Ichiban Kuji Redux

Greetings and salutations, my anime loving comrades! Since the month January is about Kuji in our shop, it seemed only fair the we at least write a post on it. About a year back, we did do a post regarding Ichiban Kuji, but that post was way to long- so, we’re gonna do another one and hopefully this’ll be more streamlined.

1. What is Ichiban Kuji?

Ichiban Kuji or more commonly known as Kuji is basically a lucky draw that is very popular in Japan. Ichiban Kuji translate to “number one lotter” that is produced by Bandai Spirits under their Banpresto line. While Kuji are a common in Japan, seeing them overseas is quite rare and sought after by collectors.

2. Where Can I Play Kuji?

While typically Kujis are more regular available in Japan, and can be purchase from almost any convivence store like 7-Eleven to game shops, and toy stores. Fortunately, Kuji is no longer exclusive to Japan. In the past few years, many anime specialty shops like ours and like us have imported them over. Also, as of late, Japan has released Kuji to selected markets in US and other Asian countries.

3. How Much Does it Cost?

Each Kuji ticket typically cost around 600 to 800 yen, and is generally cheap if you were to play in Japan, in Malaysia or any other country however, expect to pay slightly more. This is due to shipping and import fees which can be very expensive.

4. How Do I Play?

For this part, I’m just gonna let the people from Bandai Spirits explain with their animated short:

5. Figures & Last One Prize

Typical Kujis give out figures for the top winners. These figures are rare and cannot be obtained anywhere else besides aftermarket sellers which could be very pricy. There are some rare occasions where it’s entirely figures. n regards to the “One Last Prize” which you can only get by buying every single last ticket remaining for that specific set- et viola! That figures or prizes is now yours!

But please take note: Last Prizes aren’t necessarily be figures and are sometimes be artworks or posters.