I have been watching anime since the days of daytime Toonami and Saturday mornings on WB Kids. I got my first Gameboy in 1st grade, adventured in Ocarina of Time with my mom as a child, and have played Pokemon as well as other games throughout the years. There have been times where I have taken breaks from geeky activities because of stress, school, or work, but I have mostly kept up with it. I never really thought about if I would still be a geek as an adult, but last Wednesday, November 2nd, was my 25th birthday, and I seem to be more of an otaku than ever. I think this is because of the instant access we have to anime and video games, and how the fan community has grown and is able to connect from almost anywhere in the world.

Anyway, here is a summary of the geeky gifts and activities I did in celebration of my birthday.

Geeky Activities

Even though my birthday is technically on November 2nd, Halloween is my favorite holiday so I consider October 31st through November 2nd as a kind of three day birthday period. This year I tried to do as many geeky related things as possible because I don’t know if I will be able to do them when I am older. Here is everything I did.

Halloween Pokemon Go Special

A while ago, I wrote an article about Pokemon Go, discussing how the creators needed to add more features to make playing the game more worthwhile. I believe that the Halloween special was a step in the right direction. If you weren’t aware, the special made it so more spooky Pokemon (i.e. Ghastly) appeared more regularly. Twice as many Pokemon candies were distributed for every Pokemon caught, and the Buddy System worked 4 times faster. These features allowed me to catch new Pokemon, evolve Pokemon I never had before, and ALMOST get enough candies to evolve my Pikachu into a Raichu (almost ;_; ).

The special made me want to go out and play again. It is exactly what Pokemon Go needed. If the creators want to inspire players, they need to do more of these events. If they had one maybe once a month or every few weeks, it would definitely break up the monotony.

Japanese Market Place And Anime Store- Mistuwa, Kinokuniya, and Mars 

On my birthday, my fiance and I went to a nearby Japanese marketplace to have lunch and celebrate. It’s called Mitsuwa and is in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The market has many booths and restaurants that sell authentic Japanese food. For lunch, I had delicious udon, which is pictured in the photo above. The market also has super market aisles full of Japanese food, ingredients, hygiene products, and snacks.

Across  from the market are two stores that sell Japanese products. The first is Kinokuniya, which is a book store. They have a large collection of manga, many of which are not available or hard to find in other book stores like Barnes and Nobles. It also has manga, light novels, books, and magazines in untranslated Japanese. A section of the store has anime figures and merchandise. Kinokuniya is where I bought the NTR Netsuzou Trap manga, as well as many other volumes of manga and anime trinkets.

The other store is Mars, which focuses more on anime merchandise and household products from Japan. There are many anime figures, key-chains, blind boxes, and more. There are also plushies, notebooks, stationary, phone cases, and so on all from Japan. If you want even more authenticity, they have a section for kimono, yukata, and other traditional Japanese items for sale. On my birthday, I bought a small Lucky Star blind box, but I wasn’t able to find or take a decent picture of the little Miyuki figure I got.

I definitely want to write about the market and these stores in more depth and will do so in the future. They are great places to experience Japanese culture and buy anime products without having to go into New York City.

The Joker’s Child- A Comic Book Store

After having lunch at the market place, my fiance and I went to a local comic book store in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The Joker’s Child has been around for years and is run by very friendly people. On top of this, they have all of the latest comics and many older ones as well. In terms of anime and manga, they don’t have the biggest supply, but their selection of comic book-related merchandise is amazing. I specifically wanted to pick up the newest comic book releases by Gerard Way because I am a huge fan of him and My Chemical Romance.

I got them and then we went home for cake afterwards :3

I also want to write a spotlight piece on The Joker’s Child. It has a great selection and staff, and they deserve some credibility.

World Of Final Fantasy

My fiance pre-ordered World Of Final Fantasy a couple months ago and picked it up a few days before my birthday. As a fan of Final Fantasy, Pokemon (there are adorable creatures that you can capture), and chibi artwork, I instantly became entranced with the game and kind of took over playing it, instead of my fiance haha. After we got home and exchanged gifts, I decided to snuggle up on the couch and play World of Final Fantasy.

And I can’t stop playing it! I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes Final Fantasy, Pokemon, RPG games, strategy games, or simply anything cute!

Hello Kitty Hot Chocolate!

To celebrate my birthday with my mom, we went to Sleepy Hollow, NY this weekend to go to The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze. To kill some time, we went into a coffee shop. Even though I didn’t ask for it or have any Hello Kitty merchandise with me, the barista made a Hello Kitty in my hot chocolate! And I happen to be a big Hello Kitty fan! It was so cute and it made my day  ❤

Anime and Geek-Related Presents

The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzimiya Ultimate Collector’s Edition

This beauty was given to me by my wonderful mother.

I am huge Haruhi fan. I watched it when it first came out, but didn’t really understand it. Then, I watched it a couple years later (when I was a little older and more analytical) and fell in love with the bizarre psychology of the show. However, by this time the show’s hype had died down and it was very difficult to find any merchandise that wasn’t extremely expensive. When I found out about the ten year anniversary edition (Has it really been that long?) I asked my mom for it and she delivered! The set is gorgeous and comes with not just the original series, but all of its spin-offs as well, including The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan.

Steven Universe Vinyl Pop Figure

This lil’ cutie was a gift from my fiance.

Lately I have been catching up with Steven Universe because I fell behind a while ago. My fiance began watching the show with me and, as an innate lover of cartoons, she became a fan as well. Since then, we have been watching it together. She knows I think Steven is adorable and so she bought me this pop as a birthday gift. The figure is so cute! And meaningful to me.

NTR Netsuzou Trap Volume 1

This is manga was a gift… to myself.

I apologize for the raunchy cover haha. I usually do not read manga that is so ecchi in nature, but I admit Netsuzou Trap hooked me in. At first, I began reading it because I am a huge yuri addict. Then I continued reading it because, although I disagree with the characters’ actions, the psychology of the two girls fascinated me. I became intertwined in the web they create for themselves as they explore their relationship with each other. When I saw the first volume in the yuri section, I couldn’t help but grab it and buy it.

Overall, it was a very good birthday. I got to send time with my fiance and family, doing geeky activities that I love. I hope to continue being an otaku even when I am older, and I hope to continue this blog indefinitely. 

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