Comments on: Tokyo Teleport Station: On the Viability of Manga Cafes in North America

By: zalas

zalas — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:37:48 +0000

Maybe I should swing by the manga kissa next time I’m in SF. Would be interested to see what kind of manga they have, although I hardly read manga anymore (just packed up all my manga, too).

By: simplycomplex

simplycomplex — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:09:33 +0000

Interessant… so how’s about it? An (in)formal HD meet and greet, of sorts? Who’d be up for it, and possibly a tour of the MCM as well?

By: Nocturnesb

Nocturnesb — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:13:27 +0000

If I recall correctly, there’s a very modest manga kissa across the Bay in Berkeley as well. I remember passing it and seeing a single tall shelf filled with manga. Also, it looked like more of a ramen-shop than a ‘cafe’.

By: simplycomplex

simplycomplex — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:13:50 +0000

An excellent idea…

By: Seiya

Seiya — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:49:20 +0000

>>unangbangkay

I am indeed! But only just recently. Maybe we can organize an HD meetup sometime, it sounds like there’s quite a few people in the area.

By: unangbangkay

unangbangkay — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:27:24 +0000

You’re in SF, Seiya? I just moved there myself.

By: Sydney2K

Sydney2K — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:51:55 +0000

@icie

there’s a Mandarake in Australia???? There’s a manga kissa in Sydney, across from the Queen Victoria Building, next to Galaxy Bookshop. I don’t think it was called Mandarake though. I went in there, and joked that it needed internet connected PC’s a joke that fell flatter than Mike Myers’ career after the Love Guru.

By: MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Lots of links for New Year’s Eve

MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Lots of links for New Year’s Eve — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:53:19 +0000

[...] Heisei Democracy, which had been lying dormant for a while, and Seiya has an interesting piece on manga cafes in general and the manga cafe MIKA in particular. Be warned before you click, though, that there’s a lot [...]

By: simplycomplex

simplycomplex — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:38:45 +0000

Hoo, baby! Something I can actually relate to! I actually took a glimpse in there a few weeks ago, while out on the town with the family, and thought to myself ‘Gee, self… a manga library. Gosh-durn it, whut’ll them thur folks in Japan think of, next?’(Orrr… something like that, anyway.)

While I can’t exactly vouch for everything friend Seiya says first-hand(not yet, anyway), I must admit the place looked clean, well organized, and if they’ve got free wi-fi… I’m so totally there! Danke, Seiya-san! I intend to investigate further!

By: Zeroblade

Zeroblade — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:46:38 +0000

Oh man, I missed your TTS articles. I loved that one about subway infiltration!
Anyway, we’ve only had a manga cafe or two here that carried Japanese manga and some boring English stuff (as far as I know) and they still closed down in less than a year. Perhaps the non-other-country-markets are still not ready for things like these, or they’ll just need to change their business model a little (or a lot).

By: jyuichi

jyuichi — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:08:25 +0000

@adam
I hate the manga cows at borders, all the books are beat up before you buy them. They sprawl out across the floor with stacks of books next to them blocking the shelves. Its disgusting.

By: Seiya

Seiya — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:36:26 +0000

>>adam

You make a good point, although the tachiyomi (standing-reading) phenomenon exists in the Other Country as well

>>e-jump

I was under the impression that there were a few successful manga kissa in Singapore, but I’m not sure what that’s based on. Never been to LA, but I’ll support a meido-anything in this country.

>>icie

Obviously MIKA is nowhere near the level of Manboo, but I’m not convinced the business model is inherently incompatible with the US. It might require some adapting, but I’m not sure what exactly. Stocking American comics doesn’t feel right, somehow.

>>Reikon

I hadn’t thought of this, but you’re probably right. Even if the cost were the same, I’d still go for the atmosphere, but definitely in the minority on that.

I’ll agree that there are a lot of non-Japanese in Japantown, but I think this is an exaggeration. The top level of Kino is always packed with people who can read kanji, so it’s not impossible to do. I’m sure the combination of Japanese AND otaku is a bit rarer, but still…

By: Reikon

Reikon — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:08:26 +0000

The problem is that most people don’t read manga that quickly. It takes many people an hour or so. Comparing that to the sale prices of manga (why pay retail?), it’s really not much cheaper and can even be more expensive if you read slowly.

Also, I don’t really see that many Japanese people in Japantown, so I don’t know if having that much manga in Japanese would be of much use. Japantown is nothing like Chinatown. It’s almost all non-Japanese visitors.

By: icie

icie — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:36:03 +0000

Seems rather less successful than manga kissa chains in Japan like Manboo. I suppose transplanting an essentially Japanese business model outside of Japan, in this case, fails quite a bit.
There are manga kissa-like things here in Australia too. For example, the Mandarake branch here has (or had, I haven’t checked them recently) a small section with computers and access to some shelves of manga. Perhaps more viable are the manga “rental” places, but those are mostly Chinese-translated ones.
Now, I’d much more interested in the viability of maid cafes outside of Japan.

By: e-jump

e-jump — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:33:39 +0000

Kind of challenging to have something like this on other country. I’ve been to Singapore and found one promo booth who wants to market this similar service somewhere there. I hope it survives. In Malaysia, i believe theres none that cater specifically all manga.

Anyway when I was in Little Tokyo LA, i didnt notice any manga kissa over there, and only 1 meido kissa(moar like a pub to me). The place now looks rundown which is sad. Their cultural week activities looks interesting, but i wonder how long they can last.