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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Mandarake Merch Madness December 2018 Edition

Oh, so another merch post, huh? Yep, I decided to spoil myself for Xmas, also I discovered a not-so-little show called ‘To Love-Ru’, became absolutely enamoured with it and so had to buy all the merch I could in a short period of time–it’s what I do!

I’ve come to expect such madness, yes. Also if you’re not familiar with Mandarake, its a second hand otaku goods store in Japan that has their extensive collection of goods available for purchase online. I talk about it in some more detail in previous posts if you want more information (see bottom of the page for links).

So uh… Right! The boxes, two (plural), though they came on separate days so I only took a pic of the first one (which was the larger of arrivals).

It’s about as big as ‘Mandarake’ boxes come, that is to say big enough to fit a small human!

Right, so you mentioned ‘To Love-Ru’ I expect there’s a reason for it. I watched the four seasons (+ OVA’s) that comprise the entirety of To Love-Ru and its sequel To Love-Ru Darkness and needless to say I was in love with everything about it. So expect the ensuing pictures to be mostly To Love-Ru centric. Also here’s literally everything I bought, skip the next picture if you don’t want to be spoiled on my purchases!

On to the individual pictures now? Yes. And like always I’ll start with the figures. Like the majority of figures I buy these are called ‘prize figures’ and aren’t as expensive as the more detailed figures you can get out there. These ones ranged in price between 800 and 2500 yen. (About $10 to $30USD)

Momo Deviluke figure from To Love-Ru series.

Mikan Yuki from To Love-Ru series.

Yui Kotegawa from To Love-Ru series.

Karen Araragi from Nisemonogatari.

Nadeko Sengoku in her best form from Nisemonogatari.

A chibi version of Haruna Sairenji from To Love-Ru series, I’d like to get the rest of them in this chibi form later down the track. Though the plastic stand on the left is very unappealing.

The next figurine I didn’t take a seperate photo of at the time, but she sits atop our anime Xmas tree. It’s Momo again, but this is what’s called a ‘holding figurine’ she’s meant to be used to hold an item in her arms. But here she’s just holding on to the top of the tree.

Golden Darkness Nendoroid from To Love-Ru series.

And that’s all for the figurines, I was slightly disappointed in the height discrepancies between the To Love-Ru ‘prize figures’ but that’s entirely my fault as I should have paid more attention to getting figures from the same production companies rather than just getting whatever I liked the look of.

What’s next? I’ll take a slight break of showing To Love-Ru merch and show some other random stuff I got. These are two Laid Back Camp towels, I wasn’t expecting much because the price point was low and they were ‘prize toys’ (‘prize figures’ and ‘prize toys’ are products that are won in arcade games in Japan). But as you’ll see from the second picture, they are nice quality and absolutely massive. With the width of a door and almost the length of one too.

Rin Shima and Nadeshiko Kagamihara prize towels.

Unfolded Rin towel (I didn’t take a picture of the Nadeshiko one unfolded because lazy).

Bakemonogatari girls wall tapestry.

A few random little cheap goodies. Yui Kotegawa keychain, Red Blood Cell from Cells At Work plush thing and Gold Ship (best horse girl) keyring from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby.

A ‘First Astronomical Velocity’ hoodie. ‘SoniAni’ is a very underrated show.

And I also got a few gifts for Sharon, the irlwaifu. While she enjoyed To Love-Ru a lot I knew better than to get her merch from that show. Sadly a lot of the shows she has gravitated towards recently didn’t have much merch avaliable on Mandarake at the time of buying so ‘Yuri! On Ice is always a safe bet (plus there’s heaps of it out there)!

Yuri On Ice goodies, plus Funyassyi socks for the lols.

Persona 5 Morgana tumbler.

And now we return to more To Love-Ru stuff! There’s so much To Love-Ru merch on Mandarake that I’m slightly terrified of how much I’m going to end up bringing back when I go to Japan in February! Anyway, here’s everything else I got.

Lala Satalin Deviluke towel.

Acrylic stands of Haruna and Yui in idol costumes.

Obligatory clear file purchases to add to my growing clear file collection. The Lala clear file has her in a bikini on the back.

The next item was one of the more expensive purchases and unfortunately was a little bit disappointing in terms of quality. It’s a double sided half-body pillow, but it was rolled up into a tight cylinder shape and had undoubtedly been that was for many years at Mandarake’s warehouse as the creases are deep.

Other than the creases the art is really nice and bright.

Complete To Love-Ru mug set, these are actually quite small probably hold the volume of a small tea-cup but at 300 yen per two mug set I wasn’t letting these get away!

This was a surprise as I thought it was just a clear file from the picture on the website but its actually a plastic document case. I just adore the art on this though.

A Golden Darkness pillow case (pictured with pillow inside).

And the final item is a Golden Darkness bed sheet. I don’t know what it is about anime bed sheets but I keep buying them even though I don’t really have a use for them (I certainly don’t use them as a bedsheet as the thread count is too low to be comfortable for me personally). I think it’s just the novelty of having a character in such a large (practically life-sized) form that appeals to me but the price point being so much lower than a dakimakura (body pillow) makes them an impulse buy. Maybe I’ll find a proper use for them one day.

