A Look Inside My Anime Office

For the past three or so years I’ve been working on turning the spare room in my partner and I’s apartment into what I’ve dubbed an ‘Anime Office’. Functionally its almost like a museum space for me to display my anime merch while also featuring a desk, chair and spare single bed. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this and so while it’s been about 95% complete for about 3 months now I’m only just now willing to share photos of it with the rest of the internet.

(Note: These photos were taken by the irlwaifu, while I provided lighting and direction. Also a couple of photos contain NSFW imagery but I’ll warn you before those photos appear.)

The first thing you see as you approach the room is the Japanese door curtain–or ‘noren’ as it is traditionally known. The curtain features Latifah and Sento from ‘Amagi Brilliant Park’, below it you can see a doormat featuring the main cast of ‘Is The Order A Rabbit?’ the latter of which was a particularly lucky find as it was the first time finding an anime themed doormat and it happened to be from one of my favourite CGDCT anime.

What wonders await beyond the curtain?!

Parting the curtain gives a sneak peak of the room, as well as the hideous carpet in our rental apartment…

One of the main focal points is the ‘Yuru Yuri’ bedsheet which I’ve re-purposed into a curtain or even flag of sorts, its made of a much higher quality material than the usual anime bed sheets (which are usually a rough cotton material) hence why the pride of place against the room’s actual curtain.

It’s a lot to take in all at once.

Immediately as you enter you see the bed which is currently occupied by four body pillows (dakimakura in Japanese) they feature–from front to back–Ruiko Saten and Kazari Uihara from ‘A Certain Scientific Railgun’, Amane Suou from ‘The Grisaia series’, Ginko Sora from ‘The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done’ and Rize Tedeza from ‘Is The Order A Rabbit? series’. (If there’s enough requests I can do a separate post featuring more detailed pictures/descriptions/information of any of the merch shown through this post).

Not much room in this bed!

To the immediate left of the bed as you enter is a wall filled with anime tapestries (wall scrolls) which are (usually) made of suede, supported by PVC rods and hung with string.  I’ve actually got about 3 times as many wall scrolls as seen here but these are my favourites. Occasionally I’ll switch out some for others to give a change of scenery but these are the ones that most frequently feature.

Again, if close-ups of any of these are required please make a request and I’ll make a separate post.

Immediately above the bed hanging from the roof is a single bed-sheet of Yami from ‘The To Love-Ru series’. It makes for an impressive sight while lying in bed.

Oh what a feeling, Yami on the ceiling!

From the bed the rest of the room can be seen though there’s a lot more to it than can be captured by a single photo. Nevertheless, here is a single photo of the view from the bed.

A lot going on, but it’ll make sense in a minute (maybe).

Perhaps the most visually eye-catching (if only from a colour and size perspective) part of the room is the wall-mounted blanket of Hachiroku from the ‘Maitetsu series’. Long story short, while on my most recent (February 2019) trip to Japan I discovered an anime girl from a series I’d never even heard of and fell in love so naturally I needed something equally impressive to celebrate her with.

Hachiroku in all her glory (with some random prize figurines beneath).

 

Occupying (almost) an entire wall directly opposite the leftside tapestry wall are a series of bookshelves which contain all my manga (the first four shelves–looking from left-to-right) my anime blu-rays (the next two shelves) and non-anime blu-ray TV shows (the final three shelves). Atop them are some ‘Monster Musume’ postcards that have been mounted in frames and some ‘Fairy Tail’ funko pop toys.

The desk itself, which sits between the bed and the bookshelves in the corner of the room has itself another bookshelf (a slightly wider one with anime DVD’s and anime art books and then the desk itself which is unsurprisingly adorned with many mousepads. (Second image is NSFW, also contains random photo of irlwaifu dressed as Umaru on my desk).

If this photo looks lower quality it’s because I took it myself on a different phone to the others.

What? You don’t have four mousepads on your desk?!

But my favourite part of the room (at least from a collectors standpoint) are my bishojou figures, encased in a glass display case in what is almost the centre of the room. (I’m going to spend a bit more time on this section than previous ones, also some of the figures are NSFW so there’s your warning).

