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Purchasing Cels in Japan
I'll be travelling to Japan and I'm interested in buying some cels if I find them. I'll be hitting Den-Den Town, Akihabara, and Nakano Broadway that I know of. Does anyone know any reliable shops that sell cels I should take a look at?
I know about Mandarake and I've at least heard of one shop at Nakano Broadway but I'm not sure of its reliability.
amagee
Apr 24 at 10:06 PM
There are three shops in Nakano Broadway, located in the back corner of the third (?) level. Basically, when you go up the stairs, it's on the side wing on the flooor with the antique toy Mandarake gate. One seller focuses mostly on scripts, one deals in high-class cels, while the third specializes in everything else. I typically drop around ¥20k when I visit, buying cels and genga. One quick warning, though. These places only accept cash, so bring a full wallet when you visit.
Edited Apr 28 at 10:03 AM
I'm pretty sure Commit (or the store that used to be called Commit) is on the fourth floor. I think there's two stores on that level.
Nakano Braodway Bldg. has 3 cel shops: 2nd Fl is Anime World Star - some pricey Matsumoto cels & mostly genga/douga (pencil art) 4th Floor has Commit (cash only) with lots of books to look through as well as cels on the walls in the hallway. +crates full of 100 yen backgrounds! Next door is Mandarake main Cel store: Cels at auction (cannot buy) cels for sale & bargain cel bin. Akihabara Complex Mandarake (big black bldg.) has some cels mixed in with the cosplay & dolls on the 2nd floor - but only a few small bins and noting spectacular.
Cels are a rarity at DenDen town except for what you may find at the two Mandarake shops {note: "Not" in DenDen town} Grand Chaos & Umeda locations. You can also try Nagoya Mandarake if you are heading down to Osaka anyway. All Mandarake stores may have cels but are slim variety since most are sent to the main cel shop in Nakano to be sold. I've been to 8 out of the 11 Mandarake stores and the best ones for me with cels are Nakano & Shibuya. Good News: tax free shopping with passport & English store guide map now on their website
*Japan is no longer the cel paradise you would expect! I've been going there since 1989 and I collect cels & resin Garage kits - both outdated by modern technology. In the 90's I could list over 20 cel shops just in Tokyo but they all have vanished. Most cels now are in private collections or what you can find on YahooJapan ( beware of fakes ) Gambatte !
Edited Jun 18 at 4:40 AM