The 12 Days of Kurisumasu, and other ways to help your holiday shopping sanity, are back for 2014!

Oh… hi there. Why, yes, it has been a while, hasn’t it? Yeah… my life has been… let’s say, “complicated” this year, and I have been ridiculously busy, and haven’t had any free time at all to devote to the website and podcast. (remember folks, unlike certain podcasters this is not my day job, and so when real, actual, paying work comes a-knockin’, everything else (including the podcast) has to take a back seat. And, now that the holidays are upon us, things are liable to get even more busy. I still do have some content coming out shortly though. I’m finally putting the finishing touches on a podcast episode that’s (almost literally) half a year in the making (basically it’s been sitting on my hard drive and needed a lot of editing, which I haven’t had very much time to do lately.) And of course, I am once again participating in the Reverse Thieves’ Anime Secret Santa project, and my review WILL come out on Christmas Day. Hopefully after the new year, things will quiet down a little and I can get back into blogging and podcasting…

Anyway, yeah, the holidays are here. (Pauses to wait until everyone has stopped screaming in terror.) You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Oh crap! I’ve still got to get gifts for (insert name of various family members/friends/coworkers/etc. here)!!!” Or maybe you’re trying to figure out what cool items you want to get with the money you’re getting for Christmas, or the Christmas bonus your employer is giving you, or whatever. Guess what, we can help you with that! Just use one of our many affiliate links to do your online shopping. You can get your gift shopping done in the comfort of your own home/office/dorm room/secret underground lair, and avoid the gladiatorial combat arena otherwise known as “the mall.” You will also help us keep the lights on and the bits flowing. (Remember, using our affiliate links will cost you nothing extra.) Whatever type of gift you’re looking for, we’ve got it. There’s Amazon, who sells literally everything (including a rather nice selection of anime-related goods.) There’s CDjapan, for all your anime soundtrack, Jpop and Jrock needs. (They also sell some other anime-related things like figurines, character goods, etc.) And, who can forget Jlist and Jbox, who sell a staggering array of products — anime stuff (character goods, wall scrolls, etc.); traditional Japanese cultural items (bento, etc.); cosplay outfits and accessories; visual-novel and dating-sim games; calendars; Japanese snacks and drinks; Japanese kitchen tools; and, ahem, “those” kinds of things as well.)

But what if you’re having trouble deciding what to get? Well, guess what, we can help you there too. Because The 12 Days of Kurisumasu are making their triumphant return for the 2014 holiday season! In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in the desert, or deep in the Himalayas, or on Mars, or in a distant galaxy/another dimension/etc.) for the past year, and haven’t the faintest idea what the heck I’m talking about, here’s the scoop: starting on Sunday, December 14 (that’s tomorrow!) and going through Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25, I will be picking a cool new otaku-themed product each day and will be featuring it on our Twitter and Facebook. (They’ll also be posted on the 12 Days of Kurisumasu page, along with a witty (well, at least I think so) writeup.) And if you’re still clueless as to what the heck I’m talking about, you can also check out the 12 Days of Kurisumasu from years gone by at that page too.

Each product I’ll be featuring will come from one of our affiliate advertisers — Amazon, CDjapan, Right Stuf, J-List, etc. Yeah, I know what you’re saying, you’ve been waiting for the “catch” and it finally came. But as catches go, this isn’t much of one. Remember that purchasing through any of the links here costs you nothing extra but brings us a little much-needed income, which helps keep the lights on and the bits flowing.

What products will you be choosing, you might be asking. No real rhyme or reason to it, really. As long as it’s even tangentially related to anime or other otaku-worthy pursuits, then it’s fair game. That means anime DVDs (and even Blu-rays); calendars; figures; “stuff from Japan” (food, snacks, etc.); plushies; dating-sim games/visual novels; whatever. Hopefully, among this cornucopia of consumer goods, you’ll find something cool and out of the ordinary to give to any otaku-leaning friends/acquaintances you’re looking for gifts for. (Or even yourself…)

So why subject yourself to the hassle, expense and bloodletting of doing battle in the malls and on the streets, and come shop with us instead?

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you