Anime Shopper's Guide to NYC
Starbuck
Here is the first draft of the Anime Shopper's Guide to NYC.
Please email me any corrections/additions etc. Thanks!
Steve
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Stephen Pearl (Starbuck) Work: (908)932-3465 Home: (908)246-3927
UUCP: rutgers!remus.rutgers.edu!pearl ARPA: pe...@remus.rutgers.edu
US MAIL: LPO 12749 CN 5064, New Brunswick, NJ 08903
QUOTES: "What is Starbuck-ing?" -Adultress 19
"Works for me!" -Rick Hunter (The Cop, not the Robotech Defender)
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Anime Shopper's Guide to New York City
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A Rutgers Anime Publication
12/2/90
This article can be freely distributed, as long as all credits remain intact.
If this is used in any publication (including any APAs), please send us a copy.
Rutgers Anime
% Japanese Cultural Association
Box 60, Student Activities Center
613 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Please send all additions/corrections/comments to:
pe...@remus.rutgers.edu or Steve Pearl
LPO 12749, CN 5064
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
For the purposes of this guide, I am only listing businesses which
carry actual anime and not every comic shop that carries the Marvel
Akira or the latest Viz translation. I have heard rumours of lots of
anime to be found in Chinatown but haven't checked it out.
For a City that is called the 24th Ward, (As in the 24th ward of
Tokyo, which has 23 wards. Remember Megazone 23??) there is not much
anime to be found. Interestingly enough, most of what is out there
can be found on a very walkable stretch along 5th Avenue from 42nd
Street to 57th Street.
We start our expedition at the Port Authority, located at 42nd Street.
For simplicity's sake, we will start outside the Northern terminal.
(for reasons which will become apparent by the end of the article)
Turn right and walk up 42nd street until you reach 5th Avenue. Make a
left and walk one or two blocks. On the right side, at 521 5th
Avenue (between 43rd and 44th), is Zen Oriental Bookstore. Zen
Oriental Bookstore has Anime magazines and manga, but not much else.
As you pass 44th street, take a look to your left. You will see a
sign for a Japanese Restaurant called Nakagawa. Immediately to the
left of Nakagawa, (inside & upstairs) is Tokyo Video. They used to
have a great selection of Anime available for rent or to buy but they
got rid of their selection and no longer like "gaijins" to shop there.
The reason being (I heard) was that many people would rent anime and
never return them, and that they would loiter and watch them on the
VCR's that Tokyo Video provided in the store for checking tapes. Just
shake your head and sigh. A valuable resource ruined by the Fans from
Hell. Going the other way, (To your right, up East 44th Street) there
is OCS Bookstore at 5 E. 44th Street. It is a small Japanese
bookstore with a good selection of Manga and Magazines. Please note,
however, that they do NOT take credit cards. After shopping there,
We return to 5th Avenue and continue our quest for Anime.
*Begin Optional Side-trip*
If you are so inclined, when you walk past 47th Street, you can hang a
right and walk to the Japan Society at 333 E. 47th Street. Just
remember that it is a ways down. (You are essentially starting at 1
because 5th Avenue is the Divider between the East and West sides of
NYC). If you do decide to go visit the Japan Society, you will, at
some point, cross Park Avenue at about 250. If you wish, you can
continue down Park Avenue to 299 which will bring you to the Japan
Information Center/Japanese Consulate. (I don't know where this will
put you in relation to the 5th Avenue tour. Maybe on my next Anime
shopping trip, I will try it)
*End Optional Side-trip*
Continuing down 2 more blocks to 49th Street, hang a left onto West
49th. Almost right in front of the Rockefeller Center Skating rink
(Where the famous Christmas Tree resides), at 10 West 49th Street is
Books Kinokuniya. They carry anime magazines and, on the second
floor, they have the largest selection of manga that I have seen.
They also carry some of the Viz and Eclipse manga translations. They
also have a pretty good CD selection with some anime related artists.
(But no soundtracks).
Returning to 5th Avenue, continue walking until you reach 57th street.
