One of the biggest draws and highlights when visiting manga mecca Nakano Broadway is of course the Mandarake bookstore chain; the chain buys and sells used manga, art books, toys, figurines, model kits and more, with specialized stores for each of these located on several different levels.
The stores fronts display their proud wares on glass shelves, stocked full of popular and/or rare items that are sold out/out of print; there is almost always something that I covet every time I visit. Do you spot anything you fancy ?
(image above) A tribute shelf displaying manga and art books by legendary Dragonball comic artist Toriyama Akira, who sadly passed away shortly before my trip.
( image below ) Vintage toy/model kits. Most of them are from before my time so I don’t really know their true value, but you can be sure that every one of these items on display is a big treasure find for a discerning collector/fan out there.
(above) A Macross model kit with stunning art work by Tenjin Hidetaka as collected in his art book.
Planning a trip to Tokyo soon ? Definitely pay a visit to Nakano Broadway; I myself can’t wait for my next visit !
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August 31st, 2024 at 10:32 am
Looks like so much fun. I always wanted to go to Japan.
August 31st, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Talk about a creative booster spark!
September 1st, 2024 at 8:06 am
Those prices !!!
I’ve been lucky to buy some of my most treasured artbooks (OTOMO’s KABA and KABA 2; Daisuke IGARASHI’s “Kaiju to Tamashii”; and MOEBIUS’ japanese edition of “40 jours dans le désert B”) when they were in print, therefore with a reasonable price.
I’ve been particularly fortunate with KABA 1.
I discovered its existence in the early 2000s through the Internet. Known it was published back in 1989. It seemed forever out of reach.
In 2012 an opportunity presented itself: the GENGA exhibition. KABA was then reprinted. An acquaintance of an acquaintance was in Japan, and boom !
I also took the opportunity to buy “40 days in the desert”, at the time out of print in the West and nowhere to find at a decent price.
September 2nd, 2024 at 6:54 am
Kelly – I hope you’ll get the chance to visit one day soon ! :]
DISTRAKT – :] Works for me !
ATOM – Oh yeah the first KABA is definitely much harder to get a hold of, glad you have both ! :] My own copy of 40 Days In The Desert is the Japanese edition too.
September 7th, 2024 at 11:22 am
Very proud to see The Incal, a comic story by the Chilean Alejandro Jodorowsky!
October 7th, 2024 at 4:29 am
I have gotten deals from the online Mandarake site–it’s the best place to find things like artbooks that are out of print but are very pricey on places like eBay.
@ATOM: I picked up KABA 1 years ago at a comic book shop in Philadelphia for about 20 bucks, and in pretty good condition! Still holding onto it, especially since seeing how much it’s selling on sites like eBay.