And that’s everything, huh? Surprisingly less lewd than I was expecting. Likewise, especially considering how much fan-service ‘To Love-Ru Darkness’ has I thought there’d be a lot more lewd merch. Anyway, that’s it, hope you enjoyed reading/looking at photos and if you have any questions about anything just drop me a comment!

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Previous Mandarake Merch Madness Posts:

Mandarake Merch Madness Part 1
Mandarake Merch Madness Part 2
Mandarake Merch Mandess July 2018 Edition
Mandarake Merch Madness October 2018 Edition

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If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Mandarake Merch Madness October 2018 Edition

Another merch post huh? You really like that stuff huh. *nods enthusiastically*

For those unfamiliar with ‘Mandarake’ care to explain? They are reseller of second-hand anime/otaku goods in Japan, they have several brick and mortar stores in Japan but I find the range and prices of goods is arguably better online (it’s also easier to find stuff as they have an “English” version of their site which is pretty good all things considered).

Probably worth pointing out that this is not a sponsored post, right? I wish! Yup, no sponsorship here, paid for all of this with my own money and just talking about them because I love what they do. But if they’re reading, I am open to sponsorship!

Also worth mentioning that “second-hand” is kinda different in Japan–at least for Mandarake it is? Second-hand in Japan is not any slight against the quality of the merchandise, most of the stuff they have for sale has never been opened and they even reduce things in price if the box is even slightly damaged–which is great for me as I just throw the boxes out anyway–I like my merch for its aesthetics on the shelf not for collectibility things in mint condition! Anyway let’s get on with it!

I sometimes wonder what the delivery man must think of such a large box with this ambiguous logo on it.

Uh-huh, so hurry up and let’s see what’s in the box? So, first I’m going to post a picture of everything that was in the box collected in one picture for those of you who don’t want to see every individual item. But likewise if you don’t want to have the 1 by 1 approach to going through what I bought spoiled skip the next picture!

That’s a lot of stuff! Let’s break it down! ‘Kay, so I had just finished watching ‘Haganai’ and I loved it to bits so obviously I had to buy a bunch of merch from the show (and because it was so popular in Japan there was so much merch and a lot of it surprisingly cheap too!

Who’s that? That’s one of the main female protagonists from ‘Haganai’, Yozora. This is a Good Smile Figurine and pretty nicely detailed–though the face is maybe a bit off but considering the price I’m not going to complain.

Well that didn’t take too long to get lewd. You’re so innocent, this is the other main female protagonist from ‘Haganai’, Sena. And this figurine is just gorgeous, it’s an Alphamax branded one and I’ll definetly be looking for more figurines from Alphamax in the future!

Oh good, loli’s in bikinis… Quiet you. These are two other characters from ‘Haganai’, Yukimura and Maria from the Beach Queens range of figures. Very cute!

So is that it for the Haganai merch? Nope! I did say I loved the show, didn’t I?

A mug with a lid? Yep, Yozora mug, as the only picture online was of the outside of the box I was hoping it’d be a full colour mug but alas it’s a rather ugly brown. Oh well.

Anything else from Haganai? Yes… but you’re going to make fun of me…

What is that? You don’t know?! Well this is awkward it’s an ‘Oppai Mouse Pad’, it might be hard to tell from the pictures but the breast part is raised and padded, to rest your wrist on. Believe it or not this is my first ‘Oppai Mouse Pad’ its very comfortable!

No comment. And that’s it for the ‘Haganai’ portion of the merch. The next few pieces are what I like to call, “eh it’s cheap so I’ll buy it” (all these items were purchased for under 300 yen which is roughly $3USD).

This is supposed to be an Uma Musume: Pretty Derby phone pouch but the only kind of phones that’d fit in something this small would be mid 2000’s flip phones. It’s got a karabiner on the back so that increases its value as an item for carrying, something, maybe I’ll put my digital camera in it when we go back to Japan! Also it’s not my photography skills the print of Special Week on the front was disappointingly low-res. Still cute though!

Wouldn’t be a Mandarake shop without a clear-file! I bought this because I wanted at least something from Winter 2018’s most under-appreciated anime ‘Last Period’ though this is actually from the mobile game but the characters are all the same so hard to complain! Bright and colourful!

I always like to get one distinctly ~weird~ item and this absolutely fit the bill! It’s a drawstring pouch designed to look like the basketball tights the girls from ‘Ro-Kyu-Bu’ wear, it’s also smaller than I thought it’d be from the pictures (it’s length is just a bit shorter than a DVD case for reference sake). It also came with the glossy print which serves as a good illustration of what I’m actually talking about. Super weird but why the heck not!

Last of the cheap items was the one I was most worried about possibly getting picked up by customs (luckily it seems they didn’t inspect the contents of the box). It’s a charm from the anime ‘Tsugumomo’ featuring main girl Kiriha. Why was I worried about this getting through customs? Well because it’s made of wood and there seem to be some sort of ~iffy~ import restrictions around wood coming in from certain countries into Australia. I didn’t even think about it until after I placed the order! All good though!

