I love this place! So many new manga and artbooks. Everyone's always been nice and the place is packed. It's pretty pricey though - you can get things you might not see anywhere else but you'll definitely be paying extra for them. They have figurines and some blind boxes and other stuff too! Have been here a few times and will absolutely be back. read more

Animate LA is the North American outpost of the Japanese Animate chain, and for anime and manga fans in the US it occupies a category largely by itself. I walked into a store that carries merchandise that simply does not surface at most American retailers, and that distinction was the main reason I made the trip. The selection covers a wide range. I saw rows of pins, acrylic stands, stickers, keychains, figurines, manga, and stationery filling the floor, and the depth in certain titles went well beyond what I have found at convention vendor tables or general pop culture stores. The Project Sekai section was one of the more notable dedicated areas and is genuinely rare to encounter outside of Japan. VTuber merchandise and more niche title selections appeared here in a way that reflects the store's connection to the Japanese market rather than just catering to the most mainstream Western anime fanbase. There is also a gashapon section where you can exchange cash for tokens and try your luck at the machines, which tends to draw its own crowd. Prices run higher than what I would pay in Japan directly, which is expected given the import overhead, but for collectors who cannot make the trip the markup is the cost of access. The store is worth visiting for any serious fan of the medium, and even a casual browse tends to surface something unexpected. read more

Animate - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

This is a great store for anime/manga fans! There is a lot of merchandise like toy figures, keychains, books, stickers, etc. I was not expecting to see Cardcaptors stickers, so that was a pleasant surprise...wish there were more merchandise for this one. The items are pricey though. read more

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Stopped by del amo mall after years away , passed by Animate which fed into my love for anime . As i roamed the aisles , the store was stocked with a range of good reads and accessories . The small gachapon station also caught my eye and i spent some coin on one. My coins got stuck and the worker on the floor who helped me displayed 5 star customer service S/o to the floor worker holding it down on this busy weekend. read more

Animate - Gachapon - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

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Good selection of anime and manga related products. It reminded me of shopping in the Animate store in Japan. A bit crowded with a lot of items to browse and search. The prices on the items were a bit pricier. It was fun to look around and check out the AX artwork in the back. read more

Animate - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

Having been to the Animate locations in Japan, this one in US feels quite small in comparison. It is still pretty well stocked and a perfect place for Otakus. I wish the aisles were labeled with the names of the merch line. I am not familiar with every single anime/manga so I wish it was labeled. Overall it's a good place to get all different IP in one location! read more

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Definitely a great place for anime/manga fans. Everything is clearly labeled by their anime/manga titles. A LOT of the less well known anime in the US for got a section of merchandise of its own. Titles like Gintama, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bungo stray dogs (less well known here) to name a few. NOT a great deal of selection on anime figures though, some Bandai, some Goodsmile Popup Parade. And only VERY FEW of the Goodsmile Nendoroid (if you are collector of it, definitely disappointed). Mangas clearly titles with English or Japanese. (And also some titles pure for special groups labeled with BL/GL). I only gave 3 stars because of their price!!! It is outrageously HIGH!!!! I checked eBay while I was there, they were significantly higher than the Japan seller of the same product(with shipping!!). And I've been to their stores in Ahihabara and Hiroshima. I know the quality of their products. Those acrylic stands doesn't cost that much and the quality is kind of cheap. But they charge them super high at this store. If you want good anime figures, good anime products, J town is a better option. The hobbies store in the little akihahara have great selection of figures with very reasonable price. One thing extra. If you really want to go, park at Macy's woman section. And go up to the "upper floor", it's right there. read more

Animate - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

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I always find my niche merchandise here since most anime merchandise in most retail stores are mostly mainstream stuff so it's pretty awesome to be able to shop in person then buy it online :) it may be abit expensive but it's better then overpriced shipping! read more

Came back because it really does have a great selection and lots of items are available. My daughters were able to fill the gaps of missing volumes in their manga collection. Conveniently located next to Din Tai Fung so there's a great way to kill time while waiting for your party to get called. Located inside the Del Amo Mall which has plenty of available parking. read more

