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Welcome to the board juno4evar! :)
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Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Welcome to the board HeavensCalamity! :)
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
siiiiii, cuando salieron no pude resistirmeeeee, estan hermosaaaaas
View spoilerAAAAAAARGHHH.
You are definitely right that times have changed. My expriences were from roughly 18-20 years ago now. Lamy likely has evolved as well and students are no longer being required to use fountain pens and they also possibly have varying degrees of quality. The fact that those cheap mass produced ones are not as necessary anymore might have also added to that. Most 10 year-olds wouldn't get a super expensive one, so I'd assume basic models came with basic problems. Not to mention they were mostly cheap plastic except for the key components like the tip. But even those were cheap and bent easily if we weren't careful.
Mine didn't have a lever but we still had to poke into the cartridges in turn and that was a pain as well. xD Like sometimes they wouldn't open and you had to fiddle with them. But some also had a lever and damn was that an ordeal. I always had a little longer nails, not super long but enough to fiddle with stuff and I had to help so much. xD My nails are indestructible now.
We didn't have penmanship classes in itself but we were graded for our penmanship in all our classes until people finally figured out that it was too late to ask of students to just write better as if we all could just flip a switch and we'd be fine. Being a teacher myself, I get that teachers wanted legible handwriting but many students just aren't that great at it and also wouldn't have the patience and ability to learn. If someone likes it, I still encourage it of course, but students also started calling out the hypocrisy when many teachers couldn't exactly write in a legible manner.
I still love writing on paper. But not in an artistic way. I just like the feeling.
I'm envious. I like ballpoint pens in terms of drawing. And they are just easiee to carry around and replace on the fly. They are definitely not better for the environment but I also habe refillable ones.
Penmanship classes sound super stressful... I get that there's a huge culture around penmanship, calligraphy and such but it's just not going to work out if someone demands for an intricate and patient task to be done swiftly. Proper planning as a teacher is very important and I feel many don't understand that concept. They also can't just choose a time they think will work and then stick by that no matter what just to stick to the lesson plan. Sometimes you need to rush students a bit so that class can progress but the point of penmanship classes is to write well and nicely. And that's just not something that can be rushed. Even if someone had experience, it would take them longer to write beautifully...
I know some things are a cultural thing and I can't criticize it based on my own culture's standards but some things are just not helpful and that can be said for sure. Not everything can get a wild card just because it's a different culture. And one of those things would be to gloss things over with aesthetics. Not that other cultures are less superficial in that regard... Aesthetics can make up for a lot. Not everywhere, but it's undeniable that certain qualities are chosen purely for superficial reasons and not because of skill reasons. Be it beauty, charisma, or beautiful handwriting. In Asian cultures, I would assume it's not just appearances but also the level of refinement. Like possessing qualities that are deemed important. I'm not sure what to think of it. Especially when it comes to certain skills like penmanship. It's not like that would help in many areas... But then again, I'm not part of that culture, so it's not easy to understand. But if you also criticize it, it must be strange.
Hahaha, culture shock. xD But at least it wasn't for absolute nothing. I think that's the worst part. Learning something for years and not even having one situation to use it on.
I don't think it's sexist but more a matter of preference but also what people want in figures. If you just want your favorite characters, then the lack of male figures for anything but the big shounen series is upsetting. But who our favorite characters are can vary greatly. By gender, by points of interest (as in what people like about characters), and also a bunch of other things. Like a lot of gamers collect male figures of the protagonists of games they play. Because they identify with them, they've played as them, and the interest isn't at all based on romantic preference but just who people like as characters. And I've made the experience in that regard that depending on the type of games people play, their view on women is very... questionable at times. Like very physical. If a woman doesn't wear almost nothing, they don't care and many don't want to play female characters unless they look gorgeous.
That's not generalized of course but that's one niche of collectors.
Then we have people, mostly men but also some women, who just like women. They don't feel attracted to their figures in most cases of course but at least a part of their choice when collecting figures are aesthetics geared toward their preferences on top of wanting to like the character. And the same happens vice versa. I mean, the look of a figure still matters to most. Many wouldn't buy a figure of even their favorite character if it look super off or terrible in general.
