A visit to the comic shop.

[infested_ysy]

So I decided to complete my collection of Gundam SEED R mangas (left volume 2 and 3 to be bought), and made a visit to that good old comic shop that I frequent to get my manga/figurines.

Since I thought the shop and its toy collections on display are so awesome, and everyone ought get a sight of its awesomeness, I decided to take some pictures of the shop. Now worship me for bestowing the awesomeness upon you mortals!:lol:

A view from the entrance:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/bookshelves3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/bookshelves2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/bookshelves1.jpg

Overview of the awesome toy display:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/upper_display_shelf.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/lower_display_shelf.jpg

Some random closeups:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/misc_display2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/bleach_gasha_disp.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/dbz_misc.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/misc_display6.jpg

Oh, and the only thing good about Bleach that I've found:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/omg_bleach_gasha_bewbs.jpg
Big bewbs = l33t

The rest of the pictures taken here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/toy_shop/

[AnimeWerewolf]

Lol , what heaven looks like through the eyes of an Otaku ! :D

[Saki]

'RMs...'
is that in Malaysia?
I've heard that Malaysia has vast stores for otaku. I'd love to go to that store, but it looks like they don't handle the merchandise very well (bends on boxes, positions of merchandise look like they've been there for awhile, making them dusty, worn, etc etc).

Personally, I prefer small stores that have large selections that change from week to week, and have come-and-go products. but hey, whatever suits your taste.

PS: What else did you buy? Is that it? It's such a great store to only buy of manga from.

[infested_ysy]

'RMs...'
is that in Malaysia?
I've heard that Malaysia has vast stores for otaku. I'd love to go to that store, but it looks like they don't handle the merchandise very well (bends on boxes, positions of merchandise look like they've been there for awhile, making them dusty, worn, etc etc).
Yeah, that's in Malaysia. Or rather, Malacca, of Malaysia, to be precise :p

Don't handle the merchandises well? I don't recall such experience over the last 6 years since the first day I bought my Gundam models. The boxes are all in perfect condition.


Personally, I prefer small stores that have large selections that change from week to week, and have come-and-go products. but hey, whatever suits your taste.

PS: What else did you buy? Is that it? It's such a great store to only buy of manga from.
Well... I bought these two figurines and two manga from that shop for today, if that counts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/Hauls/IMG_0412.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/infested_ysy/Hauls/IMG_0413.jpg

[Mad-B_Man]

The sight of such stores make me shed tears T-T, oh do I miss the days that I could just stroll into a comic stare and grab 10 books without losing an arm and a leg. How much does manga cost in Malaysia? In Thailand it's (or was rather,since I havn't been there for quite a while now) about 30-45 baht, sometimes the better quality ones are 55. (1 dollar about 40 baht, give or take 3)

And while not Malaysia, In Thailand, I've seen some bent Gundam boxes before, it was becuase it was something like 2 day import that they'd would rush it back the moment it hit stores in Japan (in carry-on bagge to make things wrost). Not many stores will do this, but the place I used to go to did this all the time. I was looking for a MG GM, but the box was so raped I decided against it.

That stores owns BTW, I been to big manga stores in Thailand before, but most were so cramped.

[infested_ysy]

The sight of such stores make me shed tears T-T, oh do I miss the days that I could just stroll into a comic stare and grab 10 books without losing an arm and a leg. How much does manga cost in Malaysia? In Thailand it's (or was rather,since I havn't been there for quite a while now) about 30-45 baht, sometimes the better quality ones are 55. (1 dollar about 40 baht, give or take 3)


Um... the price of a manga varies over here, depending on what type you're looking for:

- Mangas translated into Chinese, and are of good quality (the paper's slightly thicker, the pictures are very sharp), that are usually considered as the official translated import from HK or Taiwan, a pocket sized volume would cost around RM20+ (USD$5+)

- Mangas translated into Chinese, with not-so-sharp pictures, and sometimes with some minor errors (like a small black line on the white spaces), with varying qualities (for example, the Astray manga I've bought did a horrible job at printing the space battle scenes. Some pages were kinda blurry. But for the Astray R manga, the printjob's awesome. Everything was sharp), a volume would cost RM4.5 each (USD$1), although it used to be cheaper (RM3.9)

- Mangas translated into English, aka the American licensed mangas, which I don't think would need any explanation at all.

Oh, and 45 thai Baht = RM4.5... so the price's about the same.

[chompy]

meh.

i have been in bigger and better.

though i am impressed at the size, especially as it is outside of japan...

i have never been to america, but i would assume that the size of those shops would be comparable, though perhaps less raw manga...

i would n't mind going to that shop.....

in england we have nothing like that at all...

NOTHING!!!! it's all american comics, with manga as a section. heck, folk here don't even know what anime and manga are...in the HMV's, the anime section is called manga. THERE IS NO MANGA THERE!!!

but...my god...

in akihabara there is a shop (forgot it's name) i went into (though i am sure there are more) that had a FLOOR dedicated to H-game figurines, and that's it.

another floor just gundam models etc.

england drains me....

