Ok you "Meiji-Japan lubbers! ("meiji=mangy". geddit?) Tis' time for me, Primal Convoy, captain of these ere Asian Waters to share a little of me booty wive you scurvy lot. Gather ye round, an' ill share some of me secrets!

*Ahem*

Two stores here. the first is "Mandrake" a chain of stores in the Osaka/Kansai area of Japan. International orders accepted. Everything, from anime cells (yes, ANIME CELLS, my friends!) to an in-box 1980s Transformer voice changer (only 1,500 Yen!) and even coz-play (there is a stage in one of the stores that cute female staff members dress up and perform on, so gawp away, ye salty Otaku!

http://www.mandrake.co.jp (japanese language)

THe second store is a "ma and pa" style shop which actually stocks those toy cars with the Transformers: Micron Densetsu images on them! I thought they were not released yet. He also has a few New years Op Primes, Masterpiece Convoys and other transformer stuff.


This store is run by a nice old chap in Maebashi, Gunma (near my place), so be nice and polite at al times, or Ill get in trouble!

http://www.kuroda-toys.com/

Email: info@kuroda-toys.com

Again, please follow this advice concerning ettiquete:

1/ Keep all emails, short, using BASIC English (easy sentences).

2/ Try to use the JAPANESE name for any toys you want ("Convoy" instead of "Optimus Prime", etc) and be specific like "masterpiece Convoy" instead of just "convoy".

3/ Be aware that Japan is in a different time-zone and therfore responses may take some time.

4/ If you can write Japanese, then try it! If not, then DONT use a ranlating tool, like babelfish. It will confuse anyone over here!

5/ Please be prepared to wait for some time in responses. The person replying may be taking a long time to get your response as "correct" as possible.

6/ don't ask for more than one or two of any product. They don't serve salpers, or bulk purchasers.

7/ PLEASE dont send them abuse if anything goes wrong. Many japanese are quite wary of communicating with foreigners (even if they speak your language!), so abuse will not help matters if any problems arise.

Im sure noone needed to be told that, but Im just covering my back!

Actually Mandarake HAS a English only site.
http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/searc...t=1085243992576
They attempted to open a physical store in the USA last year in LA but it closed down awhile back. Since then they kept their physical branches in JP and specialize now only in mail-orders.

As for their cel selection well it is better if you go to YJP or view Mandarake's seperate auction site. Most people here do not collect cels, so I won't go into it. Anyways, if you got the URL above and type in Transformers in the search area, you get a few listings. No much of a selection currently.

I should note it is true about using simple English when making requests. But even if you cannot communicate with people directly in Japanese text, you can use any number of deputy service(s) which will communicate for you (for a charge of course) and they will handle the transaction for you. Ask me via pm if you are serious.

Lastly, keep in mind Mandarake does not update i.e. remove items sold and it takes awhile to let you know when something is back in stock. Pity their USA branch closed down.

That link to the English version above didn't work for me, so here's one that does:

http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auc_e/index.do

Excellent updates lads! Domo.

uhhhhh...I was going to typer some...
Oh yeah! how odten does mandarake restock

Mandarake updates are infrequent and largely unpredictable. The best items usually go directly to the BIG Zenbu Auctions and the lesser items go to the Everyday Auctions section. The good items, especially for cels go quite high in price, especially since Mandarake has a good following both in JP and USA. As for toys and non-cel items, that is harder, you can try to search their site for items in the auctions that sold and find out that way, but in truth, it is quote difficult to find out how often they update. Good luck.