Birthday Gifts!

I’ve never been keen on birthday celebrations, but I have to admit that opening gifts is a lot of fun.

My wife, who has a great insight into this, usually puts in a lot of work to make the experience special for me. This year was no exception, with a anime character challenge, a scavenger hunt, and a lot of great gifts. We celebrated early as she was too excited about my gifts to wait for my actual birthday (and really, so was I).

First I had to guess the names of an anime characters based on vague clues. For example: “Free Spirited, independent, unpredictable and short tempered. Teaches us that emotions and artistry are more important than following a precise order” (the answer is, of course, Kaori Miazono).

The first letter of the character’s name (in the above case: K) was used for the next clue. After collecting all the letters, I would unscramble them to learn where a gift was hidden. Eg: ETCKNIH KINS = Kitchen Sink.

After doing the above for 10 gifts, I got the below (please forgive the poor pictures):

Five anime blu-rays, all ones that I’ve been wanting for my collection. I actually got to open Steins;Gate a few days earlier because I had been watching the series on Funimation at the time. I’ve not yet seen Only Yesterday, but it’s Ghibli so I know it will be great.

 

Two awesome shirts. These are some great additions to my growing anime shirt collection, and fit my personal style (dark colors, simple design). The second one is pretty obscure, so if someone recognizes it when they pass me on the street, they are sure to become my BFFL.

 

Two blind box figures: Maka Albarn (Soul Eater) and Piccolo (DBZ). They seem to be soft PVC with turning heads. I love these figures, and might have to get some more boxes 😛

 

And last but not least, this beautiful mug. The story behind this is that it’s a replacement for a Your lie in April tumbler I bought at Anime Fan Fest earlier this year. It worked well for a while, but at some point the plastic on the inside cracked (from the heat of the coffee maybe?). Moisture leaked through the cracks and damaged the design on the outside. My wife saw this mug and decided to buy it, thinking that I could once again have “Your coffee in April” in a container that wouldn’t break this time (as long as I don’t drop it!). Is she not the sweetest?

Another memorable birthday celebration that dulls the pain of getting older. It’s really great to have a wife that indulges my otaku habits and understands me so well 🙂