Mandarake (Part 5)

By: Brian Mah

(Note: All photos were taken with permission of MANDARAKE INC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.)

(The Mandarake store in Akihabara.)


When asked where Mandarake will be in 5 years, Mr. Naotsugu predicts that there will be a lot more stores around Japan. He also thinks that the Nakano store will not move to another location, but rather expand to other shops in the shopping mall. Mandarake is very loyal to the Nakano area.

With stores in almost every region of Japan, there appears no slowing down for this humble bookstore. Mandarake has come a long way from its simple beginnings to being one of the most well known stores in Japan today.

Mandarake (Part 4)

By: Brian Mah


(Note: All photos were taken with permission of MANDARAKE INC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.)

(Various cosplay dresses at the Nakano store)


Along with anime and manga, there are shops devoted to video games. Many of the Mandarake stores are stocked with old Famicom, Super Famicom, Neo Geo, and Sega Genesis game consoles. There are rows upon rows of old game cartridges. Tucked away inside a private area in the video game store in Nakano was a shelf of gold plated game cartridges.

These game cartridges are in fact, according to Mr. Naotsugu, "game trophies." Game trophies were awarded to the lucky gamer who got a high score when they participated in a video game competition. When asked if these gold plated games can be played on a video game console, Mr. Naotsugu chuckled, "Yes these can be played, but only a little bit."

In addition to the video game consoles, there are various types of watch battery operated video games. Most commonly called "Game and Watch." Throughout the early 1980's Nintendo created these tiny game systems. They were the predecessors of the Nintendo DS. Now these systems are valued over 10,000 Yen (US$ 100). One game, "Ball," is valued at 26,250 Yen (US$ 260).

Mandarake (Part 3)

By: Brian Mah

(Note: All photos were taken with permission of MANDARAKE INC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.)


(Vintage mech figures at the Akiba Store.)


The more popular items are in the front of each shop, while the not so popular shows are stored in the back. When asked what is the number one selling item among foreign fans. Mr. Naotsugu states, "Whatever was shown in their home country." He goes on to say that the French are fans of the anime series Saint Seiya. For many North American fans, the Transformers are still very popular.

Japanese fans have many different tastes like their counterparts in other countries. One series that stands out for many fans is the series Kinnikuman. Kinnikuman was a show that involves wrestlers with weird special abilities. The series was very popular among fans. The items that made Kinnikuman so popular were the Gachopon Keshigomu. These were essentially 100 Yen toys that came out of vending machines. Gachapon is the sound a capsule makes after it hits the metal tray. The most valuable Kinnikuman at the Nakano store is the figure Satan Kurosu. The value of that item is 105,000 Yen (US$ 1,000). Last year Kinnikuman celebrated it's 29th anniversary. The number 29 can be read in Japanese as "Ni-Ku." That year there was a DVD box set of the entire series of toys, which retailed for 100,000 Yen (US$ 1,000). The same used box set was valued at 10,000 Yen (US$ 100).

Mandarake (Part 2)

By: Brian Mah

(Note: All photos were taken with permission of MANDARAKE INC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.)

(Cute vintage dolls from the Kakano store.)


Presently, Mandarake is the HQ for anything still popular in Japan. Inside the vast Nakano Broadway shopping mall there are smaller stores each containing collectors' items from many popular series. Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragonball, Sailor Moon, and Star Wars are some of the more popular series. Mandarake also features work by famous artists, these include: CLAMP, Range Murata, Masamune Shirow, Rumiko Takahashi, and many more.

In 1980, Masuzo Furukawa and a group of friends founded Mandarake. It first started inside a small storefront corner within the Nakano Broadway shopping mall. Of the original people who started with Mr. Furukawa only two people remained: One is Mr. Fukuda, head of publishing the store's catalogue, Mandarake Zembun. The other is Mr. Imairai, who is in charge of anime cels.

Mr. Kazuki Nabeshima of Mandarake's press office, recalls, "No one thought of the idea of selling used books would catch on." Nowadays, Mandarake is the ultimate store for buying new and used items from the past. For example, Blythe dolls are recently one of the most surprising items that are becoming popular.

The Hasbro Toy Company created the Blythe dolls during the early 1970's. The dolls are characterized by having a big head, big eyes, and a small body. Mr. Kouno Naotsugu of the international office reveals, "The dolls weren't popular at first, but one of the female employees was a fan of the dolls and wanted to sell them." Mr. Naotsugu also adds, "The dolls later became so popular that a Princess from Thailand (Her Royal Highness Princess Srirasmi) became a fan of the dolls. Now we get a lot of buyers from Thailand." In the Nakano store there is a whole shop just for the dolls. Within one section of the shop people can pose their dolls. Some of the prices of the dolls range from 20,000 to 40,000 Yen (US$ 200-400).

Mandarake (Part 1)

By: Brian Mah

(The broken clock front entrance of the Mandarake Shibuya's store.)

(Note: All photos were taken with permission of MANDARAKE INC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.)

(The vast manga from the Mandarake Akiba store.)


If the reason for traveling to Japan is trying to find every memorabilia from what first got you interested in anime or manga, whether it was Godzilla, City Hunter, Transformers, Macross, or Saint Seiya, you have probably investigated endlessly at all of the stores along the Kanto or Kansai region. Look no further than the anime and manga vintage superstore Mandarake .