Portgas D. Ace figures from Japan: P.O.P, Figuarts ZERO, kuji or prize?

Ace has been gone from the ONE PIECE story since Marineford, yet he is still one of the most merchandised characters in the series. Because no current arc drives new stock, his figures arrive in anniversary bursts, and much of the catalogue is out of production at any given moment. On Japanese resale sites that makes the second-hand market the main way in, not the bargain bin. The first thing to sort out is which of four channels a figure came from, because that tells you most of the price story.

The four channels

• Portrait.Of.Pirates (P.O.P), Megahouse. The premium scale line, made in limited runs. Multi-figure and NEO-MAXIMUM pieces sit around $100 to $250+ second-hand.
• Figuarts ZERO, Bandai Spirits. Mid-size fixed-pose figures, the sensible default at roughly $25 to $60 sealed.
• Ichiban Kuji prizes. BANDAI SPIRITS' in-store lottery. A賞 is the headline figure of a campaign and ラストワン賞 goes to whoever draws the last ticket; lower letters are often towels or glasses rather than figures. Roughly $25 to $60 depending on the letter.
• Prize figures: KING OF ARTIST, DXF, Grandline Men. Crane-machine prizes from Banpresto. The box says 非売品 (not for sale) and there was never a shop price, so they trade around $6 to $35.

A kuji listing that says 一番くじ エース without a prize letter is worth a question before you bid. Note also that an unopened A賞 Ace can be priced above a sealed Figuarts ZERO: the campaign ended, and the only supply left is people who drew that ticket.

Searching in Japanese

エース on its own is a common word and returns thousands of unrelated items. Search by line instead: フィギュアーツZERO エース, ポートレートオブパイレーツ エース, 一番くじ ワンピース エース, KING OF ARTIST エース. For condition, 新品未開封 means new and sealed, 未開封 unopened, 開封済み opened. Opened prize figures are normal and usually go for 20 to 40 percent less.

Bootleg warning signs

The P.O.P sculpts are the ones worth copying, and Ace's flame effects and open coat hide shortcuts in photos. Things to look at: flame parts that are flat orange with mould seams instead of a gradient; a smeared or misaligned ASCE arm tattoo or back mark; a box heavy on English with low-resolution photos and no Japanese spec block; and a "P.O.P" priced like a prize figure. The rule that catches most of them is simple: skip listings that show only the maker's promo render and no photo of the actual item.

Two practical notes

Many of the best Ace sculpts are Luffy & Ace or Ace & Sabo pieces, and the two-figure sets are often better value per figure than a solo release of similar size. Figure boxes are light but bulky, and international carriers bill on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, so buying the Ace, Sabo and Luffy in one window and shipping them together usually beats three parcels. For US buyers, the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies, so since 29 August 2025 parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees.

Disclosure: this post comes from the OneMall team. OneMall is a Japan proxy-shopping and forwarding service, so the link below is commercial. It points to our longer Portgas D. Ace figure guide, with the line-by-line table, search terms and buying steps. OneMall does not independently authenticate listings or guarantee product condition.

Which Ace do you have on the shelf: a P.O.P, a Figuarts ZERO or a crane-game prize?

Beyblade X codes from Japan: reading BX, UX and CX listings

Beyblade X launched in Japan in July 2023, and Takara Tomy still releases it there first; Hasbro's international versions follow later and rename several beys. That makes Japanese resale listings the deepest pool for event colours, opened Random Booster pulls and loose parts, but only if you can read the codes in the titles. Here is the short version of how they work.

The product code: BX, UX, CX

• BX-nn, the Basic Line. The launch line. Numbers run in release order, and system products live here too: BX-10 is the Xtreme Stadium, BX-11 the Launcher Grip, BX-37 the two-lane Double Xtreme Stadium.
• UX-nn, the Unique Line. Beys with non-standard gimmicks, such as Wizard Rod, Silver Wolf and Meteo Dragoon. These tend to be what adult collectors hunt.
• CX-nn, the newest prefix. A different construction with a longer part code (Night Fortress GV8-70UN is the pattern), so CX parts are not always interchangeable with BX/UX parts.
• BX-00 / UX-00. Event, campaign and limited items rather than shelf products, usually priced above shelf.

