How to purchase doujinshi from Japan and other anime goods and merchandise

7:39:00 PM cc 7 Comments

I've been collecting doujinshi for years and they are kind of addicting. If you do not know, doujinshi is Japanese self published books. They are mainly known to be fan comics by fans for fans, and the majority are typically pornographic in nature. In Japan there are many events for doujinshi the biggest one being Comiket which happens twice a year. Many smaller ones are series, character, or couple specific. They can even be run by fans. Usually they are held during weekends, and are like anime conventions but just the artist alley. Hundreds of artists usually attend them, and either have half or a whole table to sell their books. More popular artists would have a wall table since it will give them space for the lines of people waiting to purchase their books (doujinshi).

Before each event artists will usually post their book's sample pages. Pixiv is the main site where this happens. It has an english version though it is a little funny in some areas, and it doesn't translate any of the Japanese users words into English. Finding things in pixiv is mainly done with tags. Pixiv also has a section listing all the events that are coming up. Each event page will have information on the event and artists' cut cards which are for the event's catalog for the attendees. When you see doujinshi's sample pages they usually have a event specific tag. This tag is the easiest way to look at all the available samples for that event. After the event is over, artists will sometimes put their doujinshi up for mail order. This means they have a mail order service to sell their books to those who couldn't go to the event in person. This is where we overseas fans will get these doujinshi from, but there's one big problem - no International shipping.

Where are doujinshis listed? eBay will usually have doujinshi listed so check there if you haven't. They are usually preowned and might be overpriced which is understandable since ebay fees are a tad high ($3 in fees for a $10 sale YIKES). I wouldn't buy a 20 page doujinshi for over $20. If they are listed to be shipped from Japan and still list their price as much as $15 then they are making quite a profit since doujins normally priced around $1-7 in Japan. There is one mail order shop that does overseas shipping and that is Mandarake but they don't always have everything or up to date stuff. A top mail order service Japanese artists use is Toranoana. Navigation on the site a bit poorly designed so its easier to just use the link the artist use to buy their doujinshi from their Pixiv. Melonbook (hentai), and C-Queen (yaoi/boys love) are also other mail order services artists use. If the doujinshi is sold out, they will often not be restocked and you will have to find if elsewhere like in Yahoo!Auctions Japan. Popular or rare doujinshi can get very pricey. Obviously, if you don't know Japanese it will be very difficult to find what you need. Sometimes artists would put out a collection book with all their past doujinshi works in it, but I don't see many that do this. These books tend to be obviously thicker, but the book size will tend be smaller than the usual 7"x10".

You can actually find doujinshi in digital format on DLsite though the selection can be quite limited. Pixiv has their own web shop service for Pixiv users called BOOTH PM. Artists may have their goods listed there as well.

How do I buy doujinshi? So how do we overseas people order doujinshi? Well we have to use proxy services. These are companies in Japan that will be our middle man. Meaning they buy the stuff for us, and then ship it to us. Along with paying the doujinshi, the proxy service fees, shipping to the proxy service, and shipping to you, the total costs is going to add up greatly. A 700 yen (about $7) doujinshi can easily cost you $30 in total to get. It is very important to read the proxy service rules and guidelines. It will save you from disappointed, surprises, and frustration. Some specialize in auctions while others in online shops. Fees can vary a lot for both shopping and auctions in each service company. If you plan on buying adult rated doujinshi, be sure to look up laws of your country to see if it will get through customs. Some proxy service may not allow adult rated doujinshi, and some even require your ID to verify your age. There's also forwarding service which is your mailbox in Japan so you have to order the doujinshi straight from the mail order store with your credit or debit card, and just use the address you get from the forwarding service. Please note that it is very possible the store may reject the forwarding service address. Toranoana is partnered with Tenso, a forwarding service for overseas customers. I haven't used Tenso before, but people say it can be pricey and they force EMS shipping so you can't choose a cheaper shipping option. There are also individual people that live in Japan that can buy stuff for you, and even go to the event or store and buy the doujinshi aka pick-up service. They typically charge $10 an order on one store or $10 per artist. They are usually on Tumblr or Livejournal. Of course if you have a friend in Japan who is nice enough or has the same interest as you to buy it for you, lucky you!

One proxy service I've used is Goody Japan. They have a 700 yen fee per order in one store. They are a little slow to my liking, but they have good customer service. Here are some other services:

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