Earlyyyy! #2: Kana Urasawa’s Shocking Collection
The First Appearance of a Real Game Heroine! Untold Stories Behind the Collection That’s Causing a Stir on Social Media Finally Revealed!
Guest: Kana Urawasa
Planning/Writing: COST
The Urasawa Sisters Take Off
(Meijin) This time, we’re welcoming a famous collector as our guest and hearing their stories in a parody of a certain popular show!
(Fukutake) Inspired by the street exploration segment of that show, joining us today is Kana Urasawa, who considers Nakano her backyard.
(Urasawa) Thank you for having me! Nakano has Nakano Broadway, and it’s such a calming place. I’m really happy that we can talk about collections other than just games today as well!
(Ban) That’s today’s theme. Among the images of your collection that you’ve posted to social media, there are not only game-related items but also fan-favorite anime mooks and records like Galactic Whirlwind Braiger and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. This is definitely something special.
(Urasawa) I originally started Instagram for promotional purposes at my previous job, but now it’s become a personal record of my collection.
(Meijin) With that in mind, let’s dive into the things that have shaped Kana Urasawa! First, when did you start getting interested in anime?
(Urasawa) It was around the time I started elementary school. I’m the youngest of three sisters. My middle sister was a bit mischievous, but my older sister was really hardcore into robot anime like Space Runaway Ideon and Mobile Suit Gundam. I was shocked to discover just how many robot anime existed, and I looked forward to watching shows like Giant Gorg with my older sister every day. At first, I was watching family and girls’ anime, like the reruns of The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee, but that all changed.
(Meijin) So you didn’t have any resistance to watching robot anime, then?
(Urasawa) I already thought that robots were so cool. A lot of the robot anime from that time had heavy themes, often dealing with war. My sisters and I have always liked those kinds of stories.
(Ban) But now that you say it, Hutch wasn’t exactly a light-hearted show either! (Laughs)
(Urasawa) Yes! (Laughs) Anyway, I would circle anything labeled “anime” in the TV listings and watch everything from Urusei Yatsura to Captain Tsubasa, regardless of the genre. That’s when I got hooked on anime songs and started collecting records. Takarajima’s music is absolutely amazing! My older sister and I both love to sing Aura Battler Dunbine – it’s our go-to!
(Ban) You’ve also posted your own illustrations, and they’re really well done!
(Urasawa) I was in the art club in middle school and the manga club in high school, both influenced by my older sister. We often drew together. She’s now a professional illustrator, and she can just sit down and do perfect reproductions of works by artists like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Mutsumi Inomata. It’s amazing how different that is from the bunny illustrations she does now.
(Ban) Did you make otaku friends in the manga club?
(Urasawa) Actually, most of the members were doing their own thing, so I didn’t really make any otaku friends.
(Meijin) Which manga magazines were you reading at the time?
(Urasawa) I was reading almost all of the weekly manga magazines, and I already read Garo. When I was in high school, I even bought Business Jump just to read Auction House.
(Ban) A high school girl obsessed with Seisaku Kanou’s gekiga! Now I’m really excited to hear more!
Choose Your Path and Learn Well, Kana
(Fukutake) What kind of stores did you buy your items from, back then?
(Urasawa) I started going to Animate in middle school. That’s where I discovered 3×3 Eyes and CLAMP, which broadened the range of genres I watched even more.
(Meijin) You’re also well-known as a gaming icon. When did you first start playing games?
(Urasawa) I started playing them with Game & Watch. When I was in elementary school, I really wanted a Famicom, but I didn’t get one until I was in middle school. And it was a Twin Famicom! The deal was that if you bought it, you’d get two games with it. Naturally, I wanted Super Mario Bros., but since it was so popular, it wasn’t available. So I ended up choosing Jarinko Chie: Bakudan Musume no Shiawase Sagashi (Konami) and Mindseeker (Namco) as my two games.
