Shonen Jump 40th Anniversary Sofubi Special - Preorder

NCS was first introduced to Weekly Shonen Jump back in the 80s. We were just punk kids back then, wandering the wilds of New York City where bookstores like Kinokuniya and Asahiya became occasional haunts. A portly but attractive salesgirl at Asahiya pointed out Shonen Jump and recommended it. Each issue of Shonen Jump was as big as a dictionary but way more enjoyable to read. We were hooked, When the summer of 2008 rolls around, Shonen Jump will celebrate its 40th anniversary and a barrage of merchandising is on the way to mark the occasion.

The first salvo is a quintet of Sofubi (soft vinyl) figures - Goku, Kinnikuman, Naruto, Ichigo, and Luffy - who hail from five of the most popular works featured in Shonen Jump. Each figure measures 10cm or 3.93" tall and is designed by PansonWorks. Pricing is set at US$12.90 each but we have a separate listing for the complete set of five figures for the price of US$56.90. Preorders are welcome to ship in late August 2008.

Itsudemo Soroban DS - Preorder

Professor Ryuuta Kawashima and Nintendo gave the world Otona no DS Training aka Brain Training a few years ago and ignited a wave of non-games that enriched the lives of users the world over.

Professor Kawashima and Nintendo collaborate once again this summer with an NDS abacus tutor which teaches an old school means of crunching numbers. Before calculators and computers, the Chinese, Greeks, and Romans used the abacus to solve math problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Computing fractions and the square root of numbers is also possible with an abacus so it's a useful tool to get familiar with. Preorders are welcome to ship on June 19, 2008.

Hana Yori Dango -Koi Seyo Otome!- Preorder

In the Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) manga and anime, Tsukushi Makino is an average girl of average means who attends the exclusive Eitoku Academy in Yamanote. Tsukushi is initially unhappy at the school and bristles when faced with the trappings of wealth that the other students flaunt. Things change when Tsukushi gets acquainted with the F4 or "Flower Four" gang which is a quartet of boys from wealthy families who basically run the social calendar of the student body.

In Konami's upcoming NDS game based on the Hana Yori Dango, franchise, players take on the role of a girl who enters Eitoku Academy and follows in Tsukushi's footsteps. She'll be able to befriend characters from the series and perhaps find romance with a member of the F4 crew. There'll be virtual dating, touch-pen hand-holding, mini-games, and the bloom of digital love. Preorders are welcome to ship on July 10, 2008.

Pokemon Fire-Red Gameboy Advance SP - Clearance

Back on March 8, 2004, Nintendo released a pair of Pokemon-themed GBA SP units to celebrate the remakes of the original Pokemon games from back in the day. They were sold exclusively in Pokemon Centers in Japan. For today's sale, NCS puts the Fire Red version on the block which features a stenciled Charizard on the top lid and another stencil beastie on the left corner inside the unit.

Sale Offering: NCS' remaining inventory of Pokemon Fire-Red GBA SP is new and in very good condition. Please note that the boxes may have slight dings or dents from the occasional travails of warehouse storage. Pricing is set at US$179 US$105.90 per unit which includes free shipping by UPS Ground within the U.S. It may seem outré now but we sold a big bunch of these a few years ago at nearly US$200 each. Larger Photos.