The Unattainable EH Collectable?

[js_morris]

I've been poking around here the past few weeks, looking at various messages and all. But much to my shock, no one has commented on the one EH collectable that I've yet to see on eBay or at any convention.

I speak of course of the Ura plushie.

It exists; I know it does.

http://www.el-hazardonline-dl2.net/artbooks/etranger/Etrangerpage39.jpg

Look at the central male figure (I figure it's Makoto's VA) and what he's holding in his arms.  The plushie shows up elsewhere in that section. So obviously some were made and are now...who knows where?

Anyone seen/bought/own/ one?

JSM

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Even with all the remaining El-Hazard stuff I have yet to buy (PC-98 version of the EH game, various CDs, and some other odd media I haven't seen before) showing up on Japanese auction sites, I've never seen the Ura plushie outside of only two photos; that one and one on Makoto's site.

[Saucer]

It's most likely one of two things;

1) A UFO catcher doll

or

2) A one-off promotional thing AIC drew up. Sort of like the Bubblegum Crisis Priss and Linna cosplay hardsuits they used to drag to conventions? (the link to which seem to have been removed from AnimEigo's website   )

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

I've speculated that it was never mass produced, as Saucer suggests.  Only because it doesn't pop up on every other El-Hazard collector's site, y'know?

[Tim needs time to work it out]

Bobby Parabeetle - "I've never seen the Ura plushie outside of only two photos; that one and one on Makoto's site."

The picture on Makoto's site is just a blowup of the same picture in the book.  There are other pictures of them holding it, but so far the Etranger is the ONLY book I saw that contained that cute plushie.

[Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)]

Yeah... when I first saw Makoto's site's image, I hadn't obtained Etranger yet.  So, simply put, the image mentally blurred into making me think I had seen "someone" holding the cat, as in, someone not related to the EH creation cast.  

As such, I am now 100% sure, until evidence of otherwise surfaces, that this plush has only one in existance and it was toyed with by the creation crew.  Hell, maybe one of them even crafted it.    I'll bet you Etranger holds the answers.

[Makoto Mizuhara]

Yeah... when I first saw Makoto's site's image, I hadn't obtained Etranger yet.  So, simply put, the image mentally blurred into making me think I had seen "someone" holding the cat, as in, someone not related to the EH creation cast.  

As such, I am now 100% sure, until evidence of otherwise surfaces, that this plush has only one in existance and it was toyed with by the creation crew.  Hell, maybe one of them even crafted it.    I'll bet you Etranger holds the answers.

He resurfaces again...

Actually, according to Hitoshi Doi, during the run of the late-night El-Hazard Radio Show, Tetsuya and Etsuko (Makoto and Alielle) talked about how the dolls were on sale.

http://www.usagi.org/~doi/seiyuu/radio/elhazard/19960531.html

My guess is that it was an extremely small production run and there just weren't that many out there.  

Oh well, all a devoted fan can do is keep an eye out and hope one day that one of those plushies shows up on this side, be it eBay or some dealer or whatever...

And on that day, I'm sure there will be much bloodshed as prolly 4-8 people scramble to outbid/buy it before anyone else...

I have a custom Ura vest though that a cosplaying friend sold to me when he was done with it. (Actually, it came it handy during winter cons because that thing was warm and comfortable as hell.) (it also made Kazuto Nakazawa do a double take which was priceless.)

I'm glad to see that people do visit my page...