Why am I writing about buying anime? Well, because I’m an anime otaku of course! Everything anime has been my life since a young age, and all my friends have come from the world of anime and anime conventions too.
In fact, many of my friends now work with me at AnimeCon.org running cons! It’s awesome!
So, onto the facts, best places to buy anime!
#1 Otaku Mode – Category: Merchandise
Tokyo Otaku Mode™ (TOM) shares with the world the latest Japanese pop culture news through its Facebook page, which has over 20 million likes, and sells products related to Japanese anime, manga, games, music, and fashion through its website, the Tokyo Otaku Mode Shop. TOM strives to be the fastest source for delivering world-famous Japanese pop culture content around the globe. That is TOM’s mission.
TOM also strives to support top creators in expanding overseas. This is achieved through translation support of creators’ products and profiles, creating portfolios for creators geared toward overseas viewers, increasing their overseas exposure through interviews, exhibiting their works at overseas conventions, and more. TOM aims to be a platform on which creators can post and sell their works to a worldwide audience.
Essentially it’s a big store for buying anime stuff online!
#2 Anime Stuff Store – Category: Merchandise
ASS (what a fun abbreviation… don’t use that) – Anime Stuff Store is a fully licensed anime shop. What’s that mean? Well it means that all the stuff they sell is licensed and approved by the Japanese copyrights holders. So that means you won’t be getting cheap knockoffs. Knockoffs, bootlegs, and unlicensed products are a real worry when it comes to buying anime merchandise because just so much of it is out there. Sometimes it can be hard to find a store that sells only legitimate products. Knockoffs are often off-color and don’t last as long as the high-quality original “Otaku goods”. AnimeStuffStore only sellse licensed anime products!
#3 Crunchyroll – Category: Streaming
Of course crunchyroll is the best place to watch anime for free online, other than some of the sites I recommend. Go watch some episodes of whatever your favorite anime happens to be, and support the anime companies at the same time.
#4 Aniplex Plus – Category: Merchandise
Aniplex Plus is the online store for “Aniplex” – they make so many popular animes that it’s ridiculous. The store is only for Japanese customers though, so you likely have to use a shopping service to purchase. They sell many of their complete anime box sets on the site. It’s not just limited to anime box sets though, with figures, stationery, and even clothing available for purchase.
#5 Pokemon Center Online – Category: Merchandise
The Pokemon Center in Ikkebukuro is an awesome shopping experience and has been expanded to feature Pokemon Go and a Pikachu cafe recently. If you want to see inside we might cover it in our 30 days in Japan video blog. It’s really awesome and is filled to the brim with pokemon. There is a plushie for every single one of the first 150 pokemon, with more being added regularly. It’s simply awesome for a person who loves POKEMON!
Okay so I hope this helps you begin shopping for anime online.
Alright, now I’m going back to anime otaku life! What else should you do on a night at home? Sit down and have a beer and enjoy anime! Of course!
See you at a con soon!