Review: 憧れBaby2 (akogare baby2)

Note:

My area of Japan is weirdly unaffected by the events happening in the north, we felt the first two quakes here but only if you were pretty still at the time otherwise you might not have noticed. I’ve decided to carry on with planned posts, as all we can do when things like this happen is carry on.

Here’s a machine from Make East that just preceded おしゃれBambi-na, 憧れBaby2. Akogare means longing, or yearning. I’m guessing “adored baby” would be closest. With the baby like “Hey, baby!” not “Baby poop” (^-^)

This machine has pretty standard lighting, for the newer machines, big circle lights around the monitor. The courses are a choice of non-framed background if you want to kick it old school or cute frames. The machine recommends that you take the course that does have frames and who am I to argue? Besides built in frames are cute!

Lights

Course options

Once you are in your course you have three groups of frames:

Full frame and portrait (leaving space for you to write on the side)

Sideways (leaving space for you to write above or below:

And "style" which is longer and means you can show off your outfit. You can only choose up to two from the style section.

After you have taken your pictures you can choose a collage option, this is just putting your pictures into a collage, you don’t take a new picture for it. Still it had some cute options! If you don’t want a collage picture then you can choose layout options that don’t include it.

Collage options

Layout options, with or without collage

One of the nice functions of this machine, if you are pushed for time or lacking in inspiration, is the “一発らくがき” (ippatsu rakugaki or one-shot graffiti) It gives you two options that have a message and sometimes matching stamps that completes your purikura in one step! It has a little preview at the bottom, and it seems that both options are tied to the frame that you took the original picture with (ah, technology!) so that you know the design will match and look nice!

One-shot graffiti

There was also these sets of stamps designed to go in the corners of the purikura. You do each one individually so you can just use two or three depending on your pose. Wouldn’t want stamps over people’s heads!

Corner stamps

It also has build your own initial stamps, as this was the predecessor to Bambi-na I guess this is the beginning of that technology. There are some cute options but the one that looks like a postmark was almost impossible to see on the pictures, maybe if you has pale clothes and a pale background.

Initial Stamps

Pair ranking stamps with things like “popular ranking” “sexy ranking” “fashionable ranking” so you can crown yourselves!

Pair ranking stamps

This picture didn’t come out very well but the font for the tape stamp (you type in whatever you like and it becomes a stamp) was cute and so long as you use lower case becomes joined up as you type!

Tape Stamp

Examples of the deco pens and messages:

Pens

This machine has the outside third screen where you put in your keitai address. It also gives you a free gift of eyelashes but unlike other machines it asks you if you want them first so you don’t end up with stacks of them (as I seem to be!) I got them to have a look as it was a different machine and also the people before us either forgot to take theirs or didn’t want it, so my friend got a set too!

And our pictures!

The website says one of it’s selling points is that the size fits in your wallet? I’m not sure what they meant by that I didn’t really notice a difference and I’ve never had a problem fitting purikura strips into my wallet! Bit of a weird selling point…

All in all it’s a nice machine, no outstanding features but nothing much to complain about either. I think so long as you chose the frame course you’ll get some nice pictures. Oh and as it’s a newer Make machine it’s iPhone compatible! And as well as the individual pics and the collage I could download a bonus collage: