Mandarake

The entrance to Nakano Broadway in Nakano, Tokyo. The complex houses Mandarake's first store and corporate offices.

Mandarake was established by manga artist Masuzo Furukawa. A member of the Garo Trio (ガロ三羽烏) along with Shinichi Abe and Yuji Suzuki, Furukawa and the group became known in the 1970s for their work in the alternative manga magazine Garo.[3] Initially established as a used manga store, Mandarake opened its first location at a seven-square meter storefront in the Nakano Broadway shopping complex in Nakano, Tokyo in 1980.[4][5] Furukawa developed a public profile and promoted Mandarake through his appearances on We Appraise Anything, a variety series on TV Tokyo in which he appeared as an appraiser for rare and vintage manga.[5][6]

The store was formally incorporated in February 1987, with Furukawa's father appointed as president.[2] The company subsequently began a process of expansion, acquiring multiple stores in Nakano Broadway and widening its scope to sell a broader range of otaku-related goods. Mandarake opened its second store in Shibuya in 1994, and began to steadily expand its number of stores thereafter.[5]

In 1995, the company established a publishing department that publishes Mandarake Manga List, a mail order catalog, and Mandarake Zenbu, a premium hobby magazine for collectors.[7] Mandarake was listed on Mothers and became a public company on July 26, 2000,[2] and moved to the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on February 1, 2015.[8] In 2001, Mandarake launched Mandaray, an internet streaming television channel, in partnership with Activision. The channel, which aired a variety of otaku-related content, suspended service in 2008.[5][9]

Mandarake New Special, one of 27 Mandarake-branded stores located in Nakano Broadway. This particular store specializes in toy robots such as Ultraman and Transformers.

As of September 2018, toy sales make up the majority of Mandarake's business, composing 48 percent of all non-consolidated sales. Books compose 14 percent of all sales, doujinshi compose 13 percent, and other publications that are not books or doujinshi compose 1 percent; the remaining 24 percent of sales are composed of miscellaneous items. Exports compose 17 percent of Mandarake's non-consolidated sales.[2]

In 2003, Mandarake was accused of selling improperly-acquired manuscripts by Kenshi Hirokane and Yayoi Watanabe. The items in question were sold to Mandarake by Hirokane and Watanabe's publisher Sakura Comics, rather than returned to the artists, in an unsuccessful attempt by the publisher to stave off bankruptcy. Mandarake contended that it had no way of knowing that Sakura Publishing was not permitted to sell the manuscripts; the manuscripts were ultimately returned to the artists in a subsequent lawsuit.[26]

In 2016, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department cited Mandarake under the Antique Business Law for insufficiently verifying the identities of individuals who purchased items from Mandarake in online auctions. Under that law, individuals purchasing secondhand goods must identify themselves with photo identification, in order for police to track the movement of secondhand goods that may have been stolen.[27] In response, the Tokyo District Court suspended Mandarake Complex's online sales license for one month, and fined the company ¥300,000.[28]

In 2018, an original illustration from Ai to Makoto, one of a series of fifteen believed lost in 1974, was listed for sale in an online auction by Mandarake. Ai to Makoto publisher Kodansha requested that the illustration be returned to the company, and issued a statement asking the public to not bid in the auction. The illustration ultimately sold at auction to a private buyer for ¥4 million.[29][30]

On November 16, 2012, a former Mandarake employee petitioned the Tokyo District Court for the payment of unpaid overtime from the company, claiming that he was not compensated for time spent at work before and after store opening hours. The plaintiff sought ¥2,292,246 in unpaid wages and additional damages of ¥2,194,046. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and ordered Mandarake to pay ¥2,233,606 in unpaid wages and additional damages of ¥2,108,165.[31]

On August 4, 2014, a vintage Tetsujin 28-go tin toy worth ¥250,000 was shoplifted from Mandarake Nakano. Mandarake posted an image of the shoplifter taken from security camera footage on their website with the subject's face obscured using mosaic censorship, alongside a statement that the image would be posted with the pixelation removed if the item was not returned within a week.[32] The Tokyo Metropolitan Police requested that Mandarake not publish the uncensored image;[33] though Mandarake initially stated that it would not comply with the request,[34] the company ultimately elected not to publish the uncensored image.[35]

The incident prompted a public debate over the ethics of Mandarake's actions, and whether they constituted an illegal threat of intimidation.[32] In an interview with Weekly Toyo Keizai, Mandarake president Masuzo Furukawa stated that decision to post the image was motivated by a desire to have the item returned, and to deter future shoplifters.[36] Shoko Nakagawa was among the public figures who voiced support for Mandarake's actions.[37]

On August 19, 2014, the shoplifter was identified as Kazutoshi Iwama and arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police after he attempted to sell the toy to another secondhand store. Iwama stated that he was unaware that Mandarake posted his image until after he was arrested.[38][39] He was later sentenced in court to one year of imprisonment and three years of probation.[40]