Mandarake CoCoo

Discussion in 'Paradise Garage' started by spacemonkey66, Nov 8, 2019.

  1. poysntixels

    poysntixels Post Pimp

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    2,598
    Location:
    The old RoseLawn Hill
    Name:
    AnotherSteve
    Mandarake CoCoo
    They are not terribly accurate with their photos... harrumph.
     
  2. skaldavsatanssol

    skaldavsatanssol Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Messages:
    495
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I don’t speak Spanish but I watched the recent coverage of CoCoo and man the shelves are absolutely BARREN! I last visited the storefront in 2020 and it was packed out the wazoo with vintage and neokaiju. A friend told me that Mandarake is now setting aside the majority of incredible pieces for their Zenbu auctions. Reviewing this footage it sounds quite likely. I may skip a visit here completely next year.

     
    rattanicus and Alebrije like this.
  3. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2006
    Messages:
    10,196
    Location:
    The Grim North
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I was there late last year and seem to recall that most of the items destined for the auction (HS springs to mind) were still on display in the cabinets at Cocoo (marked 'NOT FOR SALE'), just as in previous years they had been displayed at Nakano and/or Shibuya.

    Irregardless, even despite the sparse cabinets and crazy pricing, being so close to the subway station and being so focussed on sofubi, for collectors I'd say it would be a no brainer, just out of morbid curiosity and on the off-chance you stumble on a grail (but don't expect a 'bargain' if you do).
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2023
    skaldavsatanssol likes this.
  4. JoeMan

    JoeMan Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2007
    Messages:
    4,962
    Location:
    NJ
    Instagram:
    splurrt
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Could just be a return of post covid tourism cleaned out the store. But the secondary market prices on most stuff have really dropped a lot after the recent insanity. I’m surprised how low the prices are on a lot of stuff at Mandarake. Could be a lot less people selling at prices Mandarake is paying. So less inventory.
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  5. djkemp

    djkemp Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2014
    Messages:
    248
    Location:
    Oxfordshire
    Name:
    Dave
    Instagram:
    djkempuk
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I was in Japan about a month ago and was really disappointed with all the Mandarake's. Sapporo had one tiny cabinet with about five vintage pieces in, Complex now has no vintage sofubi at all, CoCoo was half empty as was Shibuya. Luckily I had other shops to go too but if I only knew about Mandarake's and was looking for vintage I wouldn't have bought anything.
     
  6. Roger

    Roger Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,300
    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Name:
    Roger
    Instagram:
    rogzilla71
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I remember Shibuya had a couple of cases where sofubi was just crammed into them when I was there in 2019. Was it just the sofubi stocks that seemed depleted, or the diecast too?
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2023
  7. michael

    michael Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2006
    Messages:
    2,461
    flickr:
    ghastlymichael
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I went to cocoo last month and walked out with one of my vintage grails priced nice, and wasn’t listed online.

    shibuya is busted for vintage, but they still have plenty of great other things.
     
    Alebrije and poysntixels like this.
  8. joeytwintail

    joeytwintail Fresh Meat

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2005
    Messages:
    48
    Mandarake CoCoo
    How well are the shops mentioned stocked with more modern sofubi, such as turn-of-the-century Marmits, Kaiju Ken, US Toys, Artstorm, etc. Are there any shops other than Mandarake that would carry these?
     
  9. Roger

    Roger Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,300
    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Name:
    Roger
    Instagram:
    rogzilla71
    Mandarake CoCoo
    HOLY SHIT, IT'S JOEY TWIN TAIL!!!

    In my experience, Mandarake was the main place to find modern figures from the makers you mentioned. In Akihabara or Nakano, toy stores that carried sofubi mainly carried vintage stuff and if you found anything modern there, it was more likely than not something from M1GO or the modern Marusan or Bullmark.
     
    joeytwintail likes this.
  10. joeytwintail

    joeytwintail Fresh Meat

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2005
    Messages:
    48
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Thanks, good to know about the differences! Of the stores that carry modern, do they still have a good amount of those on shelves?
     
  11. Roger

    Roger Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,300
    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Name:
    Roger
    Instagram:
    rogzilla71
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I haven't been there recently enough to let you know but maybe someone else who's been there in the past couple of months can chime in.

    Nice to see you, Joey!
     
  12. akum6n

    akum6n Vintage

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2006
    Messages:
    7,356
    Location:
    Shima
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Visited CoCoo for the first time last week. Totally dead- must have been only a few people in the entire store. Lots of product in the cases, but the vibe is weird, like going to a museum or something. Very different from the 'classic' Mandarake, packed to the brim with both high and low-end items.

    I thought it was strange that CoCoo was so slow, given that a few blocks away, Complex was jamming with foreigners.
     
    bbb likes this.
  13. bbb

    bbb Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2011
    Messages:
    2,418
    Name:
    Ben
    Instagram:
    sofubbb
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Their next auction has some very drool worthy vintage heavy hitters I’d love to see in person someday. Some of which probably do belong in a museum.
     
  14. Kuolio

    Kuolio Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2013
    Messages:
    343
    Mandarake CoCoo
    What is that Ultraseven with a white head and red eyes and mouth?

    [​IMG]

    Sorry for the hotlink.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2024
  15. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2006
    Messages:
    10,196
    Location:
    The Grim North
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Mandarake Kyoto felt the same, despite having a nice, diverse range of product and stock.
     
    Alebrije likes this.
  16. bbb

    bbb Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2011
    Messages:
    2,418
    Name:
    Ben
    Instagram:
    sofubbb
    Mandarake CoCoo
    I've just received the latest Zenbu, and it's labeled as a giant Ultra Ace from 1971. The issue is really wonderful for any vintage collectors.

    (Sorry for the shitty photo. I can scan it if you'd like):
    [​IMG]
     
    rattanicus, Kuolio and HBCoffin like this.
  17. Kuolio

    Kuolio Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2013
    Messages:
    343
    Mandarake CoCoo
    Oh thank you! That pic is great! It looks more familiar with the whole body shots, but can't place if I've ever seen it before or where it would have been.

    Edit. I was probably thinking of these other later less rare variants that I've seen but never looked into.

    [​IMG]

    I need to get that Zenbu catalog too! (I should buy more of them in general. They're a nice resource.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2024
    rattanicus and bbb like this.
  18. Roger

    Roger Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    Messages:
    8,300
    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Name:
    Roger
    Instagram:
    rogzilla71
    Mandarake CoCoo
    rattanicus, Kuolio and bbb like this.

Share This Page