I've been watching anime for as long as I can remember. It's literally a part of my life and I can't see myself not do anything related to them. I have been so reliant on anime as a way to escape reality. Without it, I'm not sure how I'd keep myself sane from all the stress and whatnots.
When I was young, I just watched anime for the fun of it. Anime got me into my other passion which is drawing. I remember keeping a notebook full of first generation pokemon drawings when I was (if I remember correctly) in the third grade of elementary school around 25 years ago. Sheesh I'm old!
Aside from the fan arts I and my cousins made, I also collected HxH, Yu Yu Hakusho, Flame of Recca, DBZ, etc cards and pogs (milk caps). It was such a thing back then... I also got addicted to collecting some Tamiya Mini 4WD because of the anime Let's & Go! as well as Beyblade. Those were the last anime toys I could remember that I collected.
In high school, I simply exchanged fan arts made by my friends. I still have my friend's fan art of Rukawa (Slam Dunk) and a character from Ragnarok (which I already forgot the name of). They're also my treasures.
I got back into collecting something anime-related when I was in college. Back then, my room was full of anime posters. I remember just buying a couple posters and printing some photos to stick on my wall... and then, my friends started gifting me posters and my wall was literally filled with them. I can't find a decent photo, but here's what my room used to look like around 10 years ago.
I had to get rid of my posters around three years ago because a lot of them were tattered due to age lol and the final straw was the supertyphoon last December 2021. A bunch of them got wet, so I decided to take the chance and do some room renovation. Then last year, I finally got myself a loft bed... I still got an empty wall in my room, but I'm thinking of making an anime mural someday. :)
As mentioned, I got myself a loft bed... and I designed it in a way that I could arrange some of the anime collections.
Aside from the posters, I collected some figurines as well. There weren't a lot available in shops back then, but I was able to increase them. Some of the old ones I bought were already gone somewhere haha. The ones that are left are mostly gifts. My male bestie gifted me all those Naruto chibi, then my femal bestie bought me that Luffy one at the back.
The huge Hibari Kyoya figure was a gift from a Japanese senpai. I helped them by introducing them to some people in the otaku community in Cebu and they opened an anime cafe here years back. They went back to Japan now, though.
I also got a bunch of Otakuzine, Otaku Asia, Anime Asia and so on. I collected most of them when I was in college and when I started working. It was fun reading them, but I mostly use them for art references back then. :) And in the middle of the photo, you'd see some BL doujinshi. I got them from my Japanese senpai as well. His daughter was also into BL, so she chose these djs for me. That time, I was so into Hitman Reborn and Free! hahah My fujoshi self felt so blessed when I received them. <3
I also have some anime bags and caps. They're pretty old now, but I still use them. I bought some of them and the others were gifts. I remember when my mom bought me that Domo-kun and Trafalgar Law bag for Christmas years ago. I believe it was when Comic Alley first opened in Cebu.
The Shingeki no Kyojin cap was given to me by my female bestie. I remember wearing that when we went to Otakufest. She was wearing her Ryoma Echizen cap back then. As for the Chopper bag, I purchased it online because I cosplayed Chopper during ARCHcon back in 2016. And for the Dr. Stone bag and pouch, I got it from my Japanese friend. She sent it through mail during my birthday. <3
Aside from these, I also got some anime shirts, towels, plushies, folders, etc. which I mostly got as gifts. I'm really grateful to all the sponsors! hahaha
Lastly, I got these Haikyu!! merch. I got most of them after watching the movie last month, but I got that final manga (Volume 45) from my Japanese friend alongside the Dr. Stone bags. She knows how crazy I am about Dr. Stone and Haikyu!!, so she sent them to me.
My collection wouldn't be this many if it weren't for the kind and generous people who gave them to me. I am eternally grateful and I'd definitely take good care of them. They're my treasures and they truly make me happy. <3 Thanks for checking this post! See you around and let's continue to enjoy anime and manga! ^^