Today we decided to have a somewhat relaxed
day, and went anime/hobby shopping. Thankfully, we live really close to
the Otome Kan, an area of Ikebukuro with immense anime shops. Otome Kan
is different from Akihabara because it mostly tailors towards "the needs
of women".
And that means comics about handsome men, and comics about boys love.
This isn't exactly our jam, but we decided to give it a go.
And that means comics about handsome men, and comics about boys love.
This isn't exactly our jam, but we decided to give it a go.
9 floors of anime goodness in Animate
Ikebukuro, then few more floors of Animate Ikebukuro Annex, plus at
least five shops of K-BOOKS, and a few more extra shops.
Lots and lots of BL ("boys love"), moderate amount of mainstream stuff, very little yuri ("girls love"). Yuri isn't a very popular genre.
Lots and lots of BL ("boys love"), moderate amount of mainstream stuff, very little yuri ("girls love"). Yuri isn't a very popular genre.
"2.5D" category is funny. It refers to anime
cosplayers, theatres and musicals. It's a bit uncanny to have cut-out
figurines with real humans
One of the floors is all about anison (anime music). Signed discs on display are lovely
There's plenty of merch for hololive. Apparently, VTubers is a very big deal!
Registers have never ending ads for new anime.
Ave Mujica, my beloved anime gothic metal group, has released their first album, and there's an event space for it
I should've taken a photo with them😱
https://youtu.be/cVfQBLdIUXk
https://youtu.be/cVfQBLdIUXk
Artists leave their autographs in the store
We didn't find what we looked for in Animate,
so we checked out other "for women!!!" anime shops. So many thin books,
endless thin books...
* "Thin book" refers to a fan-made unofficial comic book, often of erotic content, very often portraying relationships that were not really explored in the original artworks
* "Thin book" refers to a fan-made unofficial comic book, often of erotic content, very often portraying relationships that were not really explored in the original artworks
"Durarara" themed vending machine spotted, right next to K-Books shop
Durarara is an anime set in this area, after all.
https://youtu.be/ov3eHJaWnkM
https://youtu.be/ov3eHJaWnkM
We found what we were looking for (sort of!) in
an unassuming shop called Melonbooks just a few minutes away from the
Otome* Road. A half of the shop was definitely aimed for men, though.
Its enormous 18+ section was frankly disappointing
* Otome = "lady"
* Otome = "lady"
But hey, they have "I'm in love with the villainess"...
... And green lesbians, and all the works of Kuzushiro except for the latest volume...
The choice of regular, non-BL, non-18+ thin
books (also known as doujinshi, "magazine for kindred spirits") is
adequate. There's also "order online, collect in the store" system with
over 10,000 yuri thin books (allegedly) which we might or might not use
in the future.
Today's haul:
* three doujinshi for "Sound Euphonium" (you'll hear about it more in a few days, no doubt), then
* doujinshi for "Bocchi The Rock",
* "16 bit sensation" artbook,
* New Ave Mujica album (comes with a random single CD and a limited edition photo card),
* whaledontsleep OST for "Senpai is an Otokonoko",
* And a commemorative doujinshi from a cafe called The Anchor.
* three doujinshi for "Sound Euphonium" (you'll hear about it more in a few days, no doubt), then
* doujinshi for "Bocchi The Rock",
* "16 bit sensation" artbook,
* New Ave Mujica album (comes with a random single CD and a limited edition photo card),
* whaledontsleep OST for "Senpai is an Otokonoko",
* And a commemorative doujinshi from a cafe called The Anchor.
Speaking about the café Anchor: it is likely
the only yuri café in the world. It is located in Shinjuku's 2nd
neighbourhood, known for its strong LGBT vibes and burgeoning night
life.
People go to the Anchor to have a cake and read
some yuri books. Their yuri book collection is roughly six times as
large as mine.
I forgot to take the photos in the café, but it
is exactly as you would imagine a café for lesbians who love reading:
quiet, full of sofas and books. The cake was great. The guest book was
full of warm messages from all over the world.
Anchor is just a few stone throws away from
Shinjuku Gyoen ("Shinjuku Imperial Garden"). The area used to be the
residence of the lord of Edo (Old Tokyo), then it was converted into a
botanical garden, and then it was destroyed during the World War 2. It
is now a huge landscape garden in the heart of Tokyo. There are many
tourists, but it's relatively peaceful and quiet.
The heron isn't afraid of humans.
Have you seen this rain shelter before?
Maybe you have!
Makoto Shinkai's "The Garden Of Words" is set in this park
It is a lovely park~ 😊