"Hold on to your dreams." That's what Katherine Cheng Chua, one of the owners of Central Comic Headquarters (CCHQ), told us. What could possibly be an anime fan's dream? Working in an anime shop? How about having access to tons of manga? In the case of Central Comic Headquarters, it's more than just that. This family of enthusiasts fulfilled their dream by setting up a comic and manga shop that caters to fellow fans. It's more than just profit that's the driving force in their business: it's sheer fandom.

Recently opening at the third floor of the FBR building last February 2, I had the privilege of meeting three out of the five proprietors: Katherine, Khristine and Karl. Of course they're so friendly and accommodating that this interview could have probably been done by anyone. Upon entering the store, they'll immediately talk to you about your interests regardless of whether you'll purchase anything. Customer service isn't the only thing they offer as you'll soon find out:

Good afternoon. Why did you name yourselves Central Comic Headquarters?
Well, because we liked the name headquarters. And um, it was supposed to be just Comic HQ actually but it sounded too generic so we decided to add central to it. And our acronym, CCHQ, could also stand for our surnames, Cheng Chua, so it's a little inside joke there.
From what I inferred from your website, the project was started by the five of you. Could you give us a brief introduction and description of yourselves?
So me [Katherine] and my sister [Khristine], we love the Japanese manga. Anime, manga, artbooks and all that. And uh, our brother Node, he loves the American stuff. I also used to collect the American stuff like X-men during the time when Jim Lee was still drawing it but it was our brother, Node, who is really the comic book collector. And um, our other brother Toad, he plays Vampire so that's why we have that display which has all the cards, all the sets of the Vampire CCG (Collectible Card Game) so his fellow players can just get whatever cards they want at reasonable prices. And we also plan to stock the local stuff. That will be handled by our youngest brother Karl.
So you directly import the Vampire stuff?
Yes, yes, from the source talaga.
Whose idea was this?
All five of us. It all started out as a dream talaga when we were younger, mga siguro around ten to fifteen years ago na sana "I wish we had a store like this". Someday na all our stuff is here. Tapos this is actually a culmination of a dream but the planning itself took a couple of years.
What's your goal in setting up this establishment?
Well our goal is to actually make sure that the fans get their stuff. That's basically it and we get our stuff as well because it's so difficult to find the things you want na you see everything on shelf, which is why everything is open shelves. Becauses um, we believe that fans have the right to actually touch the stuff but siyempre everything is wrapped para it's clean and all that. Our motto actually, sort of a motto, is "so that fans can get their stuff at good prices."
So what specifically do you sell here?
We sell Japanese manga, anime artbooks, plush toys of certain anime characters, collectible trading cards of anime series as well as Vampire: The Masquerade card game. And American comics and graphic novels, certain magazines like Inquest and Wizards and MAD, Archie comics and a lot of independent stuff like the Sandman series and other independent comics.
Who's your target market?
The fans. We don't really have a target age group or school or anything, just the fans, wherever they are in Metro Manila.
So what do you think is the product that really shines out?
Well here, there are a lot because most of the stuff here we really really love but I would highly recommend the Blade of the Immortal series because it has great art, great characters, great storyline and anyone who has ever read the first book will not be able to put it down.
What are your favorites?
Ayun, Blade of the Immortal, tapos the Sakura Taisen series or Sakura Wars. It's both a game, and we have the artbooks for that, and it's also an anime, that is actually the reason why I learned Japanese so I could play the game and watch the anime raw with no translations. And we also like the CLAMP stuff like Card Captor Sakura and Chobits. We also love Neon Genesis Evangelion and all the other works of GAINAX like Furi Kuri and Kare Kano. And Sandman of course. We love Sandman and the Endless.
What's the price range of the products?
Oh basically fair prices. We don't really charge an arm and a leg for it. They're fair prices. I mean we haven't gotten any complaints yet because like I said, it goes back to the fact that we want the fans to get their stuff.
How often do you plan to restock on items?