The product type

• スターター (Starter): bey plus launcher. Buy this first if you own no launcher.
• ブースター (Booster): the bey alone.
• ランダムブースター (Random Booster): a blind box with a fixed pool. Listings marked 開封済み・中身確定 (opened, contents confirmed) let you buy a specific pull without gambling.
• Deck Sets bundle three beys with a launcher and a deck case; entry sets add a stadium.

The bey name is a parts list

Take Phoenix Wing 9-60GF. Phoenix Wing is the Blade. 9-60 is the Ratchet: nine protrusions, 6.0 mm high (the second number is the height in tenths of a millimetre). GF is the Bit, Gear Flat. Other Bits you will see in titles: F Flat, LF Low Flat, B Ball, FB Free Ball, DB Disc Ball, T Taper, HT High Taper, N Needle, P Point, S Spike, A Accel, C Cyclone. Because parts swap within a line, loose ratchets and bits from opened boosters are a real sub-market; search パーツ (parts) alongside ベイブレードX.

Three things to check in a listing

• Match by the Japanese bey name, not the Hasbro name, or you will compare two different products.
• Each Takara Tomy product carries a QR code for Bey Points in the BEYBLADE X app. On a used bey that code may already be claimed, which only matters if you play the app.
• Look for the Takara Tomy logo and QR sticker in the photos. Takara Tomy Asia releases carry multilingual packaging but the same beys. If you buy through a forwarder, unboxing photos before international shipping are a cheap way to confirm what actually arrived.

Prices and shipping

In a sweep of 368 live Japanese listings on 11 September 2026 the median asking price was ¥4,199, with Starters around ¥4,179 and Random Boosters around ¥3,500 at the median; rare event colours run far higher. The one item to think twice about is the BX-10 stadium: it is a large, light box, and carriers bill on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher. For US buyers, the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies, so since 29 August 2025 parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees.

Disclosure: this post comes from the OneMall team. OneMall is a Japan proxy-shopping and forwarding service, so the link below is commercial. It points to our longer Beyblade X product codes guide, with full tables of codes, parts and price ranges. OneMall does not independently authenticate listings or guarantee product condition.

Which line do you collect: BX, UX or the new CX beys?

Jujutsu Kaisen goods from Japan: reading Culling Game listings

The Culling Game arc finished its Japanese broadcast months before most overseas fans started watching it. Season 3 ran for 12 episodes from 9 January to 27 March 2026 on MBS/TBS, and the goods tied to it were made for the Japanese domestic market that spring. Many of them now circulate only on Japanese second-hand marketplaces, so the useful skill for an overseas fan is reading those listings.

Three kinds of goods that rarely leave Japan

• Ichiban Kuji prizes. BANDAI SPIRITS sells the lottery at convenience stores, bookshops and hobby shops in Japan. Every ticket wins something, from a figure to a towel, but there is no international channel, so prizes outside Japan almost always come out of a Japanese resale listing.
• Prize-line (景品) figures. SEGA, Taito, FuRyu and Banpresto make crane-game and lottery figures that are not sold at retail. Lines such as Luminasta, FIGURIZMα, MAXIMATIC and Noodle Stopper show up constantly in Japanese listings and rarely in Western shops.
• Event and store exclusives. Jump Shop items, cinema bonus goods from the 2025 Execution compilation film and pop-up-shop acrylic stands are small runs made for one venue.

Search terms that actually work

• Search 呪術廻戦 rather than "Jujutsu Kaisen". Japanese sellers title listings in Japanese, and the English query returns a fraction of them.
• Narrow with フィギュア (figure), 一番くじ (Ichiban Kuji) or アクリルスタンド (acrylic stand).
• Character names: 五条悟 (Gojo Satoru), 虎杖悠仁 (Itadori Yuji), 伏黒恵 (Fushiguro Megumi), 釘崎野薔薇 (Kugisaki Nobara), 両面宿儺 (Ryomen Sukuna).
• Add 死滅回游 (Culling Game) to separate the new arc from the much larger pile of Shibuya-arc and earlier goods.