Okay, so that’s all the cheap items? What’s left? Well I got four items for the irlwaifu (though I only have two pictures of them because the other two items were in-use at the time of taking these photos), so let’s look at those!

This is a tote bag from ‘Magical Girl Raising Project’ featuring protagonist Snow White.

Next is a plush Oopa from ‘Steins;Gate’. The other two items that I didn’t get individual pictures of (but that you can see in the larger photo with all the goods) were a pair of Pop Team Epic socks and a Gun Gale Online microfibre cloth which currently adorns the back-middle seat of the irlwaifu’s car.

Okay then, and now I’m guessing more stuff for you? More or less. The next two items are related so I’ll talk about them.

First is a ‘New Game!’ tapestry! I already have one, but it has the girls in yukata’s so I needed something that was, well the opposite of yukata’s!

And a Nendoroid of Aoba from ‘New Game!’ so very cute!

Anything else you’ve missed? I think we’ll call this final part the NSFW section, it’s just two pictures and there’s no nudity on display but still consider yourself warned.

This is a manga series called ‘Ureshon!’ which will never be released by a Western publisher in English. It’s not porn, despite what you may think it’s just a heavily ecchi romantic comedy. I’m sure you can figure out what’s it about, and I’ll leave it at that. This was a difficult purchase not because I was embarrassed or anything (if I was I wouldn’t be posting about it here!) but because it sets a Japanese-language manga buying precedent. I have over 200 English-language manga titles but this is my first one wholly in Japanese, I was worried that if I started buying them in Japanese it would open the flood gates (for the lack of a better word) but thankfully for my wallet I’ve not bothered to look for any more… yet.

She’s nude on the other side but I’m not showing you that, I’m a gentleman!

And last but not least another dakimakura (body pillow) to the collection! This makes three and this lovely lady is Ui from ‘A Bridge To The Starry Skies’, I’ve only seen the anime (not the eroge game it was based on) but I really thought the anime was beautiful and funny and touching.

Again, I think it’s best if I say “no comment” and let you wrap up this blog of yours. Thanks everyone for reading, if you have any questions about any of the items or just merch in general feel free to leave a comment below!

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Previous Mandarake Merch Madness Posts:

Mandarake Merch Madness Part 1
Mandarake Merch Madness Part 2
Mandarake Merch Mandess July 2018 Edition

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If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Mandarake Merch Madness July 2018 Edition

So, another ‘Mandarake Merch Madness’ post, eh? Been a while since we’ve done one of those… Yes, what I intended to be a 3 monthly occurrence was stymied by the lack of a job, but now I have a (casual) job and therefore money! In celebration of my first pay I decided to do an online shop for some Anime Merch at Mandarake!

And for those unfamiliar with ‘Mandarake’? They are reseller of second-hand anime/otaku goods in Japan, they have several brick and mortar stores in Japan but I find the range and prices of goods is arguably better online (it’s also easier to find stuff as they have an “English” version of their site which is pretty good all things considered).

Probably worth pointing out that this is not a sponsored post, right? I wish! Yup, no sponsorship here, paid for all of this with my own money and just talking about them because I love what they do.

Also worth mentioning that “second-hand” is kinda different in Japan–at least for Mandarake it is? Second-hand in Japan is not any slight against the quality of the merchandise, most of the stuff they have for sale has never been opened and they even reduce things in price if the box is even slightly damaged–which is great for me as I just throw the boxes out anyway–I like my merch for its aesthetics on the shelf not for collectibility or turning a profit someday in the future by having something in mint condition!

And for those looking for the previous posts? The two previous merch posts can be found here and here. Anyway, enough introduction, time to look at some pictures!

Nice box? What’s with the figures on them? Rem & Ram Nendoroids are there for size comparison–they weren’t a part of this order! But yes, Mandarake always tries to fit as much stuff into one box.

Great, but what’s inside? First up a couple of books! I usually try to buy only ‘art books’ as one’s with a lot of text are kind of useless to me (can’t read Japanese after all) but Slow Start was one of my favourite anime of the Spring 2018 anime season so I couldn’t pass up this book! It’s got a lot more text (interviews and stuff) than I’d usually like but still plenty of cute pictures and concept art from the series.

Fair enough, you sure do love your cute girls, even in book form… That I do! Second book is more in line with what I like, an art book for the Eden of Grisaia Visual Novel. I was watching the anime adaptation while doing this order so that kind of influenced a lot of my purchasing decisions as you’ll see why… but the art in this book is so gorgeous.

 

Nice artwork. Indeed, there’s also a lot of 18+ art in the book from the game (it’s an eroge after all) but I’ll spare you from having to see that… besides there’s still plenty more smut to come.

Of course it is… I sometimes forget how much of a perv you are… You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Next up? K-On! Nendoroid mini’s (there about half the size of a normal Nendoroid), the irlwaifu wanted something for desk at work and so this seemed ideal!

Well isn’t that nice of you. Well I had to use her credit card to buy it after all since hers is an International card that can buy stuff in Yen.

Repaying the favour. Next lot of merch is just kind of stuff I bought because it was super cheap and was either relevant to my interests or was just interesting enough for me to want it. Also by cheap I mean like under 300 yen each.

