The Kanji ShelfCURATED · TOKYO TO YOUR DOOR
Gift Finder · 5 curated picks

Japanese gifts for anime fans

Adult-taste gifts for people who still love Ghibli

The anime gift aisle is 90% plastic garbage. The 10% that isn't tends to be the craft side of the same world: the stationery the artists use, the architecture from the films, the subtle references that signal the fandom without shouting it.

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1
£18
STATIONERY

Pilot Juice gel pens — 6 metallic colours

Pilot have been making pens in Tokyo since 1918. The Juice line is what Japanese stationery obsessives and manga artists reach for when they want consistent, smooth gel ink that actually flows. The metallic set — gold, silver, and four shimmer shades — is particularly good for highlights and detail work. 96% positive ratings from five thousand customers isn't a coincidence.

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2
£25
HOME

The Art of Spirited Away — Hayao Miyazaki

The official art book for Studio Ghibli's masterpiece — colour illustrations, storyboards, production sketches and the complete script, collected by Miyazaki himself. Hardcover, large-format, the kind of book that sits on a coffee table and gets picked up by every visitor. Spirited Away won the Academy Award in 2003. This is where it was made, on paper, before it became a film.

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3
£39
STATIONERY

Copic Ciao markers — skin tone set of 12

Made by Too Corporation in Tokyo since 1987. Copic are the markers professional manga artists use — alcohol-based, blendable, refillable. The skin tone set is the one to start with: twelve shades for faces and figures, the foundation of any manga illustration. The set of twelve is all you need. The set of 72 is next year's problem.

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2
£5
STATIONERY

Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen

The brush pen calligraphers actually reach for. Two for under a fiver, and the soft tip is forgiving enough for beginners.

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6
£6
STATIONERY

Iwako puzzle erasers

Japanese stationery's silliest export. Novelty erasers that pull apart into pieces. A kid will lose their mind; so will adults.

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