The Akiba Haul: Part 1

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale for a very expensive haul post, likely one of my most expensive hauls from a brick and mortar store in quite a while. That being said, we here at Tiro Finale in now way condone reckless spending and much of what you will you read in this following haul post are items that have been carefully deliberated and with prices compared against the present market trends. With that said, we can dive straight into this week's haul post. As this is a larger than ordinary haul, we will be splitting the haul post into two parts with this first part covering the items purchased from Mandarake's Complex in Akihabara.

Mandarake is one of the most famed hobby stores from Japan known throughout the world and most, if not all, of their products are actually pre-owned products. But, that has not stopped even the most seasoned collectors from purchasing from them as their meticulous sorting options mean that you are often able to get mint, unopened figures for a fraction of their original price. These as-good-as-new figures are the reason I started my collection with Mandarake and still continue to do so after all these years. 

For those of you who have read our Mandarake Akiba tour, this particular acrylic stand of Dia may look rather familiar. A special request from our fellow writer, takuya, I had to search high and low for this acrylic stand only to find it tucked away behind other similar acrylic stands from a different series. 

Manufactured by Sega, this acrylic stand was more than likely an arcade prize judging by the "Not For Sale" designation. Aside from a simple manual to explain its construction and usage, there is not much else to this acrylic stand. Not that it matter much anyway as I suspect most Dia fans would just leave the stand as is and appreciate Dia's pointing gesture. Interestingly enough, this acrylic stand is actually made in Japan.

On his way to collect every possible and conceivable Dia merchandise, this Kurosawa Dia acrylic multi stand costs 600 Yen. Certainly a very fair price considering the prices acrylic goods fetch these days. 

The next on the list is also the first figure and one that I featured in Part One of our Mandarake Complex tour, Nendoroid Senjougahara Hitagi. Remember when I said Mandarake is one of the best places to find great deals on figures? Well, look no further than this prime example of a premium figure sold at a bargain basement price point. 

Neatly wrapped up in a plastic seal, Nendoroid Senjougahara's box is impeccable. Not only is it unopened, there are no visible signs of box damage on any parts of this Premium Box. As one of the few Nendoroid's to have been released with a Premium Item Box, there are several extras included together with the Nendoroid itself. Mainly the inclusion of several clear posters, can badges and a specially designed box. 

Originally retailing for 5,700 Yen, Mandarake was selling this mint, unopened Nendoroid for 4,000 Yen. It is not unheard of for Nendoroid(s) to drop in price following the release and gradual decline in popularity of the series. Nevertheless, this is the Monogatari series that we are referring. Not only has it remained relevant throughout all its years, the demand for merchandise remains as strong as it ever was. As such, you can see why takuya urgently requested that I snatch up this Nendoroid to be added to his growing collection.

Finally coming to the third and final item of this part of the haul, this is something very special to me. Nozomi's Birthday Figure, one that I have eyeing for so long and a figure that I first fell in love with when I saw her in Sega's Birthday Shrine some two years back. While I had been infrequently looking out for her, the price point always made me shy away especially with many re-sellers asking for a price well above her 11,000 Yen original asking price. Moreover, the particular one I was looking for had to be unopened and inclusive of the pre-order bonus clear file. That just made things a whole lot more complicated.

Most recently, following my wholly unsuccessful scout for a UR Nozomi in the School Idol Festival mobile game, I was left rather bitter and burned. The following morning, I firmly decided that if I was not getting a virtual Nozomi, I would darn well be getting a physical one! As luck would have it, I set out on my journey to find a suitable Nozomi figure to be added to the collection only to find that Mandarake Akiba had just the Nozomi figure I had been searching for.

There she way, 7,000 Yen for a mint, unopened Nozomi Birthday Figure inclusive of the pre-order bonus. There were minor dents on the very edges of the box but, at this price I was rather unconcerned. I had been ready to fork up to 9,000 Yen for her and seeing her at 7,000 Yen, the lowest I had ever seen, I knew she was not going to be sitting there for long. Only put on the shelves the day before, I made no hesitation on purchasing this very special figure and finally adding it to my collection. 

Personally, Nozomi's Birthday Figure is one that means a lot to me and one that I am very happy to add to the collection. The fact that she came with the bonus and at a bargain price just serves as the icing on the cake. With another steal in the form of Nendoroid Senjougahara together in the mix, I would classify this haul as a great success indeed. But, that is not all as there is a second part yet to come which focuses on items from Lashinbang. Stay tuned for that as we shift our focus to the bread and butter of Tiro Finale, the Madoka Magica series. Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!