Introducing the hottest places in the Manga & Anime industry… TOKYO MANGA DEEP WALKER! Today, our destination is none other than the Holy Land of Otaku… yes, we’re going to Akihabara! But not for our regular dose of Manga madness, this time we’re looking for something more western… We’re going to be delivering all the goodness to you in 2 parts! Coming up… part 1! I guess you’re all familiar with American comics and their superheroes? Just as there are Manga fans all over the world, there are also loyal American comics fans here in Japan! But compared to locally produced manga, it may be a little hard to find specialty shops for those. So where in Japan do you go when you’re searching for a rare item? AKIHABARA off course! Our first stop today is a comic store called Blister, which specializes in American comics!! Blister can be found in this building… a mere 3 minute walk away from Akihabara Station!! Blister Comics is on the 3rd floor. This is the inside of Blister. As you can see, the shelves are crammed chock-a-block full of American comics, figures and related goods! Make no mistake, this is heaven for comic fans!! The majority of the customers who come here are Japanese fans of American comics. However, there are also foreigners living in Japan, and tourists searching for comics that aren’t sold in their countries! It really feels like an international gathering spot for comic fans! Feast your eyes on this! A wall of pure comics!! That’s quite a big selection right there! Japan might be known as the land of comics and animation, but the truth is that there are very few places in Japan where you can find this many comics. Blister boasts the largest range of imported comics of any shop in Japan!! Including all the back-numbers, there’s a huge amount of comics for each series! Sifting through a box of comics to find the one you want feels strange to us Japanese… it’s almost like looking for a record! I guess we’re just not used to such thin comics. But that’s part of the charm here! This is the “new releases” shelf! I can’t believe there are so many!! The American comic book publisher DC Comics sends fresh releases every week. That’s the great part about Blister! Even though it’s in Japan, we can enjoy the latest releases from America! You may be used to seeing American comics lined up like this in your country, but for us Japanese, this rare sight brings a tear to the eye!! Japan’s comic fan population certainly isn’t very large. But in recent years, thanks to all the movie adaptions of  MARVEL and DC comics, the amount of people who want to read the originals is on the rise! We also asked the shop staff about their recommendations!! Comics with upcoming movie adaptions are particularly popular! In 2016, a new movie called Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice is going to be released, so Superman and Batman are popular choices! And with a new Star Wars movie on the horizon, Star Wars comics are also selling like hot cakes! Check it out! It’s Megaman! In Japan, the Megaman videogame series is considered a classic. It’s good to know that they’re also appreciated in America! Dai loves playing Megaman, so he was very excited when he spotted this comic!! And who’s waiting for us next to the register? It’s Iron Man! And here you can touch fingers with E.T.! All these figures make this a really fun place to visit!! Finally, we have a comment from the staff: “Our shop is a haven for American comic fans in Japan!! If you’re in Japan, please come and visit us!” Thank you very much!! ■BLISTER comics■ Official Site 〒101-0021 Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Sotokanda 4-3-10 Business hours: 11:00 – 20:00 all year round. Telephone number: 03-6206-4404 Link to English google maps Photographer: Yoshio Kobayashi ↓↓↓ Missed our past articles? Read them all below! ↓↓↓

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