[ NIHON BUNKA KENKYUU ] BUNKEN 101: Reviews, comments, and insights on Japanese pop culture.
Okay, we all know that GAINAX comes us with the best crap ever. Even the BANDAI merchandising franchises have nothing on the onslaught of squeeable GAINAX collectibles. Just staring at the back issues of NEWTYPE with their full color spreads and their hyper-detailed descriptions is enough to send anyone with a credit card and a fetish for AYANAMI REI into a downward spiral of debt and despair.
Alas, GAINAX is cruel as ever, and this time it's got its claws irrevocably hooked not just on the salivating dating-sim geeks, but even the girliest of its girly fans. Yes, folks -- we're not pulling your leg. those are MOMOKO dolls. More specifically, MOMOKO dolls cosplaying as GAINAX babes. I ph34r for our collective souls.
The thing with MOMOKO dolls is so far I've been able to resist purchasing one, despite being in the company of Khursten's MIDNIGHT CROSSING MOMOKO, Miss Haruna (who plays NATALIE PORTMAN to SOLID SNAKE's JEAN RENO). Not even a BUY NOW button attached to an LE first-run PURE VIOLET MOMOKO was enough to faze me. But put her in an AYANAMI costume, and I am a lost cause.
No matter how hard I am itching to get my hands on one, AYANAMI REI MOMOKO is gong to be difficult to acquire :/ First of all, all three GAINAX girls are limited edition runs to be sold at this summer's WONDERFEST, where the EVA SHOP has a booth somewhere within the bowels of TOKYO BIG SIGHT. And we all know that [limited numbers] x [rabid fanboys] = [artificial price increase] x.X;; From an initial price of Y16,500++ I'll bet each girl will go for upwards of Y20,000 as their numbers dwindle.
Although the dolls are slated to be sold on the online EVA shop after WONFEST, I doubt there will be enough left to sell on the site after the AKIBA KEIs finish off the last of the ladies from the booth. It's doubtful too that they'll release a re-run, defeating the purpose of having a limited edition, as well as cause the first batch of dolls to de-value. And -- well, cause the REI fanboys flood 2CH with their furious complaints and angry ASCII art.
For the time being, I won't be optimistic on my chances of scoring one of the REI dolls. I'll wait and see first how much the whole thing wil cost (shipping and other fees included). I also have to finish off the back-log of pre-orders I have on several online shops. But once I get all of that out of the way, and manage to have some cash left over, then all bets are off.