Juno meets Arale chan!

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

Hello there! How is everything going at your home? Hope you are keeping safe and healthy!

In order to keep our minds entertained during the weekend, we thought it was the perfect time to open that Arale toy we bought in Japan last year. Who would have thought I would be so happy with my procrastination, ha!

I was referring to the weekend only because we are currently (& luckily) working remotely from home, so no much time left from Monday to Friday with the full-time work plus cooking & house cleaning. How's your work situation? Government in Spain has requested to do remote work when possible, although lots of jobs have been suspended (mainly in stores, restaurants, etc..). However the government is giving 70% of the salary to those people affected by job suspension during the months of lockdown, how are you dealing in your countries?

So, yes, without further ado, let's meet Arale for the fun stuff!

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

We bought this mechanics toy in Akihabara (Tokyo) in a popular second-hand store called Kotobukiya. Have you ever been to this store? I was not expecting how it works at all, it is a huge building with several floors, in which you will found several small stores inside. So, you may find the same item in different stores, which makes you a little hesitant if you either have to keep checking all of stores for the best price, or take it because it is unique and not available anywhere else.

In fact, I went to this store looking for Nendoroids, which are vinyl figures that have several parts inside the same box, so you can have the same figure but with different faces or body position. I was interested in Disney or Harry Potter models, and the hunt was quite crazy. While Dani was checking the prices in other of the (mini) stores, I was reserving a box in another, ha! I finally ended up buying an Anna from Frozen, and I had Elsa on my hands too but I finally let her go (pun intended!) because I wasn't sure we had enough room in our suitcases. There wasn't at the moment much room, since we had also bought the drum from the Nintendo Switch Taiko no Tatsujin, and my wand from USJ was also another suitcase important inhabitant to consider *wink*. Of course, I now regret having Anna (with Olaf) all alone, thus I had planned on getting Elsa this year, but... well, you know how this story ends... corona happened and we had to cancel our May trip.

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

What about Arale? Well, this was a rush purchase, I saw the boxes of the Arale near the cash register and they were marked at less than 15€, so we adopted her too! The toy looked so fun because it is one of those mechanics (plastic parts though) that you build yourself, and it was specially funny because you were building the robotic Arale inside too. In case you haven't watched Dr Slump....seize this lockdown to track it down, it is just the funniest and silliest anime from the 80s by the same creator of Dragon Ball. Arale is an android made by Dr Senbei Norimaki, whom keeps her identity secret to the rest of the Penguin Village neighbors. The rest of secondary characters in the anime are just the best, this anime is one of the most beloved memories from my childhood.

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

The instructions are straightforward, so there's not a possible chance to get lost. However, having patience, being observant and delicate while cutting the little pieces from each plate, are useful skills! Just by looking at the result you wouldn't guess it is made of so many little parts, right? It is very lovely.

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

Juno was more interested in the box than the contents, in fact I think Arale scares her a little bit!

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

Talking about the details, the glasses have little clear lenses! In this stage we were joking with Dani how Arale looked more like a Spanish famous director called Santiago Segura, rather than herself.

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

TAAA-DAAA

I was planning on naming this post "welcome to the 30s somethings toy club", because yes, I am in my 30s and love to spend my weekend with plastic toys, ha! as much as I love other crafts, reading or watching a movie, I think this blog is making me more secure to show every part of me without shame and meet people that feel the same.

Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us
Dr Slump Arale Figure rise Mechanics Bandai - The cat, you and us

Which are your hobbies during quarantine? I think that after finishing up this 1 year later, I am ready to tackle my never-ending "wall art in the living room" project, ha!

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1 Comment

  1. Fee ADDS...

    Eeep, so cute! I don’t actually know that anime and I definitely wouldn’t have guessed all those little parts were needed! I love building toys. I used to get sad when the kinder surprise toys didn’t need any building *wah*. I loved lego too! I remember my Mum wouldn’t let me put the stickers on toys though because she needed them to be straight :P. Never too old for toys or kawaii things!

    23rd April 2020

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