Cheap stuff, got it. Clear file’s are one of those things that I don’t really get the point of but I still love collecting them all the same. Had to get something from one of the most under-appreciated anime’s of Spring 2018! Ms Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles represent!

So a clear file is just like a plastic document wallet themed to an anime? Pretty uninteresting if you ask me. I’ve got like 30 of them.

Of course you do… Also, I always tend to pick up one thing that’s from a show I haven’t watched yet but that I just like the functionality of, this is a laptop case from ‘Rewrite’, don’t know if the show is any good or not but I just wanted an anime laptop case!

Buying merch for a show you don’t even know if you like, how ‘responsible’ of you… It’s my money!

Next? This is a K-On! ‘Shower Poster’.

What the heck’s a shower poster? That’s exactly what I thought when I saw it online and from what little I could glean from the instructions on the back (translation app kinda worked) it’s a waterproof poster you put up in your shower, but only for short periods of time like for during shower-time not as decoration all the time. I wonder why someone would need a poster like this in the shower…

Oh dear… I’m sorry I asked. You should be.

And these things? I like leather pass-case’s probably didn’t need a second one since I seldom use the first one but I wanted something from My Girlfriend is Shobitch (super underrated comedy). Also I don’t like paper bookmarks so why not get a Food Wars! Soma metal bookmark instead!

Fair enough, and uh… Last of the super cheap random items is an ugly as heck Death Parade microfibre cloth, Death Parade merch is very rare on Mandarake and I love that show so I snapped it up even if it’s something I’ll never use.

Ah, the all important “i’ll never use this” merch *rolls eyes*. It was 200 yen, no big deal! Now for a few figurines (I know I had the Nendoroid mini’s up there but these are a bit larger in size and more interesting–at least in my opinion).

Okay, she looks familiar? It’s Hana Ichinose from Slow Start! This a prize figure–I pretty much only buy prize figures because they are a lot cheaper than bishojou figures–obviously the quality is a bit lower but it’s enough for me!

And what’s a prize figure again? It’s literally a prize you find in the crane games in Akihabara and other geeky places around Japan, I mean sure it’s fun to win them legit but buying them is just so much easier!

Oh, these ones, didn’t you get some of these last time? In my last order I got the four main Yuruyuri girls in these budget Banpresto figures (they’re slightly larger than normal sized Nendoroid’s but have no customisation or posable options) I was impressed with the quality of the previous one’s I got so I figured I’d complete the collection with the four supporting characters from Yuruyuri. If anything these are even better quality than the 4 main girls!

Cool is that it? I did say there was some more ‘adult’ merch coming later in the post didn’t I?

Oh god, I just got a shiver at the thought of what could be next… Next is the one big-ticket item (it made up for half of the total cost of the order) it’s also a bit NSFW but I have censored it a bit so hopefully it won’t offend anyone… lol

Don’t say he didn’t warn you! An unassuming (but moderately sized) ‘Happy New Year Box’ from Front Wing, an eroge distributor. You can still buy this box retail from places like Softmap but Mandarake was about 20% cheaper than any other online retailer. It was also factory sealed, “brand new” second-hand condition, meaning someone owned it but never opened it and then sold it on to Mandarake. But you’re all curious to see what’s in the box, right? (Though some of you have probably already guessed, I’m sure.)

Oh dear, I guess you better explain what I’m looking at since I’m looking through my hands. So inside we’ve got few items from The Fruit of Grisaia series and also another eroge series, but it’s mostly focused on Grisaia, hence why I bought it.

You really like that series, huh? It’s amazing.

So what’s in it? There’s a mini tapestry with main girl Suou–evidently having a mishap with some soap in the bath, a ridiculously large keychain, a calendar for if I ever go back in time (but seriously the art in it is very nice and could be framed) and a mysterious CD… But there’s one item I’m leaving ’til last the thing that justified the cost…

The irlwaifu censored these photos for me… she’s got some sense of humour!

Gotta say, kinda saw that coming… no pun intended. Suou Amane dakimakura! The body pillow harem expands! (I’ve got two now for those who are curious… how many I end up with is largely dependent on the irlwaifu…)

She’s surprisingly accepting of your perversions. It’s a two-way street, bro.

Oh I see… And that’s it! Not as many items as last time, mostly because I tried to not buy too many cheap bits and pieces, last time I bought way too many phone charms and keychains that haven’t gotten much/any use. Hopefully this was an enjoyable read, I’ll be doing these a lot more regularly from now on–maybe once every 3 months, trying to get as much seasonal anime merch I can find on the cheap! If you have any questions or comments leave them below!

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If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

20 Question Weekly Review Week Ending 1st April 2018

Another week another weekly review! Indeed, and we are that much closer to the Spring 2018 Anime season!

I’m sure you’re beside yourself with excitement… I am! And for those who are interested you can see exactly what anime I intend to watch and review week-to-week by clicking this link to a blog post all about it!

Yikes, that’s a lot of anime? Do you really expect me to work that much next season? You’ll live, if not I’ll just get a replacement.

How dare you! I’m irreplaceable… Sure, sure…

So back on topic, what’s happened this week in the world of anime? Everything ends. In this instance, a lot of Winter 2018 anime series’.

