Every two months Japanese collectibles super-retailer Mandarake holds an online auction for some of the most choice items that make it into to their inventory. Things like original sketches from mangaka, rare toys, animation cels, and even more show up during these “Zenbu” auction events, with prices on some items in the tens of thousands of dollars. While the above items are amongst the most popular featured, periodically some incredibly rare and desirable manga zasshi (magazines) will also make the cut with 2 of the most coveted making an appearance in their most recent auction block.
First up was a copy of the Animal House 1989 October issue which features the first chapter in the serialization of Kentaro Miura’s BERSERK. Running from 15 October until yesterday, 11 November 2025, this particular issue fetched a final total of ¥1,800,000. The condition on this issue was noted at a 9 out of 10, and knowing Mandarake's strict grading scale, that's quite the feat for a 35+ year old manga magazine.
Ending the following day, a copy of the even more desirable ComiComi 1988 November issue which featured Kentaro Miura's prototype chapter for BERSERK sold for ¥2,000,000. This doesn't seem like too big of a difference from the first chapter issue, until you realize that the condition is lower and the damage notes indicate scratches, creases, and other defects on the issue. Knowing that some collectors only want the cream of the crop for their personal collections, it's easy to imagine this book fetching a higher price in much better shape.
The scene for collecting manga zasshi has definitely been picking up over the past several years, much like all collectibles really, but considering the growing popularity of anime and manga this may only be the beginning for this hobby. These magazines are the true introduction points for many massively popular franchises, and they weren't made with the greatest materials or even considered collectible by most of their readers. Maybe we'll see a day where these become just as coveted by fans worldwide as first appearance comic books are.
