touch :) 

Anyhow, before I get carried away with myself, let's get onto the toys!! *insert lots of heart-eye emojis here*. Something that I think is absolutely amazing about Japan is their arcades. Honestly they are so fantastic, and the quality of the games and the items that you can win there is wonderful! Yes, all of these figures come from an arcade game! You know those grabber-machines? The ones that in British arcades are always filled with cheap plushies, that are most of the time really difficult to win because they are rigged? Well, those crane machine arcade games are where my beautiful figures came from!! How brilliant is that? (Why can't we have awesome prizes like these T_T ). Can I get a drumroll please... because now it's time to show you what these figures look like out of the box! I'd like to just say how much I love the presentation of these items too. The boxes are almost just as pretty as the figures themselves! This post is going to get pic heavy from this point on, because I can't not display the figures at every angle, obviously XD

~ Super Saiyan Vegeta ~

I have been a fan of the Dragon Ball anime franchise ever since I was very young. I must have been around 7 years old when I watched Dragon Ball Z for the first time and I immediately fell in love with it! Especially when it comes to the character of Vegeta, with his sarcastic, grumpy personality which I thought was hilarious and for some reason, endearing. I have always been more drawn to the darker characters, the misunderstood ones, the types that were labelled as 'villains'. I love how multi-dimensional these characters were, and they were so much more interesting to me than heroes, as much as I liked them too! Vegeta started out very much as a enemy of the main protagonist of the anime, and little Sarah decided he was her favourite character. Adult Sarah still agrees, haha! 

I have always wanted a figure of Vegeta, and I was super happy when Funko started making Dragon Ball characters... I mean I love my Vegeta Pop! Vinyl figure and even though I am a collector of Pop! and love them, there's just something so much more special about having a more realistic figure. After watching countless kawaii and nerdy bedroom tours on YouTube, and seeing people's Japanese figure collections, I wanted some for myself so badly. I loved how eye-catching and incredibly detailed they were. So, you can imagine how happy I was when I saw a post over on Japan Award's Instagram showcasing the new Dragon Ball Z Absolute Perfection collection of figures by Banpresto. I had to have it! 

As soon as I took my Vegeta figure out of his box, I was blown away by how detailed he was! It's really amazing how much detail has gone in to a figure that you can win for around £20-£25 (obviously sometimes it takes more, like any arcade game it's all about luck and perseverance!). From his muscles and the parts of his armour/uniform that are taut, to his epic iconic hair and the badass look on his face, he just looks incredible and I am so happy to have added him to my toy collection. This might sound weird, but I don't care, even the butt on this figure looks good XD When they named these figures absolute perfection, they weren't kidding ;) 

The colours used for Vegeta are so bold and vibrant; I mean, look at that blue! It just pops, and he's going to be tough to miss when he's displayed up on a shelf in my room. Not only do you get the figure himself but he also comes with a base to attach to, a super cool looking rock featuring the awesome flame that surrounds Saiyan's when they are in full power, fight mode.  The design of and the shade Banpresto have used for this flame attachment matches perfectly with his hair. Another thing that is so fantastic about this figure is that there's no damage, the paintjob is amazing, and he just looks so clean, which as a collector of Funko products, I can say really surprised me because we all know how annoying they are with their manufacturing errors (ugh >.<). Okay, here's one more photo of Vegeta... it's so hard to not show you guys every single small detail on this brilliant figure! 

~ Disney Q Posket Maleficent ~

Here is another type of figure that I have had my eyes on for a while, Disney Q Poskets! I first started seeing these super kawaii figures around on Tumblr and it took me a while to discover that they weren't something that was bespoke or designed by an independent artist somewhere in the world. I honestly believed that they were going to be really expensive and difficult to obtain, because they just look so beautiful! However, one day I randomly found them on a website, I think it was for a company based in Australia, and I learnt what they were and that they were in fact made by Banpresto. I was sad when I couldn't find many of them available in the UK and I didn't want to pay too much for shipping when I was just buying one figure, and not doing a haul or something. So I just resolved myself to the fact that I wouldn't be getting a Q Posket any time soon. But thanks for Japan Award, I now have one of my very own! 

I have never really been a particular fan of Maleficent to be honest, I love all Disney movies and very much appreciate their animation and story creation, so I don't dislike many characters at least, but I just got so overexcited upon seeing a Q Posket that I felt compelled to buy her right away, and I do not regret a thing! Again, as soon as I set eyes on this figure, I was in awe of just how pretty she was in person! The big eyes that brought the figures to my attention in the first place just made me adore chibi Maleficent, and then I looked at the rest of her design and just thought wow!. 

