Acquiring Doujinshi

[Kame-Sen'nin]

Despite being into anime and manga fandom for years, collecting doujinshi is one aspect of fandom that I have almost zero familiarity with. Although I've been aware of it, doujinshi never particularly piqued my interest. However, I've recently become interested in acquiring some of the DragonBall doujinshi created by the infamous "Toyble", who many believe to be the the artist behind DragonBall Heroes: Victory Mission.

Although I've found a few volumes of Toyble's DragonBall AF doujinshi on eBay, the prices seemed a bit high (correct me if I'm wrong on this point, not familiar with the typical value of these items). In addition, I wasn't able to find more than a handful of Toyble's works.

So, for those who may be more familiar with the scene, do you have any tricks for tracking these items down? Is it best to just pay the high prices? Are there any sites dedicated to buying and/or trading these types of works that you would recommend? Are conventions the best bet for tracking some of these down?

Any advice is appreciated, and I'd love to hear any stories that you might like to share about this as well!

[Heero]

How much was it priced at? Doujinshi prices can vary WILDLY, but I think the main point to consider is that it is self-published (by the author/circle) and (AFAIK) NEVER re-printed. So, however many they made at one time is how many there will ever be, whether its 100 or 10,000. They also ONLY sell "used" (outside of the doujinshi events that the circle originally sells them at) so really the only places to find them are from other fans, on eBay/Yahoo Japan or at stores like Mandarake, Toranoana, etc. (who specialize in doujinshi and/or used items) "Normal" prices at Comiket are usually between $5 and $10, altho more than that is not unheard of, especially if the book is especially nice or the circle is particularly noteworthy. If someone is selling it for $20 or less, then I say definitely buy. If more than that, then you need to ask what it is worth TO YOU, because odds are you're not going to see too many copies available, especially if you're not able to go browse doujin shops in Japan. (you can find a good amount of doujin on Yahoo Japan, but most YJ sellers do NOT ship internationally and most of the intermediaries will charge significantly to buy+ship to you)

[Kame-Sen'nin]

How much was it priced at? Doujinshi prices can vary WILDLY, but I think the main point to consider is that it is self-published (by the author/circle) and (AFAIK) NEVER re-printed. So, however many they made at one time is how many there will ever be, whether its 100 or 10,000. They also ONLY sell "used" (outside of the doujinshi events that the circle originally sells them at) so really the only places to find them are from other fans, on eBay/Yahoo Japan or at stores like Mandarake, Toranoana, etc. (who specialize in doujinshi and/or used items) "Normal" prices at Comiket are usually between $5 and $10, altho more than that is not unheard of, especially if the book is especially nice or the circle is particularly noteworthy. If someone is selling it for $20 or less, then I say definitely buy. If more than that, then you need to ask what it is worth TO YOU, because odds are you're not going to see too many copies available, especially if you're not able to go browse doujin shops in Japan. (you can find a good amount of doujin on Yahoo Japan, but most YJ sellers do NOT ship internationally and most of the intermediaries will charge significantly to buy+ship to you)

I found 3 volumes (I believe there are four), and each was about $60 plus shipping. Toyble is definitely a notable artist, so I suppose that might be a reasonable price.

[Heero]

I found 3 volumes (I believe there are four), and each was about $60 plus shipping. Toyble is definitely a notable artist, so I suppose that might be a reasonable price.

Hmm.. that seems a little steep, but I'm not sure how rare they are. I assume the seller is domestic at least? I just spotted vols 1 & 2 for what looks like $30 combined, BUT it's on a yahoo auction (so, like I said, they won't sell to US). I dunno if greg or someone on here would be willing to bid for you and ship them. Might be able to get them a bit less, but with shipping you're probably looking at at least $30-40/book.

Looks like the auction has a bit more than 2 days left if you wanna ask a few J. residents on here
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a ... n129471152

EDIT: looks like Mandarake lists vol 3 at just over $10
http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/ja/item_s-977545.html

EDIT2: Apparently he has a blog, have you checked into that?
http://blog.livedoor.jp/toyble/

[Kame-Sen'nin]

Hmm.. that seems a little steep, but I'm not sure how rare they are. I assume the seller is domestic at least? I just spotted vols 1 & 2 for what looks like $30 combined, BUT it's on a yahoo auction (so, like I said, they won't sell to US). I dunno if greg or someone on here would be willing to bid for you and ship them. Might be able to get them a bit less, but with shipping you're probably looking at at least $30-40/book.

The sellers I've found on eBay are not domestic, and shipping is about $8 for each book. The price of all three books I've managed to find plus shipping averages out to roughly $69 per book. Paying $30-40 per book would be a nice improvement!

Looks like the auction has a bit more than 2 days left if you wanna ask a few J. residents on here
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a ... n129471152

EDIT: looks like Mandarake lists vol 3 at just over $10
http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/ja/item_s-977545.html

If any Aging Otaku Lounge members are willing to help me out with purchasing these, I'd be happy to offer the same service for any goods that you're having trouble ordering from the US while in Japan!

