I’ve read Stripey and Adun’s 2008 expenditure reports with great interest and have to say from the outset that I can hardly compare. Total spending was about SGD 1,250 and represented a significant fall from 2007’s total of SGD 3,800.
DVDs took up about SGD 650, or almost half of total spending. The bulk of this came from RightStuf purchases of Slayers Seasons 1-3, Martian Successor Nadesico, Evangelion Platinum Collection, Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Black Heaven and MariMite Season 1 (R1) box sets. I think I’ve been spoiled by RightStuf’s customer service so my purchase of the Evangelion 1.01 LE will be my first and last ever purchase from Play Asia. I did receive my LE DVD in the end but only after a delay of over two months and very poor communication from Play Asia. Currently, I see 122 results on Google for “Play Asia sucks” - here’s result 123. About 15% of this expenditure went to buying bootleg DVDs such as the R3 Gunbuster and Diebuster DVD set and really legit-looking Malaysian fakes of Genshiken 1+2 (but not inclusive of either the Kujiun or interim OVA trios). I bought legitimate R1 DVDs of anime series after downloading them via BitTorrent because I enjoyed them so much and wanted something that was better quality. Conversely I ended up downloading anime series after buying the pirated DVDs because I enjoyed them so much and wanted something that was better quality. But I didn’t feel the urge to buy legitimate R1 DVDs because I had already spent money on them…
Figures expenditure amounted to around SGD 300. The year’s acquisitions started off with a glorious gift of Alter Nadie from Stripey and another friend. I couldn’t resist Alter Nagato Yuki (Swimsuit) and Chara-Ani Misumaru Yurika was a surprising impulse buy. I plumped for Alter Shigure Asa even though I liked Kotobukiya Asa’s sculpt and colours. But I really hated the scene in the anime and eroge which the pose was based on. At least they didn’t include a toilet seat with the figure base! LOL
Thanks to a great Amazon.jp bargain, I snagged GoodSmile Company’s Ryougi Shiki despite only boarding the Kara no Kyoukai bandwagon really late. I also bought a GSC Hatsune Miku figure as part of the continuation of the otaku gift economy and also made a foray into the second hand market by selling my extra Alter Fate.
Evil Magazines consumed SGD 56 but this year saw MEGAMI regain its monopoly and Comp H disappear from my shopping cart. Manga took up about SGD 100 consisting of Lucky Star Volumes 5 and 6 as well as A Certain Scientific Railgun Volumes 1 and 2; the bulk of the cost was ordering Railgun Vol.2 from Amazon.jp. It just highlights how cheap manga is when Kinokuniya in our glorious democratic people’s island paradise republic carries stock or is able to order from Japan HQ. OST spending was about SGD 140 with Megumi Hayashibara’s Plenty of Grit Slayers Revolution OP/ED, Shizu-sama’s Hinagiku Chara CD and Minorin’s Ga-Rei Zero OP single, Paradise Lost. Ok, pocky - that’s a wrap!
P.S. All hail Moyism!
The powerful flower refers, of course, to Hinagiku which apparently means 
Two orders from RightStuf arrived today. Over the three weeks it took them to make their trans-Atlantic journey, I’ve been brooding about the relative success of US-based anime distributors’ strategies vis-a-vis my wallet and how we, fansub-downloading anime fans, can better market ourselves.