anyone know website to buy manga?

[osakaboi]

i'm in japan and wanna buy complete set manga online(i went to bookstore and can't find it). new or second hand doesn't matter. unfortunately, i don't have creditcard, are there other payment methods? if u know, please recommend some sites.

thank u

[MMM]

Originally Posted by osakaboi

i'm in japan and wanna buy complete set manga online(i went to bookstore and can't find it). new or second hand doesn't matter. unfortunately, i don't have creditcard, are there other payment methods? if u know, please recommend some sites.

thank u

Maybe Paypal...do you want it in English or in Japanese?

[samurai007]

Part of the fun of collecting is digging around until you find all the issues, buying some here, some there, etc.

That said, if the manga are new and in print, any store should be able to order it for you, even if it isn't currently in stock.

If the manga is older and out of print, then you need to search used manga shops. Osaka has some great used manga shops (at least, they did when I was there 10 years ago...) There were 2 main ones I went to: The 1st was in the circular building just south of Namba station, behind the Hard Rock cafe and a little bakery. The store was a U-shaped mini-mall of nothing but used manga shops, maybe 8 or 10 different dealers in all, but all sharing 1 large space that they've cordoned off into mini-shops. This is a great place to find complete sets... several of the dealers make a habit of bundling entire sets together and selling them at a discount. There are also many individual used manga to look through, typically 1/2 cover price.

The 2nd store is near Osaka-Umeda station (not Shin-Osaka, which is further north). Getting off the subway, climb to street level and head east about half a block until you see a covered shopping street that heads south. Follow this street about 2-3 blocks south and on the left you'll find a huge used manga shop (and there is another, much smaller used manga shop on the right less than 1/2 a block before it) This large shop has an astounding selection of books, including many rare manga that I found nowhere else in Japan. They have books there that are literally decades old. However, this shop has the habit of shrink-wrapping nearly all their books, which makes it hard to flip through them, and sometimes you just have to take a chance on something. They are also strict about not allowing bags or backpacks into the store (to prevent shoplifting), but they have lockers in the front of the store where you can put your backpack while you shop. Most of their common manga is 1/2 cover price, like the other used manga shops around, but their older, collectible items can be significantly more.

If you are looking for used manga in Osaka, I definitely recommend visiting both stores, if they are still open and still in the same locations. You might ask around and see if other stores have opened as well. There were several other shops that I'd visit on my manga-hunting trips to Osaka, but those 2 stores were always the biggest and best.

[osakaboi]

thanks a lot for answering

MMM - in japanese please

samurai007 - can u help pointing out where the stores are(if u can locate them on the map)

Umeda
http://www.mapfan.com/m.cgi?MAP=E135...41.50.8&ZM=11&
Namba
http://www.mapfan.com/m.cgi?MAP=E135...39.30.6&ZM=11&

[samokan]

@samurai: which subway are referring too?

@osakaboi: have you been to book 1st or kinokuniya or maybe junkudo bookstores??
the junkudo bookstore in umeda Dojima Avanza building( not the one in hilton hotel ) is fully loaded with manga, on the first floor of that building is another bookstore also loaded with manga.. where i bought my whole fma collection
also in nipponbashi, sorry i forgot the name of the store though but it was on the same store that sell anime toys..

for 2nd hand manga, i prefer comic land in Juso. It does not have any tax and the quality of the manga are still very good , just like new. It's just in the east exit of hankyu juso station..

[samurai007]

The one that passes directly under Namba station, I think it's the Midosuji line. Just ride it north a few stops to Umeda, take the East exit, climb the stairs to street level, head east a block or so, and then head south into the covered shopping walk.

Osakaboi, I think I can see the Umeda shopping walk on the map. http://www.mapfan.com/m.cgi?MAP=E135...41.50.8&ZM=11& Zoom in to the closest level to see it.

I don't see a large circular building on the Namba map. Maybe it has been torn down now? You can see it in this photo, lower right, behind the Hard Rock Cafe:



If you head straight south past the Hard Rock cafe, you can't miss it. Start circling around it to the left and you should see the shop facing northeast..

[samokan]

I think Hard Rock moved to a new location. the one I know is in Hommachi and USJ only. I check the site too, its in Hommachi. That circular building in Namba , have not seen it yet that might be the location of the new namba parks ..

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by samokan

I think Hard Rock moved to a new location. the one I know is in Hommachi and USJ only. I check the site too, its in Hommachi. That circular building in Namba , have not seen it yet that might be the location of the new namba parks ..

Hmm, there were no parks south of Namba when I was there, so that may be it. And they tore down the Hard Rock Cafe too?

It's hard to give advice when my info is 10 years old, and Japan seems to be changing all the time. Kobe is incredibly different than when I was there, and it seems Osaka has gone through many changes too. Well, that was an old building in a nice part of town, I guess it was only a matter of time before it was torn down. If you have some pictures of what the area looks like now, it'd be interesting to see it. (That picture I took was right in front of the southern exit from Namba station).

Maybe those manga dealers moved to another building... as around for used manga shops and maybe the locals can help you out. (I wonder if the shop near Umeda is still there?)

Hey, I guess my photo is a piece of history now!

[samokan]

was that photo near nankai line (namba station)? Nanba Parks is just besides Nankai at the back of the main Nanba Station..

I do not often go the shotengai in higashi umeda, cause its mostly restaurant, or maybe that was another shotengai ...

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by samokan

was that photo near nankai line (namba station)? Nanba Parks is just besides Nankai at the back of the main Nanba Station..

I do often go the shotengai in higashi umeda, cause its mostly restaurant, or maybe that was another shotengai ...

Yes, you can see the elevated Nankai-Koya line in the upper left of the picture. So I guess that's a park now. But if you ask some of the locals, maybe they can tell you if the manga shop moved somewhere else or just went out of business.

I'm not sure if it's the same or not... I don't recall it having more restaurants than any other shotengai, but again, things may have changed in the last 10 years. Have you ever seen a used manga shop there, about 3 blocks or so south along the covered street, on the left hand side?