Highlights? Well, A Place Further Than The Universe cemented itself as a classic, not that I had any doubts, but yeah it’s pretty much the show to watch for anyone who hasn’t yet. I also finished a few shows I started late, I’ll post a full run down with a ranking of every Winter 2018 anime I watched soon.

Fair ’nuff. And on the merch front? Just the one thing this week, a very vibrant and eye-catching tapestry for the walls of my anime office. This one from Occultic;Nine.

Uh-huh, that’s gr– OH MY GOD those boobs on the one on the left! Now, now, let’s not be crass.

O…okay then, um, where was I? Probably time to talk about manga!

Oh! Right, err, so get any new manga this week? Yes! Not as much as last week (though that’s hardly surprising) but still a few quality buys!

And they were? Oh yes, in alphabetical order: Magika Swordsman & Summoner 3, Mononoke Sharing 1, Occultic Nine (Light Novel) 1, Shomin Sample 2 & 4, and Sundome 2.

Great and what did you read? Well, most notably was ‘Mononoke Sharing’ which I reviewed here, a manga that is very much my aesthetic (whatever that means).

That aesthetic being ‘monster girls’, ‘boobs’ and ‘general pervertedness’. Well it sounds crude when you put it in such simplistic terms…

Uh-huh, what else did you read? I read, ‘From The New World’ volume 1 which was pretty good, but a little bit lacking, and very poorly paced, not sure if I’ll continue with that one. Also ‘Magika Swordsman & Summoner’ 2, which was great, even better than volume 1. And ‘Shomin Sample’ 2, also great, very funny read.

Right, so that seems like it for the week? Guess we’re wrapping up early? Whoa! Whoa! This is a strong and forceful 20 Question Weekly Review not some wishy-washy ~15 question review!

Well then what are we supposed to talk about for the next 5 questions? Boobs?

We’re not talking about boobs, damnit! Fine, geez. Spoil sport…

So how are things in your personal life? Pretty bad actually! But I’d rather not go into it, just suffice to say if I seem a little distant on here or Twitter in the next week it’s not without good reason, personal life and all that. But always feel free to drop by and say hello, I could use the cheering up after all. Also I got 1000 likes on the blog, so that was a nice boost!

Sorry to hear that and congrats? Man this is a roller coaster of emotions… Oh I’m sure I’ll be fine, and if not, well there’s always anime to distract me.

Fair enough, so how would you rate the week ending the 1st of April 2018. It was a week of things coming to an end, let’s just hope that trend doesn’t continue into my personal life. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy your day!

 

20 Question Weekly Review Week Ending 18th March 2018

So what’s new? Not a lot.

Well this is going to make for an interesting post… Then quit the small talk and let’s get to the reason anybody’s reading this—

—Nobody’s reading this. Fuah!

Huh? Ask me about something!

Oh right, so the currently airing anime? What’s good, what’s bad, what’s the same? Everything’s the same! Which is to say everything’s still good like last week and the week before!

Any highlights though? Slow Start was probably my favourite, going back to that forbidden well of teacher x student, or at least the promise of it. I probably could’ve done a whole episode post about it, but since we’re so close to the end I figured I’d just wait until the season is over and blog about the show in a proper full season review, like I’ll be doing for all the shows once they’re done.

And what other non-seasonal anime did you watch? Scorching Ping Pong Girls! Of which there will be a review coming tomorrow so no spoiling what I thought about it here! I started watching Super Sonico The Animation and, I’m kind of at a loss for words about that one, like I know why it exists, but I’m still like “why?” Also I (finally) watched the biggest anime movie of 2016, your name.

Oh! Will we be reviewing that one? Maybe…

Exciting! So what about manga? Get any? Not just manga, light novels too!

What’s a light novel? It’s like a manga but with a lot less pictures and a lot more words.

Okay, what did you get? In alphabetical order, I got Bakemonogatari 1 (LN), From the New World 1, Murcielago 2, Mysterious Girlfriend X Omnibus 1, No Game No Life 1-3 (LN), No Game No Life Please 2-3, NTR Netsuzou Trap 2-4 and Yokai Girls 2.

I had to buy a new bookshelf too! But I figured nobody needed to see a picture of that.

That’s a lot! And what did you read last week? Not as much as I’d like as I was writing more, but I read Monster Musume 7, which was a nice return to form after the previous 2 volumes were a little bit lacking. I read a chapter of No Game No Life light novel, which was as expected very close to the anime, just with a little bit more detail. And I read No Matter How I Look At It It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular 3, the reason I’m only getting to this now is because I’ve had volumes 6-11 for a while, but not 4 and 5 (for some reason they were always more expensive and I stalk Book Depository for the cheapest prices), so I had to wait until they came down in price, and they finally did so 4 and 5 should be arriving soon.

Great, and I already know the answer to this one but, get any anime merch? A whole box of it from Mandarake in Japan! You can read the detailed list and see pictures of the merch in Part 1 and Part 2 of my Mandarake Merch Madness posts.

You got more merch though, didn’t you! I did! I got a smaller parcel from Amazon Japan; I didn’t make a post about it because I figured I should save something for this post.

