Where to buy manga in Manila?

Hello, everyone! You're reading this post so I guess you're trying to find places on where to buy manga in Metro Manila, right? I have some suggestions here so please keep on reading! :)

Actually, I did just the same thing as you. I used to search on where to buy manga in Metro Manila. Sadly, manga is really rare here in the Philippines. The most useful post I saw with my search is this blog, but it seems it hasn't been updated for several years now. I can't promise anything but I'll try to update this post as much as I can. Here goes...

1. SM Megamall National Book Store/SM Megamall NBS (Ground Floor Building A)

They have a small collection of manga. As of writing, there are two small bookshelves occupied by manga. The shelves are located at the farthest almost-corner of this branch. 

It's a manga collection consisting of popular shounen manga titles, my heart which is craving for shoujo manga is devastated! But, I chanced on a manga I don't know by then, its title is Koba Cute! It's a shoujo manga! I'm ashamed I haven't heard about this manga being a fan of shoujo that I am, but I decided to give it a try so I bought a copy of the 1st volume. I'm familiar with its author Ikeyamada Go-sensei anyway. I learned that Koba Cute's Japanese title is Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai, btw. Just in case, someone's curious. Lol. I also saw a volume of Blood-Tied Lovers which I think is also shoujo but I'm not sure.

I liked the 1st volume of Koba Cute so I came to this branch to buy the 2nd volume after a few weeks, but to my disappointment, they don't have it already! I'm interested in Case Closed too but they don't have it as well anymore when I last came by, I'll update here whether they restocked or not once I've rechecked.

I wouldn't get my hopes up much on this branch because their stock and collection are very limited, but I guess I'll still check every now and then. Who knows, I might be surprised again with another shoujo manga. I am recommending this to those who wants to complete their BLEACH manga collection since BLEACH occupies most of the manga shelves.

Titles I've seen here so far: 

BLEACH, Case Closed/Detective Conan, Death Note, MAGI, Koba Cute!

2. Greenbelt PowerBooks (Greenbelt 4, Level 2)

I'm quite amused when I first saw their manga collection, it's not that astounding but it's a far cry from the collection in SM Megamall NBS. The manga collection occupies three decently big shelves. It's located on the shop's 2nd floor, turn right upon alighting the escalator, just search for the manga shelves since they are properly labeled.

I was able to find Koba Cute's 2nd volume here! What's impressive is that they actually have a good number of copies in stock. It's not just 2 or 3 copies, unlike in SM Megamall NBS. Though it's still a pretty limited collection, I guess this one is very much likable. I'm guessing I'll get Koba Cute's succeeding volumes here as well.

Titles I've seen here so far: 

BLEACH, Case Closed, Death Note, MAGI, Koba Cute!, Silver Spoon, Fushigi Yuugi, Blood-Tied Lovers.

Note: On the blog post I linked earlier, the author mentioned a PowerBooks branch in Glorietta 3. I visited Glorietta as well, but unfortunately, the PowerBooks in Glorietta already closed.

3. Greenbelt Fully Booked (Greenbelt 5, Space B1-12)

Their manga collection occupies 2 decently big shelves, the shelves are located before the steps in the Entertainment section. Their prices are a little higher than those of NBS and PowerBooks, as I've noticed the prices are around 30-50 pesos more.

I haven't bought anything here yet but I'm impressed that they have Say I Love You or Sukitte Ii Na yo and Kimi ni Todoke. Those are both shoujo manga I would love to buy! I guess this book store offers more rare manga than the first two. I would love to come by when I'm in Greenbelt again. I'm eye-ing on Kimi ni Todoke!

Titles I've seen here so far:
Koba Cute!, MAGI, Case Closed, Sukitte Ii Na yo, Kimi ni Todoke

4. Bibliarch (Ground Floor, Glorietta 3)

They sell manga as well but I think it's not that big of a collection. I need to look further on what Bibliarch at Glorietta can offer so I can write about it. I'll get back to this post once I've checked.