The four-tier glass display case.

Top self; back row: Nana and Lala figures from ‘To Love-Ru series’ made by Alter. Front row: The girls from ‘Yuru Yuri’ in miniature Banpresto figures.

Second shelf; back row: Ryuko posable figure from ‘Kill La Kill’. Front row: ‘Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya’ figures of Kuro, Illya and Miyu. The latter of which are my absolute favourite thing I’ve ever bought.

Third shelf; back row: Sena and Yozora from ‘Haganai series’. Front row: Sonico from ‘Super Sonico’ (yes I took her top off, so what?) Plus ‘Senran Kagura’ mini-figs from a Senran Kagura DS game I found for cheap in Japan.

Bottom shelf; Just a bunch of prize figures from the ‘Monogatari’ series.

And that’s it for my Anime Office tour! I probably missed a few little things, but if there’s anything you want to know more about just leave a comment below and I’ll hopefully be able to answer your questions! Thanks for reading!

Whole room panorama.

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Interviews With Monster Girls – 20 Question Anime Reviews (Mild Spoilers)

What’s the show? Interviews With Monster Girls (2017).

Oh boy, here we go again with the ‘monster girls’… Don’t you think people are getting tired hearing you go about the same kind of show over and over again? Okay, first of all, sit down, secondly shut up. Interviews With Monster Girls is different, it’s not a harem, it’s not an ecchi, and there’s almost no fan-service.

Almost? Well one of the characters is a succubus…

Of course she is— Hey! No succubus shaming!

Fine, what’s it about then? It’s about high-school biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi, who is fascinated by monster girls, or demi-humans as they’re called here. He wants to write a book about them but has no experience with them, that is until three demi-chan high school student’s start at his school, as well as a new demi-chan math teacher.

Kyoko, Hikari and Yuki.

Okay, so his interest in monster girls is purely professional/academic? Well yeah, I mean it starts out that way but as he gets to know the girls, not just as demi-chan’s and what makes them different, but also as complex and flawed young women. He begins to look out for them and does whatever he can to guide them through life, facing the difficulties that come with being such rare individuals but also the kind of dramas that regular human adolescents encounter too.

Sounds serious. Sometimes. I mean it’s still considered a ‘comedy’, but the comedy comes from knowing the characters and watching them interact with one another.

Such a great scene!

Okay, fair enough. Who are these characters? Well as mentioned before there’s Tetsuo, he’s sort of a gentle giant, very muscular and almost intimidating, but incredibly patient and caring and affable. Then there’s the three demi-chan students, Hikari is a bright and bubbly vampire girl, who probably spends the most time talking with Tetsuo. She has a twin-sister, Himari, who isn’t a demi and there’s a lot of fun moments of ‘misunderstandings’ between the three of them as Hikari frequently miscommunicates the teacher’s helpful actions towards her which leads to a lot of red faces!

Hikari needs to nibble.

And the other two students? There’s Kyoko a dullahan (head separate from the body) who’s studious and kind and also develops a crush on Tetsuo. And then there’s Yuki, who is probably the most different, in that I don’t think her monster type is often explored in Western pop-culture, she’s a snow woman.

Dullahan physiology is complicated, yo.

A snow woman? How’s that work? Well, she’s basically just a girl who can make things cold; they explain the mythology around her better than I could in a short review, I would say she has it easiest of all the demi-chan’s since aside from having tears and sweat made of ice when she’s upset she’s basically a normal human. But the show does a great job of having you empathise with her particular hang-ups and issues. Also she’s shy and into manga, so that’s a win!

I couldn’t think of a funny caption.

And you mentioned something about a math teacher too? Yes! Sakie Sato, the new math teacher, and also a succubus, her body produces a powerful aphrodisiac and so she’s super paranoid about accidentally exposing any skin (aside from her face and hands of course) in case she accidentally seduces someone.

Well that could be played for laughs I imagine. It could, but the restraint in this show is that with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 small comedic moments, it’s instead played as something that’s almost crippled her life, or her social life at least. Out of all of the demi-chan’s Sakie’s troubles are the most detrimental to her every day life, she gets the very first train in the morning to avoid accidentally touching someone and takes the last train at night plus she lives in a remote house so as not to bother neighbours, it’s a tragic life that’s entirely self-imposed but she does it because she loves teaching but also doesn’t want to cause issues for anyone else.

