A cool, unique, and easy-to-pack gift for fans of Japanese pop culture (yourself included).
Japan's largest anime and game specialty stores gather together, Akihabara in Tokyo This neighborhood is the perfect place to get a glimpse of Japanese pop culture. Since Akihabara has become an international tourist attraction, it is also a place to find out what resonates with travelers from overseas. PK Sangjun Visited the neighborhood recently.
Yodobashi Akibaas a home electronics retail store chain. Yodobashi Camera There is a toy department on the 6th floor of the Akihabara store. As Mr. PK walked through it, he discovered his group of six foreigners gathered at his one of the displays. PK doesn't speak much English, but I could tell that they were excited about what they were seeing, saying, “It's cool!” and “Wow!”
So what moved them so much?
paper theater.
Manufactured by a toy and novelty manufacturer in Saitama Prefecture ensky, Paper Theater is not a brand new company, but it is a company that is constantly introducing new designs.They are Build-your-own papercraft art exhibit featuring characters from many popular anime series.
What makes these especially cool is that each kit is highly complex and when assembled they create a 3D effect due to their multi-layered design..
Exact prices vary depending on the size and complexity of the kit, but start at approximately 1,000 yen (US$6.55).
Although it wasn't PK's first time seeing a paper theater, he realized he had never actually bought one. But after seeing how excited international travelers were, I decided to give it a try this time. Browse through our selection including character kits from Pokemon, one piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Precureand a plethora of Studio Ghibli anime, PK finally settled on buying the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Guido Mista paper theater kit for 1,290 yen..
To assemble the kit, you'll need a craft knife and glue, but tweezers are also handy.
PK is not a huge arts and crafts person, but he still thought he could get it all done in less than an hour. After all, you just cut and glue layers of paper together, right?
But the process turned out to be more complicated than he expected. Anime fans are by nature a group that values visual design very much, so Paper Theater's kits are very detailed and require many intricate little cuts to be made.
After an hour, the penalty kicks didn't seem to end, but they weren't bored either. Projects like this have a fun rhythm to create once you get the hang of it, so I kept working until I had everything…
…and it was awesome!
From start to finish, PK took about 3 hours to assemble And he thinks he could have spent twice as much if he had been really strict about making every cut and paste perfect. However, even if you leave a little room for accuracy, it still looks great, and if you're the type of person who enjoys the process of creating models and craft projects, Paper His Theater will give you hours of experience even before you set it up on your computer. Provide entertainment. Desks and shelves to admire. plus, The Paper Theater is lightweight and flat before assembly, making it very easy to pack, making it a great souvenir for friends and family on their trip to Japan..
Given the neighborhood's emphasis on games and anime, Yodobashi in Akihabara naturally has a particularly good selection of paper theaters, but the kits are available at other branches of the chain and other specialty stores in Japan. Click here for the hobby shop and Ensky online shop.
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