Nice clear starry sky for Silent Night. Hope none of you are getting a hangover already for those going out for the night!

As for me, I was browsing around the YesAsia site today to see how the HK version of Byosoku 5 Centimeters movie was selling and had a glance at what "Minis" they were giving out. I saw these.

Gachapon figures featuring Japanese emoticons! Must get one!

You can see plenty of these emoticons on Japanese blogs or, MMOs such as FFXI and Megami Tensei IMAGINE. I'm sure you'll agree they look much more interesting than Western emoticons that you have to view sideways. If you watch J-Drama then you'll definitely have seen them in popular shows such as Densha Otoko (Train Man), the Otaku "fairy tale".

Yujin, the manufacturer of these figures, made this comical promotional video that shows you the typical life of the stereotype "Otaku".

For those of you who don't know what "Otaku" means, it's the Japanese word for "nerd", generally someone who has obsessive hobbies. In the Western world however, the word usually refers to someone who is really into Anime, Manga and related goods or events.
So what are the Otaku Kaomoji-kuns doing here?

1. Waking up at 11 in the morning.
2. Dressing up but decides he doesn't like bears.
3. Going to Akiba (Akihabara) everyday.
4. Maids welcoming their "Master" home.
5. Kaomoji-kun enjoying the service at the maid cafe.
6. Feeling down because of an ugly figure.
7. Turning the Gashapon machines until the secret toy appears.
8. Going out to pre-order something only to find it's sold out.
9. Every generation of Kaomoji-kun likes going to the convenient store.
10. Panting while standing around reading the adult magazines.
11. Enjoying junk food.
12. Working for the day.
13. Time to go home!
14. Checking out videos late into the night.
15. Falling asleep - Good night!

Pretty fun video besides the tushy shaking and gas releasing ^^;

While on the subject of emoticons, there has been several occasions that Japanese I chat to online didn't know what the smiley : ) meant. In the end I had to use the simple ^_^ that Anime fans are so used to using to explain to them what it meant.

Well, hope I don't get any of the maid ones. These Gachapons really only sell for less than US$1 so YesAsia's making quite a profit off people who buy them separately but, guess you don't have a choice when your area doesn't sell them.