There’ll be more to do than just shopping at the new Animate flagship location.
It’s been a rough couple of years for Tokyo’s otaku-oriented businesses, with landmark dojinshi shops and video game arcades closing down. But there’s a happy exception coming soon, as Animate, Japan’s biggest anime/manga specialty store, is building a gigantic new location in the city’s Ikebukuro neighborhood.
Following a massive expansion to the existing Animate Ikebukuro branch, the new Animate Ikebukuro Flagship Store will have nine above-ground floors, plus one more below the surface. First announced last December, newly released details show it’s not just a shopping spot, either, but more of an otaku entertainment complex. In addition to selling various types of anime/manga/video game merch, the building will also house a theater, art exhibition gallery, snack stand with character latte art beverages and icing cookies, and three separate theater halls/event spaces for concerts, st…
