GURPS continued

Published in 1994, these were, really, the first two books that started me on my search for the older manga.

I had seen a picture of the first "RING DREAMS" book on the cover of a magazine from Britain (?!) that was for sale at a bookstore in my area; this was in 1996. While the mag did not go into any depth about "RING DREAMS" per se (it was more an article about RPG games in general), the fact that it existed, and now I knew it, was all it really took; the hunt was on.

Seemed simple enough ... internet search for GURPS "Ring Dreams"; somebody's selling it, right? mmmmmmm ... no. OK, fine ... contact the folks at GURPS headquarters. Well ... they said, if I could find it, they'd love to see it! Seems it was ONLY published in Japan; under license of ... that sort of thing ... the North American company, at least the person that had responded to my query, had never seen a copy, but did know of it. Okayyyyy ... Now, the compulsion was starting to kick in.

I had found one or two websites in Japan that referenced the game and books, no scans or anything though, so had some confirmation that MAYBE in Japan, some were out in the market place. After going through local Japanese bookstores (I luckily live in an area that has a couple), I found out that the books were out of print and unavailable. Bugger that ... next option ... auctions.

As many of you reading this may know, it's one thing to find an item on Yahoo Japan, or another auction site, it's quite another to bid on it. If you don't have a Japanese issued credit card, registration is next to impossible, plus, almost all sellers will not ship items out of Japan. Three options exist: proxy bidding firms (expensive!), use friends that live in Japan (good, but how many have that option?) or, get on plane and hit the streets ... ok, yes ... also expensive, but hey, you're in JAPAN! Anyway, I have used the second two options over the years, as I have a contact in Tokyo who, for a price, will do my bidding for me. Pricey, but less than the formal proxy firms. Actually hooked up with him via an item he was selling on eBay ... when I found out he lived in Japan, I just asked if he'd take me on ... never hurts to ask ... and have since met up with him for cheap sushi on several trips to Tokyo ("The way to a man's heart ..."; keep those contacts happy!).

So, there you have it. That's the story of how I came to start gathering my collection together. Many, I've tracked down in used bookstores, taking hours and days to look though the shelves. Some, I've acquired through private-company auctions that deal in Japanese collectibles; many manga are considered that; collectible (STUPID expensive! That's where the REALLY hard-to-find stuff is and the collectors bid it up.). Sill looking and adding at this point, though "new" stuff is getting harder and harder to find.