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Torrance, CA

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Animate

3.6 (48 reviews)
Open • 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

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Ana T.

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.

Gachapon
Alexis S.

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.

Nick S.

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.

Willie L.

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.

Nancy L.

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!

Winnie T.

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.

Boxi F.

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.

Kalai C.

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.

aot pop up merchandise
Pokpok P.

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.

Animate LA
Mel C.

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!

FFXVI Postcard Book IG: @ammysalamii
Angela G.

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

Ann T.

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!

Gachapon machines
Kevin C.

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.

Bouquet from opening weekend

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3 years ago

There is a lot to see here for anime collectors, and their prices are pretty fair for a brick and mortar store.

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Ask the Community - Animate

Do you have madoka magica or magia record merchandise?

I was there a couple of weeks ago and they had some! My favorites were some cute acrylic stands with the PMMM cast in various trendy modern outfits against stylized backgrounds, I think they would look great together on a display shelf.

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Review Highlights - Animate

“There are other stores in LA that sell items from older anime, or used goods, but that is not what Animate is about.”

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My son and I visited the Comic Bug, maybe looking for some back issues. The store exceeded our…read moreexpectations. I only have so many new releases, but also a decent amount of back issues. They also had a great selection of action figures. The prices are fair, especially compared to places like Frank and Sons and other comic stores in the area. The service was also great and they answered any questions we had. I highly recommend stopping by and checking it out.

The Baseline: For a retail shopping experience, quality merchandise must be provided, a quality…read moreenvironment must be established, and the items need to relevant to the store. Service: Great service here at the Comic Bug to help you find a comic book you may be looking to find. It is nice to have a local friendly comic store to help you find old past issues of a comic line or help you find a new title you may enjoy. Selection: Comics are a finicky priced item depending on the collectibility of the line. My first printing of the entire Batman Beyond line that I paid only a few bucks for is worth a lot more today (especially because I got them graded). The selection here is for new titles and back issues are in the more modern line of comics. Anything silver age or earlier is not going to be in the bins. Value: Comics are a value that you find them or the collectors market finds them. You will be paying cover price plus tax for all new titles.

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