Talk about a succubust!

Well fine, I’ll admit I was quick to judge, this show certainly sounds a lot more complex and interesting than I expected. It’s light hearted but it contains the right amount of depth and lays out character development at a steady but interesting pace, it’s pretty much a show without obvious flaws, well… except one.

Oh? Well I’m probably being picky, but when a show is as good as this, the things that’s are lacking stand out more. I don’t think it’s a detriment to what’s good about the show; it just kind of bothers me as a writer.

Well what is it? So I can’t remember the exact number but it’s frequently mentioned that Kyoko the dullahan is one of only like 3 dullahan’s in the entire world and is the only one in Japan. And I know it was probably done to make her character feel more isolated and not have anyone of her own ‘race’ to talk to but it’s pretty unrealistic to assume she’d be able to live a normal high school life. Being the only of her race in the country would make her so absurdly famous, that even if she wanted to be left alone there would be media and obsessed ‘fans’ following her wherever she went. It just feels like lazy world building on the part of the writer, but that’s just my take on it. I can see why they did it, but I think it’s unrealistic for it.

Hikari is such a troll.

Complaining about realism in a monster girl anime, that’s a new one… Hey I’m just giving you my thoughts, it was a slight bother while I watched the show and I’m obliged to report it thusly.

Fair enough, so is there a best girl? There’s always a best girl.

I know! I kicked myself the moment I asked it. Who is it? Succubus-chan Sakie! Even though I just wish she’d hurry up and get together with Tetsuo, her character by far has the most pathos, plus I mean, well… she’s so dang hot.

He’s trying his best not to react to her aphrodisiac charms because he’s so polite and doesn’t want to make her feel awkward!

A-ha, keep it in your pants buddy. Sorry.

So final recommendation and score? If you’ve avoided this show because of a fear that it’s something else, then rest assured it’s a (mostly) wholesome, very entertaining, character driven comedy with rich character development and important messages about being yourself, the strength of confiding in others and asking for help and the power of friendships that extend beyond your usual groups. This is a rare demi-chan indeed, 94 out of 100.

Nom.

K-On! – 20 Question Anime Review

What’s the show? K-On!

And what’s that supposed to mean? Keion!

And what’s that supposed to mean? ‘Light music’.

Right. Now that we’ve got that sorted, what’s it about? It’s about five high school girls who start a ‘Light Music Club’ and eventually form a band called ‘Afternoon Tea Time.’ And it’s also one of the most wholesome anime’s ever made; it’s just so damn precious. *heart eyes*

‘Light music’, sounds kind of dull. You bite your tongue heathen! ‘Afternoon Tea Time’ legitimately rocks, like this isn’t bubblegum J-pop with instruments of questionable existence, they play their instruments, you hear every instrument in the band and the music is so very good. I don’t normally do this but here’s a link to one of my favourite songs (it’s also the end credits song for season 1).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN-ov_YQqmA

Wow! That was really good; they rock more than Nickleback (not that that’s difficult). I don’t know what that is.

Consider yourself lucky. So who are these girls? Didn’t you watch the whole video?! It introduces them all there!

I meant what are their characters, not just what instruments do they play? Fair enough. The protagonist is Yui, she’s lead guitar and lead vocalist (but not the vocalist of the song I linked – just to confuse you a bit!) she’s clumsy, a total air-head and not a very diligent student. Mio is bassist and second vocalist; she’s incredibly shy, easily spooked but very popular with other students due to her beauty. Ritsu is the drummer and president of the light music club (self appointed) she’s energetic, jokey but forgetful at times. Mugi is the keyboardist; she is kind, gentle, eager and comes from an incredibly wealthy family. Azusa is the rhythm guitarist and a year younger than the other four girls; she is very serious and focused at times, reserved but has also a lot of insecurities.

Great, so the show is a…? Slice of life, while there’s exceptional attention to detail with the animated rendition of the instruments and they do occasionally practice and play music, the majority of the show is just the girls talking and eating fancy cakes and drinking tea in their clubroom.

