Due to its media mix nature, Akihabara Dennō Gumi enjoyed a brief manga serial in 1998 by original character designer Kotobuki Tsukasa. Released under the title Akihabara Dennō Gumi Pata Pi! (アキハバラ電脳組パタPi!) the series ran for 11 chapters in Nakayoshi, a popular shoujo magazine known for titles like Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura.

The chapters were collected in a single oversized paperback (B6) volume in 1999, published under Kodansha’s “KC Deluxe” line (ISBN: 9784063339611). The book lacked colour pages but included a fold-out poster featuring an anime illustration alongside some rough pages of Kotobuki’s drafts.

The manga was not particularly well-received, with only four colour pages featured in Nakayoshi across its run and minimal furoku produced to promote it (primarily just adhesives). Each chapter was brief and placed near the back of the magazine. The manga’s tagline  “Cute robot ikusei comic!!” (“キュートなロボット育成コミック!!”), emphasised the toy-raising theme, but this aspect was sadly not well-developed due to the manga’s short length.

As of 2025, Akihabara Dennō Gumi Pata Pi! is out of print in Japan and has no digital release. It has also not been licensed or released in English. Kotobuki Tsukasa has expressed interest in a digital release on his X/Twitter account, but nothing has been produced as of this writing.

Story

The story of Akihabara Dennō Gumi Pata Pi! is broadly similar to the one presented in the anime series. It centres around Hibari, a first-year junior high student, who aims for and eventually secures a Pata Pi toy she names Densuke. However, she soon learns that the toy is being targeted by the Rosicrucians for sinister purposes. While the manga shares many of the same characters and concepts, there are some differences, and unfortunately, Kotobuki had limited space to fully develop his vision in just 11 chapters, resulting in a series that feels rushed, especially towards the end.

One significant change is the backstory of the Divas. In the manga, the Divas originally controlled the systems of Primum Mobile, with Aphrodite overseeing them all. However, Christian Rosenkreuz destroyed Aphrodite when she opposed his tyranny and as the series concludes he is forced to confront the truth of her legacy through Hibari.

Chapters

I have compiled a comprehensive list of all the Akihabara Dennō Gumi Pata Pi! manga chapters, including their lengths, publication months, and any associated furoku items (free gifts bundled with Nakayoshi magazine). This list is intended to assist you in identifying and locating any manga material you may wish to acquire or learn more about.

Chapter #	Title page(s)	Nakayoshi issue	Page count	Furoku
01		02/1998	39	N/A
02		03/1998	14	N/A
03		04/1998 (one of three series featured on the cover)	23	N/A
04		05/1998	11	N/A
05		06/1998	18	All-Star Super Sticker Collection (Jumbo Sticker Sheet)
06		07/1998	19	Pata Pi Puchi Nail Seal, Variety Refill
07		08/1998	9	Pata Pi! Ice Candy Set
08		09/1998	18	Densuke Pukupuku Seal
09		10/1998	15	N/A
10		11/1998	15	N/A
11		12/1998	23	All-Star Variety Sticker Collection (Ribbon and Anime Seal)

Resources used

Most information on this page has been sourced from my personal copies of Nakayoshi and the Akihabara Dennō Gumi Pata Pi! volume. I have also cross-referenced this with information from Kodansha on the compiled volume and the Media Arts Database for the individual chapters. All images have been scanned from my personal collection.