Doujinshi Shopping for Newbies From time to time, I get an e-mail asking me for advice on buying doujinshi. So, I've decided to create a buyers guide as an extension of my FAQ. How do I choose a good doujinshi? Knowing what doujinshi to buy is one of the hardest part of doujinshi shopping. Sometimes the cover art is great but the inside art is pathetic. Sometimes the cover art isn't very good but the inside art is surprisingly good. Sometimes you end up with a doujinshi that's mostly novel you can't read. You may also end up with a doujinshi that's a whole lot more adult than you wanted. When shopping, there are several things to consider: 1) Circle -- This is the most reliable way to find a doujinshi you're happy with. When you first start buying doujinshi for a new series, look at the circle. If you like one doujinshi by that circle, then buy another one done by that circle. Circles tend to have consistent quality. 2) Cover art -- It's true that sometimes the inside art isn't as good as the cover art. However, good cover art usually indicates good inside art. If the inside art turns out not to be as good as you had hoped, sell the doujinshi and remember not to buy a doujinshi by that circle again. 3) Pairing -- Everyone has their favorite pairings. The chances are, you'll be happier with a doujinshi pairing you like than one you don't. If you're a Ron/Hermione fan, don't buy a Harry/Hermione doujinshi unless the art is amazing or some gag catches your eye. 4) Number of pages and color pages -- The typical doujinshi has between 20-50 pages. You may be happier with a 50 page doujinshi than a 20 page one, although you'll have to keep art and content in mind. Some doujinshi also have a few color pages, which also increase the price/value. 5) Doujinshi size -- There are three common doujinshi sizes. A5 (about 5 7/8 x 8 1/4) is the smallest size and is frequently used for all-novel doujinshi books. B5 (about 7 1/4 x 10 1/8) is the most common size. A4 (about 8 1/4 x 11 3/4) is the largest and tends to have fewer pages. 6) Content -- When you're buying, you also need to consider content. Most reliable sellers should include a rating as well as information about type (drama, gag, etc.). They should also list whether the book is only comic or comic and novel. The best sellers may also include a short summary. The cover art may also be a good indication of whether a book is to your taste. How much money is too much? Yet another fun question. To be honest, it's up to you. However, when you buy doujinshi keep in mind that in Japan, new doujinshi usually cost between $5 and $15 and used doujinshi usually cost between $2 and $10. This may not apply for certain famous doujinshi-ka (e.g. Shisenden and Koge-Donbo). Therefore, stick with paying less than $15 for a doujinshi. Naturally, there are some exceptions to the rule. If it's a very rare pairing, series or your favorite circle, feel free to spend more. However, I wouldn't recommend spending more than $50 on a doujinshi. I remember when people were spending more than $50 on every single Harry Potter doujinshi that popped up on ebay (I sold a few back in those days myself). Now the same doujinshi are selling for $10. So, unless you're sure you'll never see it again, don't spend that much money. It's not worth it. Where can I buy doujinshi on-line? Once upon a time, I always used to answer ebay when someone asked me that question. There was a large selection and you could sometimes get great deals. However, in the last six months, ebay has changed a lot of its policies. Harry Potter doujinshi is routinely canceled, due to "copyright issues" (according to ebay) and auctions that mention the words yaoi or hentai are canceled due to "adult content" unless they're listed in the adult area. As a result, I no longer recommend ebay for doujinshi. Instead, I suggest you visit on-line doujinshi stores like the following: http://www.dokidokistation.com Keep in mind that I've never used any of these sites myself (yet) since I bought all my doujinshi in Japan. I can't say anything about these sites reliability since they've been recommended to me by others. However, I don't think these people would recommend them if they weren't reliable. Of course, I sometimes sell doujinshi I no longer want on my page. So, look here first. ;) I'm going to go to Japan. Where do I buy doujinshi? You're going to Japan? Lucky. If you're going to one of the major cities (Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya), there are a lot of places to shop for doujinshi at. Here are a list of some of the best stores to buy doujinshi (or other anime/manga related goods). Mandarake: If you want to buy doujinshi, then Mandarake is the best store to visit. Mandarake sells used doujinshi, manga and other goods. They're quite picky about what they buy back, so the quality is usually almost as good as new. Mandarake is also the cheapest place to buy doujinshi (200-600 yen) that I found. Keep in mind that most Mandarake's have more than one floor, so doujinshi can be separated by floor. Mandarake is very popular in Japan and as a result it can be really hard to find pretty doujinshi for the most recent popular series (Prince of Tennis and Gundam Seed were the big things when I left). Their web site does have English directions, so it should be easy to find compared to some of the others. K-Books: If you're going to go to Tokyo, about ten minutes from Ikebukuro Station is K-Books, the second best doujinshi store in Tokyo (after Mandarake). K-Books has a fairly large selection of doujinshi, although their prices are slightly more expensive than Mandarake (400-800 yen). The selection overall is smaller than Mandarake but their Harry Potter section is bigger than either the Nakano or Shibuya branch of Mandarake. Unfortunately, K-Books is a bit complicated to find. I went there twice and got lost both times, although I found it eventually. There is a map on their website but it's Japanese only. It's very near the Ikebukuro Animate, so if you find Animate, walk around a bit and you should find K-Books. KAC Shop: KAC Shop sells both new and used doujinshi. Their prices are higher than K-Books and Mandarake for used doujinshi but as a result, they sometimes have hard to find doujinshi. If you don't want to wait to find a doujinshi used at another store, it can be quite nice to buy it new, which is KAC Shop's big advantage. Animate: Animate sells mostly anime and manga related goods. However, they do usually have a small "boys love" corner that sells some new doujinshi and a lot of doujinshi anthologies. Tora no Ana: Tora no Ana also sells some new doujinshi as well as manga and anime goods. There are a few circles that only sell their doujinshi at Tora no Ana. There are other bookstores that sell a very small amount of doujinshi but you'll have to explore and see if you can find any of these. Something you may notice is that stores that sell doujinshi, manga and anime tend to be in the same area. For example, KAC Shop and Animate in Nagoya are near Nagoya Station and Tora no Ana and Mandarake are near Nagoya TV Tower. So, if you find a store that sells doujinshi, you may want to walk around the area just to see if there's another one. If you end up in Japan at the right time of year, you may also want to consider going to a doujinshi event. There are two major groups that organize doujinshi events. The biggest one is called Comiket. It's held twice a year at Tokyo Big Site. Summer Comiket is held in mid-August and lasts for three days. Winter Comiket is held for two days, between Christmas and New Years. If you decide to go, then you need to find a catalogue first. Otherwise, it'll be impossible to find anything you want to find. The other group is called Comic City. These events are held more often and in more cities than Comiket but not as many circles participate. Overall, it's easier to deal with a Comic City event the first time you go to a doujinshi. Super Comic City is held in May in Tokyo and is similar in size to Winter Comiket. If you go to Super Comic City, then you need to buy your catalogue before you go but for all other Comic City events you buy the other catalogues at the door. There are also series or pairing specific events that take place around Japan. These events are quite small and are designed far more for fans of a specific series than the big events are. Of course, you'll have to find these on your own as they tend to be one-time events. I went to two small Harry Potter ones when I was in Japan and I have to say, they were a great experience. They're pretty fun to go to since the pace is much more relaxed than the big events. They also allow cosplay, which some of the big ones don't. If you do go, you'll probably be the only foreigner there, so be prepared for stares and nervousness. One poor lady was so nervous that she dropped my change -- twice. Hopefully, this will answer any questions you may have. |