Sega Pop-Up Shop @ Anime Jungle…read more I had a great time checking out the Sega Pop-Up Shop in Little Tokyo at Anime Jungle! The pop-up runs through August, and while the main focus is Sonic the Hedgehog, they also have merch from Persona and Yakuza. Going on a weekday with a friend was definitely the right move--we only had to wait a few minutes to get in. Upon entering, staff hands you a ticket, and employees closely monitor the room while you browse. The shop is exceptionally well-organized, making it fun to look through all the beautiful, high-quality items. Since almost everything is directly imported from Japan and hard to find in the U.S., the prices are definitely on the higher side, but the exclusivity makes it worth it. I couldn't resist picking up a miniature Shadow the Hedgehog plush! The only downside to the visit was the customer service at checkout. The two employees at the register were busy chatting with each other, so I eventually had to speak up to ask if I could check out. The employee who rang me up seemed annoyed by the interruption, skipped any friendly greetings or questions about my visit, and just handed over my item after scanning it. Despite that brief hiccup at the counter, the overall experience was super positive. It was so fun wearing my Sonic shirt, seeing all the Japanese exclusive merchandise, and taking in the atmosphere. I highly recommend swinging by before it closes at the end of the month!

Great selection but employees need a major adjustment…read more Stopped in shortly before closing to make a purchase and was told there was a $10 minimum for tap payments, since I had forgotten my wallet. No problem--I started looking for another item to add since I was planning to spend more anyway. As they started to announce the store was closing, I asked if I could quickly grab cash from a friend outside the store and was asked, "Can you do it in 3 minutes?" This same associate was managing the customers going in to the store and she seemed to have issues remembering people's faces. I understand the store was closing, but the interaction felt rushed and unwelcoming. I was still trying to make a purchase and likely would have bought additional items, but after being treated like an inconvenience, I decided to leave instead.

I recently visited Gashapon Bandai Official Shop in Torrance and had a really fun experience. The…read moreshop is packed with rows of capsule toy machines featuring popular anime, manga, gaming, and Japanese character merchandise. Very reminiscent of my recent trip to Japan. The atmosphere was exciting and nostalgic, especially for collectors and anime fans. The store was clean, organized, and easy to browse. Some of the most popular items that I found here included Dragon Ball, Pokémon, and Sanrio just to name a few. There were also miniature food keychains and cute animal figures. You have to be careful here as once you start a collection it can be pricey to complete your collection as you don't know what you will get with very token and capsule toy spin. Every machine had something unique and it was hard to leave with just one capsule. I ended up getting a Sanrio one and a Pokémon capsule toy. I am just disappointed in the pricing of these capsule toys. I understand that when I was in Japan I only paid at most $4 for a capsule toy but here, the range varies and can go up to $12. Yikes! Overall, service was good. Staff members were friendly and helpful when I had questions about the machines or needed assistance with tokens and exchanges.

Located inside Mitsuwa, near the food court area. They offer trinkets, toys, and other neat…read morecollectibles. The prices vary depending on the item, $1-$3. There is a pay station where you can use your credit card to purchase coins to get the item you want. Very pricey for what you get.

I believe this place splits into two stores in Weller Court? On one side is a bunch of fanmade…read moremerch that they split profits with the artist, which I think is super nice/cool of them to do! This side is much smaller than the main store and has some empty areas, but well laid out. The main store where Kinokuniya used to be is really cool! I'm very, very impressed by their selection of gacha game merch. This stuff is hard to find even in some shops in China, so I appreciate that they brought it here to the states.