A short glossary for the listing text

• A賞 / B賞 / ラストワン賞: kuji prize tier. Check that the tier in the title matches the figure in the photo.
• 景品 / プライズ: prize item. Made for crane games, never sold in shops.
• 未開封 / 開封品 / 中古: unopened / opened / used.
• 箱傷み: box damage. Prize boxes are thin, so this is common and usually means exactly what it says.
• 内袋未開封: opened box, inner bag still sealed.
• 非売品: not for sale. A campaign or event item with no retail equivalent.

One check before you pay

Prize figures always name a maker in the listing: SEGA, Taito, FuRyu, Banpresto or BANDAI SPIRITS. A "figure" with no maker named anywhere in the title, description or box photo deserves a closer look at the photos before you commit, and if you buy through a forwarder, ask for unboxing photos before it ships internationally.

Shipping

Figure boxes are light but bulky. Carriers bill on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, so an empty-looking box can cost more than its weight suggests, and combining an acrylic stand or two with a figure in one parcel usually makes sense. For US buyers: the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies, so since 29 August 2025 parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees.

Disclosure: this post comes from the OneMall team. OneMall is a Japan proxy-shopping and forwarding service, so the link below is commercial. It points to our longer guide to buying Jujutsu Kaisen merch from Japan, which has example listings, a route comparison and source links for the dates above. OneMall does not independently authenticate listings or guarantee product condition.

Which do you collect: kuji prizes, prize-line figures or the small acrylic and can-badge goods?

Evangelion 30th anniversary goods: how to read the Japanese listings

Evangelion turned thirty in October 2025, and almost everything released for the anniversary was built around physical presence in Japan: an arena show, a convenience-store lottery, a store that ships domestically and cinema screenings with attendance gifts. None of it had an international storefront. Most of it now circulates on Japanese second-hand marketplaces, and the hard part for an overseas fan is reading those listings, not finding them.

Where the anniversary goods came from

• Ichiban Kuji. The 30th anniversary kuji went on sale on 6 February 2026 at ¥790 per draw in Seven-Eleven, Ito-Yokado, Yume Town and the EVANGELION STORE. The A prize is a 43 cm Unit-01 with light wings. You had to be standing in a Japanese shop to draw.
• EVANGELION:30+. The three-day event ran 21–23 February 2026 at Yokohama Arena. Venue goods from shows like this reach the resale market within days.
• EVANGELION STORE. Store originals ship inside Japan only.
• Cinema revivals. Attendance gifts (入場者特典) were never sold at all.

Why buying the prize beats chasing the lottery

Every kuji ticket wins something, but the top tier cannot be bought directly. You buy ¥790 draws until you hit it or someone else does, and shops do not restock a box mid-run. The Last One prize (ラストワン賞) goes to whoever takes the final ticket, so there is exactly one per box. A resale listing shows a fixed price and a photo of the actual item. If you are outside Japan, that is the only realistic route anyway.

A short glossary for Japanese Evangelion listings

• 一番くじ: Ichiban Kuji prize. Prize-only, never sold at retail.
• ラストワン賞: Last One prize. One per box.
• A賞 / B賞 / C賞: prize tier. Check that the tier matches the figure in the photo.
• 新世紀: the 1995 TV series and goods from that era.
• ヱヴァンゲリヲン / シン: the Rebuild films and the final film. Different designs and different sculpts.
• 初号機 / 零号機 / 弐号機: Unit-01 / Unit-00 / Unit-02.
• 非売品: not for sale. A campaign or event item with no retail equivalent anywhere.
• 当時物: from the period. Original 1990s goods, not a modern reissue.
• 未開封 / 美品 / 中古: unopened / excellent / used. Japanese sellers use these precisely.

