Was it worth it? In terms of quantity, yes. To satisfy my curiosity, yes. In terms of contributing to my collection, not really. For $55 you get literally hundreds of items, but how many of those items are relevant or significant to you is highly “mileage may vary.”

Japanese second-hand goods retailer Suruga-ya is currently offering “lucky bags” (random lots) of 100+ Japanese doujinshi for about $20, often with free international shipping.

I have no affiliation with Suruga-ya. I just think these grab bag lots are neat.

Until Wednesday, May 22nd at 6pm Japan time, second-hand retailer Suruga-ya is offering free international shipping. That’s a discount that could save American collectors anywhere from $30 to $300 off shipping fees! I took advantage of the opportunity, and recorded a show-and-tell with the items I purchased for my own collection.

I placed a new order with Amazon Japan and also another order with Mandarake because Mandarake offered an exceptionally scarce manga key issue that I couldn’t resist purchasing.

I’m back again to share another selection of unique and novel anime items delivered from Japan. Highlights in this batch including the cameo first appearance of Piccolo and the first full appearance of Super Saiyajin Son Goku, both from Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga.

Apologies for me looking a bit trashy. I’m a lazy, aging hermit. It’s the anime stuff that ought to be the focus of the video rather than me, however.

On Saturday & Sunday, January 7-8, 2003, I’ll have a dealer table and present two anime panels at the St. Pete Comic Con in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. In advance of the comic show, I made a large purchase with Mandarake of Japan for convention goods and also items for my personal, permanent collection. Here’s the second of three videos of my purchases.

On Saturday & Sunday, January 7-8, 2003, I’ll have a dealer table and present two anime panels at the St. Pete Comic Con in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. In advance of the comic show, I made a large purchase with Mandarake of Japan for convention goods and also items for my personal, permanent collection. Here’s the first of three videos revealing my purchases.