Penang Anime Heaven

Confessions of an Otaku

I'm an addict and I know it.

This blog is about travel and following dreams, right?

Well, I fall right into dreamland every time I travel to the Hong Kong Video store in the Komtar shopping mall here in Penang.

I waft contemptuously past all the "burned while you wait, latest and greatest, still at the cinemas" movie shops that crowd the second floor. Entering Nirvana, I gaze rapturously upon the sumptuous artwork of the original box sets shelved within, bathing my consciousness in the sacred price tags.

My heart skips a beat when my eyes rest on upon a special treasure – the entire series of Death Note – only 55 ringgit. That's about 18 Aussie bucks, a tenth of what the same thing would cost me at home.

The clerk is eyeing me strangely, which may have something to do with the fact that I'm involuntarily wiggling and drooling while stroking box after box of precious anime manna. In the end, Doug purchases Death Note and drags me out by by the back of my shorts, cause I can't turn around to leave with such a feast in front of me.

Two days later I'm sulking about the death of my favourite character and D falls asleep during the 9^th episode in a row. This travel stuff is great but sometimes I believe I'd pack it all in for a PS3, drip feeding and a copy of every Final Fantasy game ever made.

Hehe. I'm kidding.

There's just so much to be said for Japanese story-telling and art, no matter what form it is in. Still, I think my tales of Japan (and the amazing photos at Bastish) are soaking through to Doug's thought dimensions. A trip to the Land of Awesome isn't out of the question sometime in the future.

The time to put anime aside and join the real world again is approaching. We leave for Thailand tomorrow and I know a little Phi Phi sun is going to do me the world of good.

Just as soon as I've finished watching Death Note.