Dakimakuras anyone?

Just curious, do you ever display your Harthnir stuff? :D

LOL. I don't really display any of my H-goods. My living situation doesn't really permit me to, otherwise I might. ;)

I did have a tapestry up for a while, but I always felt like there was a risk of someone coming in and seeing it.

Haven't posted here in a few days, but don't really have anything productive to add. So instead, here's a promising review site I just came across a bit ago: http://erogespace.com/tag/%E6%8A%B1%E3%81%8D%E6%9E%95/

That site is awesome, thanks!

http://www.figure.fm/en/post/44410/Dakimakura+Collection+50.html

Yeah, it was a really random find but I'm really happy I came across it. They provide an excellent amount of detail in the photographs in an easily browsed manner; definitely hope they continue with the dakimakura reviews. Also, I can now point people to their NoReal posting when people ask about the differences betweeen P80 2WT and 2WR. It's really nice to have a bunch of detailed shots of both for the same cover. ^_^

Thought so :D I display most of my stuff and cast-off figures, but I can't imgagine a poster/tapestry with a huge penis hanging on my wall ^^

Hmm, wasn't active the last few weeks, but only due to saving money for christmas and Japan, so my hobby priority changed

Yeah, I haven't had much to post either, but I've still been trying to keep the thread alive. ;)
I do have my figures on display in a large display case, but that aside, I don't tend to display any of my hentai material out in public. I do have this large ERECT TOUCH tapestry/towel that I would hang if I could. I always wanted it, and Shashin was cool enough to point me to it when he stumbled across one that popped up in a YJA auction earlier this year. Thanks again, Shash'. :)

There are dakimakura covers for just about any character you can imagine. They aren't officially licensed, because obviously KyoAni (or whoever owns the K-On franchise) isn't going to put out some 18+ dakimakura covers. There have been a few licensed K-On covers, but they're far tamer in what they display. The majority of dakimakura covers discussed/posted in this thread are thanks to Japan's doujinshi scene; most of these dakimakura covers were done by fans and sold at comic events/online.

This thread always makes me the go :O almost every page. I saw a post on that figure.fm site a few hours ago of a room with a Yoko dakimakura... you all have much stronger wills than I do.

whatever country you're in, whether or not you observe thanksgiving, happy thanks giving day to all! i'm thankful for my people and for the japanese. nuff said lol

I'll raise my glass to that.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! :)

Happy late Thanksgiving! And, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm curious as to know your motivations behind dakimakura collection/usage. Personally, I just don't quite get them, but I don't necessarily look down upon them. They're just something I've never clearly understood, aside from the obvious uses. While the kinds of people I've seen buying Dakimakuras at conventions fit the normal stereotypes, I'm interested in looking past the stigma and learning more about the culture.

It's interesting to see your guy's collections and such. Is the whole appeal of it more about collecting them, like a Gunpla modeler buys Gundam kits? Or simply having yet another item related to a beloved anime character, or other reasons? I really don't mean to be rude, so pardon me if it sounds like that. I'm really just curious to learn about this as another subsection of otaku/anime/Japanese culture, or however you want to label it. If anyone could clear things up for me, that'd be appreciated.

Nah, you're not rude at all, man. You come in not understanding something and genuinely want to learn about it; we get the occasional "troll" in this thread condemning our collection choices as if it represents who we are. You genuinely want to understand the appeal of dakimakura covers, and I respect that.

With that said, it's fairly hard to answer some of your questions. I was definitely similar to you before I started collecting them. I didn't think I'd ever buy one, much less own anywhere near the number I own now. I decided to try it out as a novelty, as money wasn't a problem at the time, and I was genuinely curious about the appeal of such things. I can't really explain what happened after that; my very first cover was a bit of a disappointment in terms of quality and I didn't really see anything special in it. But I had ordered a few others around the same time, because I really liked the artwork featured on all three and couldn't decide on just one (and like I said, money wasn't a problem at the time.)

