Chiba Days #15 - Hunting for Eli

Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of Chiba Days, this time featuring a surprise find. It was a quiet Monday morning when I received a notification email from Mandarake at exactly 2:15 am in the afternoon. At first, I could not believe the contents of the email but, clicking on the online shop's link confirmed everything I needed to know. Not one but, three (!!!) pajamas Love Live Nesoberi(s) had just been stocked in Mandarake's Akihabara complex. Most importantly, Eli was part of the trio that were on sale. The other two being Nico and Maki.

Sensing the urgency of the matter, I made a bee-line straight to Akihabara as soon I had finished my work for the day. By then, it was already 6 pm in the evening and my fears that someone would have purchased grow ever more surmountable. 

Thankfully, Eli was still available in stores by the time I made it up to the 8th floor of the complex where all the toys lied. In fact, the three pajamas Nesoberi(s) were such recent additions that the staff had not have the time to properly allocate space for the large plush toys and they were temporarily housed in the shelves behind the cashier's counter. 

I seriously contemplated getting all three Mega Jumbo Nesoberi(s) but, cooler heads prevailed and I finally settled on just a single Eli Nesoberi. Not only would getting three of them cost me 9,000 Yen, it would also deprive other more avid fans of Nico and Maki from getting them. If it was a Rin though, the story would be entirely different.

Together with the Mega Jumbo Nesoberi Eli, I also purchased the earlier shown Rem and Ram plush toys. By far, Mandarake still remains to be the cheapest place for one to get anime plush toys. Together, Rem and Ram sold for only 3,000 Yen, a rather affordable proposition. Not only that, Eli herself cost only 3,000 Yen whereas most other shops would be happy to charge double that amount!

In the end, the final tally was a large Mandarake paper bag filled with adorable plush toys. Because I had visited Mandarake on a weekday evening, the commute back was an absolute nightmare especially with such a large paper bag!

Fortunately, the contents within remained just fine due to their soft, squishy nature. The Rem and Ram plush toys do look rather adorable but, they are not mine. Just like the Mega Jumbo Nesoberi Nero, the twins will soon make a move to their rightful owner soon. 

"Love Live! School Idol Festival Jumbo Nesoberi Ayase Eli" as written on the sticker that came with the plastic bag wrapping Eli. While the description and manufacturing year does not match, I am honestly surprised Mandarake actually got hold of the original plastic wrapping too!

So after a year long hunt, it has finally come down to this. Being at the right place and the right time could have never been described more accurately as I finally add pajamas Nesoberi Eli to the collection. She may alone for now but, it will not be long before she returns to the longing company of Nozomi. Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!