EDIT2: Apparently he has a blog, have you checked into that?
http://blog.livedoor.jp/toyble/

I was aware that Toyble has a blog, but I believe that it is no longer updated due to the artist's possible involvement with DragonBall Heroes: Victory Mission.

Thanks for all of the helpful advice Heero!

[Animusubi]

I love getting doujinshi, and have a small collection. Most I got from conventions, back in the day or on the rare occasion someone is getting rid of some from older series. And some I bought cheap off eBay. But trying to track down certain artists or series can be daunting and difficult. I know there was a doujinshi I wanted on Yahoo Japan by art director Masahiro Ando (of Sailor Moon R) and a Ranma 1/2 doujinshi involving the Golden Pair, but I feel like I'd be paying three times what it's going for due to helper auction sites like Rinkya or Celga. And they were only like $10 each at most. I wish I had a friend in Japan who'd help me too.

[usamimi]

Doujinshi collecting can be tricky and difficult...books that sell on eBay or at conventions can go for double or even TRIPLE what they sell for in Japan due to rarity or just the sellers wanting to make a profit. I was used to seeing most doujinshi sell for between $10-25 when I first saw them at conventions...I about had a heart attack when a friend of mine went to Japan when I was in high school and told me most newer doujinshi sold for less that $5. But yeah, it's tricky...some artists are more popular or older/HTF books are always gonna cost more. I have some Yamaguchirow (a popular artist) Rurouni Kenshin doujinshi I bought years ago at a convention for about $15 that I see people trying to sell on eBay for $50-60 now because they're harder to find, since they're older. And like I said, most sellers that specialize in it have to make a profit (shipping that many books from Japan cannot be cheap), so the markup can be high.

I wish there were more websites that specialized in mostly doujinshi...when I was in high school, there was a website called Aino (I want to say it was either "Aino.com" or "Aino.net"...the seller's handle was Minako Aino and she sold doujinshi almost exclusively) that I bought tons of doujinshi from--most of it just funny non-adult stuff (I still have some of it, actually...gag Dragonball doujins, lol. XD) I know we have Mandrake, but their selection on the English version of their site is probably only 1/4 of what they actually have in stock...and people tend to price-gouge as hard as they can on eBay due to shipping and fees. J-list sells some but it's usually the new, popular stuff that I probably never be interested in. Other than that, I don't really know of many ways offhand to buy doujinshi other than at conventions and stuff.

Someone on the board whose in Japan could always check on looking for books for you, but I've heard that sometimes it can be risky to mail doujinshi overseas (since they're sometimes subject to inspection)...but I dunno. It'd be worth asking about at least.

Something that's always amused me: whenever I go to the Hen Da Ne booth at conventions (those guys you see at basically EVERY convention selling books), a new guy will always point the "yaoi" section out to me...then I'll promptly check out the heterosexual doujinshi section and it seems to throw them off. The guys that recognize me (from Sakura-cons past) amazingly still remember some of the series/pairings I like and always have good suggestions , which is cool. (It's amazing how at least one of them always seems to remembers me, considering how many conventions they go to any given year. )

[_D_]

I still have the Komiket catalogs I kept from the first time the staff of Komiket turned up in the US (you have the pic on the site here), so those are now 20 years old. Adult doujinshi are problematic because of the content that can land you into mucho hot water over here which has happened in the past. I don't read the language so I never collected many doujinshi. I have an old DBZ doujinshi as well as the Kyatte Ninden Teyande one that is so hard to find that the only fan site for the series online doesn't have a copy. I guess new stuff is also being done with digital paint as well as regular line art. Don't know how many people in Japan have gone this route though or if its even legal what with the convoluted laws in Japan. It always makes me laugh when you see take down notices from Japanese producers claiming copyright infringement on fan sites here but they leave the Japanese fan sites up. When you point this out to them they fall silent as if you weren't suppsed to know about that...

[Kame-Sen'nin]

Hmm...looks like it's going to be a bit difficult to find Toyble's doujinshi work. Still, I enjoy a challenge.

On the subject of finding doujinshi at conventions: do you typically have luck finding them at conventions or is it kind of hit-and-miss? Any luck with older titles or is it usually current material?

[Heero]

On the subject of finding doujinshi at conventions: do you typically have luck finding them at conventions or is it kind of hit-and-miss? Any luck with older titles or is it usually current material?

You are HIGHLY unlikely to find the doujinshi you want at a convention because:
a) VERY few vendors carry them
b) The few that do, select according to their own whimsy
c) Popular items come up SO rarely that they're likely already grabbed by someone else (especially for something that's years old), or are still there because they're REALLY expensive

Bottom line, I wouldn't expect to see this at an American Anime convention. If it somehow DID show up at a convention, it'd probably be pretty marked up in price. If you want to check though, the only vendor I would think MIGHT have it is "Asylum Anime", since I know they carry doujinshi sometimes and they've had some rarer items. I know a couple of other vendors (including Anime Palace) have carried doujinshi, but MOST of the other doujinshi I've seen at vendors leans more towards the "adult" variety, since that's usually an easier "universal" sell. I don't know if the DBH stuff your looking for falls more into the "rare collectible" section like "Sailor Moon Infinity". (which, if you think DBH is expensive, go price THAT book)