The space is a good size to stock anime and like items, but it felt empty. There wasn't really an…read moreorganized method to find a certain anime product; you just had to browse around and see what they had. Even with whatever they carried, it wasn't much. I don't know how service is here since I didn't interact with anyone. The items I took a closer look at were clothing and it was expensive since they were official merchandise from abroad,

Don't get me wrong! It's a great place for merch and has had a lot of great pop ups recently! The…read morestaff is usually amazing and super efficient. The reason why I'm giving it a 3 out of 5 is because of a bad experience today with the door person. We came in today, July 19th around the afternoon, about 3-4 PM. I understand their bag policy, it sucks but what can you do. We were very compliant with the doorman, but he seemed to have an attitude. Listen man, I get that it's hot and you may be having a day, but that doesn't mean you get to be rude. We went in, and immediately he needed to take our bags. We complied cause it's policy, and I politely told him "oh I have a small bag!" As in to tell him we have another bag to give him. He took it the wrong way and said "trust me I don't want to take it more than you do" under his breath. Buddy, I can hear you. I didn't even say it in a rude way, I'm just informing you that there was another bag. Whatever, we handed all our bags over, one of which was a bag carrying some merchandise (mainly some posters we purchased from another event we came from) mind you, there was 4 posters from a limited time event in there, worth $65. He asked "what's in the bag" all judgmental, like buddy, I get you need to know so you know where to place it on the shelf, but there is such a thing as asking in a nicer way like "is there anything delicate in here" or such. I told him it was some posters I had got. So. TELL ME WHY THIS GUY PUT THE BAG WITH THE POSTERS LAYING FLAT DOWN FIRST AND THEN PROCEEDED TO PUT OUR HEAVY BACKPACK AND OUR SMALLER BAG ON TOP OF IT. BUDDY. YOU ARE USING A METAL RACK SHELF, AND PUTTING HEAVY ITEMS ON TOP OF PAPER. SOME OF IT WAS EVEN ON THE EDGE SO YOU'RE ACTIVELY CREASING AND BENDING MY BELONGINGS. Anyone should know if you have anything fragile like posters, you would put it on top of the other bags so they do not get folded or creased or get and indents. I quickly told him if he can put the bag with the posters on top because I don't want them to get creased or bent. He doesn't say anything and just quickly does it, but he made a face. Buddy, if you don't like your job or can't do it well enough to know common sense like not putting delicates under heavy items, quit and go find something else, and leave your attitude at the OUTSIDE the door. I went home after this, and saw that all of four of my posters were creased in the same spot, coincidentally the same spot that was bent over the edge of the shelf. I don't care if they're posters and they can be replaced, not everyone has the luxury to replace broke items, especially not limited ones, I spent my hard earned money on it for it to be permanently ruined by some boy who doesn't care about other people's belongings despite being entrusted to handle them. Anyways, come for the merch! But maybe leave your valuables someplace where you know they'll be safe from damage.

Place was cool, they did a sega sonic pop up didn't take long and my sister got some good stuffread more

This Book Off is amazing. Has great selection of manga, toy figurines, video games, books, and…read moremovies. I personally come here to sell stuff to get cash back and sometimes you can score back a lot (depends on the value and demand of what you are selling). My favorite part has to definitely be how you can get certain video games for a discount budget compared to other major retailers. Like some games that still sell for 59.99 you can find at this book off for a cool 40-45 plus taxes, which is neat.

Pretty cool store to look through. However, their DVD/Blu-Ray and CD prices are kind of ridiculous…read more Pretty much every used movie and music CD that I picked up was more expensive than just ordering brand new online. If it wasn't, it was still definitely above average online used pricing. Some random examples I can remember: - "Halo 3" Soundtrack CD with a dirty and beat-up case for $30. A quick look online and I can buy new and sealed copies for $28 with free shipping. - "You've Got Mail" Blu-Ray used for $15. You can buy this brand new online for $9.99 with free shipping. There were plenty other items that were the same story. Not sure what the logic is with their pricing, it really is terrible. The organization also isn't the best. I found many CD's or movies that were in the wrong section. The good news is that they have a pretty good, but small, clearance section. I believe it's $3 per Blu-Ray, $2 per DVD, and $1 per music CD. They have a pretty decent selection for clearance. Overall disappointed. If you're close by, it's worth checking out the clearance sections. If not, I'd avoid the trip. There are plenty of other local stores that sell physical media for normal prices.