Then we have collectors who prefer knowing the series but who will also buy OCs as long as the figure looks good.
Or those purely buying aesthetics regardless of who the character is.
What I'm meaning to say is, I don't think male figures generally have to work harder to appeal to people. Just that the target demographic for more basic male figures is another, which is mostly women. In those cases, you would find more male figures in series that are either targeted at women or both men and women. But the former barely gets figures and the latter often has a 1:3 or worse ratio. Partly because there are few hugely popular shoujo series on the scale of some shounen series (rather, there are many, many smaller series in turn) and partly because many male figures wouldn't work because the design is too basic. But same for the female characters of the same series.
Like I've seen male figures which I wanted simply because they look good and there aren't enough. There are lots of male figures with outstanding designs and people actually want them, both men and women, and they just don't get any figures.
I feel that's a shame when so many female characters of lesser known series get an abundance of figures. Sure, they look good, but they are also not always that original. Like the xth basic swimsuit pose or bunny version of a girl with a normal hairstyle without a recognizable style just feels like a cheap cashgrab.
And I also just think a part of that is also based on older values. There are a lot more female collectors now as well. And while I love my female figures just as much, it's just a shame that male figures are often reduced to the most well known series or so expensive that it's beyond affordable.
I don't think the solution is to shift any focus. I'm just thinking about whether the occasional duplicate character really needs their nth figure while some male ones didn't even get one. It's not like they don't sell or anything. And with how much is binning in the more unpopular female figure section, having some newer figures might also make people more interested.
I don't think you are wrong with your opinion. That's first off your preference and it falls in line with the preference of many. It's also not sexist to simply prefer one over the other. We all have our preferences, big or small. And I don't want to change the market catering to that. I'd just like maybe an increase of 5% more male figures because there are also many people like me who are more interested in characters and looks combined and just like a lot of male characters too. I'd still want quality figures of course. And they could also choose characters with elaborate designs. But it would be nice to have more that are not from big shounen series but smaller ones and maybe also some from works targeted toward women. We do already have some but some lack quality, and some are from heavily sexualized material. Like Yaoi. I don't mind it if people like that in men, women, and whatever combination of adults but it's just not my cup of tea to watch these series. And getting a figure I like the look of but it then comes from a series I wouldn't watch or like... That feels wrong to me personally. However, an OC could still work since the background isn't really conflicting then.
But in the end you are right that it's unlikely to change anytime soon because their stuff sells. And the reason a lot bins isn't necessarily that they dislike the figures but more a boykott of the prices and also decreasing overall quality, especially from companies like GSC. Which is a can of worms in itself.
I likw that watches are one of the few things that are still made to last. So much breaksquickly nowadays but a decent quality watch can still last you a very long time, if not your whole life. That is quite astonishing, especually considering that a good watch doesn't necessarily need to cost thousands. My sister still wears hers and it's also over 15 years now.
Yeah, it makes sense that mechanical watches don't really react well to such factors... I'd personally think they're more for less extreme things or for more expensive designs which you wouldn't wear daily maybe but to special occasions. To be fair, a quartz watch can also be used in such cases though. But if someone likes mechanical watches, then why not?
I'd probably get service for more expensive watches or those who hold sentimental value. I don't doubt that they can last long without but if it's a special watch, I'd probably want to ensure it can run even longer and prevent any issues that might have shown some signs of appearing in the future.
My father also owns an older poclet watch from his father and that one also still runs without any service but it was barely used to start with. xD My grandfather was not a pocket watch kind of person.
Makes one wonder why he even bought it.
Hahaha, a conspiracy theory in the making! Lamy's shady influence on the school system: a documentary.
To be fair, they wouldn't have funded our textbooks. My school had a library where every grade went to borrow books for the year and returned them at the end of the year or we wouldn't get our report paper. We only had to pay to replace them if we lost or broke them. The result was that costs were low but the books were old as heck. xD Some dated back to 1950.
P.S.: Don't let Lamy find out. They might silence you for badmouthing their products.
