Going to the Movies Means I Get Toys!!!!!

Last night, my friend Lindsay and I went to the movies to see "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel. The movie was very funny and we couldn't help to laugh more due to the fact that half of the jokes were lost in translation. We were laughing so hard that tears were about to run down our faces and everyone else was dead silent. I am not sure a joke about gonorrhea translates well, huh?

In any case, going to the CGV, Korea's big movie theater chain, warrants a chance to buy lovely toys from the Gashapon dispensers. I unloaded the coins into the machine to see what I could end up with....

The ticket for the CGV. When you buy a ticket for the movies here, you choose a specific seat. Movie going is extremely popular here and most shows sell out in advance. Lindsay and I arrived over an hour early to buy tickets but still ended up with the dreaded front row tickets that kill your eyes. And this is for a movie that has been out for a month now!

This lovely Gashapon is from "Dead Agressor", which I am assuming is either an Anime or video game or some sort. I just wanted her because she was charming!

An extremely detailed and complex "Astro Boy" figure. I was very pleased with the detail of this toy, but sad that it wasn't one of the cute ones, but rather a super boyish one. Eh, I will give it to my boyfriend and he will be a happy guy, right?

The New Girls

To releive stress and entertain myself a bit, I have purchased a new plastic figurine everyday over lunch break. It definitely amuses me! Makes me feel like a kid again:)

I am actually a bit embarassed to buy these little toys from the capsule machine outside of the bodega near my school. Yesterday, I was pumping my coins into the little slot when a mother and her child came behind me to buy the newest Pokemon capsule toy. I wonder are these little figures I buy considered adult toys? Or overly sexy and a bit vulgar? I felt sooo dirty! Sometimes it is a bit of a blessing in disguise that I can not speak Korean, so that I don't have to hear all of the aweful things that people probably say when they see me!

So anyways, here are "The New Girls"

Girlfriend in a Bubble

Lately, I have been fascinated by all the cute toys you can get out of the vending machines outside of some stores. My new favorite as of today are the super-sexy bubble girls! I did a bit of research on them when I got home and found out that most of the toys are produced by Bandai, the Japanese toy company that makes Tamagachi, the digital pocket pets that were popular when I was in middle school. These vending machines are called "Gashapon" in Japan.... I am not 100% sure what they are called here in Korea but I know they are common in the lobby area of Lotte Mart and E-Mart here in Suji.

"Gashapon are the nifty encapsuled toys and trinkets found just about anywhere in Japan. Gashapon machines are basically they are toy vending machines, randomly dispensing their wares when money is inserted and the handle is turned. Turn the handle--"gasha!"--and "pon!", out comes the toy!"

For more information about the phenomena:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashapon

Here are my pictures of the girls in the bubbles I picked up today!