So pretty standard slice of life fare? Exactly! In other words… bliss.

Right. So no complaints about the show then? Oh I have a few, at least as far as this first season is concerned. The pacing is a bit off at times; some episodes have less going for them than others and the comedy can be a little inconsistent and pedestrian.

Hmm, didn’t expect that. Isn’t this show kind of highly acclaimed, is it underserving of such praise? Of course not, besides season 2 is a literal masterpiece, and improves every single issue I had with the first season, but let’s leave that ‘til another review!

And now we present the award for ‘best girl’ *drumroll* *opens envelope* and the winner is… Mio-chan! As if there was any doubt…

Well we’re kind of out of things to discuss, and we’ve got like 7 questions left, what should we do? When in doubt, do as the K-On girls do, eat sweet treats!

Oh that looks lovely *anime eating sounds* Mmm, give me some too. *more anime eating sounds*

How about some of this? Don’t mind if I do!

*anime eating sounds* *anime eating sounds*

Mmm, that was delicious! We should do this more often! Yeah, I mean I’m sure the people reading this don’t mind that we wasted their time because we couldn’t think up more questions!

Oh, right. The readers, haha, forget they were there… hello! Sorry for wasting your time! Please address all complains to the site admin @Cactus_Matt on twitter.com

Well, final verdict please? If you haven’t watched this classic slice of life anime already then you owe it to yourself, if not for the perfectly likable characters, charming setting and relaxed atmosphere then the legitimately awesome music which runs the gamut from cutesy to cool. It’s not without its flaws but it’s easy to overlook the flaws when taking into consideration how amazing it gets in season 2. If that sounds like an odd recommendation, it’s because it is and this has been an odd review. Anyone else hungry? Make sure to make room for seconds, 84 out of 100.

Is The Order A Rabbit? – 20 Question Anime Review

What’s the show? Is The Order A Rabbit?

Huh? I didn’t order anything? No, that’s the name of the show.

Oh, okay, one of those anime show names that makes more sense in Japanese is it? Mmm, I doubt it. Pretty sure it means exactly the same in Japanese.

Right. So what’s it about? *Whispering* Ask me what time it is…

What, why? Ugh, fine whatever ‘what time is it?’ Time for another instalment of ‘cute girls doing cute things!’

Oh good, well what cute things are these girls doing? Running a café!

Well I do admit that does sounds cute… wait they don’t serve rabbit at this café, do they? No! Of course not, just lovingly prepared coffee and the usual accompaniments!

Then what’s the rabbit thing about in the title? The café that our protagonist Cocoa works in is called ‘Rabbit House’ and is run by the too adorable for words Chino!

This review isn’t going to devolve into you ‘squee-ing’ over cute girls again is it? So kawaii!!!

Dear god, we’re losing him already, err, um… so what else is the show about? Hmm, oh. Well it’s a slice of life anime, so not much!

That sounds like a negative. Then you obviously don’t watch enough slice of life! Cocoa and Chino are joined at ‘Rabbit House’ by Rize, gun wielding, army brat and all around best girl. There’s two competing cafes, where their other friends work, artsy Chiya who works at a more traditional Japanese looking coffee house and hard-working Syaro who works at an almost maid café.

Oh, so there’s like rivalries between the different café’s that strain their friendships and adds some drama to the proceedings? Nope!

Ah… hmm. So what is there about this show that we can talk about? Tippy-desu!

What… what is that? It’s Tippy! He’s a rabbit!

Ah, err, okay, sure. And he talks.

Not even surprised. And also he’s Chino’s grandfather.

Okay now you lost me. It’s true! He interjects occasionally to comment on Chino’s running of the café and laments the fact that he’s no longer human and is now a very fluffy rabbit!

And how is, well how everything of all that? You mean, how did Chino’s grandfather ‘die’ and become reincarnated as a rabbit? Your guess is as good as mine, they don’t explain it and haven’t even come close to in season two either. But does it really matter? I mean look how cute they all look!