(Fukutake) The infamous Mindseeker, known as the psychic development game! But yeah, neither that nor Chie has anything in common with Mario! (Laughs)
(Urasawa) That’s true. I chose Mindseeker because the box looked cool! (Laughs)
(Meijin) So, which game developers were your favorites during this time?
(Urasawa) Back then, I had no sense for picking good games. I even had Lost Word of Jenny (Takara), which is often called a kusoge. The packaging was cute and pink, and since it was from Takara, the same company that made the dolls, I thought it couldn’t go wrong…but it turned out to be a game where you had to help Jenny retrieve a script using upper and lower attacks – a total surprise. I remember crying while playing that one. Amidst all that, the games I bought just because they seemed interesting all ended up being from Victor Entertainment. Sansara Naga was especially one of my favorites!
(Ban) It sounds like your after-school life was packed with anime and games during your student days.
(Urasawa) In high school, about 70% of my time was spent on games. This is when I discovered Street Fighter II. The game itself was incredibly fun, and it featured female characters too. Chun Li, in particular, was so unique and cute! Street Fighter II is what got me into the arcade scene. I ended up going to the arcade almost every day, by myself.
(Ban) Ah, so you went to the arcade alone?
(Urasawa) I believed that if I made friends, my skills would decline, and I’d definitely get weaker!
(Ban) That mindset is just like Ryu from Street Fighter II!
(Urasawa) Back then, the only real gathering place for people with anime-related hobbies was Comiket. But at the arcade, you could always count on seeing familiar faces, and it created a kind of community. For me, the arcade was a place that would never betray me. As I kept playing Street Fighter II with that stoic mindset, I eventually reached a point where I hardly ever lost. But more than the joy of winning, it was the lessons I learned that mattered. I actually learned about manners and etiquette through fighting games…although, occasionally, an ashtray would get thrown at me! (Laughs)
KANA BURNING ROAD
(Meijin) By the way, what other home consoles did you have apart from the Famicom?
(Urasawa) Naturally, I moved on to the Super Famicom. After that, I’ve bought every new console as it was released, including the X68000 and 3DO…
(Ban) You bought a 3DO?!
(Urasawa) At the time, my favorite game, Super Street Fighter II X, was only ported to that system! So, of course, I just had to get it.
(Fukutake) Yeah, it’s definitely one of those consoles you only buy if you have a strong reason to! (Laughs)
(Urasawa) That’s how it was: Outside, I was playing fighting games, side-scrolling action games like Splatterhouse, and puzzle games like Sega Tetris. Then, when I got home, it was all about RPGs. Any leftover money went to Animate. As I got more into games, I also started to love game merchandise, which led to me collecting game soundtrack CDs and other related items.
(Ban) Expanding your hobbies is great, but did you run into the classic student problem of ‘not having enough money’ when it came to collecting?
(Urasawa) I managed by cutting back on my daily 500 yen meal allowance and washing my dad’s car to earn extra pocket money. Also, since we were sisters, whoever had the money at the time would buy the magazines. For example, if I bought Animage this month, my older sister would buy The Anime next month.
(Fukutake) That’s some great teamwork, unique to siblings! Risa Unai (vol. 80) said something similar as well. Having brothers or sisters who share the same interests definitely gives you an advantage when it comes to collecting.
(Urasawa) The first CD I ever bought was the theme song from the anime Dragon Quest, “Yume wo Shinjite.” The game music that left a big impression on me was from Night Striker. The arcade I frequented had a large cabinet for it.
(Fukutake) Yes, it’s that classic pseudo-3D shooting game where the player steps into the cockpit and pilots a high-speed combat hovercraft. A true masterpiece!
(Urasawa) I’m an ‘All Pacifist’ player who can clear the game without firing a single shot, just by dodging and navigating through without taking any damage.
(Fukutake) A title reserved for the highest-level players!