The American stuff, we get new things every week. As for the Japanese items, we are constantly on the lookout for new series's or things that fans suggest that they want represented in the store. The restock for the Japanese stuff will not be as regular but in a couple of days we'll have some new stuff in.
Do you take special orders?
Yes, definitely. So just let us know what you want and we'll try to check if it's available, what the price will be, the cost of importing it and there's no added cost to whatever it is. Because our space is limited since it's open shelves so there are some series that are not here but we can get for you.
So regarding the card game of Vampire, which one is your favorite clan?
Favorite clan? Uh, I like the Salubri. I think there are only three members so they're like the healers and the other clans are slowly killing them. They're the ones with the symbol of a triangle with the three eyes. That's the one I like.
Do you plan to expand the Vampire selection like the RPGs or maybe the PC game?
Um, not really. It's basically just for the cards because the RPG there are a lot of books. I mean the clan books alone there are like dozens of them. The stack I think is almost two feet high so it's a bit difficult and I think we're just going to stick with the cards although we will be having a gaming table here and we'll probably put an assortment of books so that fans can look through it.
How about other games like Magic: The Gathering and Legend of the Five Rings?
I would think Magic already has a wide exposure here in Metro Manila so we don't want to intrude. We're basically gap fillers. Things that are not readily available that fans want we bring it in but things that are already available everywhere else we don't plan to get it in.
What other items do you plan to import?
Well, we hope to expand to figures but we have to look into it yet. We don't have plans bringing in videos and all that since it's a bit complicated na.
Do all your anime-related merchandise directly come from Japan?
Yes.
What's the most expensive item?
Most expensive item… it depends because it also depends on the size but I would think we don't have anything over three thousand. Most of the stuff ranges from either P250, P390, P500, ganun. Tapos most of the books are like a thousand something kasi it also depends on the weight and the size so the bigger the book and our cost of acquisition. That's usually it. We don't jack up our prices just because something is popular. That's not our basis. It's basically by weight and cost of acquisition, not by popularity.
The cheapest?
Cheapest are the trading cards. P250 per pack like the Final Fantasy trading cards. We have cards for Final Fantasy 7… 6… uh, no, no, no. [It's] 8, 9, and 10. The art is really good. You can get a pack for P250.
Any product you'd like to recommend?
Recommend? Yeah. The Blade of the Immortal series. Buy the first book and get hooked, definitely. As for the Japanese section, we also have bilingual manga so it's manga both in English and in Japanese. It was produced by the Japanese publishers so the translation is really good. We have bilingual manga of Card Captor Sakura, Love Hina, Oh My Goddess! and GTO, which is a really cool series about a teacher who used to be a gang member and is now a high school teacher.
Do you plan to import other media like CDs and games?
Uh no, because I think it's already readily available here so we're basically just printed matter.
What made you decide to sell manga?
Because it's so difficult to find authentic Japanese manga and there are a lot of series that we love and we know that a lot of fans are frustrated that they can't get their manga so we basically decide to open this store to sell manga.
Why did you choose the FBR building to set up shop, considering that you have two other competitors here [Comic Sale and Anima Anime]?
We don't think of anyone as our competition. Basically because we study in the Ateneo, [I'm] taking my masters there so it's very convenient for us to be here and we scouted around and FBR seems to have a good, nice space.
What does it feel to set up an anime shop despite existing competition?
Well, ayun, we don't think of anyone as competition. We just set up the shop and put stuff on the open shelves and try to get as much inventory in many types of series like for the Japanese section, the manga, we have almost ninety to a hundred titles. And for the American, some I can't even begin to count. So, yeah.
What differentiates you from the rest of the comic shops?
Well we're fans so we try out best to know what we sell and we basically love what we sell so we can actually talk to you about almost everything. And yun, we want the fans to experience the happiness of having open shelves to browse through and actually handling the books by themselves and seeing all their favorite series in one place.
Any future plans for expansion?
We'll see.
How about franchising?
