Lumibricks keeps on expanding their popular Cyberpunk Neoncity line, and now they’ve added a Manga Shop! They’ve gone for a blend of traditional Japanese manga bookstore but with cyberpunk aesthetics. I got an advance release set from them to review.
What Is the Lumibricks Manga Shop?
Coming in at a significantly smaller brick count than the 4,355-piece Train Station that I reviewed last month, the Manga Shop is only 1,699 pieces. There are 12 lighting points, and only 3 Minifigures. As with all Lumibricks sets, there are a multitude of screen-printed elements, but no stickers. As of this writing the price has not yet been set, but I will update the post once Lumibricks finalizes a figure. It can be found here.
There are two instruction manuals and 9 bags of bricks, along with a variety of special pieces. There’s also a lighting kit, with a power brick that uses 3 AA batteries, screwdriver, tweezers, and 4 bags of lighting elements.
Included with the set was also a unique card. The card works as a limited‑time lottery in the style of a Ichiban Kuji draw. Each card has a unique serial number. Winning cards are marked with “Prize A”. Much like myself, you’ll have to wait to find out what the prize actually is!
As always, you should crosscheck that not only do you have all the lighting elements, but that also all of them are functional before you proceed with assembly.
The Lumibricks Manga Shop – The Minifigures
As mentioned previously, there are only 3 minifigures included with the set.
Assembling the Lumibricks Manga Shop
The first part of the assembly is the base and the first two floors, along with any permanent interior.
During this part of the build, you’ll create a window display of many of the items available in the shop:
You’ll also make a tiny Gashapon capsule toy dispenser, sitting outside of the shop:
The next phase of assembly has you putting together the removable first and second floor rooms. Here’s the first floor, with its sales section:
While the second floor has a gaming lounge:
The rest of the build creates the roof and additional external details. The battery pack will get attached on the base at the back of the shop.
And here’s the completed Manga Shop:
Let’s Light It Up!
Once you’ve finished assembling the set, nothing else is left but to flip on the lights and see the results of your hard work.
Here’s a closer look at some of the elements of the set with the lights on:
The Lumibricks Manga Shop – Final Thoughts
After the massive build that is the Lumibricks Train Station, it was nice to take a bit of a step back and build the much smaller Manga Shop. Even though the scale is significantly smaller, the set is crammed full of details. And while it may not have very many included Minifigures, there’s certainly more than enough lighting to satisfy anyone.
Most of the assembly was pretty straightforward. The only area I struggled a bit with was on the first floor awning. There’s not a lot of stability built into the awning, so it took several tries to get it clipped onto the building without pieces of the awning coming off. This is the one part of constructing the set that may cause a bit of frustration, but once it’s in place, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.
I love the idea that in this cyberpunk future, people still want to get their hands on physical manga books. The design of the set truly feels like the building had originally existed as a traditional Japanese wooden manga shop, but then was “upgraded” with tech as the years went by. Where the Neon Tech Tower belongs to the high-end business district, the Manga Shop represents the more working-class aspects of Cyberpunk Neoncity. As that Lumibricks line continues to grow, the city is definitely coming to life with the variety of its sets.
Being a manga fan myself, I was looking forward to building the Manga Shop and it did not disappoint. There’s the usual great attention to details that you’ll find in a Lumibricks set, as well as pleasing lighting that will find this set fitting right along with the rest of the Neoncity line. Whether you’re a fan of cyberpunk or of manga, the Lumibricks Manga Shop is an enjoyable build that will look great in your collection.
For more information or to make a purchase, visit the Lumibricks website.
Lumibricks sent this set for evaluation but had no input into this review. As an affiliate, I may earn a small commission on qualified purchases.
