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[kupoartist]

Postwar Japan was a land recovering from a finanically devastating war, and the only logical way forward in a country that had mechanised for war was to manufacture, manufacture, manufacture! At first the Japanese manufactured electronics, cars, ships, but they realised that this simply was not enough. If they were to become a world power, to truely become a contributor to the world's economy, they needed to create something worthwhile. Something special. Taking their cue from the monster movies of yore, Japan created its own godzilla.

Its name: Merchandise.

In the beginning all was fine. The Merch monster created a moderated ammount of merchandise aimed at Anime fans, and Japan was pleased. It would not last. The Merch monster rebelled against its masters. It ran amok around Japan's largest cities leaving a deathly trail of cuddly plush dolls and lewd ceramic figures. No one, and nowhere was safe. Even the silence of deepest Hokkaido was penetrated by the deathly screams of herds of wild Haro toys, escaped from one of the monster's vital organs, the Bandai factory... The Merch Monster brought the souls of the anime creators, and now demands a massive input of raw Japanese currency to fuel its bodily functions. He pulls strings in the government, and has even started to make his influence felt in far away lands...

So the question: has the merch monster visited your home? How much money have you fed to his gargantuan digestive system in return for fluffy toys, plastic models and other miscellany? Are you a casual buyer, sensible with money and able to hold back from buying what you don't really need, or has the Merch-monster's rage filled you from head to toe, so that you are nothing more than one of his minions, destined to roam the earth searching for every Love Hina pencil case, Fruits Basket pin-badge, Final Fantasy-themed beverage and other morsel of tie-in that you can find?

And I expect to see pictures!

[merylsilverburg]

*roars with laughter* This is a brilliant introduction to your main point.

Well to answer your question, yes, the merch monster has visited my home when I was younger. I wasn't really a casual buyer at all back then...I must've spent roughly around $6,000 on all my merchandise from 1999 to 2003. But I'm older now and more responsible, so I don't let the monster invade much anymore.

I'll post pictures whenever I get the chance. It'll be a lot though.

[Pu the Owl]

I only have a couple of posters, keychains and plushies, plus a One Piece RPG game for Gameboy Advance. That is all the anime merchandise I own, from what I can remember, apart from DVDs and manga books. But I spend a lot on Pooh stuff. I own dozens of stuffed toys, beanies, watches, books, school material - notebooks, pens etc. - , pins, bags, purses, sweets, figurines and more. That's plain silly. I love the bear, damn it! I buy these things whenever I can and I can't resist...

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Panuru

But I spend a lot on Pooh stuff. I own dozens of stuffed toys, beanies, watches, books, school material - notebooks, pens etc. - , pins, bags, purses, sweets, figurines and more. That's plain silly. I love the bear, damn it! I buy these things whenever I can and I can't resist...

We all have our obsessions. The way you spend on Pooh is like how I used to spend on anime merchandise in general.

Anyways, here are some pictures. Not many because I felt too lazy to take any more pictures. Sorry for the somewhat bad quality and crampiness.

Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket I labled the items in case people want to know what they are.

1) Yuki slippers that I got from Japan on eBay.
2) Mini jyuunishi colored plastic figurines that came with the Japanese boxset of the DVDs.
3) Trading card box. I have many more...yes, I was crazy.
4) One of the notebooks...I have more.
5) A clear mini-schedule that came with the last DVD of the Japanese version.
6) All the plushies that I own so far. Kagura, Kyo, Cat Kyo, Rat Yuki, Yuki. These are the official Japanese versions, not the ugly US ones.
7) Mini business card set. Blank.
8) Another notebook, my favorite design.
9) It opens up to reveal a small pouch.
10) Two postcards. I have doubles.

Furuba Zipper Chains These are one of the rarer Furuba item I own. These are limited, you can only get this by mailing off a card from the zasshin (telephone) manga books in Japan. So, I got it from a Japanese girl on eBay.

Furuba Cellphone Strap Again, another rare item...I was obsessed with getting this one because I like cellphone straps and this was really cute. Too bad no one noticed it much at the time.

