The DERP Tanuki is a limited edition avatar that was released to support Japanese non-profit organizations supporting animals caught in the wake of the 2011 Earthquake and subsequent tsunami. 100% of the proceeds from avatar sales goes to these non-profits, so we won’t be reviewing it deeply, out of respect for the charitable cause.

Out of the Box:

Observations:

This avatar’s a cute little thank-you for the donation of $1000 towards Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami. As of writing this avatar, DERP has raised over $800 USD towards this worthy cause. What follows is excerpts of the accompanying notecard.

Thank you for your purchase of our DERP. Tanuki! This This avatar was made to raise funds to aid in the relief of the Japan earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11th. As you’re probably aware of, thousands of people lost their homes, family, and their lives during that event, as well as those individuals pets. In hopes to aid Japan’s recovery, this avatar was created, with 100% of all proceeds going towards the cause. These avatars will only be around for a month or so, after that all proceeds will be donated to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (aka JEARS), which is a combination of three private non-profit organizations in Japan; HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network. You’ll find links to each organization below if you’d like more info, or would like to donate more to this cause.

• JEARS :  http://jears.org/
• HEART-Tokushima : http://www.heart-tokushima.com/ENGLISH/WELCOME.html
• Animal Friends Niigata : http://www.afniigata.org/english/access/
• Japan Cat Network : http://www.japancatnet.com/

Standard as with most DERP. avatars you’ll see that a HUD is included. Some of the features include facial expressions, ear movement, tongue options, and tail options. These avatars will not be around forever, so thank you for your purchase and interest in this.

Interested to see how much we’ve accumulated for the Japan donation? You can check out our website at www.derpstore.com for any updates as well as visiting the page below to see the overall progress with JEARS!
JEARS Chip-In Page : http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

Once again, thank you for your donation, lets wish Japan a speedy recovery!

- Starcat Twine & DERP.

Conclusion:

This avatar is a sound one with the typical standard of DERP’s newer works; expressive eyes, and generally well-designed and constructed work. Again, we decided not to review this avatar because it’s a little gift being offered for peoples’ charitable donation to these different groups that will help out some of the critters in Japan. These avatars will be available for less than a month, so if you wish to grab one of these, you will have a limited amount of time to do it. Following are two photos that display the two varieties this avatar comes in, “Natural” and “Japan”-themed.

Below are SLARF studio photos of the avatar. Please click to see them up close.

P.S. Comments will be disabled for this one, folks. Sorry!