You are definitely right that times have changed. My expriences were from roughly 18-20 years ago now. Lamy likely has evolved as well and students are no longer being required to use fountain pens and they also possibly have varying degrees of quality. The fact that those cheap mass produced ones are not as necessary anymore might have also added to that. Most 10 year-olds wouldn't get a super expensive one, so I'd assume basic models came with basic problems. Not to mention they were mostly cheap plastic except for the key components like the tip. But even those were cheap and bent easily if we weren't careful.
Mine didn't have a lever but we still had to poke into the cartridges in turn and that was a pain as well. xD Like sometimes they wouldn't open and you had to fiddle with them. But some also had a lever and damn was that an ordeal. I always had a little longer nails, not super long but enough to fiddle with stuff and I had to help so much. xD My nails are indestructible now.
We didn't have penmanship classes in itself but we were graded for our penmanship in all our classes until people finally figured out that it was too late to ask of students to just write better as if we all could just flip a switch and we'd be fine. Being a teacher myself, I get that teachers wanted legible handwriting but many students just aren't that great at it and also wouldn't have the patience and ability to learn. If someone likes it, I still encourage it of course, but students also started calling out the hypocrisy when many teachers couldn't exactly write in a legible manner.
I still love writing on paper. But not in an artistic way. I just like the feeling.
I'm envious. I like ballpoint pens in terms of drawing. And they are just easiee to carry around and replace on the fly. They are definitely not better for the environment but I also habe refillable ones.
Penmanship classes sound super stressful... I get that there's a huge culture around penmanship, calligraphy and such but it's just not going to work out if someone demands for an intricate and patient task to be done swiftly. Proper planning as a teacher is very important and I feel many don't understand that concept. They also can't just choose a time they think will work and then stick by that no matter what just to stick to the lesson plan. Sometimes you need to rush students a bit so that class can progress but the point of penmanship classes is to write well and nicely. And that's just not something that can be rushed. Even if someone had experience, it would take them longer to write beautifully...
I know some things are a cultural thing and I can't criticize it based on my own culture's standards but some things are just not helpful and that can be said for sure. Not everything can get a wild card just because it's a different culture. And one of those things would be to gloss things over with aesthetics. Not that other cultures are less superficial in that regard... Aesthetics can make up for a lot. Not everywhere, but it's undeniable that certain qualities are chosen purely for superficial reasons and not because of skill reasons. Be it beauty, charisma, or beautiful handwriting. In Asian cultures, I would assume it's not just appearances but also the level of refinement. Like possessing qualities that are deemed important. I'm not sure what to think of it. Especially when it comes to certain skills like penmanship. It's not like that would help in many areas... But then again, I'm not part of that culture, so it's not easy to understand. But if you also criticize it, it must be strange.
Hahaha, culture shock. xD But at least it wasn't for absolute nothing. I think that's the worst part. Learning something for years and not even having one situation to use it on.
I don't think it's sexist but more a matter of preference but also what people want in figures. If you just want your favorite characters, then the lack of male figures for anything but the big shounen series is upsetting. But who our favorite characters are can vary greatly. By gender, by points of interest (as in what people like about characters), and also a bunch of other things. Like a lot of gamers collect male figures of the protagonists of games they play. Because they identify with them, they've played as them, and the interest isn't at all based on romantic preference but just who people like as characters. And I've made the experience in that regard that depending on the type of games people play, their view on women is very... questionable at times. Like very physical. If a woman doesn't wear almost nothing, they don't care and many don't want to play female characters unless they look gorgeous.
That's not generalized of course but that's one niche of collectors.
Then we have people, mostly men but also some women, who just like women. They don't feel attracted to their figures in most cases of course but at least a part of their choice when collecting figures are aesthetics geared toward their preferences on top of wanting to like the character. And the same happens vice versa. I mean, the look of a figure still matters to most. Many wouldn't buy a figure of even their favorite character if it look super off or terrible in general.
Then we have collectors who prefer knowing the series but who will also buy OCs as long as the figure looks good.
Or those purely buying aesthetics regardless of who the character is.
What I'm meaning to say is, I don't think male figures generally have to work harder to appeal to people. Just that the target demographic for more basic male figures is another, which is mostly women. In those cases, you would find more male figures in series that are either targeted at women or both men and women. But the former barely gets figures and the latter often has a 1:3 or worse ratio. Partly because there are few hugely popular shoujo series on the scale of some shounen series (rather, there are many, many smaller series in turn) and partly because many male figures wouldn't work because the design is too basic. But same for the female characters of the same series.