So go on then, what’d you get? I got two wall tapestries one for ‘Is It Wrong To Try and Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon’ and one for ‘A Sister’s All You Need’. I got a ‘Classroom of the Elite’ Airi Sakura oppai phone charm and an ‘Interviews With Monster Girls’ Sakie Sato acrylic stand. And for the irl waifu a ‘Haikyu’ and ‘Yuri on Ice’ pillow cases (still need to buy pillows for them).

Look at those majestic mountains!

Curse of bad lighting strikes again!

I don’t know why the brand name is called ‘MOMS’.

The Victor pillow is so fluffy!

What’s the point of that ‘oppai phone charm’? I don’t know, I saw them when I was in Japan last year and wanted one but didn’t recognise any of the characters, but since then I had watched more shows and so when I saw best girl from ‘Classroom of the Elite’ I had to have it. In hindsight a silly purchase, but whatever at least I’ve got one now!

Okay now that’s all done with now, any site news? We hit 50 followers! Which was exciting, I’m very appreciative of everyone who made it possible by supporting me!

Yay! Anything else? I’m still trying to figure out how to review the 2018 Spring Anime when they start, I’m intending to watch most of the shows to start with but I don’t know how sustainable it would be to review every episode of every new show in the 20 Question Format, but I still do want to make observations regarding every new episode I watch.

Yeah, no one’s going to want to read 5 or more 20 Question Reviews every day. Hmm, I’m sure I’ll think of something.

So how would you rate the week ending the 18^th of March 2018. Busy! Filled with merch! A great week in anime too, it’s exciting that all these shows I’ve been watching are coming so close to their conclusions! Let’s just hope they actually have satisfying conclusions! Thank you all for reading and have a great day!

Mandarake Merch Madness: Part 2 – Untold Questions

And now we continue the merch post with figurines, yeah? Indeed, if you’re reading this and you haven’t read Part 1, you really probably should. Unless you don’t want to! That’s fine too. But yes, this second part of my Mandarake Merch Madness will be focusing on figurines that I got with my most recent order.

Right, let’s see ’em then! Well first, there’s a couple of things kinda figurine adjacent, well one’s an acrylic stand which is not a figurine but the second are Banpresto chibi-style figurines. The reason the pictures look different to the others is because the irl waifu took these to work to sit on her desk before I could take photos!

Sleepy Umaru acrylic stand from Himouto! Umaru-Chan.

Kageyama and Hinata Banpresto mini figurines.

Hey look! Things that aren’t cute girls! What a pleasant change of pace for this merch post! If you’re trying to make me feel bad for my cute girl obsession, it won’t work. And while on the subject of Banpresto mini figurines, we also have the four main girls from Yuru Yuri. Still in their boxes as I haven’t decided where to put them.

I swear it was just a coincidence that Akari’s face got obscured! Even real life is trying to make her disappear!

And now the main event as it were? The figurines? Well, let’s get one thing out of the way first, these aren’t the expensive bishoujo figurines that you see going for prices upwards of 10,000 yen. These are what are called ‘prize figurines’ called that because they’re usually used as prizes in UFO/crane games in arcades around Japan. It’s always funny because on the boxes they say ‘for use as prize in Japan only, not to be resold’, and yet there’s dozens of stores in Akihabara that sell them with impunity. Because they are prize figurines their prices are lower, but of course so is the level of detail. While I would love to be able buy proper expensive bishoujo figures, I personally can’t justify the price. I’d rather have 5 or 10 prize figures then 1 bishoujo figure, besides they’re all bishoujo’s to me 😉

…and what does bishoujo mean? Argh! don’t you ever listen! It means ‘beautiful girl’.

Right, okay, I get it now. So um pictures please?! Oh right! I won’t put much commentary between these pictures (just captions), as there weren’t any “surprises” like there was with some of the other merch from the previous post, these all came as expected and I’m happy with them all!

Rize from Is The Order A Rabbit?

Not sure on her name but she’s from the Monogatari series, which is a personal favourite, haven’t seen the season she is in yet but the price was exceptionally low on this one and I couldn’t pass it up.

Sengoku Nadeko from Nisemonogatari (Monogatari series).

Best girl Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari (Monogatari series)

Mayoi Hatchukuji from Bakemonogatari (Monogatari series)

And last but certainly not least, a very familiar face, Kuroneko from OreImo.

Well that wasn’t nearly as troublesome as I thought it might be, I have expected some lewd figurines in their. Oh my no… the Yayoi Barnard Lutwidge figure I want is far too expensive for my budget.

*google Yayoi Barnard Lutwidge* Oh… oh my god what is she doing to that carrot! Why do you do this to me?! I didn’t make you Google it.

Tsk. Anyway that was the merch post, how do we want to go about wrapping these things up? I hope you enjoyed reading about all this lovely merch I got from Mandarake. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask me, I’d love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading!

Mandarake Merch Madness: Part 1 – Untold Questions

Okay, what’s this then? It’s a merch post!

“Merch”, “Post”, is this some kind of weird ritual? Yes.

No, but seriously what’s going on. Don’t be difficult, ‘merch’ means ‘merchandise’ and post is what this is.

