Adam's Room: Touring the Otaku's Den
Why, hello there! Adam Arnold here, and I'm going to take you on a little tour of the collectible-filled lair I call home. Yes, I actually do live and do all my work in this room.
I know you'll be wondering when I started collecting stuff, so I'll go ahead and say that I began collecting DC Comics related stuff in 1992 and my journey into anime and manga began June 9, 1997 when Sailor Moon started airing on the cable channel USA. I got my driver's license in April of that year and started my first job in May. Since then, I've basically spent a portion of every paycheck I've ever made to buy anime-related stuff.
First up is the TV/Gaming area. Basically, this area houses my consoles from the 32-bit era on. You can probably tell that I'm obsessed with music games...and I am. Taiko no Tatsujin, Para Para Paradise, Beatmania IIDX, Keyboardmania, Donkey Konga, and Guitar Hero controllers should all be pretty easy to spot.
Behind the TV is my wall of VHS tapes. The long row at the top is Superman and DC Comics-related action figures. The shelf below that has any oversized comic figures and such. 75% of row three is my Dr. Who VHS tape collection and then the rest is stuff like The X-Files. The other four rows are all anime.
Oh, and those are Love Hina bed sheets on my doors. I was the rewriter for the manga, so I was pretty obsessed with the series.
Same TV/Gaming area, just up close. The red thing on the keyboard stand is my Pop'n Music controller. You can see I have two PlayStation 2 systems. One is American and one is Japanese and, yes...I do play that many music games.
Next to my entrance (the door with Naru on it), is my American DVD (top 3 rows) and video game collection (the rest). I also keep what few CDs I have here also (not seen).
Some of the interesting things on the wall with the light switch are Final Fantasy X figures, boxed FFX-2 figures, some Taiko no Tatsujin replacement drum sticks, headband of Misha-san's bunnies from Pita-Ten, and a few other things.
Two more shots of the American DVD/Video Game wall. I hang UFO catcher dolls and beanies from the ceiling, so you'll probably notice more of those as we go through the room. I also like putting finished puzzles on that arch part of the ceiling that's above my DVDs. All of the ones on this wall are of Star Wars: Episode II. I also have my sealed copy of Superman #75 up there in the center (i.e. the issue from 1992 where Superman was killed fighting to stop Doomsday. That storyline made me a die-hard Superman fan and I've been one ever since).
Continuing on from that wall, we have the area where my dormer window is. I never open it--heck, I can't even get to it! This area is where I keep any trade paperbacks and oversized books. You can't see if from this image, but I also keep my 8-bit and 16-bit game consoles and gamers in here. What's in the Love Hina display? SEGA Genesis games.
Left: A wider shot of the dormer window area to show other stuff in there.
Right: And here's a wider shot of my bed area. I should go ahead and point out that the clump of stuff hanging down from the light/fan in the middle is my collection of air fresheners and convention badges. Spider-man is there just for the heck of it.
Okay, this is where I sleep. I actually don't have my bed against the wall. There just isn't any way for it to be flush with the wall without me eventually knocking something off those shelves.
These shelves are a real mix of action figures. I collect Batman action figures, so you can probably make out some of those on the upper-shelves. The rest of it...oh, The X-Files, X-Men, DragonBall Z, Cardcaptors, Sonic The Hedgehog, The Matrix and so much more...
Left: The area to the left of my bed. You can't see it, but I have my two Pump It Up pads on the floor in this area.
Right: A full view of my desk area and the walls behind it. Note the Superman and Batman beach towels on the wall. It's the only area that I refuse to put shelves up. I actually do need some clear wall space to put a calendar up (2006's calendar space is dedicated to LOST).
Welcome to my office. Yes, this is where I do all my writing, editing, and webmastering.
And here we have the great wall of anime and manga. This wall spans 18 feet and there is literally no way to take a clear shot of the entire thing from wall to wall. Three-fifths of the wall is anime DVDs (yes, I've somehow managed to amass more anime DVDs than Suncoast) and then the other two-fifths is manga...and the entire wall got filled up the very day I installed those shelves.
The top shelf contains a great deal of the anime-related figures and dolls I have. Since I choose to actually use collectibles to decorate with, I put the most inspiring figures on this shelf.
Above the top shelf is another slanted part of the ceiling. I use command adhesive strips and clips to actually stick action figures up there. At the very, very top are G Gundam action figures, which stretch the entire length of the wall. Below that are packages of Love Hina, Read or Die, FLCL, Hellsing and InuYasha figures.
A close up view of my Sailor Moon shrine. You can't tell from the picture, but there is actually stuff behind the dolls. In this case, it's boxed 5" Sailor Moon dolls, vehicles, wands, lockets and other stuff from Bandai's original American Sailor Moon toy line. I also have a Sailor Moon make-up case, lip balm, shampoo bottle...and children's shoe (a friend worked at a shoe store and gave it to me back when I was in high school).
Two more shots of the wall to show you the scale of it.
Here's two shots of the area above the wall to show what else I have up there.
And here we are at my closet door. If you look at what those plushies are sitting on...that's the Advent Pieces box set for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. If you wonder why I don't have, like, a flat screen TV, it's because I import insane things like that.
Before we hit my closet, I just wanted to show you my mounted Dance Dance Revolution and Pump It Up pads. They're mounted onto hard wood with vinyl covering over them. You might notice the blue tape in the middle. Since I mounted them separately, I have to use that to keep them together when playing doubles and freestyle.
Left: My Tamagotchi collection is just above my light switch in my closet.
Right: A display of some of the Masters of the Universe merchandise and figures from the 80s I have.
Left: Boxes full of comics below the Masters of the Universe display.
Right: Boxes full of magazines just feet away from the other boxes. All looks the same, huh?
Left: Some of the trinkets I have on the walls of my bathroom.
Right: Another memory box I have in my bathroom. It's a mix of Nintendo figures and other stuff.
Left: Also in my bathroom is my PEZ dispenser collection...
Right: ...and a wall of Star Wars action figures from around the time of Episode I and II.
In case you were wondering, I keep all of my clothes in that bathroom closet.
And that's about it. Hope you enjoyed the tour! Feel free to drop by the forum and tell me your thoughts or ask any questions. ^_^