Probably the best place to get anime/game related official merch from in LA, if not in the whole SoCal. It has the largest stock and widest range of IPs, from Hoyoverse games to Vtuber franchises, from classic anime to recently popular anime. You can't really complain about the price of stuff here since that's how expensive they are here in US. Staffs are helpful and friendly, and the register lines are usually pretty fast. It's definitely worth a ride just for this shop if you live anywhere in SoCal. read more

Animate - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

Prefacing that the lower number of stars is because of the expensive cost compared to other stores and other ways of buying the same items. Like it's a pretty significant difference in price: anywhere from 10-30% markup. The shop is set up exactly like how it is in Japan, so for anyone who's complaining about how claustrophobic it feels, this is exactly the layout they have elsewhere. In fact, I feel like the shelves are more spacious compared to the very narrow ones that I've experienced in other cities in Japan. It's really organized except for the high traffic areas where people shuffle around and there aren't enough staff to clean everything up and make everything neat in a short amount of time. The staff are really friendly and can answer any questions you have. The points system for the American animated stores do not transfer to your Japanese account so it's completely separate. The items that they have at this store are pretty varied from anime that is currently airing (Dungeon Meshi) and popular, as well as older series that are staples like Naruto & Demon Slayer. read more

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Great but i want more attack on titan. You guys keep decreasing the aot section. This is not funny. Thank god for the aot pop up but it's over now. What am i supposed to do with my life? You guys keep making the aot section smaller each time i come. Plus the stuff was hella expensive. i got six aot things for like 70 dollars. Plus tax. The three heart stickers i received were pitiful. But i love the uramichi oniisan illustration book. Thanks. Great service. read more

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I normally don't leave a bad review on stores I go to. But I had bad experience when entering this store. I was really excited to touch identity v merchandise and purchase items. I had stares from the workers when I was browsing the merch section. They even gave me a nasty look at the counter. I felt like I was doing something wrong. It was my first and last time going there. read more

This shop is huge. It carries such a wide variety of animate merch. My kid was ordering them from Japanese website and paid $50 just to ship it here. Wow. We will be coming here all the time. The merchandise is organized. They have books too. Staff does not bother you. You can quietly browse thru all the goodies. Highly recommend this place. Big thumbs up! read more

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Been wanting to come here since it opened and managed to finally do so without any worry about a line out the door. My bf and I made the trip out just for this shop. It's definitely purely anime but still got a handful of video game merch. It's located on the upper floor of this gigantic mall. Lots of open space but very clean and organized. Hoping to see much more Final Fantasy and video games in general merch in the future. I was very pleased to see that they at least had a tiny FFXVI postcard book that I snagged but no luck on the actual art book. I'm hoping that they have more figures and stuff for this later on but it's definitely a great shop if you're looking for manga and anime merch in general. IG: @ammysalamii read more

Animate - FFXVI Postcard Book IG: @ammysalamii - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