[Mad-B_Man]

i have never been to america, but i would assume that the size of those shops would be comparable, though perhaps less raw manga...

You assume wrong my dear sir/M'am, Atleast where I live. I've yet to see any store dedecated to manga at all. The comic stroe around here doesn't even carry them (That might have change since I've only been in there once). Other book stores like Barnes and Noble and the like also only has a few shelves of manga (I heard that B&N carries a few Raws). Kinokuniya might have a bigger selection, but that's down in southcoast and I hate driving, I doubt the collection is even 1/10th of the store shown here though.

And ofcourse Akihabara will have a lot of stores like that, Kinokuniya is 7 floors there. Japan is the origin of manga after all.

[Wingedfox]

Been to a few comic book shops like Golden Apple and a whole bunch of independent shops they cater to Marvel Comics Enterprises, DC Comics, Image Comics (Under their independent flag labels: Top Cows, Todd McFarlane Productions, etc..) and while I been to a few book stores like Borders with 2 measly shelves of translated Manga 1 long rack of DVD videos priced so high it'll make Scrooge hurt and B&N like noted above, I found online shops the best resource.

Infested_ysy did you see photo #6 you posted? It has a nice figurine for Morgana gawd I want that ssssoooo badly :P

[Saki]

You assume wrong my dear sir/M'am, Atleast where I live. I've yet to see any store dedecated to manga at all.
indeed.
So far, I've only seen 2 stores dedicated to anime in here. The largest area I know that has manga/anime dedicated stores is Little Tokyo near L.A. Never been there, whish I have though T_T.
In America, usually manga / anime oriented stuff is found in book stores, but they are always a minority. Manga's are found in bookstores such as Waldenbooks and Barnes and Noble. DVD's are usually found in electronic retailers such as BestBuy and Fry's. Figurines are usually found in Comic Stores that have a large Marvel and DC archive. All three types of retailers have anime as a minority, never having anime compose more than 20% of the whole store.

To be an anime fan, no, an otaku, in America is hard. Shopping for products requires good memory, and you have to go to certain places, certain stores, and certain times to get certain merchandise, a.k.a being a smart consumer. unlike places in Asia, where you can rely on just one store for all your anime needs.

[orka]

My hometown is in northwest suburbs of Chicago. If I drive about an hour to Arlington Heights, there is a Japanese department store (maybe more like a supermarket) called Mitsuwa Market. They have tons of Japanese food, as well as a small toy store and a Asahiya book store (which is actually pretty comprehensive).

I think I'll go there sometime this week, since I'm home for the springbreak. You guys should all check it out if you ever visit Chicago.

[orka]

NOTHING!!!! it's all american comics, with manga as a section. heck, folk here don't even know what anime and manga are...in the HMV's, the anime section is called manga. THERE IS NO MANGA THERE!!!

lol, that's funny.

And chompy, you've been to Akihabara?? Damn, you're a real otaku. :D
I'm Japanese, and I didn't know such a place existed until last year. I'm really jealous.

Then again, I've lived in the U.S. since I was 10 months old. "-_-

[Saki]

I think I'll go there sometime this week, since I'm home for the springbreak. You guys should all check it out if you ever visit Chicago.
Mitsuwa is all over America. We have one right here in Kearny Mesa. I stop there once a month to get my MEGAMI issues, as well as Japanese DVDs and figurines in a nearby store that's also inside Mitsuwa.

Mitsuwa is a great store. It's like a little peace of Japan in America.

[Mad-B_Man]

Hmm, there's two in LA, both about half an hour from where I live. Might stop by if I'm in the mood to drive.

[orka]

Damn, I never knew that Mitsuwa is actually a national chain. The place here actually used to be called Yaohan, but is that the case with all Mitsuwa stores?

[Keriaku]

You're so lucky! I wish I had a comic book store much at had that selecetion O.O

[unicron02]

All the Yaohan stores in California that I know of changed their name to Mitsuwa about 5 years ago. They are probably your best bet to find anime related material consistently unless you stumble across a specialty store/comic store that works hard to stay up to date. The Kinokuniya or Asahiya bookstores located inside (The one in Costa Mesa has a Kinokuniya, but the one in Los Angeles has an Asahiya) will usually let you get a quasi-subscription to a particular magazine or manga. I know a few people that did this to make sure that the stuff they wanted was being held for them so that they'd never have to worry about popular material selling out. They will also order items from Japan that they might not normally think about stocking due to what they might consider lack of demand. If you have the ISBN number or some kind of advertisement (like those you find in variouis magazines) they can try to order that item for you.

I have found a few places that have decent amounts of anime related material in southern California but their scope is absolutely dwarfed by even some of the smaller shops here in Japan. Once you come here and see the sheer volume of material available in Tokyo, especially Akihabara, you will be pretty sad to have to leave (like I will be soon).

[Saki]

Once you come here and see the sheer volume of material available in Tokyo, especially Akihabara, you will be pretty sad to have to leave (like I will be soon).
Akihabara will probably be the first city I'll visit in Japan, lol.
All that anime...