EX Holiday Staff Picks

Miscellaneous Picks

Charles: UFO catcher dolls make great stocking stuffers if you can find them or have someone in Japan get them for you!

Keith: Dark Phoenix action figure. Having the alter ego of the EIC peering down at you as you work on your assignments is a great motivator to get them in on time...

Roderick: Want to get a better handle on the anime industry from the land of anime? Then think about subscribing to a Japanese industry mag. All four of the top names have their pluses, but since everyone always raves about NEWTYPE, I will therefore recommend another: ANIME V. Find out about OVAs you will probably never hear about outside of Japan (though EX tries). And as a bonus, watch your anime mini-poster collection grow astronomically (which, I confess, is one of the chief reasons I started subscribing).

Eugene: A plush Ryo-oh-ki. I had one of these, but my sibling decided to make a gift out of it to his girlfriend. I'm not too willing to plop down another $55 for this critter, but I wouldn't mind receiving one for St. Nick's Day.

Ken: NEWTYPE back issues (import): Not only great for the archives, but some back issues of Japan's premiere anime magazine actually contain useful, reusable information! One such issue is October 1994 with the Anime Cult Guide, an in-depth look at the anime shopping scene in Tokyo with maps and descriptions. And as I'll be in Tokyo while you're reading this, don't worry, I'll be using the Guide to its fullest potential.

Eri: You say your friend can't read Japanese? Why not buy him or her a good Japanese to English dictionary? Tastes and Japanese language skills vary, so be sure to take a long hard look at your options first. Scared by the prices? Used dictionaries tend to be a lot cheaper than new ones.

Maria: NEXT GENERATION -- January Issue If you liked Sega Saturn's NiGHTS, you'll get into the holiday mood with a special CD insert in NEXT GENERATION's January Issue: CHRISTMAS NiGHTS! Be on the look out for it at the end of December!

Tom: Orikasa Ai autographed Ryoko cel. So this one maybe hard to get a hold of. Oh well....after all, at Anime Expo 96, I did buy an Aeka and just happen to get Takada Yumi to sign it! Maybe it will happen again! ^_^;

Eugene Moon: EVANGELION character utility (Windows 95). A neat little utility that sits a character from Eva on top of your active window. Sure, they don't do anything but sit there and blink, and your graphics may glitch slightly while playing CIVILIZATION II, but it's just cool. So get Misato to cheer you up while you do programming drudgery in Borland, or have Asuka give you the glare as you type up that EX article that was due last week [Editor-in-Chief's note: I wouldn't recommend that last one].