Summary
- Japan has the world's largest anime store, Animate Ikebukuro, with 10 floors of anime goods.
- Ikebukuro in Tokyo, with Animate Street, is an otaku paradise similar to Akihabara.
- Toshima City promotes Ikebukuro as a pedestrian-friendly otaku destination with Animate Street.
It goes without saying that, while anime is growing in popularity around the world, Japan is still at the heart of the industry. After all, Japan is where anime was born, and where the vast majority of it is still produced and distributed. So, while you can find anime stores popping up in places around the world, Japan still has the biggest selection of anime merchandise available, and most stores that sell it.
In fact, Japan now has the biggest anime store in the entire world. It is the original branch of the national chain Animate, which has stores in nearly every city across Japan. Animate is synonymous with the sales of anime merchandise, manga, box sets, magazines, and even cosplay. To recognize the impact that Animate has had in Japan, and especially in honor of the biggest anime store in the world, the otaku neighborhood of Ikebukuro in Tokyo has officially changed the name of the street housing the store to "Animate Street."
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The World's Largest Anime Store
Animate Ikebukuro
While Animate is a major retailer in Japan now, it had to start somewhere, and that place is the neighborhood of Ikebukuro in northern Tokyo near the border with Saitama. Ikebukuro is one of Tokyo's electronics neighborhoods, also hosting the first of the famous electronics stores, Bic Camera. Ikebukuro's branch of Animate opened over 40 years ago now, and while it was already a large store, the shop reopened in 2023 after being renovated bigger and better than ever.
Now, Animate Ikebukuro hosts 10 floors of anime-related goods and more. The original store expanded into the Ikebukuro Health Center next door, effectively doubling the amount of space that it had before. Inside, otaku can shop for manga and other anime merchandise, visit a café with anime-themed food and drinks, go to a theater in the basement for performances and live shows, and even attend signing events by people who work in the anime industry.
Because Animate Ikebukuro is now the largest anime store in the world, it is also bringing tourism to Ikebukuro like never before. Anime fans from across Japan and around the world are traveling to visit this mecca of the otaku world. To recognise this, the official X (formerly Twitter) account for Toshima City (the ward where Ikebukuro sits) posted this week that the street that the store is on is now officially called "Animate Dori," or in English, "Animate Street."
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Ikebukuro, an Anime Town with Animate Street
One of Tokyo's Most Famous Neighborhoods for Otaku
If you think the name Ikebukuro sounds familiar and you were an avid watcher of anime in the 2010s, you likely learned it from the popular series Durarara!!. The anime was set in Ikebukuro, and the setting played a pivotal role in the story. Another famous live-action series (which also received an anime remake in 2020) is Ikebukuro West Gate Park. But even without these two famous series drawing otaku to the neighborhood, Ikebukuro is still an otaku paradise.
Alongside Akihabara, Ikebukuro has a huge number of anime attractions for tourists who visit the district. It has countless anime stores, including Ikebukuro Animate. There are also arcades with plenty of anime-themed prizes, a multi-floor cosplay store, wig shops, second-hand anime and doujinshi stores, an anime museum, a huge Pokémon store (and a Pokémon Go store, a One Piece store, and a small Pokémon Cafe), and even a monthly cosplay event - just to start. Ikebukuro has really leaned into its draw for otaku, investing money in making it a destination for anime and gaming fans around the world.
Toshima City has also been trying to make Ikebukuro a more walkable city, encouraging locals and tourists to enjoy walking around and shopping. That is likely part of the motivation behind naming "Animate Street." According to the X post (translated from Japanese),
Based on the voices of local people, a friendly name has been decided. We will continue to work with local residents to build roads that are loved by the community.
Many streets in Japan do not have names at all, so Animate Street is a very exciting addition to the neighborhood. It continues to set Ikebukuro apart as an otaku destination. And it may be just the first street to get this kind of treatment, if the city is invested in continuing to make Ikebukuro a place that people want to visit.
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Source: X