Not to be confused with Mandrake

Mandrake

Mandrake may refer to:* Mandrake , a plant of the genus Mandragora* Mandragora , in occultism* Mandrake Linux, former name of Mandriva Linux, a computer operating system...

.

is one of Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

's largest vendors of used anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and manga-related products. The store stocks collectibles, VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 tapes, DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

s, CDs, used manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, toy

Toy

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

s, and large numbers of fan-drawn dōjinshi

Dojinshi

is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...

, particularly those catering to a female audience.

Locations

Mandarake has several locations: its home in Nakano

Nakano

-People:Nakano is also a Japanese family name.* Ayako Nakano* Chikayo Nakano* Daisuke Nakano* George Nakano* Hiroko Nakano* Hiroyuki Nakano* Junya Nakano* Kansei Nakano* Kazuo Nakano* Keiko Nakano* Koichi Nakano* Kiyoshi Nakano* Kumiko Nakano...

, another large store in Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

, a two-floor and a four-floor store in downtown Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, and a giant 4-story shop in Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Fukuoka

is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...

. At one time before 2003, the company had a shop in Torrance

Torrance, California

Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Torrance store closed and a short-lived store opened in Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

.

Nakano

The shopping mall Nakano Broadway is the home of Mandarake, and at the current count, it contains about 12 specialised Mandarake stores. Each deals in a particular aspect of otaku

Otaku

is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...

 culture, such as model cars, idol goods, anime song CDs, video games, cosplay

Cosplay

, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 items and 3 very comprehensive used manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 stores, where the comics are sorted by size and publisher. Mandarake's popularity has also encouraged many other manga and anime related stores to open in this location, as well as a maid cafe

Maid cafe

Maid cafés are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters in a private home, rather than as café patrons...

.

Shibuya

This single, yet large, store sits in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district, located two floors below the ground. The store is relatively close to Tokyu Hands

Tokyu Hands

Note: Tokyu Department Store is a different department store run by the same company Tokyu Group.Tokyu Hands Inc., known as , is a Japanese department store. Tokyu Hands is part of the Tokyu Group, its first store opened in Shibuya, Tokyo in 1976...

, and lines a street with a number of other vendors. It has a small stage for karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 performances of popular anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 theme songs.

Ikebukuro

Just past the highway overpass near Tokyu Hands and the Sunshine 60 building, the Ikebukuro store specialises in yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

 (boys' love) manga and doujinshi.

Osaka

There are two Mandarake stores in Osaka. One is located in Osaka's Umeda district, in the Hankyu Higashi-dori Shopping Centre.

One has to ascend one floor on a winding stair casebefore getting the bottom floor of the Osaka store, where the manga and art books are located. In the back, another flight of stairs in the back leads up to the second floor where the dōjinshi

Dojinshi

is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...

, toys and games are housed. The Osaka store also hosts an imposing karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 stage on the second level, where employees and adventurous shoppers can try their luck with the latest anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and j-pop

J-pop

, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

 songs. Next to the stage is an area to buy or order cosplay

Cosplay

, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 costumes, and the employees all wear an incredible array of cosplay

Cosplay

, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 finery.

The other used to be located in the Nihonbashi district, but this store closed on 3 March 2008. A new and larger outlet, Mandarake Grand Chaos, has been opened in the Amerika-Mura district.

Fukuoka

This enormous store is located in the popular Tenjin district near the city's main Post Office. This store has cels

Cel

A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...

and storyboards as well as a tremendous selection of fan-based comics, or doujinshi.

External links

• MANDARAKE
• A Virtual Tour of Mandarake Complex An article about the newest and biggest Mandarake branch in Akihabara on Akibanana.com
• A Gallery of Mandarake Complex on Akibanana.com