FINALLY MADE THE PILGRIMAGE!! As the first and currently only US branch for Animate, this is a must stop for all weebs and otaku out there. While I agree with the general consensus that YES, it is pretty EXPENSIVE there are still lots of merits to visiting the shop. Yes, you would be hard pressed to find any merchandise for any anime series that is over 5+ years old here (you know, unless it's had a recent movie released, revival, or is just always very popular -I'm talking Haikyuu and NGE). A good chunk of the shop was Blue Lock, Haikyuu, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Re: Zero, Quintessential Quintuplets, Sono Bisque Doll, etc. I saw like one item for Ousama Ranking and small sections for Oshi no Ko and Bocchi the Rock. Currently they have special small "event" for the BL series "Given" so there's art in the back and merchandise too. Actually for all the fujoshis/fudanshi, BL/Yaoi enjoyers they surprisingly decent selection. Of course there's manga in the back, but they had merchandise for Ten Count and the gacha game Nu Carnival. They also had some merch for some series that's harder to find goods for. Not technically anime, but there's also LOTS of Genshin Impact and OF COURSE V-TUBERS. You have a V-tuber oshi? And you have a fat wallet? Then you're good to go! You can easily create an ita bag with all of the V-tuber goods here and they even had really unique items like the coat hanger with the V-tuber shoulder up. I also saw some goods for Nikke Goddess of Victory and some FGO goods too (both game goods and goods for Fate Grand Carnival Phantasm and for the Camelot movie). I did manage to get some goods I didn't have and a Santa Karna stand so I left happy. There are some prize figures and some of the larger figures along with Pop-Up Parade and Nendoroids. Some CD's and vinyl records, manga, and art books. What I really liked was that they had some itabag/merchandise storage items such as these cute jar acrylic covers (I got 2 of them) and a cool acrylic/cheki holder (unfortunately $40...). I hope they expand this section though! It was a pretty busy Sunday, but staff was efficient and very kind. I joined their membership program (just add phone number and e-mail) and I think there's a point system. In the corner there's the good old Bandai Gachapon area too. Hoping they open more of these so I don't have to travel all the way here, but all in all, despite being quite pricey (I'd check online prices and how much most of these go for at cons), it's worth the visit if you're really into anime! read more

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Huge variety of anime, manga, and core japanese culture artwork. Rows upon rows of pins, figurines, stationery, manga, books, stickers, cards, keychains, and more. There is also a side full of gashapon machines where you can exchange money to tokens for a vending machine to redeem a toy from a certain set of items. read more

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If you're interested in buying pretty cool anime merch then you can look no further than Animate in Torrance. I've been coming here for a while and I must say that it never gets old. It almost makes me feel like I'm back in Japan roaming the Animate aisles. Pricing - I'm not surprised at the pricing since we are in the US. I wouldn't go in expecting Japanese pricing let's all be real. But when a good paycheck hits best believe I am there to get myself some mangas and standees. I'm a big JJK fan, so all of their blind boxes are definitely my kryptonite. ‍ Customer Service/atmosphere - The overall atmosphere is what you would expect. The workers will assist as much as possible. As someone who asks a lot of questions, I'm glad that they have taken their time to help me out. Especially when I am looking for a specific manga series or just an anime in general. The girl at checkout with the purple colored hair is super nice and friendly. She was able to create conversation based of the Code Geass buttons I was buying. This lowk became my go to store for some nice anime merch. read more

At last! The greater Los Angeles area gets its own version of Animate. I've been an anime enjoyer for as long as I can remember. This is really the place to get merchandise from the latest and hottest anime out right now. If you're into titles like Spy x Family, JJK, Demon Slayer, Genshin, My Hero Academia, etc this should be heaven for you. If you're an old school fan like me, the selection for even the most recent Sailor Moon merch was limited to the two movie art books. Employees were generally friendly to help around. Pricing is what you would expect if you were to get the same merch from online. I do like the convenience of having this store around for gifts and presents for friends who love a lot of the newer series. The manga selection is heavenly! Plenty of English translated titles here! Overall, you'll have a good shopping experience here if you love anime! read more

Animate - Bouquet from opening weekend - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

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Amazing selection of merchandise from a variety of series! Everything is also really well-organized, too. I love walking around and looking at the new things in stock! What stood out to me most though was their amazing customer service. Every time I've called the store, I've spoken to a helpful employee who can answer my questions. I called yesterday with a question for one of the employees, Diana, and she gave me very thorough answers to all my questions about item preorders, availability, and pickup. When she couldn't answer one of my questions right away, she told me to call back today and she would have the answer for me, and when I called today, she did! I am so incredibly grateful for all the help I've gotten from the people who work here. read more

Really disappointed by the amount of yuri and type it had. The yoai section was large with multiple shelves and diverse genres. while the Yuri selection was one row. And seemed to fetishize sapphic relationships, with characters that didn't look old enough to vote. It was creepy and really disappointing. read more