Well this review went nowhere fast… You want a review? Fine! ‘Is The Order A Rabbit?’ is a show whose audience can precisely be quantified by looking at a picture of the main characters, if you went ‘dawww!’ you’re the target audience and this is probably the show for you. If you didn’t well then let’s face it your probably too busy watching 800 episodes of Naruto to even notice this kind of show even exists. It’s a character driven comedy, driven by characters whose comedy comes from their cuteness. It’s seldom laugh out loud funny but it’s warm and genuine and sweet and beyond criticism for someone who eats this kind of stuff up. So excuse me for just wanting to bask in something happy and nice instead of the unrelenting darkness that is the rest of the world!

I… uh, I’m sorry. Final score? Is The Order A Rabbit? I’ll order seconds, thanks. 92 out of 100.

New Game! – 20 Question Anime Review

What’s the show? New Game!

Why are you shouting? I’m not, it’s just how they stylise the show’s title, with an exclamation mark, it’s a Japanese thing, they do it a lot.

Fair enough, what’s it about? It’s another in the informal genre of shows ‘cute girls doing cute things’.

What cute thing are these cute girls they doing then? Designing video games.

Not usually the first thing I think of when ‘cute things’ comes to mind. Do they at least do it cutely? Absolutely! I mean just look at their faces! Kawaii!

And do they design video games in their spare time after school? No, it’s their job; they work for an all female video game company called ‘Eagle Jump’.

Wait, okay. How old are these girls supposed to be? Well, Suzukaze Aoba is the protagonist; she’s a new hire out of high school and is 18 years old. The oldest staff member whose age we know about is Yagimi Ko and she’s 25.

Well I admit that’s a pleasant change from the usual anime trope of everyone being high school age but they certainly don’t look it! She get’s that a lot, poor Aoba.

Fine, that out of the way, what’s the show actually about; it’s not just watching cute girls designing a video game, is it? Well…

It is?! Okay, first of all, it’s a ‘slice of life’ anime; so don’t start judging it by normal narrative standards. It’s kind of like if ‘The Office’ was an anime, and everyone liked each other, and there was no real conflict except overcoming minor misunderstandings. Also did I mention cute girls?

Fine, I’ll concede it’s a ‘slice of life’ so its structure is different to that of other anime. So why should I watch it? And don’t you dare say ‘cute girls’! Er, um… adorable females? Listen, ‘slice of life’ is a hard sell for those uninitiated with the genre. The characters are all splendid and likeable, even the shrill best friend character grows to be endearing by the end. And it goes into the inner workings of the art department on a JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game), and those parts seem accurate and well researched. Plus it gives an idea about how much work goes into even the smallest details of large video game projects.

A niche genre anime about making niche genre video games? It’s like a nerd turducken. A nerducken! Come on, you gotta admit that was good, high-five! What is this, the Big Bang Theory? Ugh. [Gives begrudging high five]

Who is ‘best girl’? Takimoto Hifumi, she’s so shy and reserved and she’s got a pet hedgehog and *SQUEE*!

Did you seriously just ‘squee’? I can’t help it; I’ve got a seriously problem. And the only prescription? More cute girls!

Any additional seasons? New Game!!

Why are you shouting again? I’m not, that’s what the second season is called. See, the two exclamation marks differentiate it from the first season’s title.

A show can’t succeed on ‘cuteness’ alone, so say something negative about the show. There’s never the sense that things could go wrong, at least not catastrophically. The issues that crop up from time to time for the characters are very minor, but that is something that’s not unique to this show and runs along many ‘slice of life’ shows. But at the same time it’s not meant to be challenging or overwrought, it’s meant to be light and relaxing, the fact that it can be that and entertaining is a testament to the show’s writing and style. It’s a show about positivity and hard work and friendship and that’s something that this world needs a lot more of if you ask me.

Hmm, I thought you were supposed to say something negative about the show? You just complimented it more and made me kind of want to watch it. That’s the power of ‘slice of life’, that’s the power of ‘New Game!’ and that’s the power of…

Don’t say it! Cute girls!

Final score? Highly recommended for anyone who wants to just relax and enjoy themselves with some thoroughly non-threatening soft comedy and endearingly adorable characters. This is a ‘game’ worth ‘playing’, 86 out of 100.