Seriously though, how cool is this figure!? I am lovin' every part of her, from the fabulous, flowing enchantress ropes, to her awesome sceptre/staff, and her headdress. Something I have always loved about Maleficent's look is her headdress, and how much it resembles demon horns. It's so unique to her character and we all know I'm all about that spooky stuff. I love the flashes of purple and red throughout her robes, and how it matches her red nails and purple eyeshadow. Can we just talk about how on point her make up is? I love how something can be both simplistic and yet so detailed in design at the same time. Her face just draws your eyes towards it, and I think it's so cute how she's got a little cheeky smile! 

There were actually two variations of this figure available in the arcades, one with Maleficent holding a golden staff and also the green one that my figure has. I much prefer the green one because well, green is my favourite colour but also because there's just something about the colour green that suites the magical aesthetic. Japan Award won me the gold variation and another follower very kindly traded with me so that I could have the green one :) Everyone in the Japan Award community is just super kind like that.

 It seems that after purchasing this figure, I am now seeing so many incredible photographs of other Q Poskets shared within the Instagram toy community and it's made me super excited to take mine out and about and get some proper photos of her. It has also added fuel to the fire, in the sense that I now NEED more Q Poskets :D At this point, I might have to sleep on the floor because figures are taking over my life!! Here's another shot of Maleficent to show you the stand that comes with these stunning figures; I like how they've even put a floral design around the base. Again, it's phenomenal how much attention to detail has gone into these figures, considering they are usually obtainable for less than £30!  

~ 25th Anniversary Jack Skellington ~

I actually purchased this figure along with my second haul from Japan Award, which I can finally blog all about later this month and show you guys more ichiban kuji goodness! If you are a fellow fan of Tim Burton's work and/or just someone who loves The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), then you will know that November 2018 marked the 25th Anniversary for the movie! In celebration, there were so many companies that made special releases, including Funko, who brought out lots more characters in Pop! form as well as Mystery Mini blind boxes and all sorts of other awesome toys. Banpresto didn't miss out on the occasion and released this marvellous anniversary figure of main man, Mr Jack Skellington himself. Look how beautiful he is! 

This figure of Jack is the tallest figure I have ever owned, he stands at 30cm in total and his super long legs look so impressive in his iconic pinstriped suit. I really like the design and how they've incorporated the stand, or podium thing, that Jack is leaning his arm against, that also acts as a support for the figure. As you can see, there's a stone at the top of this podium that says 25 Years, and I think it's great that they've included this. Of course, the most gorgeous part of this figure is the design of Jack, his outfit is perfect! It's wonderful how they made the end of his blazer/jacket looks like it's flowing in the wind, and that they made his collar so extravagant! I am lovin' how eye-catching the little cat detail is! 

Isn't Jack's facial expression super cute!? I have always loved how simple the design of his face is but how striking it looks nonetheless. One of my favourite things about this figure are Jack's skeletal hands, the detail is really nicely done and they look incredible, even in the way they are positioned. I wanted to show you guys what the base of the figure looks like; despite it being very plain, it really does look like the base of a podium, and I personally think it finishes the overall look of the figure very well.

The only downside to this figure in my opinion is how flimsy it feels. Not the figure itself, but in the way it attaches to the base. With my other Banpresto figures, they feel very secured once I have pushed all of the slots into their corresponding parts, and I can move the figure around without worrying that it's going to fall apart. However with this Jack Skellington figure, they feel very loose and the 'pegs' or whatever you call them are always popping out of the slots whenever I move the figure. It just doesn't seem to sit right, but to be honest, it's not a big problem, and when I have this figure up on a shelf or something, I won't need to move it other than when I want to photograph it. It was also very decently priced so I don't mind :) 

I just wanted to conclude this post by showing you all what the figures look like in full. Don't they all look super terrific!? I'd love to hear what you think about Vegeta, Maleficent and Jack Skellington in the comments. I am sooooo delighted with my first ever figures from Japan and I will treasure them! They are really pretty and I have never owned anything like them before. It's going to be a struggle to save money from now on :D RIP bank account. I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing all about these fantastic figures. Apologies if I got a little carried away with myself! I cannot recommend Japan Award enough, be sure to check out their YouTube channel & Instagram if you love all things Japanese nerd culture related! 

Next, I will be blogging all about what I got for Christmas, so pop back within the next few days to see that. I'll post a notification on my Twitter when it's up so go follow me over there if you don't wanna miss that :) 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What is your favourite figure out of the three I featured in today's post? 

Do you own any figures? If so, I'd love to hear all about them!