Why collect?

Yeah, my room looks like Toy K*ngdom :D

 Why not?

It's a typical otaku urge. Whether it's is brought about by love for a certain show, hobby or celebrity, otaku just like you and me feel compeled to own a piece of what we adore no matter how mundane or bizaare it is.

Collectors can be of varied degrees. They are usually classified into the 'completist', the 'casual/chance' or a mix of both. 'Completist' tend to be the hardcore ones, completing the last action figure in a series or the last existing cel for an anime or cartoon show, movie or anime.  A number of completists go as far as collecthe the whole line of merchandise or items related to his interest. And usually he/she does not go for a certain theme or genre for his/her collection. He/she just wants each and every little thing that goes out with the show's/character's/celebrity's name on it. And thus, many find it difficult to be a completist unless said collector is not financially hindered.

Messy don't you think?

One otaku's junk is another one's treasure.

On the other side of the fence, we have the 'Casual' or 'Chance' collectors. This type collects whatever is available. He/she never cares to complete an entire line of merchandise as long as he/she has at least an item at his/her possesion. Or in the case of 'chance' collector, stumbling upon an item that fits into his/her collection is all it takes.  An action figure of his favorite character, a ball-jointed doll of her faveorite J-pop idol, a signed copy of a manga is all that a casual collector wants. Typicaly, their collections are random and may or may not have a focus on a certain theme.

In my case, I find myself as a mix of  the 'completist' and 'casual' type. Sure I have a complete set of the first 5 Autobots (and soon the first 8 Decepticons) Transformers toys from the first movie, but I still have a few 'bots lying around the house from other TF lines. I collected the first 4 Celestial Being Gundams from the 1st season of Gundam 00 but I won't go as far as collecting the whole line-up. To sum it up, yes I do have a lot of my  collection completed but then there's many more that a)I'm not able to complete or b) not planning to complete for one reasonon another.

So then, I shall leave you with this question: 'What kind of collector are you?'

 

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