I don’t know what you consider last minute, but by the time this last minute gift ideas post goes live, it may be considered too late to get gifts for your loved one. That is if you’ve decided to import anime, manga and video games merchandise from Japan or you don’t live in a place where anime, manga and video games merchandise are not available locally.

As always, it’s the gift idea post from ANN that got me thinking about writing this post despite not celebrating Christmas at all. Rather than writing a lengthy post giving suggestions on what to buy, I feel like writing something simple. Thus, my own version of last minute gift ideas was born.

Despite not celebrating Christmas, I won’t deny that there are so many good deals sprouting since Thanksgiving. Well, it’s not that we won’t get any kind of deals at all. It’s just that you usually get the best deal when Christmas is around the corner.

If you still have time to get something for the otaku you know in life, then by all means feel free to take a look at what ANN has for you.

But if you still think the gift suggestion still won’t fit the person you plan to give or you simply have no budget for that, then consider my gift ideas.

Keep in mind that even though this post is for the holiday season, you can also use this gift ideas for a birthday present or any kind of anniversaries as well.

The last minute gift ideas for otaku

Even if you’re an otaku yourself, you know that it’s not easy to buy gifts for the otaku. Well, that’s a different story if they have a specific obsession like the train otaku. But it’s usually not the case if you’re referring to the anime and manga otaku.

Not to mention, there are always new anime coming out in every season, making it difficult to buy anime merchandise since the merchandise itself are mostly seasonal.

Despite the seasonal factor, it’s not that you can’t get a hand on those merchandise. Merchandise like artbooks, official anime guidebooks, light novels and even manga are available even after the anime has ended. It’s just that they may already have those. You can always ask them if they already have it or not, but it won’t work if you’re planning to surprise them.

So, what can you give to people like them?

Well, this is when things like gift certificate (or gift card if you can get it shipped to you just in time before Christmas) or prepaid cards like iTunes are perfect for them.

If you have no clue what to get, then giving them things like gift cards and prepaid cards are the best thing you can give to them.

Will they be okay with this kind of gifts?

You must be thinking that gifts like gift cards and prepaid cards seem like you don’t even put any effort at all.

Just think of it this way. Assuming that you’ve received a gift card from your favorite place to shop as a Christmas gift. Or you may have received it during your birthday. Do you like it? I bet you do. With a gift like that, you don’t think anything but wanting to hit that place as soon as you can.

Giving things like gift certificates and prepaid cards is like giving a red envelope to someone during New Year celebration in Japan. It’s just that it may not be suitable to give money as a Christmas gift.

All I can say is that the gift certificates and prepaid cards are the better versions of the red envelope.

So, there;s nothing to be ashamed of if you’ve decided to give them the gift cards, the gift certificates or the prepaid cards as a Christmas present.

The place the otaku likes to shop online

If you are an otaku yourself, you may already know where otaku likes to shop most of the time.

But then again, even if you know the place, not many places sell gift certificates, gift cards and the prepaid cards.

If you have no idea where to get these things, here are some of the places you can buy these sort of things.

J-List

Well, J-List doesn’t offer a gift certificate, but they do have the iTunes prepaid card which is handy if you want to purchase anything from iTunes Japan.

The card itself allows you to buy up to 3000yen, but if you feel like you want to splurge more, then it’s perfectly fine to buy more than one.

You can buy the iTunes Japan prepaid card here on J-List:

iTunes Japan prepaid card from J-List

P.S Want more saving? Don’t forget to use this coupon code, MOE-CMQ-J0FDNT during checkout to receive 5% discount on your total order.

Amazon Japan

While some people will never buy anime merchandise from Amazon US, it’s a different story for Amazon Japan. Unlike Amazon US, Amazon Japan has many more varieties and they do have some of the things that you can only get on Amazon Japan.

My preferred place to buy anime goods is CDJapan, but if you happen to know someone who loves to buy things from Amazon Japan, then they’re more than happy to receive this Amazon Gift Card.

I don’t know if it’s possible for you to buy the gift card directly on Amazon Japan, but you can purchase the Amazon Japan Gift Card on Play-Asia here:

Buy Amazon Japan Gift Card from Play Asia

Play-Asia

I love the fact that Play-Asia offers many varieties when it comes to prepaid cards. They have a wide selection of prepaid cards such as iTunes, Playstation Network (PSN), Xbox Live, Steam Keys, Nintendo Network and even Google Play.

You can have a look at their wide selection of the prepaid cards in various amount here:

Playstation Network Card

Steam Keys

iTunes Prepaid Card

Nintendo Network Card

Xbox Live Network Card

Google Play Gift Card

Christmas reading for otaku

Another last minute gift ideas that are perfect for otaku is ebooks. The good thing about ebooks is that it will be delivered straight away after you’ve completed the purchase.

If you’ve no idea what books to purchase, then you can purchase my books as a gift. Or maybe you can give my book a try if you intend to purchase your own gift.

The books are available in PDF, epub and Mobi so you can choose which format you prefer.

You can take a look at my books and other places you can purchase the books here:

The Diary of Modern Cinderella

Twisted Destiny

I’m wishing you happy holiday!

Is that too early for me to wish you? Even so, I still want to wish you a happy holiday ^^

P.S I hope you find my last minute gift ideas for otaku useful~