There's no difference. It's a direct importation. All of Good Smile and Kotobukiya figures have the same boxes with all the same sealings, etc. that you would find at any reputable store. Otherwise, it's strange.

Has the earthquake situation gotten any better in Japan Mr Khan? I'm pretty sure it's been a year now since it happened. The American media has totally dropped the subject so we don't know anything anymore about that situation. I'm hoping it's become better!

How's the life there compared to your native land? Is the grass greener there , metaphorically speaking? I was thinking of studying abroad there, but I don't know. It's quite an unknown land..

Reconstruction is slow, and the 20 km restricted area is still restricted due to irradiation, but that's all quite far away from Tokyo where i've been. I may make a trip outside Tokyo while here, but it would only be to Kyoto and Nara, and that's down south not up Tohoku way (where the tsunami hit). It's one of those "life goes on," scenarios, really.

@ luvstospooge

It's better in some ways and worse in others. On the better side are heated toilet seats, vending machines you can trust (would you safely put $100 into a vending machine and expect to see any of it ever again? You can do that here), no fear of street crime, and generally more polite people all around. On the worse side is a far higher cost of living (that gets better if you go outside Tokyo, but its still bad from what i hear) and the fact that most things are smaller and everything with a motor (like clothes dryers or vacuum cleaners) is weaker.

Definitely worth a semester abroad. Less certain if i'd want to live here long-term.

Oh, well that sucks. I hope it gets better. Japan seems to spring back strong from these type of disasters.

looks like a nice country to visit. i want to go to japan and usa someday

I would reccomend you visit USA first so to not dissapoint yourself with how bad it is compared to Japan.

For tourists, maybe, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. While it is true that a tourist is likely to be safer in Japan and that the Japanese tend to be friendlier (with the drawback that the Japanese tend also to be more withdrawn. If you meet an American who isn't a jerk they're more likely to strike up a friendly conversation out of the blue, whereas Japanese are much more hesitant to inquire), Japan is a country with problems all its own just like America. Different problems, but problems all the same (higher suicide rate, stronger sexism in the workforce, an ass-backwards attitude on school bullying, a bureacracy that the legislature finds hard to tame, and an aging population being the standouts).

I'm sure that you are much happier in Japan than you were/would be in USA.

Equally happy, i would say.