Assuming that you’re not in Japan, you’re most likely very limited when it comes to buying visual novel-related items from websites aimed at you. You’ll be able to find some things on websites like J-List such as the Riddle Joker Nendoroid, Maitetsu plushie, or YOU and ME and HER wall scroll, but they don’t offer everything available.
If you want to explore further, you need to widen your search. This article will mention a few options, but it can’t cover everything.
Keep in mind that most of these options are based in Japan. Online storefronts there often don’t ship internationally. An import service such as ZenMarket (which signing up for through this link gives you 800 Yen worth of free-shipping) may be needed. You should probably also note that most of these links do show 18+ content, thus you may wish to browse them in privacy.
Amazon JP, Rakuten, Y! Auctions, and more via ZenMarket
Though they offer an import service, using ZenMarket directly is also an option. It has a built-in search engine which can be used to search some of the more popular stores. I’ve used it to find and buy physical copies of Japanese visual novels.
There are many other similar services, some good and some reportedly not so good, but this is the one I’ve always had a positive experience using.
If you can’t find what you want via the site directly, you can copy/paste the URL and post it into ZenMarket if you want to use it to buy items from elsewhere.
You can find an in-depth post on how to search using ZenMarket here.
Getchu
Getchu has a specific section just for dakimakura and another for ‘R18 Anime‘ which probably gives you an idea about the niche this website serves. It has a wide range of anime goods, which range from more popular anime items to niche ones like figures for Yuzusoft visual novels.
Melonbooks
Despite the name, Melonbooks sells a lot more than books. That said, it does have a nice art book section.
You’ll find physical copies of visual novels (some bundled with extras), tapestries, acrylics, and more. Some items may even have bonuses, such as a tapestry that you can only get when buying Koibana Renai from Melonbooks.
DMM Store
You may have heard of DMM as a place to buy digital games, but did you know they do physical goods too?
As one example, they have an Alicesoft section with tapestries, dakimakuras, keychains, and more from titles like Beat Blades Haruka, Dohna Dohna, and Rance.
It is worth noting that you may not be able to access it without a VPN in some countries. I use Tunnelbear which gives a small free allowance and works for me.
Visual Arts Store
Quite a few publishers have specific stores, so it’s no surprise that one as well-known as Visual Arts does. This store has items from all of its titles, from its 1999 title Kanon to their newest releases.
The selection for this store is quite small, but finding artbooks and acrylic stands for these types of series is a rarity. I’ll personally be keeping an eye out for their next calendar with art based on all of their series.
Aquaplus Store
If you’ve read my reviews, you may realize that I like Aquaplus quite a bit, so I was happy to find this store. It sells a variety of goods for To Heart 2, Utawarerumono, Monochrome Mobius, White Album, and Dungeon Travelers.
You can find soundtracks, acrylics, t-shirts, first editions of the games, and more here.
…and More
So that’s just a few of the options available. You can look around the major stores like Amazon JP and large anime stores like Getchu, or you may find some items only in the publisher’s specific store. But yes, if you’re not in Japan, then you probably will need to use ZenMarket or another service to get it delivered to you.
Want to check out some more stores? Here are a few that we’ve seen recommended:
Once again, please do keep in mind that these are just a few examples to help you start your search. There’s a lot to explore out there.
If you are looking for more visual novel articles, you might like to check out our reviews The Quintessential Quintuplets – Five Memories Spent With You, or our review of Aoi Tori. And you can find out about some other types of stores like Gust and Koei Tecmo here.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
