MaxFactory has commenced preorder for the diligent and bookish member of the disciplinary committee, Mana Miyuki from the ergo Se.Kirara. She is posed trying to hold her skirt down as she is hit by a sudden gust of wind, revealing her beautiful curves.

She is scheduled for release in Sep 2013 and will be retailing for around 7,800 yen. Interested folks can place your preorders with Hobby Search, CDJapan or Hobby Link Japan.

In addition to Kousaka Kirino PVC [Sexy Bikini Ver.], Chara-Ani has commenced preorder for this lovely scaled figure of Kuroneko from the light novel and anime series Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない).

She is scheduled for release in Aug 2013 and will be retailing for around 7,980 yen. Interested folks can place your preorders with HobbyLink Japan, CDJapan, Hobby Search.

Chara-Ani has commenced preorder for this kawaii scaled figure of Kousaka Kirino (高坂桐乃) from the light novel and anime series Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない). She is wearing a cute bikini and posed holding a tiny blue dolphin.

She is scheduled for release in Aug 2013 and will be retailing for around 6,980 yen. Interested folks can place your preorders with HobbyLink Japan, CDJapan, Hobby Search.

GoodSmile Company has commenced preorder for the adorable set of Nendoroid Puchi Love Live!, featuring Kousaka, the central member together with two of the other members, Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami! Each of the characters comes in both their Otonokizaka Academy uniform as well as their ‘µ’s’ stage outfits.

The set is is scheduled for release in Oct 2013, and will be retailing for 4,600yen. Interested folks can place your preorder with Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan and CDJapan.

The Japanese word “Inaka 田舎” is used to describe the rural countryside, and for Today’s Japan Photo, we see a beautiful capture of the countryside of Okayama Prefecture. It just feel so serene when I look at this photo.

Image Credit: camerafool flickr

For Today’s Japan Photo, we will be crossing the Sacred Bridge 神橋 that links the Japanese town of Nikko to Futarasan Shrine. The bridge is ranked as one of Japan’s three finest bridges and during feudal times, the sacred bridge could be used only by the emperor.

Image Credit: ajpscs flickr

The official website for the Monogatari Series Second Season has announced that singer Haruna Luna would be singing the ending theme song “Ai o Utae”.

The new series would be covering materials from Nekomogatari (White), Kabukimonogatari, Hanamonogatari, Otorimonogatari, Onimonogatari, and Koimonogatari, and is set to premier on 06 Jul 2013.

Microsoft has unveiled their next generation console – Xbox One. The name “One” stems from the vision to integrate everything (your internet, TV shows, Skype, video game) with your television. The system comes with an updated 2.0 Kinect peripheral to allow more voice commands and hand gestures.

The Xbox ONE can rent films, or play and record live television using an interactive TV guide. Users can switch instantaneously between games, films, television and the web, and even run multiple features alongside one another. So are you impressed yet?

Unfortunately, there’s 2 aspect to the new console that I don’t really like. One is that the games are not backward compatible due to the change in system architecture. Second is that you can no longer trade game discs between friends because the game disc acts more like a delivery medium and is tied to your gamer account. If you want to play the game, you would need to pay the fee to own it, which is good for developers looking to make more money but not for gamers if they just want to try it out.

On paper, the specs for the Xbox One is on par with the PS4, so it would be interesting to see how the 2 machines square off against each other in a couple of weeks when the PS4 is unveiled at E3.

Mika-tan has uploaded some lovely preview images of the upcoming Nendoroid Puchi Love Live!, featuring Kousaka, the central member together with two of the other members, Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami! Each of the characters comes in both their Otonokizaka Academy uniform as well as their ‘µ’s’ stage outfits. Preorder would be commencing tomorrow! >w<

Tokyo Tower has beeon of the key landmarks for Japan, and for Today’s Japan Photo, we take a look at this beautiful capture of the tower from underneath by photographer Jacob Chen.

Tokyo Tower [東京タワー] is a communications and observation tower located in Shiba Park, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It used to be the tallest artificial structure in Japan until Tokyo Sky Tree was constructed.

Image Credit: Jacob Chen flickr

Shounen Jump has issued a notice informing fans that the One Piece manga will be postponed for 2 week because the mangka Oda Eiichiro has been hospitalised.

No big worries though because Oda has been warded for a case of inflamed tonsils, so he will be back to health pretty soon. Here’s wishing him speedy recovery! ^O^

GoodSmile Company is re-releasing Nendoroid Zetsubo-Sensei, and this is a very special version featuring colors selected by the original manga’s author, Kouji Kumeta.

This special version is being released in Sep 2013, and will be retailing for 3,800 yen. Interested folks can place your preorder with CDJapan, HobbyLink Japan and Hobby Search.

You can also check out the re-released version with original colours (CDJapan, HobbyLink Japan and Hobby Search).