—kay, but what’s a “Mandarake”? Well it’s got nothing to with Harry Potter if you’re wondering.

I wasn’t but do go on… It’s a second-hand anime goods chain in Japan, it’s like a treasure trove of anime related goodies for otakus like me! Also, second-hand for Japan is basically like new, 90% of the things they sell have never been taken out of the box!

And I presume this means you bought some goods from them? A whole BOX of ‘em!

You could fit a person in this box!

That’s a big box! Ahem…

Always well protected, the more delicate items are individually bubble wrapped too.

Right-o, so get into it then! Full disclosure, a lot of these pictures will be of the items out of their boxes because, well, I was too impatient to take pictures of them in their respective box. I don’t know if this breaks some rules of unboxing/merch posts but give me a break, okay? I’m new here after all…

Fine, fine. Just get on with it! Okay, so prepare for a lot of photos, also I’m not really sure what order to display the merch in so I’ll leave the figurines ’til the end [edit: figurines in seperate post], and everything else before.

GET ON WITH IT! Right, so first off I wanted to get a new wallet. I’ve already got a re:zero one but it’s due for a replacement soon.

From: Is the Order a Rabbit?? Still in packaging because i’ll leave it in til I’m ready to change over from the old wallet.

What’s up next? Next is a couple of CD soundtracks! I have most of my music digitally but it’s sometimes nice to get the physical thing, plus the Amagi Brilliant Park one comes with a bonus DVD. Unfortunatley, Mandarake’s website isn’t the best about giving detailed information on the content of some of their products, and some things are just poorly translated, so as it turns out the DVD is of just one, 4-minute music video. But whatever it was cheap enough anyway!

Yuru Yuri Season 1 OST and Amagi Brilliant Park Character Song Collection + Bonus DVD.

4 minute long DVD, that’s got to be some kind of record for shortest DVD. Haha I doubt it, but yeah… Anyway while we’re on the subject of Amagi Brilliant Park. I got a stylus and a poster. I was a bit disappointed the poster was just a paper one as the site said ‘image board’ but again it comes down to translation issues and not very good pictures on their website. It’s certainly not a perfect system, but it kind of adds to the excitement of opening the items!

Amagi Brilliant Park, Isuzu Sento Stylus.

Amagi Brilliant Park full cast poster.

Buyer beware I suppose! It’s fine! Next up is a COSPA pillowcase for New Game! I’ve already got a bunch of COSPA brand pillow cases from the actual COSPA store in Akihabara when I went last year and I was so impressed with the quality when I got them home I bought another one! They don’t have a wide range of shows unfortunately, but they are double-sided with different images on each side!

New Game! Pillowcase, still in packaging until I buy a new pillow insert for it but you can see the two sides of the design on the paper beneath. Also it was a lot cheaper than the RRP, as some Mandarake items usually are.

When you said pillowcase I thought it was going to be something lewd… thankfully it’s only partially so with those bikinis… Did someone say lewd?! This next purchase was just because of how much it amused me, it’s an oppai drink bottle holder. It’s also from a series I’ve never watched before which I don’t normally do, but it was too good to pass up. Unfortunately, and I feel like I’m saying that a lot, but the hole to the bottle in the top is too small for most if not all water bottles, it might be able to fit a small coke can or bottle or beer, but I don’t drink either! Oh well, might have to just repurpose it into a pen holder or something!

Too late to say NSFW?

Yeah… why am I not surprised you bought something like that… My browsing habits on Mandarake generally just result in me putting in the titles of shows I or the irl waifu likes and seeing what comes up. A show we both like, but not love is Persona 4: The Animation, ordinarily I wouldn’t bother with merch for a show I just ‘like’ and not ‘love’, but when I showed her this she had to have it.

Teddy plush thing from Persona 4. And yes it’s a working zip and you can put things in it! Not much though it is very small.

Well that’s cute and wholesome! And now back to our regularly scheduled smut! Well, not the item itself, but rather the show (or visual novel, it could be from either). I was searching ‘We Without Wings’ and this item came up, it was vague in the description, it translated something to ‘towel’ and I assumed beach towel, but it’s not, it’s more like a velour (or microfibre?) throw blanket. And it’s very big, it takes up most of the single bed in my office.

Is Naru best girl? I don’t even know, that show’s so confusing. Regardless I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and size especially considering the relatively low price.

Mmm-hmm. Moving on… I broke one of my rules twice this shop, that rule being never buy things for show’s you don’t watch/haven’t watched yet. But I think this one’s forgivable, because apparently it’s a really good show? Also, who can say no to a cheap, brand new t-shirt!

Angel Beats t-shirt. Really good quality print, really poor quality photo. It’s pristine white irl but the photo makes it look worn.

I wouldn’t have thought Japanese sizes would fit you… WOW. I mean it is a little snug around the belly, but it’s fine. I’ll probably only wear it at home, and only once I’ve watched the show too. Anyway, next it’s time for Interviews With Monster Girls merch! I got 3 phone charms and a really cute phone case. One I thing I quickly learned while in Japan is that while they have a LOT of anime phone cases, only about 5% of them come in the Large size for iPhone plus sized devices. So of course while browsing the site I was thrilled to find one for Interviews With Monster Girls that fits my phone!