Business was located on 2nd floor across from Tokyo Haus. They had a large selection merchandise…read moreand music cds from Kpop groups and Katseye. I was looking at BTS Arirang and BT21 merchandise. We didn't buy anything.

HUGE selection of K-pop merchandise and goods. It's definitely one of the bigger shops in Weller…read moreCourt and it's located on the second floor. There's CD's, plushies, posters, photo cards, light sticks, and much more. I'm not that big into K-pop, but if you are, I think this is a good place to stop, in Little Tokyo of all places. You can definitely peruse through their aisles for some time. I liked the amount of Kakao Friends goods that they had here if any. I can't say much for the cost, a bit pricey for me, but I'm used to dirt cheap Japanese Mercari Visual Kei and J-rock prices. Staff welcomed us in when we were there and had smiles on their faces, despite the heat of the summer. It gets SUPER hot in here and they have some fans, but if they even have AC, it's very, very weak.

Out of the ashes rises a phoenix…read more I was surprised to see Harmmy Anime while crossing the street near the 99 Ranch Market. Crazy to see that they went from hot pot (IYKYK), to a spot at the mall, to a stand alone store. They're located right next to the Takashima. Funny enough, even with less space than the mall, I feel like they have more stuff and stock than before. The walls are LINED with so many kuji (raffle prizes) that you can purchase and win from. This ranges from anime series like Freiren, Haikyuu, etc. , cute Sanrio characters, to even series like Spongebob, and of course, Hatsune Miku. There's lots and lots of them, and you can take a look at the wall to see what prizes have already been won. There's a good amount of acrylic stands of characters, keychains, some cute plushies and plushie key chains (Chiikawa, Sanrio, etc.), some prize and other smaller figures, and lots and lots of blind buttons! There's a discount shelf at the bottom, but it's a pretty fair price for around $4-7 depending on the series. Lots of LADS (Love and Deep Space), Chinese series and danmei (I can't tell if it's all BL or not), and other various series like Frieren, Haikyuu, Tomie, Cardcaptor Sakura, Naruto, Kirby, Detective Conan, Identity V, Kaiju No. 8, etc. There's also Hoyoverse (slop) wall of goods too. There's also a LOT of LADS stuff here, so if you're a LADS girly you can easily build a shrine or an ita bag just with the stuff that you get here. The worker there was polite and stood at attention at his post the entire time that I was there. I got the Natsume Yuujinchou gacha buttons (they were discounted) and the Tomie buttons. Happy with what I got and I really liked that the Natsume buttons came with protectors and extra cheki cards. Cute! Now that they have a wider selection of kuji and goods that aren't just massive figures (though they still have that too), I can see myself stopping by more frequently.

Really cool store with lots of anime figures at good prices! If you are looking for new stuff from…read moreJapan go here!

The CUTEST stationery/art store ever!!! They carry lots of goods ranging from apparel, stickers,…read moreenamel pins, acrylic keychains, plushies, washi tape, journals, albums, card holders, prints, and more! All of their inventory is made up of small independent artists who supply their products to Happibara Station. They are on the 1F and 2F of the mall, and each shop has unique merchandise! The cashier was so friendly and even reminded me that they did 2 hour parking validation for the parking structure directly connected to the mall. Both stores offer validation so you can double the amount of time!

Cuteness overload. Back in the day, I would have to go to Anime Expo once a year, at Artist Alley,…read moreto find anime inspired art and accessories. I'm so glad this place exist. The Galleria seemed like a dying mall and I'm glad there's new revival to the space. I picked up a $40 enamel pin (which I know, it is a lot). It brings me joy every time I look at it, so those little moments is going to pay off. There a lot of things to look at in a tiny space and it's a perfect place to find unique gifts for friends and family.