For franchising we don't know. Kasi this is basically a family thing. It's a pretty big place so I think we better fill the store more before we think of expanding to other places. I think Quezon City is basically accessible to people from the other parts of Metro Manila.
If the shop proves extremely successful, what are your next plans?
Um, get more series in because someday we hope to feature series from all over the world and not just America and Japan.
Whenever someone enters the shop, you entertain them full of enthusiasm.
Definitely. Basically we love to talk about anime and manga so talking to fans of other series is a very interesting and great experience. I love doing it. That's what I do in my spare time anyway.
Do you think you can keep this up for the upcoming months?
Definitely since I love talking about the series that I love. I don't think of it as a job actually.
Perhaps the dream job for an anime fan is to work in an anime shop. Are you hiring?
Um, we're not really sure yet since we're trying to check the number of people who actually come in the store at one time. So far it's been pretty okay since it's me, my sister and my brother so we seem to be on top of things. Not yet, not yet. Future siguro.
Any plans to give discounts or membership?
That's definitely in our future plans but we haven't really set up a system yet so we're still working the numbers in the accounting since our prices are basically quite affordable. Future plans…
I heard that you were supposed to open late January. What happened?
Um, bureaucracy.
What were some of the problems you encountered?
Well, um, yun nga. There was the bureaucracy and the various steps needed to set up a business and since this is our first time, it was really a learning experience so there were some delays but then again it gave us a chance to learn about new series's, other series's and a chance to get our stock in. It's a blessing in disguise na rin.
What are the problems do you foresee?
We don't really expect problems but we'll deal with them as they come but we hope there won't be any problems.
Any interesting anecdotes that happened so far?
Well anecdotes… The thing that we love is what fans say when they first enter the store. That's a very rewarding experience to hear their stories and to watch their eyes light up when they see their favorite series on shelf and all that. It's very heart-warming.
So far, is working here fulfilling?
Very fulfilling.
What's the best thing that's happened to you ever since you opened?
Well to see all of our favorite series in one place and it also gives us a chance to bring in the stuff that we've always loved and to look… like the Bubblegum Crisis 2040 artbook. I've been looking for that for the past three years and now that we've opened the store, I finally had the chance to track it down and finally get to see what was inside.
I saw on your website that you have store events. What are they?
On February 23, we'll have a Vampire: The Masquerade gaming tournament. That's a very important thing since all the gaming groups all over the world are going to play at the same time and a Storyteller is going to take down the events of that game and they are going to submit it to the main company in the states and they will create an expansion series based on that game so it's a big thing. I encourage anyone who's interested in learning about Vampire just to observe the game to come here on the 23rd. It's going to be from 9 am to 6 pm. That's a big thing actually.
What does your website contain? Anything out of the ordinary?
Oh we have message boards so if fans have any questions, any requests, or any comments, they can post there. We also have an email address and there's actually a space to announce store events. And we also have essays up on our favorite series like Fruits Basket, which is a series that I also love. It's the number one anime series in Japan last year and the manga is simply beautiful and the plush toys are simply beautiful as well. The story is so nice and right now, the feature is on the Blade of the Immortal series.
What advice can you give to others who plan to set up such a shop?
Hold on to your dreams. Never give up because there will be times that you will be disheartened and discouraged and the only thing that will sustain you through the bad times would be how deep your dedication is to the things that you love. That's the only thing.
What are your favorite series's and how has this affected you managing the store?
Well, my favorite series. I love the Sandman series which is why it's featured prominently on shelf. We also love Fruits Basket the series which is why it's in our featured selection section right near the door. And Eva, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, so we have a lot of their art books and we're bringing more in as well as Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars. We have the dolls and we have the trading cards and we have the art books, especially the art book of the movie is really beautiful. But we don't really have biases so the series that we love get a prominent position but since we're open shelf, everything is displayed prominently as well.
Anything you'd like to say to customers and fans?
Well if you haven't been to the store yet, then you might want to come and visit and look through our stuff. It's an experience.
Thanks.