Byakuya Chakai – The ‘cheapest’ artbook I’ve ever bought
If there was only ONE artbook you can have in your entire life, it had better be Tinkle's Byakuya Chakai since nothing else comes close, not even Tinkle's own previous illustration collection.
Yes, I finally received my Yahoo Japan Auctions package yesterday and was delighted to find YJA's definition of 'used' to actually mean - Better-than-new. As I carefully unwrapped one of the artbooks, this delight turned into rapturous joy - Byakuya Chakai simply blew away ALL of my impossibly high expectations of the book. Just when you thought Tinkle fashion couldn't have been more elaborate or her bishoujos could not have been more moelicious, Byakuya Chakai came onto the scene to crush EVERY pathetic assessment of Tinkle's genuis. Indeed Tinkle has outdone herself and I never, NEVER thought I'd say this - Tinkle's first illustration collection ~ Tsukiyo Chakai - actually paled in comparison. It was then that I realised I bought the artbooks at THROWAWAY prices. (Inclusive of shipping, deputy service etc etc, each the artbooks cost me S$130.) Given the superb quality in printing and artwork, Byakuya Chakai should not have been sold for anything less than S$200. I have no doubt in 3 years time, it will touch the range of 20000 yen on YJA. My basis? Tsukiyo Chakai - Tinkle's first illustration collection.
Tsukiyo Chakai was released back in 2006 and 3 yrs on, it's been sold consistently almost 4 times its price on Amazon JP and YJA. In fact I got my copy from Ama JP for almost 10k yen last year. Note that Tsukiyo Chakai was a commercial release hence more readily available. Byakuya Chakai on the other hand has no ISBN number (ie not available on Ama JP) and has content that is at least 3 times superior to its predecessor (in terms of print/art quality). My advice to those planning on securing Tsukiyo Chakai - Skip it. Divert those fund to 2-3 copies of Byakuya Chakai instead and watch people grovel to you 5 yr down as they beg you to take their cars AND houses in exchange for one of Tinkle's best.
So what you waiting for? Byakuya Chakai is available for less than 5k yen on YJA. Grab them before I buy them all up!
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March 1st, 2009 - 13:17
Most second hand otaku goods are usually kept in relatively mint condition and more than likely have seen usage only once, or not at all.
Still makes me wonder if I should delve more into YJA and acquire myself some Tinkle goodies.
March 1st, 2009 - 13:34
Congrats on getting the book
It’s definitely a great artbook and worth the cost of importing through YJA. About your earlier question as to whether the Duel Dolls Fanbook has overlap with Byakuya Chakai, I would say no. After a quick comparison, I didn’t see any overlapping illustrations among the two books.
The layout of each book is different, however. Byakuya Chakai is purely an artbook whereas Duel Dolls is a fanbook and has text overlaid on some images. You can compare the images more for yourself using these Duel Dolls scans. Also, the book uses a smaller form factor. Icie has more info here.
March 1st, 2009 - 21:58
Adun: Byakuya Chakai is definitely worthy it. I once told Zyl, that I’d sell my entire figure collection to get my hands on it. After seeing the actual artbook, I knew it wasn’t an exaggeration anymore. XD
anonymous_object : Thanks so much for your invaluable info! I’ve gone through the Duel dolls pics. While the artwork is superb, the words/commentaries are somewhat distracting. Plus, it’s currently priced higher than Byakuya Chakai on YJA. Personally if I had more cash, I’d buy ANOTHER Byakuya no Chakai
Maybe I’d wait for a bargain for DD to come along 
March 2nd, 2009 - 02:19
Oh god, I want it sooooo badly now D:
March 2nd, 2009 - 05:20
March 3rd, 2009 - 02:57
Right . . . . now , all i have to do is to figure out what those words mean . .
I am so dying to get one of those listed . .
do KKnM handle these ordering stuff?
March 4th, 2009 - 09:20
Zeroblade: It’s still available at Yahoo Japan Auctions for below 5k yen. That’s steal I assure you.
Zyl: Folks who like Tinkle have good taste. IE looking fwd to Waifu auction XDD
OneSin: Literally translate to “white night tea party”
KKnM does more of magazines. For artbooks try Kinokuniya. 
March 4th, 2009 - 10:41
I just ordered it off ebay for only $107.98 w/shipping and he ships from my state in America. ^_^
March 5th, 2009 - 05:57
Just came back from Kinokuniya , can’t find it so got myself Shinigami no ballad.
should i just tell them the name of the book or do i need to show them the picture ?
Man . . it is really emberrassing to approach the “friendly” staff . . almost all of them are woman , except the security guard.
March 5th, 2009 - 21:45
Can’t find it in Kinokuniya yesterday , and i am too sissy and awkward to approach the “friendly” staff , most of them are female , except the security guard. how do i ask them to order it ? is the book name enough ?
i ended up buying a Shinigami no ballad . .
March 7th, 2009 - 14:40
I remember reading your post on the other Tinkle book (several times, because I kept stumbling upon it on google), and the thought of this one surpassing it in your eyes is almost inconceivable. It’ll be expensive, especially since I won’t be able to pick it up from HLJ or one of the easy places, but I’m starting to think that it’ll really be worth it. Time to take a closer look at those deputy services…
March 14th, 2009 - 14:41
Omg, Very beautiful art book. Did the book cost like $40 and then deputy service and all those charges cost up to $130? Gosh, I’ll have to sell one of my organs for this!
March 19th, 2009 - 16:12
Finally got both books through YJA, cost me an arm and a leg though (~$200) but worth it ;o I was going to get 2 copies of Byakuya Chakai but someone outbid me on one so I gave up and just got one. What surprised me was that Tsukiyo Chakai was gotten from Amazon JP and it said it was used but it was still in its original wrapping so lucky me ~_~