Note: I am not claiming that this is a comprehensive list. I only listed the stores I know of, hoping that I'll be of help to anyone trying to find stores selling manga. If you have any recommendations, feel free to drop a comment so I can check them out and add them to this post. On another note, I am not in any way affiliated with any of the book stores mention here. If you have inquiries on the availability of any manga, please contact them through their official websites. Thank you for reading! :)

10 Cute Android Apps for Kawaii Lovers

Hello, kawaii souls! ☆

I’m posting about kawaii android apps today! I’m not claiming that I know about all cute apps out there in the market but I’m going to list some cute android apps I have installed on my own android phone :)

Before anything else, here’s a photo of my android phone, just because I want to share. XD

I like it a lot because it’s kawaii by itself since it’s pink! It’s a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. I call it Sotsu-chan :) Sotsu means graduate in japanese, I gave it that name because it’s a graduation gift for me when I graduated from uni.^^

The order is alphabetically arranged, it’s not arranged by its usefulness, ratings, or anything else. It’s just alphabetically arranged, ok? Ok! Now, moving on the kawaii android apps!

1. Coletto Calendar

Looking at a calendar has never been this pleasing! It is really cute! This app even has a diary feature! I don’t really use planners because I tend to be lazy to write on them. And so, I use this app as my planner. And did I mention that’s it’s really cute? :D

Link to the app click here.

2. Cameran Collage

This is a very kawaii photo editing a with very kawaii backgrounds and stamps! It has themes which are inspired by popular Japanese fashion magazines like MORE, NONNO, BLENDA and more!

Link to the app click here.

3. DECOPIC

As of now, this is my most favorite photo editing app! I love the stamps because there are so many~! And there are stamps which can even be spread, I don’t know how to describe it exactly. It’s like you’re sprinkling it on your photo! The effect is really so cute!

Link to the app click here.

4. Happy Mall Story

This is one of my favorite cutie simulation games! You manage your own mall. There is a wide range of establishments to choose from, you decide what establishments you have in your mall. You can expand your mall and add floors. The characters (store owners and customers) are really cute, they are chibis! The shops won’t be defeated! They are equally cute as well! ♡♡♡ Some shops are inspired by Japanese establishments.^^

Link to the app click here.

5. Homee launcher

This app is simply a home to not-so-simple themes! I’m telling you homee themes are really cute and there are a lot of themes to choose from! The themes go with kawaii icons as well! Perfect for an ultimate kawaii touch on your android phone!

Link to the app click here.

6. Hotel Story

One of my favorite cutie simulation games as well. Same developer as the Happy Mall Story. It’s pretty much like Happy Mall Story but this time, it’s a resort you’re managing. Establishments/Facilities are inspired by Japanese establishments/facilities as well, like the public bath. It makes me feel like I’m running my own public bath and hotel business in Japan!

Link to the app click here.

7. LINE

Well, I think almost everyone knows what this app has to offer. Instant messaging with really really cute and funny stickers to brighten up convos!

Link to this app click here.

8. aillis (formerly LINE Camera)

LINE’s photo editor app offers a hefty sum of really kawaii backgrounds! I love the filters and the stamps too! it has been updated to aillis which i don't know what's the explanation for, but it's pretty much still the same.

Link to this app click here.

9. Mochi Stacker

A very simple game where you stack mochi and get high score by stacking as many mochi as you can without toppling them. It’s simple but I can’t resist the cuteness of the mochi!

Link to the app click here.

10. PhotoWonder

What I really love about this app is their mango, mosimosi, and moc moc2 sets of stamps/stickers! I find them really cute, so even if I have decopic or cameran, I still can’t uninstall photowonder because of those stamps! Oh yes, I love stamps! ♡

Link to this app click here.

There goes my list of cute android apps! I hope you will find them useful and that you enjoy their cuteness! If you want to share a kawaii app, please feel free to leave a comment! :)

Note: I am not in any way affiliated with the developers/creators of the mentioned apps. If you have any claims, please direct them to the developers/creators. Thank you.