Thrift Diaries# 2: Anime Merch, Nostalgia and Practical Finds

Hello Hivers! Today, I’ll share with you part two of my thrift rating. The first thrift finds I rated were all bought at a shop within the city, so now let’s move on to the second go to thrift shop I usually also visit whenever I needed to buy affordable things.

This shop was introduced by my equally loves thrifting like me. Later on, I introduced my sister, and lately we visited it again last Monday to find stuff that we can buy at a friendly price. It’s the 3G Korean Surplus that is located at Inoburan, City of Naga.

Like the first thrift shop I shared, it’s also near the highway, so there’s no way it can’t be seen. So much for that, I’ll now share and rate the thrift finds I bought from it. Let’s go!

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Pillow Keychain

As you can see, there are several blue boxes in the shop, and inside them, there’s a lot of stuff and several trinkets. Among the depths of those boxes, I found this little pillow keychain that I immediately recognized. He is Yu Haibara, and he’s one of the reasons why I didn’t finish JJK because I don’t want to experience more emotional damage. There are a lot of deaths, and I’m really not good at coping with losses. He may be a minor character, but he’s close to Nanami…my favorite character in JJK. Whenever I see him, I’m also reminded of Nanami…which is kinda saddening on my part. Anyway, aside from the constant reminder it serves, I also like how fluffy it is, and it somehow served as a stress pillow to me whenever I needed something to vent my stress out. I bought it for like ₱10 ($0.16) or more because its price is tied up with the next items I bought along with it.

Rating: 9/10

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Folder Organizer

Along the keychain, I bought this organizer, which I kinda hesitated buying at first. Looking back at it now, I don’t see the sense in why I hesitated buying it. Perhaps I was quite picky at that time, so I hope there will be better looking organizer that I would find in the future…which is really wrong because now I haven’t seen any decent organizer like this. It’s quite dusty at that time, but after a little wiping and cleaning, I was able to use it to organize my folders and old sketchbooks. For ₱30 ($0.49), it’s pretty much a steal really.

Rating: 10/10

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Cat Grooming Comb

This is the last stuff that’s tied up with the first two stuff I bought there. I thought I could use it on Alaska, but he unfortunately didn’t like it, so now it’s lying somewhere, and perhaps I can try using it on the new kittens. By the way, I bought the three of them for 50…I’m sure of the organizer’s price because I asked for it at the counter, but the rest of the two…I’m not sure which of the cost less than ₱10 ($0.16) or more. Nonetheless, it’s definitely at a good price, but I kinda wished I could have used it more.

Rating: 6/10

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Bookmarks and stickers

They’re also from that shop, but I didn’t really buy them because my friend bought them for me. She gave me a lot of them, but usually they’re Tokyo Revengers stuff, and honestly, I haven’t watched that anime nor read its manga, so I just gave most of them to my sister (who's a fan of it), and the ones I took pics of are the stuff that stayed with me. Since it’s free, it’s definitely an easy perfect rating for me.

Rating: 10/10

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Tokyo Ghoul Starter Book

The moment I spotted it among the pile of stuff, I didn’t hesitate even a second to buy it because aside from that, it has Tokyo Ghoul content, it also has a character brief introduction, and character sketches! I like how it featured some notes on character design because they do help me draw fan arts, and I even gained some insights into drawing clothes. It’s definitely a promotional booklet because it has taken free on it, but in the surplus shop, it cost me ₱20 ($0.33) to buy it. It’s definitely a nice buy, yet I still need to translate it.

Rating: 9/10

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Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare Booklet

I found this one along with the Tokyo Ghoul booklet, and its art style was really familiar to me at that time. It’s obviously a sneak peek of a shoujo manga, and like Tokyo Ghoul, it’s a promotional booklet. I think there’s already a chapter of it in there, and I haven’t translated it yet. I was definitely curious on why I find its art style really familiar, so I search its image and lo and behold, its creator is Io Sakisaka, the same manga artist who made Ao Haru Ride. I don’t know if I’ll translate or just go directly to the translated version online, but whatever strikes my mood. It’s also cost ₱20 ($0.33) by the way.

Rating: 8/10

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One Piece Zoro and Nami Button Pins

I didn’t expect that I could find these among those piles of stuff! I was already contented with the anime promotional booklets I found, but when I saw them in the corner of the bottom part of the box, I was overjoyed! Like, what are the odds that I’ll find anime-related thrifts on the same day? It’s like the patron of the fan girls is smiling down on me as I retrieved those button pins. Although Nami and Zoro aren’t my favorite characters in One Piece, I’m still happy that I got them because they’re both in pre-time skip art style. They both remind me of how fun those episodes are, and although the new art style was nice, I sometimes still yearn to see the old art style…ahhhh good old days. They cost ₱10 ($0.16) each and they’re indeed a steal.

Rating: 10/10

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Monami Green Ballpen

This pen was easily one of the best purchases I made in that surplus shop. Aside from that, it’s in my favorite color, and I like how visible the ink is. Also, the shade of green is much livelier than the past green pens I bought before. Perhaps the only concern I had was that it would run out soon. I use it, but so far, I have already used it for like a month now, and it’s still working. Definitely one of the best pens I bought, and it only cost ₱10 ($0.16)!

Rating: 10/10

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Meitetsu Postcard

I bought two of them, but I gave the other one to my sister. There’s something in those postcards that really piques my interest, and when I knew it only cost ₱10 ($0.16) each, I didn’t hesitate buying it. Seeing them somehow invokes some nostalgia in me, and I like how unusual and familiar their painting style is. I don’t plan on using or giving the remaining ones away; I’ll perhaps just display them on my wall.

Rating: 8/10

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Sewing Pearl Pins

I bought this set of pearl pins separately; the first one was purchased months ago, and at the same time, I really needed them for my sewing projects. I have already used them for a lot of time by now, and even though some of their colors are faded, I’m glad they aren’t rusted. Meanwhile, the second one was just purchased a week ago, and I hesitated buying it because I already have a set of them. Anyway, I gave in because I gaslighted myself that I may need more shorter versions of pins in the near future, and if I didn’t buy them, I may regret it. I don’t like regrets, so it’s either leave it or take it, and of course, I choose the latter. They cost 30 pesos all in all, 10 pesos for the first, then ₱20 ($0.33) for the second.

Rating: 9/10

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Sewing Threads

I bought this the time my brother’s really nuts about kites. He’s really pestering me to buy threads from the thrift shop because he always complains that the threads from the store are too expensive for him. Luckily, just as I was browsing the back part of the thrift shop, I saw a torned plastic container with sewing threads in it. I think it’s supposed to have like a dozen of them, but it only had ten of them the time I found it. I bought it and give two of the thread to my brother…only two of them because I really like how unusual the shade of its colors is. I already used a couple or more of them, and it cost ₱20 ($0.33) by the way.

Rating: 10/10

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Daiso DIY Embroidery Kit

I really thought it was just a set of threads, and yes, I already have a lot of threads at home, but when I saw the mint and the beautiful shades of green, I was in love with it. It’s twelve threads in total, and there are four big plastic needles. I don’t know what those plastic needles are for, but I’ll just keep them for future purposes. This embroidery set cost me ₱30 ($0.49) and it seems fate smiled upon me because I can use this embroidery thread perhaps a week after now because the jacket I ordered happened to have this supposed to be embroidered part, but it’s just printed when it came to me. I know basic embroidery, so I’ll try if I can pull it off.

Rating: 9/10

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I think that would be all for now, Hivers! Hope you’re all having a good week, and see you on my next blog!