To use these Gashapon machine, you are required to use their Bandai coin exchange machine to get the official Bandai coins to use with the machine. Before you could choose the amount of money you wished to exchange but now you exchange 3 coins for $3 each, which its $9 dollars. Also, many of the machines are 2/4, so this ratio is very unfavorable to you. If you want to use a machine that is x4, you are actually spending $18. The price use to be $2 a coin but now it is $3. That is a 50% increase. In Japan, the machines just take the yen coin which is currency so people who used it paid the exact amount. Why do people have to pay for extra coin they don't need. One can argue that you can use it but let's be honest, people are most likely not to use the extra coin or are going to settle for something they didn't want. Or worst after they come back to see if there is something they wanted they only have 1/2 coin, and the thing. is x4 so they buy more coins to get something you want. Again they have a left over coin and now they just have to come back. They don't want to 'waste it.' You see what happening right? read more

I love animate so much and I was pleasantly surprised and not only how big the location was but, the selection of goods they had. I had just come back from a trip to Japan and I was craving some anime goods. Heard this was here in Torrance so, I thought I'd make the drive to come and check it out. It's located in a mall but, it's huge. Really well spaced and the organization and cleanliness was something I very much appreciated. The employees were so kind but they weren't pushy. They asked if I had any questions and asked if I'd like to join the rewards program (which I did) of course I wish it was the exact same as the one in Japan but, I could see the potential in the future. Also, they had Kingdom Hearts merch which really surprised me and the prices aren't that much different than Japan tbh. If I'm ever in Torrance again, I'll definitely come back to see what else they have. read more

We did not even realize it was their grand opening today! So much merch and very busy! If you are an anime fan, this is the place! Picked up an item for a friend of mine. No doubt will be back! read more

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As an anime fan I love this spot! If you enjoy anything anime from games to other kinds of merchandise this is the spot to leverage. The staff is friendly and will answer any of your questions. read more

I was excited to visit the first Animate in the US. I just came back from Japan so that might have biased my perception a little. Everything was well organized but prices were double of those in Japan and similar to what you would get at Kinokuya. They had a little Given pop up exhibit which was cute, but overall only worth a visit if you're in the area. I feel like Book-off has a better variety of goods in the same mall. read more

Pick up was easy staff was friendly and plenty of parking. Wish they had more variety and notify you when your items are ready for pick up. Otherwise I recommend. read more

I was at the grand opening and have been consistently going a couple times throughout the week. Because they just opened, it seems like there are empty shelves that will be filled with different merch. I like shopping here because they have current , up-to-date popular anime as well as niche seasonal series (quintuplets, umamusume, ice guy and cool colleague, ranking of the kings, vocaloid, given, etc). I don't have to worry about the prices being scalped or counterfeit - in addition .. no shipping fees for overseas goods. I'm looking forward to seeing more series that they decide to bring in. Most of the niche popular items get sold out so I like to check what they have in stock. I really also like the staff because they are really knowledgeable and friendly! read more

Well, I really like how much merch there is here. Especially the Haikyuu items, but it seems as if lately they had been removing some stuff from certain animes and all to make space for others. The last time I went, I was pleased with the bluelock section. However, today I went and I was disappointed at the lack of merch I saw. read more

Animate - Bluelock - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

Tl;Dr Pro: variety of official goods from a handful of series at a not-overpriced rate Cons: VERY VERY VERY**** little variety of series. Ie: not good for any non-new (within 5 years) anime fans Newly opened in del amo mall, it's a haven for lovers of /recent/ anime. This is part of a chain in Japan and caters to anime fans with many varieties of goods that would be otherwise pricey to import or up charged elsewhere. I want to emphasize that this is JUST for popular anime right now (because that is what sells fast and easy).There are very little variety of series that isn't demon slayer, hololive, or genshin so it's not a paradise for a general wide (or older) audience of anime fans. It was difficult to find anything that wasn't newly released within the past maybe 5 years that I haven't been caught up so I only ended up buying the only figure i knew of (spice and wolf). There are two rows of gachapon of repeated types of, again, mainly recent popular shows. Parking was fine and store can get super busy extremely quickly after 11am on a weekday and after 10am on a weekend. Service was nice . Overall, there are till some bare shelves but they ARE newly opened but still seem to be fun to wander once or twice a month perhaps to see what might be new. read more