Bad lighting strikes again!

Kawaii!

Well this post has gotten longer than I thought it would be, should we maybe take a break? You don’t get breaks, but yes I see what you mean, it probably is a bit much for one post. Alright, take five and we’ll continue with figurines in part two!

20 Question Weekly Review Week Ending 18th February 2018

So we’re doing another one of these, huh? And so soon after the first. They’ll be happening every Monday(ish) from now on, last weeks was only later in the week because I had the idea to do it later in the week. Besides, lots of anime and manga related things this past week to talk about!

And some personal stuff? Yeah sure, and some site news too.

Let’s start with something other than what currently airing anime you watched, since I’m guessing it’ll be the same as last week. Very astute, also correct.

So you got some anime merch last week? How’d you know?

Well if I didn’t know I couldn’t ask you questions and this whole blog format would be unsustainable. True. And yes! I did get some anime merch from amazon.co.jp. I got myself a Rias Gremory ‘High School DxD Born’ tapestry and an ‘Amagi Brilliant Park’ noren (Japanese door curtain) both for my anime room.

I have no shame.

I’ve yet to divide the curtain yet as it requires cutting the curtain down the middle, I don’t trust myself to do it right.

Cool. And you got some new manga this week too? Yes, here’s a picture because I mean you don’t really need me to write out the titles right?

I should be sponsored by Seven Seas Entertainment considering how many of their manga I buy!

I’m sure we’ll manage, thanks. Um… I do notice a common theme with those covers though. Oh yeah?

Lot of ‘cute girls’, huh? I know what I like.

Fair enough, what manga did you finish reading last week? Well I read Volume 1 of ‘Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life’ which was expectantly cute and occasionally funny but as expected for a 4-panel manga was lacking in a satisfying story to carry my interest. Unlike most manga, which I read in a single sitting it, took three separate days to finish it.

Not much of a recommendation. Well I’ll probably read the other volumes just because I like the characters and universe so much, but it’s nothing special.

What else? I also read Volume 1 of ‘Sundome’, which is a delightfully twisted and considerably erotic tale with a much darker art style than I’m used to but I still enjoyed it a lot. But, my favourite thing of the week was Volume 1 of ‘Yokai Girls’, very much my kind of thing, monster girls + really inappropriate humour and situations + Akihabara set = love it! Definitely not for everyone, so I can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a dirty sense of humour and like lots of really detailed fan-service… ahem.

No context for you! Unless I decide to review manga one day.

As expected, I suppose. So copy/paste what new anime you’re watching from last week just change the episode number? Pretty much. Episode 7 of: A Place Further Than The Universe, Citrus, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, Marchen Madchen, Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, Pop Team Epic, Slow Start, Yuru Camp. And episode 6 of: Dagashi Kashi 2, Darling in the FranXX and Mitsuboshi Colors.

Still the same scores/opinions as last week? Kind of. Slow Start had a phenomenally interesting episode 7, which I talk about at length here. Pop Team Epic #7 was a bit more consistently funny that previous episodes, I loved the live-action ‘Hellshake Yano’ bit, very well done. Dagashi Kashi 2 Episode 7 introduced new characters and went heavy with the plot, which makes it all the more annoying these are only 12-minute episodes. Marchen Madchen Episode 7 went full deus-ex machina, but whatever I still like it enough to keep watching. Citrus episode 7 amps up the drama and is heading in all kinds of fun directions. Other than those everything else is of the same quality as last week.

Even if you don’t like the show, it’s worth watching this ‘segment’ alone.

Good to hear! Any other anime you watched this week? Yes, lots! Finished season 1 of Haikyu!! Expect a review in a couple of weeks. Binged all of Classroom of the Elite and wrote a review, expect a review of that one very soon. And some other things that I’ll keep secret for reasons…

Is it hentai? It’s not hentai.

Sure, sure. So what’s new in your life? Time to get personal, huh? Well I’ve been a bit down lately, due to not having a job. Money is rapidly becoming an issue. So I’ll have to do something about that soon.

But what about all the things you bought? Well not that I need to explain myself to you, but birthday money + selling things on eBay in order to help finance my anime/manga spending habits.

Fair enough! And you mentioned something about blog news? Well not so much ‘news’ as just housekeeping. First of all big thanks to my followers, I’ve hit 25 followers which is honestly very nice and I appreciate everyone who likes and comments on my reviews. Secondly, I’ve been nominated to do some blogging awards, which is very humbling. I probably won’t do them for a few weeks though as I’m going to have to make a ‘miscellaneous’ blog section on the site to accommodate them but I don’t want it to seem like it’s just tacked on, I want it to feel like it belongs within the context of the site.

Anything else? Well I know I promised these weekly reviews wouldn’t impede on the daily ’20 Question Anime Reviews’ but these seem to take a lot longer to do than normal reviews. So there may come a time when Monday’s only have a Weekly Review blog and not both. But not this week! So expect a review later today!

Okay then, so how would you rate the week ending the 18^th of January? With regard to anime and manga it was good often very good, personally not so much, but hopefully things will turn around soon! Thanks for reading!