The Otaku Report: Animecca

It hasn't quite been two weeks, but I already miss Japan.  Maybe it was the Time Out Tokyo article about TeamLab's installation at Shimogamo Jinja.  Maybe it was scrolling through my Pinterest feed, which is always littered with Japanese places, clothing, and words.  Or maybe it was preparing for AnimeIowa last weekend.

For the fourth year running, I made the trek past cornfields to Iowa's one and only anime convention, AnimeIowa.  Last year I questioned whether or not there was a point to American anime cons after living in Japan, but ultimately concluded that I enjoy being a part of the English-speaking side of the fandom.*  So this year I contributed to it, presenting three panels (the magic number that gets you in for free): a pub-night style quiz, a panel on Japanese art, and one about Japanese religion and spirits.  It was a lot of work to get ready for, and at least a little stressful, but actually really rewarding.  

Volks' Hobby Center, a block from the station

At the end of the day, though, nothing can compare to the real thing, particularly the heart of Otaku-hood itself: Akihabara.  I've been promising you a post about Akiba for the better part of two years now, and although I intended to do it the week before I left, I was so demoralized by trashing my carefully built Yokohama life that I just couldn't do it.

Instead, here I sit in my parents' living room trying to remember everything I was going to tell you, and I'm probably doomed to fail, but ganbatte-masu.  The first thing you need to know about Akiba is that it's a teeming horde of anime, manga, and gaming stuff (as well as the electronics that it was originally named for and - perhaps somewhat inevitably - a sex toy superstore).  You need to know what you're going for before you get off the train.  If you want to just browse, that works, but knowing what you want to get out of your trip to anime's Mecca will keep your bank account from being bullied like the protagonist of a shoujo series.

So - for example - for Nendoroid parts, I liked Volks'.  Most places have plenty of whole figures, and some even have parts, but as far as selection goes, Volks' was the best.  They also have Goodsmile's playsets, diorama mansions, and pretty much everything you could possibly need to recreate scenes from your favorite anime.  They sell model sets and paints and figures and other anime swag, not to mention ball-jointed dolls (or at least the one in Yokohama did...I didn't explore all the floors in Akiba because it's fricking huge) - and if it seems like they offer a lot in the way of making stuff, that's because it's sort of their specialty.  Mulan, on the other hand, (pictured above) was a place where I was able to find tapestries I wanted - the first time I went in there, I came across exactly what I wanted, a B3 sized tapestry of Hoozuki.

If you decide to check them out, you should know that Google Maps is lying about the location - they're actually located next to one of the four Sega game centers, on the main strip of Akiba.

And while I'm on the subject, it's worth a trip just for the UFO catchers.  Before I left I sort of got my addiction under control (mostly because I realized I could find most of the new prizes at Kawasaki's Book-Off for less than I'd spend trying to win them).  For legit otaku prizes, though, it's hard to beat Akiba.  I saw prizes there that I didn't find anywhere else (and sadly, I kept pretty close tabs on the game centers, particularly in Shibuya and at Yokohama station).  These Kaguya-sama mascots are just one example.  You'll still find more Disney crap than you might care to, and Ikebukuro still caters better to the otome population, but playing crane games - or at least looking to see what the current prizes are - was definitely one of my highlights of a trip to Akiba.

Turn the corner at the next intersection and about a block later you'll come to the Akiba Culture Zone.  This is a huge building filled with smaller shops buying and selling swag, if you can make it past the first two floors: a ginormous Lashinbang.  This was my first stop when I was looking for a nendoroid, as they seemed to have nearly every figure I was looking for.

There is some sort of logic to the way many stores are arranged, which is important to realize if you are, in fact, looking for something specific.  Gunpla models pretty much always get their own section - sometimes even their own floor.  Nendoroids and Figmas also tend to be grouped together, although this isn't always the case.  Merch for major series is usually displayed together - One Piece and Dragonball, in particular, but Touken Ranbu, the Fate/Stay series, and Kantai Collection often have sections as well.  The Nendoroids for these characters are sometimes found in these sections, as well, so if you don't find your favorite touken danshi with the other nendoroids, it may be on a shelf next to its scale figure.  American media - Disney and various superheroes - are usually together.  Beyond that?  You may just have to be patient and sharp-eyed to find what you're looking for.

Surugaya Specialty was where I opened my wallet the first time in Akiba.  I hadn't actually planned to spend any money that trip, since I hadn't gotten my first paycheck yet, but when I found Levi's nendoroid - pre-re-release - for only 3500 yen (the 3D maneuvering gear was damaged, but I didn't care), I knew they'd got me.  They have a pretty good selection and I've found other good deals there, although most of the time I managed to keep from succumbing to temptation.

Closer to the station were a couple of other shops I liked to stop at...and I'm not actually sure what they were called anymore.  Probably it doesn't matter.  Just because I found Dazai there for only 7000 yen doesn't mean it will ever happen again.  

And at the end of the day, you never know where you'll find the treasure you're seeking.  For two years I was low-key hoping to find the one and only Yato figure ever released - by Megahouse in 2015.  On my very last day in Akiba I randomly wandered into an alley off the main street, a kind of covered arcade that I pretty much walked past every time, and when I recovered from the discovery that Naruto and Sasuke figures based on the kabuki play had been released, I looked down and found my stray god.  For 59800 yen.  This isn't the most expensive I've seen him online, but it was, nonetheless, too rich for my blood, so I walked...or rather, limped...away in defeat.

Still, even without spending a single yenny, I always found trips to Akiba to be an excellent use of my weekends (or occasionally, weeknights).  You'll see banners for new anime, or stumble across events you weren't expecting.  Basically it's like an anime convention with a marketplace beyond your wildest imagination, with events randomly happening from time to time, one of which will be the subject of my next post.

*And, of course, winning prizes for my plushies.  Asirpa and Sugimoto took first place in the plush category.