Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - ShopTales
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4469 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I'm very lucky to have an anime retailer, Anime Stop, a spin-off store of the Comic Book Shoppe, within walking distance from my house. I buy pretty much all of my anime and most of my manga there as I in no way take having a local anime store for granted and like to support it as much as I can, even if that means paying several dollars above what I'd pay at Amazon. (Though one advantage of buying it at a proper store is that I can pay cash; I don't have a credit card.)
I don't know how profitable the store is, but I can't say I've noticed much reduction in either the amount of anime or manga they carry. As a physical media guy only interested in buying anime on shiny disk and manga on paper, I dread the idea that the store would either close or go merchandise-only. |
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trunkschan90
 Posts: 592 Location: California |
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In the Burbank Mall I go to they have a store called Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle which sells lots of Japanese pop culture stuff, here's a pic of the place http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/KOc09Ix7Tpolvd0Oc7ZMZw?select=-l1DSewaWaNjvi0Pu9N_EA
I haven't had the chance to go inside and become awed by all the awesome stuff (I want that Totoro plushie), hopefully on my next trip I will. Wish I could work in that store but one of the qualifications is you need to know Japanese (speak and read)  I doubt my one year of Japanese at the university would cut it.
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MacrossJunkie
 Posts: 10 Location: Fayetteville, NC |
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I know this is my second post, but I couldn't resist, because I know this story all to well...
I live in Fayetteville N.C. which is the home of Ft. Bragg and the 82nd Airborne. You would think with so many young soldiers with disposable income that this town would be thriving with Anime retailers, but alas, the answer is NO!!!! We do have quite a few comic shops and hobby stores, but almost every one of them has quite carrying Anime merchandise. There was "The Dragons Lair". Back in the 90's and early 2000's (the hay day of the Anime Industry in the U.S.) they carried a nice selection of Manga, but now they no longer carry any. There's "Vision Of Comics", albeit a newer store, that carried Manga and Anime figures when they first opened, but has slowly phased it out of their inventory due to "Diamonds" lack of support for the Manga and Anime industry... I mean really, have you looked at an issue of PREVIEWS lately! There's the "Cumberland Coin Exchange", which specializes in coins, cards, and comics, but no Manga. Then there's "The Hobbit". They used to be frothing at the seams with Anime, but quit carrying it when Best Buy moved to town in the late 90's. To their credit, they still carry lot's of Gundam models and Anime figurines, but most of their stuff is way over priced, and they refuse to join the 21st century and start a website, or take phone orders. They care more about their Warhammer 40,000 inventory and their RPG's than selling actual Anime merch. Oh, and "Best Buy shrunk their inventory down to one 3 foot section... Ah, and the illustrious "Barnes & Noble" with the three shelves of Manga that's all mish mashed together. They usually get volume one, two, and three of a Manga in, but that's about it. If you want it beyond that, you better go to the circulation desk and order it, because if it's not FMA or Naruto, chances are they won't be getting it in. And about three years ago we lost our "Waldenbooks", a year ago we lost our "Suncoast" and within the past month we lost our "Books-A-Million"... Finally what hurt the most happened back around 2004. We had this great Comic and Anime shop that had been open since about 1990 called "Phantasy Central" They carried it all. Figures, toys, manga, VHS (in the 90's), DVD's (into the 2000's), wall scrolls, Anime CD's, Laser Discs, Hentai merch, and more. Hell, they even rented Anime. But the owner had a gambling problem (I know cause I worked there in college) and he lost it all. The shop closed in 2004, and everything's stored in his two car garage to this day. But what makes all this suck the most is, the only shop that caters to Anime fans in this entire city is a place called "Neo Tokyo", and all they sell is bootleg merch from Korea. I warn every GI I meet that's into Anime about that place. I have a friend of mine that works at a local used book store that buys and sells DVD'c and CD's, and they get atleast ten customers a week coming in trying to sell bootleg merch that they bought at that place. They usually leave sad that the book store isn't going to buy their stuff because it's bootleg crap. Which brings me to one nugget of sunshine I almost forgot. "Ed McKays Used Books". They sell used Anime on VHS and DVD, and every once in a while they even get a legit Anime soundtrack in. Hell I've even seen a few Import Laser Discs roll through their doors (which I snatched up considering I actually own a Laser Disc player). Plus they have a nice used Manga section. It really is the only happy place in all of Fayetteville... And what's the moral of the story kids? Support your local "LEGIT" Anime dealers. Cause you never know when their not going to support you anymore, or worse not be around anymore... |
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taster of pork
 Posts: 594 Location: My House |
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Back when I lived in San Diego there was a Anime Store called Rising Sun Creations that I used to get most of my Manga and other merchandise from. They always got new manga before Borders did and were pretty good at keeping their Shelves stocked. Then they ended up moving an hour away from me so I wasn't able to shop their often.
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Lincolne
Posts: 43 |
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Being from Massachusetts i love going to http://www.comicopia.com/ in Boston or http://www.harrisonscomics.net/ in Salem. I buy most of my manga from http://www.rightstuf.com But if i need a manga i don't want to wait for. I will take a ride to one of those shops.
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khaos1019
 Posts: 93 |
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I live in Boston and had no idea Comicopia was doing that release party. Now, I'm bummed I missed it.
