A Guide To LA's Japanese Pop Culture, Anime And Cosplay

Are you looking for a character costume drawn from popular Japanese fiction? Seeking out a Cosplay nightclub where you can where your new attire? Or are you looking for a Cosplay cafe where you can sip your coffee and read some manga? This is the guide for you.

Anime Jungle

319 E 2nd Street
Ste 103
Los Angeles 90012
(213) 621-1661
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Anime Jungle is a small store sporting a great selection of old Japanese movies and anime merchandise. Anime Jungle specializes in hard-to-find and and discontinued items, and has a nice display of action figurines and movie posters.

Anime Jungle 2

325 1st Street
Los Angeles 90189
(212) 617-1661
www.animejungle.net

This is where the costumes are located, for all you Cosplay lovers. In addition, the store is packed with T-shirts, DVDs, wall scrolls, model kits, gothic accessories and imported art books.

Royal/T

8910 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, Calif. 90232
(310) 559-6300
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Inspired by the "maid cafes" of Tokyo, Royal/T is Los Angeles' first cosplay cafe and art space mixed into one. Waitresses dress in gothic Lolita-inspired outfits. The cafe has a reputation for hosting avant guard art shows and retrospectives. For the 35th anniversary of Hello Kitty, more than 35,000 people walked through the door to see modern artists rendering of the Japanese classic.

Japan LA

648 N. Fuller Avenue
Los Angeles 90036
(323) 934-5201
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Although you won't find anime here, Japan LA is a bastion of Japanese pop culture. Located in a small store off Melrose Avenue that carries seemingly random selection of accoutrements related to ninjas, sushi, Nintendo other Japanese imports. The selection is varied and changes regularly. You can even play video games at Japan LA.