Anime/Manga 10 Weeks of Anime Week 5 - Merchandising!

I think it's neat that there's so much merchandise, but a lot of it is stuff I won't ever buy. Keychains, pillow covers, tiles (???), and a whole bunch of other useless items...

I highly prefer plushes and figurines. I am very picky with those and only have a few things; for instance I only get my favourite characters and things I know I'll like 100%, otherwise I regret the purchase very soon. The only pieces of merch I have are a Saber figurine from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, a big plush from Monomi from Dangan Ronpa, and a Master Ball plush (not really anime merch but w/e). I have a few posters from magazines and a few Weiss Schwarz cards (which I only have as merch and not as playcards), and I am looking for specific ones.

I do kinda sideye people who buy very sexualised figurines; I find them tasteless.
 
IMO it's the same as buying merchandise of anything else you like - harmless and shows your support. Whether it's a show, film, comic, band, etc.
I lean towards shirts and keychains tbh, since there's really no space in my room for figures or plushies. Even then, I don't buy anime merch that often - all I have are a few Love Live keychains attached to my bag. I would never buy body pillows or half-naked figurines though, since I'm not a fan of sexualisation.
 
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I like the idea.

But I think it's one of those things that perpetuates a lot of behaviors in the whales of the industry- in Japan, Western whales don't really matter in this context- to the point that I can't say I'm all too keen on how it's advertised and what can be among what's published.

Especially when you get something like Super Sonico which was literally just this multi-media merch machine that really didn't do anything other than have a cute girl. Compare this to a multi-media merch machine like Love Live which actually seemed to have heart even if it was made with similar intent. Basically like comparing a hollow wall to a concrete one.

For the most part, though, merch to me is just showing support to the things I like. Figures are my goto for support but really I'm a much bigger fan of artwork because I feel that its actual appeal tends to involve a lot of factors that figures don't. Though hell, if figures started getting produced at the speed, cost, and quality of amiibos (though not the numbers, c'mon Nintendo), I'd probably have a fair few of them right now.
 
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