I cannot believe it’s just under a week till Christmas! 2022 has just flown by! There’s no doubt that a lot of you will be getting excited for the upcoming festive season and also might be looking for a few last minutes gifts to get for your anime and manga loving friends. So, I have compiled a list of gift ideas for gifting the perfect present to the otaku in your life or so you can treat yourself this Christmas!
Figures
Whether you’re working on a cheap and cheerful, big blow out bonanza or an anything in-between kind of budget this year, figures are always a great gift choice. There are thousands of anime figures to choose from which come in a range of styles. For tighter budgets I recommend Pop Vinyl which are usually around the £10-£20 figure, the cheaper PVC/prize figures which sit around the £20-£30 price range or mini-figures and Q Posket’s which can vary between £10-£30 depending on the series and type of figure. Higher quality figures such as the classic Nendroids usually sit at £50 and up whilst the super posh figures can go into the hundreds depending on the size, quality and rarity. Some sites I would recommend checking out for anime figures include AmiAmi, Crunchyroll Store, Dekai Anime and Forbidden Planet.
Subscription Boxes
Subscription boxes are the ultimate Christmas surprise! The subscription box trend has really taken off over the past few years and there are so many cool subscription boxes to choose from. Subscription services will often offer a range of official and exclusive merchandise and boxes will be themed to create unique experiences. Some of the anime themed subscription boxes I’ve seen that look super cool include Loot Anime, the Junji Ito Limited Edition Crates, Bam! Anime, Nihon Box and Boxuchan. Manga themed boxes include Manga Spice Cafe and The Manga Box which offer a range of different genre themed boxes.
Box Sets
Anime and manga box sets can be on the pricey side but, it makes a great gift. A lot of people won’t usually be able to justify dropping £50-£100 on themselves for that cool limited edition Blu-Ray release or that giant One Piece manga boxset that they’ve seen sitting on the shelves at their local book store. So, giving someone the gift of their favourite anime in a limited edition box set or treating them to a full set of a manga they’d like to read is a really thoughtful idea. Plus box sets look super cool on someone’s shelf! I recommend checking out your local bookstores, Forbidden Planet, All The Anime, Crunchyroll Store, HMV and RightStuf.
Doujinshi & Art books
I grouped doujinshi and artbooks together because they all cover a similar territory of artwork. Now some will probably argue that doujinshi is all just 18+ content (spoiler alert: that’s not the case at all) but there is a lot of amazing doujinshi varying from fan-made manga to a book full of an artist’s anime inspired work. Doujins can be a wonderful, unique and rather a rare kind of gift as they aren’t a super big thing outside of Japan. Art books offer the perfect opportunity for a fan to learn more about the behind the scenes of their favourite work and can become great collectables and coffee table books to flip through and admire. I recommend checking out sites such as Mandarake, Tokyo Otaku Mode, for both books and doujins as well as places like RightStuf, Japan Craft, AmiAmi and Forbidden Planet for art books. Some of my personal favourite artbooks which are easily accessible include Sushio the Idol, The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions and the Black Butler artbooks.
Plushies
Plushies are a classic present which I think anyone can love and appreciate no matter how old someone is. A lot of popular anime series will often have some adorable (and often rather derpy) plushies to buy and collect alongside soft toys from big name brands such as Pokemon, Studio Ghibli or even just kawaii and Japanese themed plushies like a cute squishy boba tea. They look adorable on a bed or a sofa and can be found at places like Crunchyroll Store, Tokyo Otaku Mode and Tokyo Toys.
Blind Boxes
Blind boxes are the perfect little stocking stuffer! There are so many different kinds of blind boxes to buy from any anime series you can think of. If there’s an anime, there will more than likely be blind boxes to accompany it. Blind boxes add a little extra surprise to gift-giving. They are great to collect as blind boxes range from small figures to pins and badges to rubber straps which make for fun little trinkets to decorate your home or maybe a bag. Places to check out for blind boxes include Otaku Hype, Dekai Anime, Tokyo Otaku Mode and RightStuf.
Apparel
Anime apparel is one of my favourite types of anime merchandise as I love incorporating hobbies and interests in my fashion. The types of apparel you could buy can vary depending on budget and what kind of things you think the person you’re gifting would wear. You could go for a classic graphic tee, a stylish backpack or even an anime-themed mask to keep people safe this winter! For official merchandise check out places such as Tokyo Otaku Mode, Crunchyroll Store, and Atsuko and EMP. I also recommend checking out indie brands such as UNCIVIL XXX, Kaomoji and Hard Times Clothing.
Japanese Snacks and Candy
Christmas is the perfect time for lots of yummy food, snacks and other sweet goodies to munch on whilst opening presents and watching anime so, treating someone to some Japanese food is a great choice. There are a couple of different ways to create this kind of gift for someone. The first one being, similar to what I mentioned earlier about subscription boxes. There are a whole bunch of Japanese snack-related subscription services to check out including Tokyo Treat, Bokksu, Snakku and Japan Crate. Or if you don’t want to commit to a subscription box, you could also create your own yummy little gift hamper by shopping at your local Asian supermarket or ordering from sites such as Tofu Cute, Japan Centre, Japan Candy Store and Dekai Anime.
Trading Cards
Another great stocking stuffer for those who are interested in collecting, playing and trading cards. Trading card games such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are often easily accessible and can even be found in local supermarkets. Other anime-related trading cards such as Dragon Ball, Love Live: School Idol Project, Attack on Titan and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can be bought at places such as Dekai Anime, Travelling Man and Zatu. Booster packs are great little extra gifts and collectors box sets, tins and booster boxes make for great main presents which will be sure to thrill collectors.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope my little gift guide provides some helpful ideas for the festive season and this guide can be applied not only to Christmas but throughout the year for other occasions such as birthdays! If you did enjoy reading, please consider following my blog or subscribing via email so you can see more posts in the future!
A Nerdy Perspective 
Great gift ideas! Subscription boxes have become so popular recently! Thank you for the links, it can be a little tricky to track down the different options out there!
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Thank you I’m glad you think so! 😄 Subscription boxes are such a fun idea and yeah one thing I knew I wanted to include was links because I know I’d want that if I was looking for a gift guide! 😊
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