Yoshitaka Amano Art Exhibition, Part 2

 (If you somehow missed part 1, check it out here!)

The second part of the Yoshitaka Amano art exhibition at The Warehouse is here! A whole new set of paintings is now on display--this time showcasing Amano's more commercial work, like things related to anime, video games, etc. (If you missed seeing the first part of the exhibition, some of his ink and paint works from the first part ARE still on display in both the lobby and the small "room" near the end of the main area!)

Yoshitaka Amano Art Exhibition, Part 1

 

Stock photo of the man himself at work!

Like many nerds of a certain age, I've been a fan of Yoshitaka Amano's ethereal & dreamy art since first seeing his work on the Final Fantasy game series. He's also well known for his artwork for the Vampire Hunter D novel series, as well as his dreamy character designs for Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg. So you can imagine my elation when Instagram actually did something RIGHT for once in it's miserable existence-- it showed me an ad for an upcoming art exhibition of works by Amano at a museum that was not too far away from me. Usually Amano's works are shown in galleries in places like New York City and Los Angeles, much too far away for me to consider seeing myself, so this felt like an incredibly rare opportunity. Because of this, I ended up going with a group of friends I told about the exhibition, because why WOULDN'T I share this kind of amazing experience with others?! The more the merrier, right?

Cool find at Anime Frontier 2025!

Hey friends! This year, due to health reasons, I was only able to attend one day of Anime Frontier last month. But that one day was still pretty damn fruitful: not only did I get to check out their new layout for the Exhibit Hall (they now have a dedicated food hall & beer garden, with LOTS more seating, which was pretty awesome!), I stumbled upon an amazing prototype for upcoming merch for a 90s anime series I was NOT expecting--Samurai Pizza Cats!

This photo I snapped was originally posted to the podcast's instagram!

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw these cuties! With the series' recent 35th anniversary & video game announcement, I guess Tatsunoko really wants to put out some cool stuff for the fans (which is awesome, considering that the English version of the show was never super popular, but is still considered a cult classic.) Turns out, these adorable plush versions of the Pizza Cats are made by the relatively new, small plush toy maker called Rimi Star Production. I got to talk to one of the staff running the booth, and was told that they're aiming to get these official Tatsunoko Pro collab plushies available for order sometime "this winter". Now, it might be hard to tell from the photo above, but these plush Pizza Cats are HUGE! They are around 28 inches (71 cm) long, and made with soft, cuddly materials, making them perfect to hug. They also have retractable ears (on pull-back strings, so you don't lose them!), to mimic how they're "movable" in the show!

Some examples of the Pizza Cats' movable ears from the anime

They seem to be bringing these prototypes to conventions to show them off and spread the word, so if you wanna see where they'll show next, you can follow them on their official instagram here! The person I talked to said that once these are released, if they do well they might put out more characters, as Tatsunoko was very enthusiastic about this collab! So if you wanna see more, show your support once those pre-orders go up!

As always, many thanks to Anime Frontier for the press pass so I could get the chance to see these beauties in person! I can't wait to see what the final product will look like!

The Gundam Base at Anime Frontier 2024

 

Anime Frontier in Fort Worth, TX has been lucky enough to be the host of Bandai-Namco's Gundam Base pop-up for several years now, and 2024 was no exception!  I wanted to share some photos I took at the event, as The Gundam Base is a rare treat for folks in the US to not only shop for some Gunpla and merch, but to see some pretty cool Gundam related displays!

While waiting in line to enter Gundam Base, there were a lot of things to look at, making the wait seem a little less boring. Here, we have a display of the brand new GQuuuuuuX Gunpla, from the upcoming new anime from Sunrise & Studio Khara.

There was also a huge timeline next to the main entrance, which not only highlighted all the various Mobile Suit Gundam anime, but showed where they fit chronologically. 

Once inside Gundam Base, you're immediately greeted by a beautiful, large replica statue of the original Mobile Suit, the RX-78-2. 

Throughout Gundam Base, there were even more displays that not only highlighted products you could buy, but also the history of Gunpla, which was really great for folks who might be new to the hobby and the franchise! 

While there were plenty of Gunpla kits from the newer shows, I was happy to see that they also stocked some of the old favorites for fans of the older shows. Check out this beautiful Gundam Wing kit! 

 
And of course, there were no shortage of Gundam cosplayers who made their pilgrimage to Gundam Base! I was thrilled to see this amazing Tequila Gundam from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, as well as a classic Char Aznable from the original series! 

Bandai-Namco also had their own Gashapon Shop at Anime Frontier as well, so of course I had to stop by and check it out! 

While I didn't get any Gundam related gashapon, I did get something extremely cool: tiny replicas of the Japanese Neon Genesis Evangelion VHS releases! 

I love all the tiny details, right down to the VHS labels! 

Thank you so much to the folks at Bandai-Namco USA and The Gundam Base for letting me tour your booths and take photos! Be sure to listen to the Anime Frontier 2024 Podcast report to hear more about my experience there!