SmartShanghai | [Offbeat]: The Nerd Mall

[Offbeat]: The Nerd Mall

By Morgan Short, Apr 7th, 2009 | In Shopping

"Offbeat" is a SmartShanghai column about stuff to look at or do in Shanghai that's interesting or weird (relatively, of course), that doesn't fit anywhere else. It appears weekly, monthly, or maybe even annually, when we're not busy working on other superfluous column ideas.

I got turned on to the Nerd Mall (1856 Nanjing Lu), by a friend of mine who visits once a week to replenish his stock of PlayStation 3 games. He knew I was looking for an old school vintage Sega Genesis to really brighten up my life, and thought one of the many video game stores in this Jing'an mall complex might have one. They didn't but it was an awesome trip nonetheless.

The Nerd Mall (or 1856 Comic City) is two floors of video game, figurines, and cosplay stores set up in mall organization, with about 25 shops selling everything from smutty Dead or Alive toys to Sailor Moon wigs to obscure anime plush animals to bootlegged Ultraman movies.

Basically, you go for the Nintendo Wii games and stay for the (almost) pornographic figurines and inscrutable anime comics.

Anyways, it's a really interesting place to spend an hour or so walking about -- it's like strolling around in the mind of a deranged Japanese teenager, with twists and turns taking you down corridors of innocent infantile regression and other places leading you to manifestations of repressed sexual deviancy.

Well, maybe that's a bit much.

The emphasis is on collectibles, be they toys you never take out of the package, weird things you dangle from the bottom of you cell phone, or items you adorn your person with. Everything is an accessory to something else.

One of the highlights of the Nerd Mall is the only goth store in Shanghai I've seen. It's called "Cat's Eyes" (2F, Store 32), and they stock cutsie goth, Hot Topic gear (A Nightmare Before Christmas tote bags, plaid miniskirts, and pyramid belts), as well as a few pairs of serious-looking Marilyn Manson knee-high combat boots and retro Victorian blouses. They're dealing in a "goth Lolita" sort of thing, as evidenced by the phrase "goth Lolita"which appears on posters around the store.

Collectable figurines and video game stores are pretty abundant in Shanghai, but in the Nerd Mall, because everyone is grouped together, store owners have extended their wares into extreme directions to separate themselves slightly from the pack. Of course, there is a lot of overlap of stuff in there, but there's also a lot of singular items that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Like the full-on, ass-length Sailor Moon Wig I'm wearing right now (350rmb -- i got ripped but it was worth it).

Comic City is located at 1856 Nanjing Lu, near Changshu Lu. Walking west away from Jing'an Temple, it's on the right side of the street on Nanjing Lu.