Joseph Luster
August 30, 2019 
Classic anime like Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan, Sazae-san, and Chibi Maruko-chan all have one thing in common: Iconic houses with memorable floor plans. Do those big and attractive family dwellings translate to equally inflated real estate appraisals, though? Japanese journalist Ayato Nishikido decided to investigate, and the results might surprise you.
Nishikido wrote an article about the value of classic anime homes for Japanese website Felton Village, taking the opportunity to visit real estate agent Akihito Kageyama to look into recreated floor plans from famous anime and manga series. The plans were then taken to Yokohama-based real estate agent Katsunori Fujita, who factored in location, acreage, and the local market.
Fujita’s final appraisal came in at… zero yen.
That’s right, even the Nobita household from Doraemon, pictured below, is essentially worthless today.
Why is that, you ask? It turns out detached houses over 20 years old don’t amount to much in today’s Japanese real estate market. The only proper way to assess their value would be to demolish the houses and appraise the land itself, minus the money it would take to remove the house in the first place.
With these factors in mind, the Fuguta and Isono house—or rather, its plot minus the house—from Sazae-san would come out on top at 162 million yen. Doraemon‘s Nobita household is way far behind in second place at 64 million. Not quite what we expected, but it’s all pretty interesting nonetheless!
Source: Felton Village via Otakomu, Crunchyroll