(Urasawa) This game was the one that made me realize, ‘Games are all about the music.’ I memorized the patterns not by muscle memory, but by the music – like, ‘When this music plays, that shot comes, so I need to dodge like this…’ So I sometimes think, wasn’t this the first rhythm game?! By the way, I’ve sworn that when I die, my tombstone will be shaped like the Night Striker arcade cabinet.
(Ban) Kids might end up climbing on it and playing with it!
(Urasawa) Actually, I’d want them to play! And instead of leaving flowers, they could leave 100 yen coins! (Laughs)
(Meijin) What about your gaming life after you started working?
(Urasawa) Even when I was working full-time, I made sure to visit the arcade once a week to keep my skills sharp. However, during that period, I found myself playing more RPGs at home, where I could really immerse myself in the experience. But honestly, there hasn’t been a single moment up until now where I haven’t been engaged with anime or games.
Kana Genesis
(Meijin) You sent us some collection images beforehand, and among them, there were even traditional Japanese collectibles – stamps! I couldn’t help but think, “Wait, she’s into this too?”
(Urasawa) Stamp collecting was a hobby I suddenly got into around 5th or 6th grade. My uncle, who owned a secondhand book store, often sent manga and records to us, his nieces. Among those, there were also stamps.
(Ban) I see! And I have to say…what an enviable environment!
(Urasawa) As an elementary school student, I used to look forward to buying stamp albums. I was always eager to fill them up! But once I became fully immersed in anime, my interest in stamps faded after completing four albums.
(Fukutake) You really have an incredible ability to become deeply passionate about the things you love.
(Urasawa) Well, our parents supported us in our subculture whimsies, and never told us that we couldn’t pursue our otaku interests. So I was really lucky to have been raised by parents like that.
(Ban) It’s amazing that even items like stickers and puzzles, which most parents might have thrown away, were preserved in such good condition.
(Fukutake) And almost everything has the original boxes and manuals, that’s amazing. And to have Uwasa no Himeko merchandise among your collection – especially since it’s a popular manga from the ‘70s and ‘80s that was never adapted into an anime – makes them truly rare items. Please take good care of those treasures!
(Urasawa) Ahh, that makes me so happy!
(Ban) It’s like Seinosuke Nakajima on Kaiun! Nandemo Kanteidan, all of a sudden! (Laughs) But seriously, having the foresight to buy those kinds of items back then shows you really had an eye for valuable collectibles. That’s impressive!
(Urasawa) Well hardly any of these items are things I paid a lot of money for later on in life.
(Ban) By that, you mean they’re items that just became valuable before you even realized it.
(Urasawa) The only things I really splurged on were…maybe the Zoids items.
(Meijin) You collected Zoids too…?! (In Awe)
(Urasawa) I wanted the original Zoids from the first boom, not the re-releases. So once I started earning a steady income as an employee, I went on a bit of a shopping spree at retro shops. Even apart from Zoids, there are so many toys from that era where you can really see the effort and creativity that went into making them. I love those pieces where you can almost feel the struggle and determination behind their creation – it’s amazing how they managed to get such unique ideas approved back then.
(Meijin) Your collection conveys just those ideas.
(Urasawa) Last year I was able to run Video Game Museum Robot in Fukaya, in Saitama Prefecture, for a day. And there I put some of my own personal items up for charity auction. There’s a good chance this will happen again, so please keep an eye on their social media accounts for more details.
(Ban) You can get your hands on a piece of the Kana Collection! This is great news!
(Urasawa) If my collection can help bring excitement to the arcade things, that’s the best thing I can possibly imagine.
(Meijin) Well, I’m truly impressed by your love for your collection, as well as your curiosity and vast knowledge. If there’s another opportunity, we’d be honored to have you as an honorary member of this series and dive into early manga and hobby-related research.
(Urasawa) Oh wow, I’d love to! If possible, I’m sure my older sister would love to join too. She’ll absolutely be thrilled about it as well! (Laughs)