Once I received the other two, my opinion changed entirely; I received them maybe a month later than my first one, because the first was ordered from Hobby Search while the other two were purchased through a proxy service, which required more processing/shipping time. The quality of the two new pieces just absolutely blew me away. To me, they were works of art and it just sparked something inside of me that led to me wanting to collect more. If I had only ordered the first one, I likely wouldn't have ordered any more after that. Part of me wonders where I'd be if I hadn't started collecting dakimakura covers hardcore, as one can't deny that they are absurdly expensive, but I don't really regret it; I have a unique hobby that I really enjoy. It may not be a hobby that I can talk about with many other people, but I do have other hobbies that have a more social element to them.

The motivations you hear for collecting them will definitely differ from person to person, but I definitely belong to the collecting aspect of it; I've always enjoyed collecting things, whether it was video games, trading cards, or even pogs way back in the day. The majority of my covers (99%) are opened up when I first received them but quickly packaged back up and stored in a place where I can access them easily but where they don't get dusty. The other 1% are those that I put on a pillow or use as a tapestry. While there are absolutely some people who use their cases for a "specific" purpose, I'm not one of them. I won't deny that sleeping with an erotically posed anime character can be arousing, but it's honestly more of a comfort thing; the materials a lot of these cases use are extremely soft and comforting, and it really can be a lot more comfortable than sleeping with a traditional cotton pillowcase.

There are some characters I like more than others, and if I like the art I'm more inclined to buy it if it's a character I know, but I don't really participate in the whole "waifu" culture myself. Most of the covers I buy these days are more to loyalty to the artists I like more than anything; I'm probably more likely to buy a cover of a character I don't know from my favorite circle than I am to buy a cover of a character I really like from a circle I don't know/like.


If you have any more specific questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability, but it can be tough to pinpoint exactly why I enjoy this hobby as much as I do.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my inquiry!

It is interesting to hear that there's very much a collectable aspect to them just as much as anything else. I don't quite think there's anything else I have to ask you, though it would be cool to see what motivates other people.

It's definitely intriguing to see how many subculture hobbies exist within our subculture, from Gunpla, to video games, to figurines, to dakimakuras! While the stigma surrounding the hobby had me a bit wary, I think I might just try and get one and see how I like it. It's cool that Fakku's community is as accepting and understanding as it is.

Would you be able recommend any good sites, and if so, any good prints? I'm still not entirely sure if it's up my alley, but I might as well give it a shot and see if I like it. I'm fond of posters, so this might grab me in a similar fashion. I'm willing to try anything out once, and some of the artwork on these does indeed seem pretty impressive!

Yeah, the anime subculture definitely has a whole range of subsets. It is fairly unfortunate that dakimakura covers are mostly looked down upon, even by fans of anime/hentai; there was a dakimakura thread in the Random section a few years back and a lot of the responses were very inflammatory and mean-spirited. But we've managed to carve a spot out here that's fairly accepting. As I mentioned, we get the occasional troll popping in to spout their nonsense, but for the most part we get people such as yourself popping in to ask questions about the hobby.

Dakimakura covers are a lot more complex than you'd think, and unfortunately, bootlegs are very prominent. Whenever someone is interested in starting the hobby, I always try to caution them to avoid bootlegs; generally speaking, the quality of bootlegs is far inferior to the quality of a legit cover. Unfortunately, the majority of the people who just search for dakimakura covers without any previous knowledge will likely run into bootlegs; most of the legit covers are available on sites that are only in Japanese whereas bootlegs are available with a simple Google search. The other barrier to entry is the price. Legit dakimakura covers are very expensive, and you can expect to pay between $150-200 for one. That deters a lot of people and may even drive some to try bootlegs (which are generally much cheaper), but I always try to tell people that it's money well invested if you really want to get a feel for the hobby.


With that said, there are a bunch of different sites I could recommend. It would probably be easier to get a feel for what you're interested in though; if you name a particular character or series, I'd be more than happy to let you know what's available. And what's your tolerance for nudity? There are some covers that are on the tamer/ecchi side, but there are also a very large number that are quite explicit. I don't want to suggest sites that offer the later if that would make you uncomfortable.