(At somepoint along the way, you will pass the Japanese Airlines (JAL)
building. They sometimes have interesting displays in the window that
are fun to look at.) Hang a left onto West 57th and walk to 115 West
57th. There will be Books Nippon. They sell models, posters,
books, magazines, manga, records/CD's, Videotapes/LD's, comics. And
they offer 10% off to members of the Books Nippan Fan Club. Their
selection may not be as good as the West Coast stores (Nikaku, Idol
Land, Books Nippan, etc) but they're the best that us poor
East-Coasters have.
All in all it amounts to an interesting afternoon's shopping spree,
again, not much for the 24th ward. However, across the Hudson River
in New Jersey, is a Japanese mall called Yaohan. Not only do they
have other sources of anime, but they are easily accessible via a
shuttle bus which travels to and from Yaohan and the parking lot
outside the northern terminal of the Port Authority. (And you thought
I was just arbitrarily choosing it as our starting point.) The
shuttle bus leaves about every hour. (There is a longer gap during
rush hour to allow for the increased travel time). And it only costs
$1.00 each way!
At Yaohan Plaza (595 River Road, Edgewater, NJ) , there is a variety
of stores. Starting at one end, we have another Kinokuniya, which is
a smaller version of the one at Rockefeller Center.
The next store actually contains several stores. Inside is a Pony
Toys, where they sell lots of Anime models, toys, and posters as well
as Japanese videogames (many are anime related but most won't work on
American game systems. Compatible are Gameboy games and TG16 (PC
Engine) CD-Rom games). They also sell anime videotapes including some
of the poorer English dubs (Macross) as well as the AnimEigo releases.
Also in the store is a Saiko Electronics, which contains a huge
selection of Japanese CD's (Best I have ever seen) including 1 or two
soundtracks and some of the anime related singers. They also have a
Karaoke demonstration for those who have never seen one.
Moving along, we come to the Yaohan Supermarket. Inside the store is
a variety of small shops in addition to the supermarket proper. We have
a really cool and relatively inexpensive food court, a cigarette place
that also sells CD's. And... JBC Video.
JBC video has a nice selection of Dramas, Sports, movies, and of
course, anime. They rent them to members, ($30 to join, have no clue
to the rental rates, but they are usually much cheaper than your
local Blockbuster) but you can purchase any tape for $15. They do not
have Ranma 1/2 and have nowhere near the selection that Tokyo Video
used to have.
There is an information desk in the Yaohan supermarket where you can
pick up a bus schedule for their shuttle bus.
As an alternate plan, one could drive to Yaohan (Free parking!), shop
there, and use the shuttle bus to enter and leave the City. Just be
careful not to miss the last bus. (7:30 leaving NYC, 8pm leaving NJ)
Bus schedules are available at the Yaohan information desk in the main
supermarket.
To get to Yaohan Plaza, take the Fort Lee exit at the George
Washington Bridge, head down to River Road for several miles until you
reach Yaohan Plaza.
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Stores and business listed
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New York-
Books Nippan
115 West 57th Street
(212) 582-4622
Hours: M-F 10:30-7:30; Sat 11-7; Closed Sundays
Models, Posters, books, magazines, manga, records/CD's,
Videotapes/LD's, comics. Discounts to members.
Kinokuniya
10 West 49th Street
(212) 745-1461/1462
Hours- 10am-7pm days a week (Excepting certain holidays)
Magazines, manga, CD's (No soundtracks but some anime related
stuff), comics.
OCS Bookstore
5 East 44th Street
Phone number unknown
Hours unknown
Zen Oriental
521 5th Avenue
(212) 697-0840
Hours- Until 7pm on weekdays. Other hours unknown.
Magazines, manga
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Yaohan Plaza
595 River Road, Edgewater, NJ
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JBC videos-
Hrs: M-F 11:00-8:00; Sat 9:30-9:00; Su 9:30-8:00
(201) 941-7622
located inside the main supermarket, Video rentals. Anime.
Can rent or buy for $15.
Kinokuniya-
(201) 941-7580
Books, manga, magazines. Not as large a selection as the one
in Rockefeller Center.
Pony Toys/Saiko Electronics-
Posters, Models, Video games (for Japanese video game systems), Toys.
Also has the largest selection of Japanese CD's (mostly non-anime
related) I've ever seen.
Have fun, and don't spend too much!!!