Yotsuba&!

Man, I really love the manga Yotsuba&!. It chronicles the adventures of a five year-old girl in suburbia who is constantly pleased by all the things around her. It is the least cynical thing I have ever read, which is doubly amazing because I also consider it one of the funniest and most nuanced things I've ever read. It's one of the few Manga that the author has stated will never be adapted into an anime, which is cool especially when you remember that his other manga, which was adapted into an anime, became an insanely popular anime series and probably netted him a lot of cash. This is a really roundabout way of saying I really like Yotsuba&! and I really wanted a toy to commemorate this.

And they released one, and then another, and then they became collector's items imported from Japan... which means they go for about $80 now. Unless you go to a convention where a vendor is selling one of the few domestically re-releases on sale! SCORE! Yotsuba Kowaii is a Revoltech figure, which means a crazy amount of articulation. (Ever want to see a figure clap? Now you can.) And just to let you do all you want with the high number of joints, the figure comes with a stand that will prop the figure up... also allowing for jumping simulations. Another great feature of this figure is the accessories, which come in the form of an ice cream bar, a squirt gun, and alternate heads/hands.

I love this. I shoudln't have waited when it first came out. (I was poor back then.) But even so, I have one now and I am happy. Until I walk away from the figure and my cynicism returns.