Forum - View topicNEWS: Toranoana Dōjinshi Chain Closes All But 1 Standalone Store in Japan
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Covnam
 Posts: 3850 |
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Dang, seeing a store like this close I can't even imagine what Akihabara is going to look like when I can finally travel there again -_-
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sakurablossom143
 Posts: 201 Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii |
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I'm just thankful that the mail order site is still in good standing <3
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fencer_x
Posts: 281 |
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This is really unfortunate, but I will admit: I go to Toranoana shops MUCH less frequently not because of the pandemic, but...because there's nothing there anymore.
The Ikebukuro girls branch, for example, used to have two whole floors, with one floor alone dedicated to doujinshi, and another whole floor for manga and artbooks to browse! Now, though, it's just the one paltry floor, the availability is garbage, and it's not the kind of place you browse anymore. I love Toranoana, but paring down the shops so drastically (understandable because of so few people coming in because of the pandemic) has made them a place I only go if there is something I've seen advertised online as ONLY being available there. I can't browse anymore, so I rarely go in. I'm glad that the one shop remaining open is the one I usually go to, but how long until that one closes down too...? Kbooks no longer has a manga or DVD shop for secondhand sales, so it's really tough to find good secondhand specialty shops these days :/ |
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kuma991
Posts: 106 |
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But, but-- Now Steins;Gate won't make sense...
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Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
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At least the digital store exists, which pretty much means digital is pretty much confirmed to be the future for doujinshi outside of events like Comiket, which are still going strong despite both factors.
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R. Kasahara
 Posts: 711 |
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End of an era. I will miss the Akihabara store in particular, which made for one of my most memorable shopping experiences in Japan. Got some good foodie doujins there!
Do you think that it was, in fact, due to the pandemic in that less doujinshi was coming out (thanks to events being cancelled)? |
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xxmsxx
 Posts: 601 |
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Yeah, Japanese fans have a strong traditions of selling their doujins in-person only. Often with emphasis, that is if you don't come to this event, you are not going to get a copy EVER. They don't do pre-order or mail order or whatever, just the events. Less so these days, but I still encounter artists fairly frequently that announce a doujin but turns out it is in-person sales only. |
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sakurablossom143
Posts: 201 Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii |
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I do want to say that, in the past couple of years, web-only events have popped up. (By using PictSquare)... and I have bought around 5-10 new doujins within the last couple of years, just from online mail order alone. Of course, they do sell venue-only doujins as well. Which, is understandable. But mail order is becoming more and more of a convenience. |
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xxmsxx
Posts: 601 |
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I have been buying online mail-order doujinshi consistently since 2013 and options have definitely increased. But I know for a fact even for artists who have sold online before will outright deny mail order for some of their doujinshi. They love, LOVE the idea of exclusivity and seasonality in general. Understandable but can be frustrating sometimes. It is not really anything to do with the easy of online shopping or reaching an international audience. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5958 Location: Virginia, United States |
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End of an Era, I guess.
I loved wandering these stores when I visit Japan. Though it was often hard to find particular stuff as an english only speaker. Google translate sometimes wasn't much help, even worse if you didn't have a good signal inside the store. |
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