I need to go check out Tokyo Kid before it closes. Didn't even know that store existed. Animadness would be cool to check out but I'll have to coerce a friend with a car into driving out to Waltham or take the commuter rail 
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kawaiirunner
 Posts: 15 |
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Anime jungle in Los Angeles (Little Tokyo) has a good selection of trading figures, prize figures, and expensive scaled figures. they also sell individual trading figures and sometimes the box is marked - which is good if you don't want to risk 10 bucks on getting a character you don't want. they also sell ultraman and Godzilla stuff, along with keychains and cellphone charms. there is also the second store with dvds, books, wallscrolls, plushies, and costume things. Figure prices are a little high, but considering shipping charges from Japan, you aren't spending much more. Same with media- those are mostly priced at msrp.
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Sailor S
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I hopped the T up to Boston and stopped by Tokyo Kid once a few years back. I wasn't terribly impressed, to be honest. They just didn't really have much that I wanted. I did walk out with a resin figure, so it wasn't a total bust, but I never felt the need to go back. I may check out Animadness at some point. I always seem to buy something from them at Anime Boston, but I haven't actually been to their store. Same with Comicopia. Perhaps a trip up to Boston is in order again.
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YoSoyJaponesa
 Posts: 65 Location: Behind my desk, doodling... |
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Here in San Antonio, we have you're usual Comic Book stores with some decent manga. But for anime swag there's a place called Ooples (their webpage is down ATM.)
The owner has a strict no bootleg policy, he also supports local artists and writers in the community and holds events every month. He's the only guy I buy my stuff from, it may cost a little more, but I think it's worth it. ^^ |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1746 |
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It's been ages since I've been to an anime store in the US. When I was a teenager, I used to go to one called Beaman's that was right across the street from Ohlone College. But that store closed up close to 10 years ago...I also used to go to Chinatown in San Francisco every so often for anime, but most of it was bootlegged Hong Kong dubs. Now these stores carry knock-off cards/stationery/toys from whatever manufacturers in China think people in the US want. Who doesn't want a Super figure pack with Spiderman, Ben 10 and the Power Rangers? That *has* to be legit.
I miss anime stores. They were where I first became indoctrinated in other anime, and where I was introduced to the plethora of merchandise that was available for anime back in the 1990s. "You mean there's a machine that I can put a quarter in and get a trading card (or 2-3 if it were malfunctioning)?! Sign me up!" But they also were a place where you would be exposed to other anime that wasn't being shown in the US. Every Friday or so, they'd show a subtitled movie for free and you'd go over just to watch it. Most people didn't have a super speedy internet connection to download stuff back then. I think that in addition to the ease of watching current anime titles, I think the industry has to acknowledge that what's being released aren't the complicated, original plots that captivated many anime fans in the late 1990s. I'd love more "Cowboy Bebop"s, but instead anime studios launch another cute girl band-moe type anime. So while the exchange rate has made buying anime more expensive, it's the sheer fact that anime isn't drawing the fanbase it used can be attributed to the lack of original content. Most fans nowadays get their goods direct from Japan, especially if what you collect that relies on personal tastes. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4422 |
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This article spurred me to look to see if there was an anime store in the city I moved to a couple months ago. I just assumed there wouldn't be one, but there is! Fortunately, it's right next to another store that I was going to visit next week, so I will make a point to stop in and see what they have.
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PBsallad
 Posts: 338 Location: Phoenix |
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ASU, U of A, or NAU? lol The only anime specialty store I know of in Phoenix is called ALL 4 Anime in the Metrocenter mall. According to Google it's a over 20 mile ride from ASU. I haven't been there myself, but a a few years ago my friends and I went to that mall once and I saw cosplayers heading to the store. There used to be a comic book store chain here called Atomic Comics. But they went out of business recently. I've only been to one of their stores and they had bootleg DVDs (CDs where there too, probably bootleg as well). They eventually had a anime sale to sell all of it, lol. After that I never saw anime in there again. I feal slightly bad for the people who bought those... The manga selection they had was small and was shrinking. Yeah... There's a smaller comic books chain called Samurai Comics. Never been but they probably have manga and those Marvel and DC bishoujo figures... o.0 My local mall had a anime specialty store, Planet Neo. But they closed a long time ago (about 10 years ago). They had another store in Tempe I think. I don't know if it's still there though. As for Tucson and Flagstaff... I've never been down to Tucson, so I can't comment. And only been to Flagstaff 2 or so times in my life. lol edit: Also,,, why is this under the UK boards? |
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1175 |
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Yeah, that place was real dream come true for a Toonami loving twelve year old. I've still got the SD Gundam kits and Dragonball Z 18 1/2 Special CD from back then. It was very short lived, though - I'd always wondered what happened since it seemed like it got tons of foot traffic despite a kind of awkward location in the mall. I got to talk to one of the guys who started it at a local convention and apparently once the Atomic Comics location opened up near by, they decided to quit while they were ahead. Probably a very smart move. Speaking of whom, he's one of the vendors who's been going to the AZ Collectors Marketplace, which is kind of a neat little swap meet being held every Saturday in what seems to be a former Blockbuster location in Phoenix. It's worth swinging by. They've got all kinds of stuff there, although they seem to be trying themed Sunday events now, with an anime specific day coming up. I know what you mean about Atomic's manga selection, sure was strange watching it go from the store's main attraction for years to one small double sided shelf. I never did pick up that copy of NaNaNaNa, published by Comics One, that had been stubbornly sitting there until the store's sudden demise... |
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_V_
 Posts: 619 |
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crud, I used to go to Tokyo Kid all the time when I lived in Boston
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Nayu
Posts: 676 |
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Unfortunately, Gimme Anime in Denver has gone convention and internet only. They are still VERY active in the local Japanese culture scene (hell, our local con, Nan Desu Kan, probably owes its existence to it and its owner).
But the days of wandering into the shop and browsing the shelves is a thing of the past. |
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