Search tips

• Search エヴァンゲリオン rather than "Evangelion". Character names work even better: 綾波レイ, アスカ, 渚カヲル, 碇シンジ, 真希波マリ.
• Add 30周年 to separate anniversary goods from the thousands of older listings.
• Decide between prize and retail before you sort by price. 一番くじ items and scale figures are separate markets, and a mixed list looks random.
• Judge the photo, not the title. Prize figures get relisted under generic titles, and sellers usually photograph the actual box, damage included. Kuji boxes are thin, so "box creased, figure sealed" is common and means what it says.
• 1990s 当時物 goods are often priced as old toys, not memorabilia. Sealed TV-era figures can cost less than a modern blind box.

Shipping

Figures are light but bulky. Carriers charge by actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, so a few prize boxes can cost more to ship than their weight suggests. Combining several items in one parcel is usually the sensible move. For US buyers: the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies, so since 29 August 2025 parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees.

Disclosure: this post comes from the OneMall team. OneMall is a Japan proxy-shopping and forwarding service, so the link below is commercial. It points to our longer guide to buying Evangelion merch from Japan, which has example listings, the kuji breakdown and source links for the dates above. OneMall does not independently authenticate listings or guarantee product condition.

Which era do you collect: original TV-series 当時物, Rebuild goods or the new 30th anniversary items?

Where new Sailor Moon goods actually come out in Japan

Sailor Moon is often treated as a 1990s nostalgia hunt, but the franchise still releases new goods in Japan almost every month. The catch is that most of them come out through domestic channels that were never designed to export anything. Knowing which channel an item came from tells you how to search for it and whether the second-hand market is your only option.

1. The Sailor Moon store

The official store in Harajuku, its pop-up branches and the Japanese-language Sailor Moon store ONLINE sell store originals: acrylic stands, anniversary T-shirts, birthday goods and collaboration items. The online shop expects a Japanese address and ships with domestic carriers, so overseas fans usually need a forwarding address or a second-hand listing.

2. Convenience-store campaigns

Lawson and 7-Eleven campaigns are counter promotions with a start date and a fixed stock level. The official site's 18 August 2026 announcement, for example, put Kaleidomoon Scope and Crystal Change Rod bag charms (¥2,200), trading hologram acrylic keyrings (¥880, one at random per box) and name acrylic keyrings (¥1,320) into Lawson stores and the Sailor Moon store. Once a campaign ends, resale is the only route.

3. Ichiban Kuji and other lotteries

Kuji prizes are drawn on paper tickets in Japanese shops. The Last One prize goes to whoever draws the final ticket at each shop, so its total supply is roughly the number of shops that ran the campaign. Search ラストワン賞 together with the campaign name.

4. Prize and capsule machines

Arcade prize figures (プライズ) and capsule goods (ガチャ / カプセル) are stocked in Japanese machines. Complete capsule sets often appear on Japanese marketplaces after collectors finish swapping duplicates.

5. Exhibitions and stage productions

Venue-limited goods and bromides from exhibitions and the musicals are sold at the venue counter. Some pieces later appear online, many never do.

6. Free novelties

Purchase bonuses, such as the A6 Luna clear file given away from 21 August 2026, cannot be bought new at any price. They only reach collectors through resale.

Search tips for Japanese listings

• Search both 美少女戦士セーラームーン and セーラームーン. The full title and the short form return different results, and both return far more than "Sailor Moon".
• Add the channel word: 一番くじ, ラストワン賞, プライズ, ガチャ, ストアオリジナル (store original), ノベルティ (novelty), 限定 (limited).
• For blind-box items, buying the exact character second-hand avoids paying for random duplicates.
• Check whether a transformation item is a can mirror, a charm or a Proplica collector replica. Titles separate them clearly; thumbnails do not.

The small-item problem

Many of these goods cost a few hundred to a couple of thousand yen, so international shipping for one piece rarely makes sense. Collecting several small items and shipping them together in one box is the usual way to keep freight reasonable.

Disclosure: this post comes from the OneMall team. OneMall is a Japan proxy-shopping and forwarding service, so the link below is commercial. It points to our longer guide to buying Sailor Moon merch from Japan, which includes the channel table, fee notes and links to the official announcements. OneMall does not independently authenticate listings or guarantee product condition.

Which channel has been the hardest for you to track: kuji prizes, konbini campaigns or store originals?