Like I've seen male figures which I wanted simply because they look good and there aren't enough. There are lots of male figures with outstanding designs and people actually want them, both men and women, and they just don't get any figures.
I feel that's a shame when so many female characters of lesser known series get an abundance of figures. Sure, they look good, but they are also not always that original. Like the xth basic swimsuit pose or bunny version of a girl with a normal hairstyle without a recognizable style just feels like a cheap cashgrab.
And I also just think a part of that is also based on older values. There are a lot more female collectors now as well. And while I love my female figures just as much, it's just a shame that male figures are often reduced to the most well known series or so expensive that it's beyond affordable.
I don't think the solution is to shift any focus. I'm just thinking about whether the occasional duplicate character really needs their nth figure while some male ones didn't even get one. It's not like they don't sell or anything. And with how much is binning in the more unpopular female figure section, having some newer figures might also make people more interested.
I don't think you are wrong with your opinion. That's first off your preference and it falls in line with the preference of many. It's also not sexist to simply prefer one over the other. We all have our preferences, big or small. And I don't want to change the market catering to that. I'd just like maybe an increase of 5% more male figures because there are also many people like me who are more interested in characters and looks combined and just like a lot of male characters too. I'd still want quality figures of course. And they could also choose characters with elaborate designs. But it would be nice to have more that are not from big shounen series but smaller ones and maybe also some from works targeted toward women. We do already have some but some lack quality, and some are from heavily sexualized material. Like Yaoi. I don't mind it if people like that in men, women, and whatever combination of adults but it's just not my cup of tea to watch these series. And getting a figure I like the look of but it then comes from a series I wouldn't watch or like... That feels wrong to me personally. However, an OC could still work since the background isn't really conflicting then.
But in the end you are right that it's unlikely to change anytime soon because their stuff sells. And the reason a lot bins isn't necessarily that they dislike the figures but more a boykott of the prices and also decreasing overall quality, especially from companies like GSC. Which is a can of worms in itself.
I likw that watches are one of the few things that are still made to last. So much breaksquickly nowadays but a decent quality watch can still last you a very long time, if not your whole life. That is quite astonishing, especually considering that a good watch doesn't necessarily need to cost thousands. My sister still wears hers and it's also over 15 years now.
Yeah, it makes sense that mechanical watches don't really react well to such factors... I'd personally think they're more for less extreme things or for more expensive designs which you wouldn't wear daily maybe but to special occasions. To be fair, a quartz watch can also be used in such cases though. But if someone likes mechanical watches, then why not?
I'd probably get service for more expensive watches or those who hold sentimental value. I don't doubt that they can last long without but if it's a special watch, I'd probably want to ensure it can run even longer and prevent any issues that might have shown some signs of appearing in the future.
My father also owns an older poclet watch from his father and that one also still runs without any service but it was barely used to start with. xD My grandfather was not a pocket watch kind of person.
Makes one wonder why he even bought it.
Hahaha, a conspiracy theory in the making! Lamy's shady influence on the school system: a documentary.
To be fair, they wouldn't have funded our textbooks. My school had a library where every grade went to borrow books for the year and returned them at the end of the year or we wouldn't get our report paper. We only had to pay to replace them if we lost or broke them. The result was that costs were low but the books were old as heck. xD Some dated back to 1950.
P.S.: Don't let Lamy find out. They might silence you for badmouthing their products.
Welcome to the board tamago11! :)
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Welcome to the board rimini! :)
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Welcome to the board Futanacci! :)
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Bought cinnamon 1/4th and she came in two days and absolutely no damages. Very patient with me. 10/10! ヾ(＠⌒▽⌒＠)ﾉ
Wow, what an incredible collection you have. I love it so much!
Welcome to the board MidnightMeddy! :)
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
Please take the time to read our Community Guidelines.
If you need any help with the site, please have a look at the FAQ. Also, if you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it to the appropriate discussion at the official MFC club.
Enjoy your stay! ^^