Hellsing
Alucard Figure Most of my Hellsing stuff are really rare so I take great care to keep my box safe. This is one of those rare, hard-to-find figures. This is an official Kouta, Hirano Alucard figure, I got it from Japan and this was the only one I ever saw on eBay.

Seras Figure Again like Alucard's, another very rare figure that I only saw twice on eBay.

I do have Alucard's twin guns, the Casal and Jekyll, which were already built and painted so I didn't have to mess with it. I don't have pictures because I would have to dig and unravel all the bubble wrap I suffocated them in.

Random
Random Animes These are just a few stuff from random animes I bought.
1) The Kubrick Lego-like Trigun box. Here is a close up shot.
2) Edward with Ein plush. I saw this in a shop and I was like "Wow!" so I bought it because it was fairly cheap. I later realized, to my dismay, this was an American-licensed plush and not one from Japan.
3) Vash the Stampede plush. Bought it at the same time as Edward and it's also American-licensed.
4) Nadja plush from the anime Ashita no Nadja (Tommorow's Nadja). As you can see from comparisions of 2 and 3, this is an official JP plush.
5) A Big O card case. I don't have any Big O items because there aren't any, so this is one of my favorites.
6) A Cowboy Bebop card case.
7) A Revolutionary Girl Utena tarot card set from Japan. Beautiful artwork, you can see on the side and the bottom I laid out.
8) Vash the Stampede's glasses from Japan.
9) WeiB Kruez tarot box set. I never really liked the series, but the tarot card was a good buy because it's really lovely.

Bleach
Ichigo and Kon Plushies Like the title says, Ichigo and Kon plushes...these were my latest buy from a year ago. They're so cute!

Shemue
Shenmue Mugs Not really anime, but I wanted to show these because they are my favorites and are rare. These are promotional gifts during one of the Tokyo Gameshows when Shenmue was about to release.

Yeah so these are my stuff. I hope you guys enjoyed looking at them!

[Meiko]

Meryl! Nice stuff! I like the plushies! They're very cute!

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Meiko

Meryl! Nice stuff! I like the plushies! They're very cute!

Thanks Meiko! I don't have many plushies honestly, so the ones I have are great. I'd like to see other's merchandise, but I guess I'm the only one showing pictures of my stuff.

[Pu the Owl]

I could take some pics, but as I said I have not many anime items. I don't think Pooh interests anybody in this thread he he he

[kupoartist]

Oohh... I never did reply to this thread after I started it did I I'm not a big merch buyer, though I want more... I just not too keen on explaining it all to my parents you see! Nevertheless, here is my Nerd Credentials page. Shocking stuff :O

[TtTackler]

Heh heh, I used to collect Gundam models..until I used them for a school project awhile back and pieces kind of broke off of them..and I was too lazy to rebuild them, and just never bought anymore..

[Pu the Owl]

Originally Posted by TtTackler

Heh heh, I used to collect Gundam models..until I used them for a school project awhile back and pieces kind of broke off of them..and I was too lazy to rebuild them, and just never bought anymore..

That's sad....

Reminds me that episode in Genshiken, when they have to assemble and paint (Gundam?) models, but end messing them up because of a series of very unfortunate events.

Kupo, nice pics

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Panuru

I could take some pics, but as I said I have not many anime items. I don't think Pooh interests anybody in this thread he he he

Actually I wouldn't mind checking out your Pooh collection.

kupo, those are some great models...I can't believe you actually assembled and painted them yourself...I wouldn't have the patience, hehe.

Yay, I'm glad people have posted pictures!

[kupoartist]

Originally Posted by merylsilverburg

kupo, those are some great models...I can't believe you actually assembled and painted them yourself...I wouldn't have the patience, hehe.

Ah no, you see the models are for frauds because they're molded in 98% of the correct colours in the more detailed scales Still, 300+ pieces for the Zeta Gundam in those pics was quite a bit of work. Painting them makes them look better, but I can't even begin to decipher the colour charts in the manuals and then purchase some japanese modelling paints to coat them with