hontou ni
25Jan/0911

Quitting the PVC path prematurely – On borrowed passion or a mere crush?

Double's thoughts on the life-cycle of a PVC figure hobbyist got me wondering about the reasons why once passionate collectors would quit the love. When I say 'quit the love', I mean sell your entire collection and never look back upon the PVC path again.

There are a multitude of reasons why one would fully quit a passion but as sure as death is found in life, so are the factors for quitting tied to its birth. Personally, I think there are 2 chief reasons when the PVC passion dies a premature death and both are linked to the motivations for starting a figure collection.

Riding on borrowed passion

Many start a PVC harem because 'everyone else and their pets' are buying figures. It is just the fashionable thing to do in otaku-dom and if you didn't want to be left out of 'figure-talk', you'd better start raking in the plastics. But such passions are not your own. The PVC hobby required much resources (time, money - much like a girlfriend actually) and not having a personal, genuine passion for the 1/8' beauties guarantees that you'll run on out borrowed love really quick.

Only a fleeting crush

I have a friend who fleet from passion to passion. From pool to online gaming to audio electronic systems and each time he does that, he pours in an enormous amount of resources to fuel that passion. Sadly many of his supposed loves are relatively short-lived. Many articles of his past crushes now adorn his home, a constant reminder of his money/time misspent. Many I believe mistook their PVC crush for love only to realise the truth when a better, shinier hobby comes along.

This may sound like it's straight out of a badly scripted B-grade romance but I believe true love never dies. Back in my high school days, I used to tell people (in half-jest) that I have 3 main passions in life - Food, basketball and girls. Years on, I'm still head-over-heels in love with good food (though I've turned to more economical sources) and my love for female-kind is now concentrated on one woman (okay, a couple of 2D ones too XD). The only love I seemed to have lost is my once-fiery passion for basketball. Or have I? Fact is, I still own a ball and drop by the court for some shots once every couple of months... ALONE. My basketball buddies and fitness long gone but the fire for the sport still burns (albeit dimly) somewhere inside. That's how I would hope my passion for anime and PVC figures would be like too, 10, 20 even 30 years down the road. I hope to be celebrating the Nth year of Hontouni.com and still raving about my PVC pretties then.

Related posts:

  1. Figure selling – Sign of a healthy passion
  2. Figures, artbooks pages updated ~ The passion flickers onz
  3. State of the passion – 2D harem bliss

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Comments (11) Trackbacks (0)
  1. Zeroblade
    January 25th, 2009 - 20:02

    I tend to do a lot of hobby hopping, but I’ve at least centered on two core things that I will probably never get tired of – anime/manga and IIDX. Because figures are just an offshoot of the former, I think this desire for PVC collection, though rather weak (all I get are Nanoha figures now lol), will probably never truly die off.

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  2. crimson
    January 25th, 2009 - 21:30

    I got one line for you buddy :D

    “Enlightenment can be gradual or instant.”

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  3. Horace
    January 26th, 2009 - 06:40

    I agree on the part ‘everyone else and their pets

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  4. ETERNAL
    January 26th, 2009 - 14:54

    This is actually quite an interesting topic, as it applies to the rest of anime fandom as well. Otaku/aniblogger burnout is a common phenomenon, and it’s not uncommon to argue about what the “proper” time to give up is. For instance, I’m in high school now, and a friend of mine that got me into aniblogging stopped watching anime about a year ago. I always say that he quit prematurely, and he always says that there are more important things than watching anime. Which of us was right? I certainly don’t know.

    My point is, anyhow, that burnout is a difficult thing and that sometimes people don’t know just how much they care about their hobby. Like your second reason, hobbies can come and go in an instant for some people, and I’ve seen the first reason more than enough times back in elementary school with Yu-Gi-Oh cards and the like. But either way, I expect to be watching and blogging anime for a long time to come – if I’m lucky, even after I’m married (or married to someone that would help me with it…I wish XD). Your archives show that you’ve been blogging for ages, and you certainly sound like the kind of otaku that’s genuinely passionate about his hobbies, so I wish your PVC collecting the best of luck in the future ^^

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  5. Stripey
    January 26th, 2009 - 23:12

    Zeroblade: In your case your figure passion feeds off your anime pleasure which I believe is sustainable since the passion is strong and your own. :) But I also know Nanoha figures are going to cause us all to break the bank XD

    crimson: LOL! I’d prefer if to be quicker if I am to realise I’m pouring money into a hobby I’d be dropping soon XD

    Horace: I can’t resist Saber Lily either even though I have a general ‘No 1/7′ rule. Just too good to pass up XD

    ETERNAL: Insightful comparison! :) Hope you get a mate that share your passion.