I'd be more than happy to look up specific characters if you have any in mind, but if you just want to browse a bit on your own, here are some sites I'd recommend (all are NSFW):

AmiAmi - Good selection of what we call "company" covers. These are products that are officially licensed by the IP holder. As such, unless the property is an eroge/hentai, they're likely to be ecchi at best. The quality of these can vary a lot depending on the company. I'd recommend Takumi Makura (original characters), Lilith, CranCrown/Black, and a few others. I generally try to avoid Cospa/Chara-Ani, but that's a personal preference.

The following are some circles that are willing to ship internationally. All but Dakemakura have limited preorder windows, so unfortunately some of the items listed may not be in stock at any given time. If you find a particular item on the sites below, let me know and I could tell you if it's still available or if not, search to see if it's available at another source (Mandarake, for example.)


Evening Call - A personal favorite of mine.

Black and White Store

Dakemakura - Massive selection.

Bon Cool- Be sure to enable the English option in the top right hand corner.

Woah dude, thanks for the links and info, I really appreciate it! Due to the costs, it may be a while before I get the chance to actually order one due to money problems currently, (specifically the WiiU draining my wallet), but I'll make sure to look for a good quality one!

I'm thinking I'll probably stick with a tamer design to start, just to see how the artwork holds up and the material feels, but I'm not necessarily adverse to the other kinds. The artwork that I've seen in this thread so far though has been pretty impressive, even moreso due to that fact that it's on printed fabric. I'm not too big into the waifu culture either, so no characters really come to mind. I'll probably just give the sites a browse myself and see if there's anything that pops out at me. But thanks for the offer!

It really is too bad that some people decide to judge without seeking further information. I mean, the idea still embarrasses me a bit simply due to stigma, but now that I have more information on the culture behind it, I'm really interested. The community seems rather nice and welcoming, and collecting stuff is always a lot of fun. I'm actually kind of impressed by how dynamic the hobby is, and how much more there is under the surface. Being a Gunpla builder, sometimes we get a stigma of "men that play with toys", similar to people that collect action figures, so it's really refreshing to be able to see past that with another hobby tangential to my own.

I really appreciate all of the help and information you've given me, and will give those sites a browse! If I have any more questions or get one when I have the money, I'll make sure to come back and say hi!

*Edit- I'd give you rep if I could, but it appears that I'm still below the post requirement. Once I reach it I'll make sure to come back and give you the rep you deserve for your awesome help!

That's absolutely understandable, to start out with. If you find one you like on AmiAmi, be wary of material types; most circles only use one material type (2WT) but a lot of producers on AmiAmi will offer several material options. I personally wouldn't recommend buying anything but 2-way tricot (2WT) or 2-way roika (2WR) if it's offered, though sometimes that won't be an option. Smooth Knit is an acceptable material, but 2WT/2WR is usually considered the superior choice. It's just something to keep in mind when browsing AmiAmi, because companies like Cospa often offer 2-3 material types and they may not even offer a 2WT/R option.

It's kind of unfortunate for people who like the tamer side of things. Most circle covers have at least some nudity, and I'd almost always consider a circle cover to be superior to a company cover, in terms of quality. Sorry if I'm confusing you with all this; the hobby can be pretty complicated to explain at a times. :P

It's still a hobby I keep fairly to myself because I know a lot of people would have a hard time understanding it, but I don't enjoy it any less because of the stigma. It's my personal opinion that people are free to do whatever it is that makes them happy, as long as it isn't intruding on the rights of other people. I hope I'd get the same respect as long as I'm not forcing my hobby onto others, but people will always be afraid of what they see as deviant.

No worries, man. I'm always happy to help. If you ever have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM or post in the thread. :D If you do decide to buy one or find one you're interested in, also feel free to link it to me and I'd be happy to tell you what I know about the circle, material, artist, and so on. If you do decide to buy a cover, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. ^^

You see that?