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Employee that rang my purchase up was rude after looking at my items. All I did was buy some yaoi manga and merchandise... how are you gonna work at the candy factory and hate chocolate....... read more

Animate - Final Fantasy display - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

I love this store and I hope they do well! They do keep current on series that are featured in-store, and their collabs match up with stores internationally. My only complaint is that even though they sell A TON of vtuber merch, their staff seems pretty uninformed about vtubers in general (for example, I've come in looking for merch of certain Nijisanji talents on separate occasions and staff had no idea what I was talking about, even though they were having collabs with them at the time ). When it comes to pricing, I agree with others that some things are a tad expensive, but it's usually for the harder-to-find things. In those cases, a lot of times it's almost comparable or cheaper to the prices if you were to get these things shipped from Japan. Take the Nijisanji merch, for example. One Nijipuppet from the official shop runs around $10USD, but at Animate one is around $15USD. The cost to ship one via small packet, the cheapest they offer, is around $20USD. In my opinion, Animate is already a better deal for this kind of stuff. I'm local so I've definitely come by a lot, and will continue to do so in the future. Way better than making the trek out to Little Tokyo, that's for sure. read more

Cool store Lots of selection Not great for Gundam figures, some small selection of models RG HG etc.. No metal builds Lots of manga and books and trinkets, posters etc.. 2nd level at Del Amo Mall, Torrance, CA read more

It is so good!!! It has a lot of books and anime figures and the books are put neat but the price for the books are pretty expensive but all in all it's pretty great read more

When I found out, they opened one in the US. It was interesting. There's a lot of stuff, and sections are divided into the most popular mainstream anime. It is a bit overpriced. I was expecting a wide range of selection from older animes to current. Like I said, most items they have in stock are all the popular mainstream anime currently. It's best to go to Downtown LA's Little Tokyo if you want a little more anime diversity. Mind you, Del Amo already includes other Anime stores inside. read more

Animate is supposed to be the most popular shop in Japan with all things anime and this location is the very first to open in the US. So when I went to the grand opening I was very excited and had high expectations -- until I saw their small selection. It was disappointingly lacking in merchandise and the cost can be unnecessarily high for certain items. A lot of their merch can be bought at other anime stores you'd find within LA. I expected a whole lot more in comparison to other long time (generic) anime stores. And why they've decided to open this within a mall in such a small space? I wouldn't know. In Japan, Animate consists of multiple floors with plenty of merch. It seems every time a Japanese event or store opens up in the US, it always lacks quality and quantity. A side issue that I also noticed is how warm it is in there compared to the whole mall. They barely had the AC on, if at all. I noticed some workers sweating and this is not a good setting for them to work in specially during a grand opening. Lower the temperature more for the workers and guests. I won't go to this store again until they actually increase their selection. It's simply not worth it. Until then, I'll just rely on Kinokuniya and other smaller stores. read more

Really poor service. I tried to buy a figure that was mislabeled on the floor. I was pretty excited thinking maybe it was defective or double tape but the employee just took it from my hands and was like no, this is higher price sorry. And he just walked away. They sent me away without even given me a second look or try to discuss how to mediate the issue. read more

Animate - Mispriced - Comic Books Near Me - Torrance, California

The staff with super bad attitude. They think themselves are the king of whole mall of something. Also their product price is x5 higher than most of other places. read more

Love the selection here, can't really find too much Hypnosis Microphone merch anywhere else besides Kinokuniya. Though limited it is nice to have another option to get Hypmic merch from. Would be 5 stars if it wasn't so insanely dark in here. What's with the lack of lighting? read more

Finally gathered the courage to drive an hour to Animate. I've been to their store in Japan, and the experience there was better. The prices are a bit high here, and I hope they can offer better prices for anime enthusiasts. Although I was a bit disappointed, I couldn't resist buying a few things since I came all this way. read more