    Personally, there’s but a subtle difference between quitting anime and PVCs – the aftermath of your collection. I’m probably being presumptuous but I don’t suppose your friend who quit had a sizable anime DVD collection to release after quitting? :P We have unusually disproportional spending when it comes to the 2D passion. Most spend more on PVCs than they would ever on anime DVDs. (My anime DVD collections cost 2/3 of my current PVC harem :P ). Hence more is ‘at stake’ for the PVC hobby simply because of the cost involved. Hence folks should examine the authencity of their passion before jumping in. Of course the same applies to the otaku who has a massive anime DVD collection although anime seems to be a passion much easier to sustain when compared to PVC. :)

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  6. Crusader
    January 27th, 2009 - 19:59

    The only hobby I ever really quit was Magic: TG, L5R, though I still kept my cards. I still play from time to time, but I started spending money else where.

    It’s possible that hobbies also die because there’s just not as much money to spend any more, I have had to cut back every where in a manner of speaking. Even my raise is of limited if welcome help in these hard times. PVC collecting is predicated on expansion, their of little use for them outside of just displaying them, though you could do other less benign things with them. Even if you stop buying gunpla, you can always build the ones in your closet, PVC on the other hand not so much…

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  7. Vexx
    January 28th, 2009 - 02:02

    I’ve slowed down on figure collecting. I’ve made the rule that acquisitions *have* to be because I loved the series – not just because the character looks cool.

    I’ve got a couple of series I’m putting up for sale.
    Shuffle! — all the Alter figures. (I’ve got a little set of gashapons I’ll keep)
    Negima! — they stopped producing new figures so none of my *really* favorite characters were given “life” (again, there’s a nice little set of gashapons I’m keeping)
    Nanoha series: I’ve got too many Fate and Nanoha – so some of those are going (keeping the ones from Alter — I now have Fate, Nanoha, Vita, and Signum – my faves)

    Most of the rest (Motoko: LH, Hazuki: TMP, Yoko: TTGL, Hiragi sisters: L*S, etc) are staying. There’s a Horo:S&W pre-ordered. I also have a Soul Mate set of mini-figures enroute.

    The one and only figure I’ll continue to keep from a series I didn’t care for is Etona (Disgaea). She’s adorable and adorns my game computer – also named Etona.

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  8. Stripey
    January 28th, 2009 - 09:49

    Crusader: And the rising cost of PVC figures definitely doesn’t help. I was just wondering if cost is the main factor in driving once conservative collectors to dabble in the cute Nendroids and heretic Figmas. After all PVC 1/8′s are costing almost 8k yen a piece nowadays – more than what 2 Nendroids would cost.

    Vexx: Redefining your collection rules is imho yet another sign that the passion is healthy. :) I noticed you’re missing Alter’s Hayate… shipment on way?

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  9. Vexx
    January 30th, 2009 - 00:54

    oh I’m about to be banished….. Hayate and the rest – well lets just say I focused on the fighting pairs of Nanoha-Vita and Fate-Signum. Their conflict seem the most representative and centric of the series. Collecting every single character in that series would have blown my budget for any other series.

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  10. keith
    February 7th, 2009 - 19:11

    Hey didn’t know you had a passion for BBall! Me too! USed to play with my secondary school friends every Sunday before we had Ryan. Its the only way that kept us in touch. Lets go shoot some hoops together! Or lets 1 on 1! I bet I can poonz you! ;D

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  11. Stripey
    February 10th, 2009 - 09:16

    keith: Before 2D and PVC bishoujos, there was BASKETBALL! Pity my body can’t keep up with the passion anymore. My last ‘competitive’ game ended with a sprained ankle. That’s what happens when you try stunts you did 10 years ago. Will take up your offer to shoot some hoops though! After I pass my IPPT that is… XD

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