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The only problem is that the items are not really organized. I found myself kneeling on the floor, digging through boxes filled with gatcha bubbled items (from the coin machines) scouring for recycled "Kenshin" figures. It takes hours to comb Mandarake, but even after I had ended my binge I felt as if I should look just one more time to see if I missed anything. People continually line up here to sell back their used goods and so the stocks are always being replenished. Sanity, though, dictated that I had covered this outlet. I didn't leave with any "Kenshin" merchandise but I was lucky enough, however, to find a collectors' poster from "Mars," one of my favorite manga series.
Leaving Mandarake, I scurried across the street to Manga no Mori. The walls and shelves of Manga no Mori are resplendent with "Powerpuff Girls" and Americana comic book paraphernalia. I felt slightly disappointed. After fingering through the store's selection, I found the "Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne" art book I had been searching for. But no new "Kenshin" items caught my eye. My next stop was Ikebukuro. Home of Sunshine City, a huge towering skyscraper from which you can see practically all of Tokyo, Ikebukuro also features two large, yet fundamentally different, anime stores: Animate and K-books.
Eight stories high, Animate's main store is packed with goodies to whet the anime collector's appetite all created by Movic, their production/promotion juggernaut. For New Year's, they were selling grab bags full of 2000-yen items at a cost of 1000 yen. Selling these grab bags is a ploy used by many stores during this season to give the company good karma for the coming year. I paid for my grab bag and hurriedly tore it open. Inside I found a Shirow Masemune art portfolio and a Pokèmon wall clock amongst other goods. No "Kenshin" items. Curses. K-books operates two stores in Ikebukuro, a used doujinshi/manga store and one that specializes in used anime and manga goods. Unlike Mandarake, however, the goods here are often in great condition and neatly wrapped. The latter store stands conveniently next to Animate. I wandered there first, and began to search freely through baskets of UFO catcher dolls. The rare treasure has been known to surface here. This was going to be my lucky day, I thought. One of the dolls was sure to be here. To my chagrin, I found no huggable "Kenshin" doll. Instead I discovered a "Ranma1/2" collectors' treasure, a Ranma (girl form) plushie in perfect condition with tag, which a nearby shopper asked to have if I wasn't interested. Being the gem of humanity, I surrendered the treasure, building karma and saving cash for my inevitable, ultimate find.
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