Back in his past life, Kuroha Akira had also been a full-fledged otaku. He collected his favorite manga and light novels, bought a decent number of games, and even splurged on the occasional figure. But compared to the scene before him? It was like comparing a small-time witch to a great archwizard!
This was definitely not something accumulated overnight. This was the kind of collection that could only be achieved through a lifetime of dedicated hoarding!
Asato Hitomi was also a bit surprised, but her point of amazement was completely different from Kuroha Akira's. She was marveling at how much more there was now.
"There's so much more than I remember… I recall there was only that one cabinet behind the sofa back then, and the models, anime discs, and games were all crammed together. I didn't expect to see several more cabinets now…"
Almost everyone visiting the Takanashi household for the first time would be taken aback by the "otaku stench"-filled layout of the living room. But Takanashi Akiko showed no shame whatsoever. Instead, she laughed proudly.
"Hehe, Hitomi-chan, the last time you came to our house was nearly ten years ago, wasn't it? In these ten years, a massive wave of excellent works has been released! Game consoles alone have evolved by two whole generations!"
Takanashi Akiko proudly flashed a V-sign, showing that this married woman genuinely adored her living room setup.
Kuroha Akira pointed at the cabinets and asked, "Are these all your collection, Aunt Takanashi?"
"Yes, originally I started buying lots of anime BDs and games because of work. But gradually, it became my hobby. I kept buying and buying, and before I knew it, this is how much I had… Lately, the cabinets in the bedroom are also almost full, which is becoming a bit of a problem…"
Takanashi Akiko rested her hand on her cheek, showing the classic troubled expression of a housewife. But unlike other families, these collections weren't her husband's—they were hers.
Wait, this isn't even everything? There's more in the bedroom?
Goodness, how much money was spent on all this?
Those were several cabinets full of anime BDs!
In Japan, to watch anime, aside from catching TV broadcasts or renting discs, the only real option was to buy the anime DVDs or BDs. Online streaming, at least in this world, wasn't mainstream yet. And PC penetration in Japan wasn't particularly high—computers were used more for work than entertainment.
And BDs—Blu-ray discs—were not cheap.
Typically, a twelve-episode anime would be split into two volumes, upper and lower (though sometimes divided into four volumes depending on sales strategy). And the price of one BD volume ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 yen. If it had words like "first-run" or "limited edition" on it, the price would triple, selling for around 40,000 yen per volume.
The discs themselves weren't worth that much. Though some slightly suggestive anime BDs might include uncensored scenes or unaired OVAs, most enthusiasts bought BDs for the bonuses.
Why were anime BDs so expensive? The limited-edition extras.
Things like posters, tapestries, acrylic stands, PV collections, drama CDs, recordings of voice actors and producers gossiping, lottery tickets for official events, even bonus figures… It was like an anime gift package. This special-edition marketing strategy was essentially a way to milk the fans—and it was a case of one willing to give, one willing to take.
These were luxury goods where collection value outweighed practical value.
In other words, if all these anime BDs were purchased as limited editions when they first came out—and not second-hand—then the total price of those hundreds of anime BDs would probably exceed ten million yen!
However, considering that Takanashi Akiko was a voice actress, it didn't seem that strange for her to collect so many anime BDs. Perhaps many of these were anime she'd voiced herself. Voice actors usually received complimentary BDs from the production team, so it was possible that she hadn't bought them all—some were gifted.
But a collection of this size… If they were all anime she'd voiced, that would be truly astonishing.
Kuroha Akira suddenly became curious: what level of voice actress was Takanashi Akiko?
"Kuroha-kun, are you also interested in anime?"
"Extremely interested!"
Of course Kuroha Akira was interested. There were plenty of anime in this world he hadn't seen, and his brain was starving for new, interesting content. Another reason was that to better train Shinomiya, Kuroha Akira felt it was essential to understand the anime content and voice acting styles of this world. He needed to rebuild a new content library to better adapt to this world and this era.
Just recently, he'd been thinking about finding more anime for Shinomiya to watch. He'd originally resigned himself to waiting until the royalties came in to rent discs, or else risk hunting for pirated resources online… But now, wasn't this a golden opportunity to get them for free?
Thinking that, Kuroha Akira shamelessly asked,
"Um, Aunt Takanashi… If I can help your daughter come out of her room, could I borrow some anime BDs?"
Takanashi Akiko heard Kuroha Akira start negotiating and didn't seem displeased. Instead, she smiled gently and said, "Of course, Kuroha-kun. If you can help Mirai come out of her room, I could even give you a few sets of the anime BDs you want, you know?"
Kuroha Akira quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, giving them to me would be too much. I don't even want the limited-edition BDs—I just want to borrow the discs to watch the anime."
"Just watching anime… Wouldn't it be easier to rent discs from a video store?"
Takanashi Akiko tilted her head in confusion.
Her question was reasonable. Most families had DVD players, and renting discs wasn't very expensive. Watching anime wasn't a luxurious form of entertainment.
Kuroha Akira put on a pitiful expression, lowering his head awkwardly. "To my shame, my family's financial situation doesn't really allow me to rent discs to watch anime…"
"Oh my… How could that be…"
Takanashi Akiko covered her mouth in surprise, looking at Kuroha Akira with sympathetic eyes, as if he were the most pitiful child in the entire world.
At that moment, her maternal instincts ignited like a bonfire. She instinctively wanted to pull Kuroha Akira into a hug, stroke his head, and comfort him thoroughly.
However, Asato Hitomi seemed to have anticipated Takanashi Akiko's move. She stepped right into Kuroha Akira's path and took the brunt of the "face wash" for him.
Class Rep! You're in the way right now!
Such a good thing—I mean, let me, as a man, bear this sin!
Kuroha Akira would never actually say such a thing out loud. He also noticed that the Class Rep's intervention had been a bit rushed.
Asato Hitomi, now held in Takanashi Akiko's embrace, said with a wry smile, "Aunt Akiko, now isn't really the time to be doting on other people's children, is it?"
"But Kuroha-kun is so pitiful…"
"Even if he's pitiful, it's not your turn to comfort him…"
Because I'll be the first to comfort Akira-kun…
But Asato Hitomi didn't say that part aloud. She just mumbled it silently to herself before continuing, "Aunt Akiko, you've always been like this. When we were little, you treated us like your own children… But you should dote on your own child more. After all, Mirai-chan is your real daughter."
Clearly, the Class Rep had seen Takanashi Akiko like this before.
And Takanashi Akiko knew her own flaw too. She snapped out of her maternal trance, lowering her head in shame. "Mm… Hitomi-chan, you're right. I lost my composure… I'm sorry…"
At this point, Kuroha Akira, standing by, finally understood.
Takanashi Akiko, as a mother, also had her flaws.
Her maternal instincts were a bit too abundant.