Mandarake Merch Madness July 2018 Edition

So, another ‘Mandarake Merch Madness’ post, eh? Been a while since we’ve done one of those… Yes, what I intended to be a 3 monthly occurrence was stymied by the lack of a job, but now I have a (casual) job and therefore money! In celebration of my first pay I decided to do an online shop for some Anime Merch at Mandarake!

And for those unfamiliar with ‘Mandarake’? They are reseller of second-hand anime/otaku goods in Japan, they have several brick and mortar stores in Japan but I find the range and prices of goods is arguably better online (it’s also easier to find stuff as they have an “English” version of their site which is pretty good all things considered).

Probably worth pointing out that this is not a sponsored post, right? I wish! Yup, no sponsorship here, paid for all of this with my own money and just talking about them because I love what they do.

Also worth mentioning that “second-hand” is kinda different in Japan–at least for Mandarake it is? Second-hand in Japan is not any slight against the quality of the merchandise, most of the stuff they have for sale has never been opened and they even reduce things in price if the box is even slightly damaged–which is great for me as I just throw the boxes out anyway–I like my merch for its aesthetics on the shelf not for collectibility or turning a profit someday in the future by having something in mint condition!

And for those looking for the previous posts? The two previous merch posts can be found here and here. Anyway, enough introduction, time to look at some pictures!

Nice box? What’s with the figures on them? Rem & Ram Nendoroids are there for size comparison–they weren’t a part of this order! But yes, Mandarake always tries to fit as much stuff into one box.

Great, but what’s inside? First up a couple of books! I usually try to buy only ‘art books’ as one’s with a lot of text are kind of useless to me (can’t read Japanese after all) but Slow Start was one of my favourite anime of the Spring 2018 anime season so I couldn’t pass up this book! It’s got a lot more text (interviews and stuff) than I’d usually like but still plenty of cute pictures and concept art from the series.

Fair enough, you sure do love your cute girls, even in book form… That I do! Second book is more in line with what I like, an art book for the Eden of Grisaia Visual Novel. I was watching the anime adaptation while doing this order so that kind of influenced a lot of my purchasing decisions as you’ll see why… but the art in this book is so gorgeous.

 

Nice artwork. Indeed, there’s also a lot of 18+ art in the book from the game (it’s an eroge after all) but I’ll spare you from having to see that… besides there’s still plenty more smut to come.

Of course it is… I sometimes forget how much of a perv you are… You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Next up? K-On! Nendoroid mini’s (there about half the size of a normal Nendoroid), the irlwaifu wanted something for desk at work and so this seemed ideal!

Well isn’t that nice of you. Well I had to use her credit card to buy it after all since hers is an International card that can buy stuff in Yen.

Repaying the favour. Next lot of merch is just kind of stuff I bought because it was super cheap and was either relevant to my interests or was just interesting enough for me to want it. Also by cheap I mean like under 300 yen each.

Cheap stuff, got it. Clear file’s are one of those things that I don’t really get the point of but I still love collecting them all the same. Had to get something from one of the most under-appreciated anime’s of Spring 2018! Ms Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles represent!

So a clear file is just like a plastic document wallet themed to an anime? Pretty uninteresting if you ask me. I’ve got like 30 of them.

Of course you do… Also, I always tend to pick up one thing that’s from a show I haven’t watched yet but that I just like the functionality of, this is a laptop case from ‘Rewrite’, don’t know if the show is any good or not but I just wanted an anime laptop case!

Buying merch for a show you don’t even know if you like, how ‘responsible’ of you… It’s my money!

Next? This is a K-On! ‘Shower Poster’.

What the heck’s a shower poster? That’s exactly what I thought when I saw it online and from what little I could glean from the instructions on the back (translation app kinda worked) it’s a waterproof poster you put up in your shower, but only for short periods of time like for during shower-time not as decoration all the time. I wonder why someone would need a poster like this in the shower…

Oh dear… I’m sorry I asked. You should be.

And these things? I like leather pass-case’s probably didn’t need a second one since I seldom use the first one but I wanted something from My Girlfriend is Shobitch (super underrated comedy). Also I don’t like paper bookmarks so why not get a Food Wars! Soma metal bookmark instead!

Fair enough, and uh… Last of the super cheap random items is an ugly as heck Death Parade microfibre cloth, Death Parade merch is very rare on Mandarake and I love that show so I snapped it up even if it’s something I’ll never use.

Ah, the all important “i’ll never use this” merch *rolls eyes*. It was 200 yen, no big deal! Now for a few figurines (I know I had the Nendoroid mini’s up there but these are a bit larger in size and more interesting–at least in my opinion).

Okay, she looks familiar? It’s Hana Ichinose from Slow Start! This a prize figure–I pretty much only buy prize figures because they are a lot cheaper than bishojou figures–obviously the quality is a bit lower but it’s enough for me!

And what’s a prize figure again? It’s literally a prize you find in the crane games in Akihabara and other geeky places around Japan, I mean sure it’s fun to win them legit but buying them is just so much easier!

Oh, these ones, didn’t you get some of these last time? In my last order I got the four main Yuruyuri girls in these budget Banpresto figures (they’re slightly larger than normal sized Nendoroid’s but have no customisation or posable options) I was impressed with the quality of the previous one’s I got so I figured I’d complete the collection with the four supporting characters from Yuruyuri. If anything these are even better quality than the 4 main girls!

Cool is that it? I did say there was some more ‘adult’ merch coming later in the post didn’t I?

Oh god, I just got a shiver at the thought of what could be next… Next is the one big-ticket item (it made up for half of the total cost of the order) it’s also a bit NSFW but I have censored it a bit so hopefully it won’t offend anyone… lol

Don’t say he didn’t warn you! An unassuming (but moderately sized) ‘Happy New Year Box’ from Front Wing, an eroge distributor. You can still buy this box retail from places like Softmap but Mandarake was about 20% cheaper than any other online retailer. It was also factory sealed, “brand new” second-hand condition, meaning someone owned it but never opened it and then sold it on to Mandarake. But you’re all curious to see what’s in the box, right? (Though some of you have probably already guessed, I’m sure.)

Oh dear, I guess you better explain what I’m looking at since I’m looking through my hands. So inside we’ve got few items from The Fruit of Grisaia series and also another eroge series, but it’s mostly focused on Grisaia, hence why I bought it.

You really like that series, huh? It’s amazing.

So what’s in it? There’s a mini tapestry with main girl Suou–evidently having a mishap with some soap in the bath, a ridiculously large keychain, a calendar for if I ever go back in time (but seriously the art in it is very nice and could be framed) and a mysterious CD… But there’s one item I’m leaving ’til last the thing that justified the cost…

The irlwaifu censored these photos for me… she’s got some sense of humour!

Gotta say, kinda saw that coming… no pun intended. Suou Amane dakimakura! The body pillow harem expands! (I’ve got two now for those who are curious… how many I end up with is largely dependent on the irlwaifu…)

She’s surprisingly accepting of your perversions. It’s a two-way street, bro.

Oh I see… And that’s it! Not as many items as last time, mostly because I tried to not buy too many cheap bits and pieces, last time I bought way too many phone charms and keychains that haven’t gotten much/any use. Hopefully this was an enjoyable read, I’ll be doing these a lot more regularly from now on–maybe once every 3 months, trying to get as much seasonal anime merch I can find on the cheap! If you have any questions or comments leave them below!

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