It’s past the summer solstice so I decided to change out my spring florals decor for a fresh new summer setup! I didn’t do a summer setup last year because I didn’t have ideas and was lazy, but the year before, I did a tropical orange theme starring Mikoshiba Momotarou from Free! anime series. While this is essentially the same concept in that it stars Nanase Haruka from the same anime series, I went with a cool blue water theme instead my usual warm colors, and I love the refreshing change, so time to share all the details.
Why did I go with blue this summer? There’s a seasonal concept in Japan that you dress the way you want to feel, so in summer when it’s really hot and humid outside, you would wear cool-themed clothing that reminds you of cold weather. That’s why yukata are often blue, and summer motifs are ice cream and shaved ice and iced drinks, or at least that’s how the two yukata I randomly got are like. Anyway, just thought that was interesting trivia and worth exploring this year. This is all made easier in that Haruka, the main character, has the image color of blue, because he’s obsessed with swimming.
I kept the pink computer accessories as usual, did not buy any new items since the last photo, the layout is also the same since I didn’t have a lot of room to work with. However, I may change the layout a lot when I put my old PC tower into storage and buy a new printer to replace my 13+ year old printer that they no longer support or make ink cartridges for.
Starting from the left side, I put up a poster from an anime magazine and displayed a sailor Haruka figure (in box, not visible in this angle), an official thermos never used and a paper coaster of the hanging Rin doll. I also displayed several clear file folders and postcards I bought from Japan throughout, mostly the ones with a lot of blue or the characters in sailor outfits. In front of the big group clear file, I have a tropical postcard from the Free fanzine that was released a couple of years ago, plus a very old notepad of the main cast as kiddos from misslucidcomics.com. The Rin mini print and the tea party print are fanarts from (uh oh forgot the first artist name already…) and birries, the Splash Free desert print was from bluefox (maybe? don’t know their current screenname). I did have a mini plush of Haruka as a sailor, next to a Vaporeon print from hawberries and the Haruka single CD from the latest season, The Final Stroke, still in plastic wrap lol. On the monitor stand is a dolphin plush representing Haruka’s animal, more keychains and pins and mini figures, a baby omanjuu plush, plus a little easter egg Iwaizumi from Yowamushi Pedal (lol, he’s the Haruka equivalent in the cycling anime, too bad I don’t have the equivalent figures from the basketball or volleyball or baseball animes). The stand has Haruka and Rei eating ice cream while walking home, so cute, and of course, makes me crave ice cream in this heat. I also put in some bath and mermaid and water themed stickers from various artists: Meredith Dillman and local artists and the artist of the deskmat, noisywyvern. My phone stand has a fanmade charm (by Hachuu, not sure if they still go by that name, it’s been almost a decade), an official keychain and an epoxy metal pin that sadly yellowed over time. On the right hand side are even more postcards, including a free postcard from when we watched the Free movie in theaters, clear files, an official paper fan, and plastic Daiso cases full of more official keychains. I was only collecting Rin and Rei stuff yet I managed to get all this Haruka stuff as well. Can’t forget the 1/8th Haruka vinyl figure, I don’t keep him out of the display where he could be damaged but just wanted to show him off in the photo here.
I kept the cherry blossoms branches and lights from spring just because sakura trees are important in the anime, but I also have blue flowers like hydrangea, the water-loving flower of Japanese summer rainy season, plus blue lupine and roses and forget-me-nots, as well as tropical leaves. For extra desk sparkle, I scattered blue star stones and plastic diamonds (since I don’t have blue rose petals).
Also wanted to point out the “Live Laugh Toaster Bath” sticker I got from HelloDawnCo at the local art market, and while death by dumping an electric item into your bathtub is not a laughing matter, the reason it makes sense here is that Haruka canonically suffers from depression and the first scene is him struggling with his regrets while sitting in the bathtub, and it’s reconnecting with his former swim club friends that helps him live and laugh again. But he still loves that bath.
Night time photo!
Overall, I’m super pleased with this setup, the calming watery blue colors and Haruka’s cool blank stare is a fun change from the fiery warm or vibrant passionate personalities of previous characters I displayed. I hope this was interesting, if not, well, it was interesting to me, Haruka is so relatable to me.