I was surprised on my recent trip to Seattle (not to mention other trips) that I am still seeing the anime merchandise market induated with Death Note, yet a lot of these retailers are not carrying Gurren Lagann merchandise yet. Not that this is an issue -- there's plenty to get online, and the craze for the superlative series seems to only be blazing hotter by the moment.I'm sure by next summer we'll be drenched from everything from shirts to replicas of Yoko's underwear (which, frankly, would be f*cking FANTASTIC).

Spotted at the recent Chara Hobby event, Alter had two prototypes on display that are by far the most stunning recreations of Yoko I have seen yet. The first is in her bounty hunter costume and wearing an expression that sums up the essence of the character's spirit, while the second is in her teacher costume -- definitely more demure, but kickass nonetheless. No pricing info was announced, but we can expect them in 2009. I'll drop my money for that original costume figure faster than a lady of the night drops a pair of oft-removed panties.

[Via Wcloudx (kumo)'s Blog]