From: smah@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Steve Mah)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: SF/Bay Area Anime Shopper's Guide
Keywords: revised
Date: 26 Sep 92 07:15:38 GMT


Nothing that new this time around.  Japan Video has moved a couple
doors over and the San Jose Kino has moved out of Yaohan and into
the space next door.  A few modifications here and there but really
nothing significant.

Once again, I'd like to thank all of you who posted/sent me your
additions and corrections/comments.  All of your help was
invaluable!  As usual, I'm always looking for new information and/or
comments on how I'm doing; let me know if you have anything to add!

========================cut here================================

        An Anime Shopper's Guide to the SF Bay Area 
           by Stephen Mah  (revised 9-26-92)

This article may be distributed freely as long as it remains
unaltered (corrections to typographical errors excepted and 
excerpts are OK 8-)) and proper credit is given to the author and 
all contributors.

=================================================================
A note on prices- most, if not all, of the stores here seem to use
the $1 = Y100, with a few variations here and there.  For the most
part, there are no places that really offer great deals like some of
the places in LA that sell CD's for ~$25, although some places might
be a little more expensive than others.  Mikado used to have
better prices, but that's changed (see below); Tower video/LD
outlets probably have the best prices around now, but they lack
a selection (again, see below).

SAN FRANCISCO:
=============
   Laser Perceptions
   1739 Noriega Street
   SF, CA 94122 
   (415) 753-2016
   Fax: (415) 564-3821
   Mon-Sat: 11AM-9PM
   Sunday: 11AM-7PM

Comments: Laser Perceptions carries a large collection of anime 
LD's and CD's in addition to domestic LD's. Their selection is 
quite good, provided you can get there in time; they get shipments 
in about twice a month (although some of you out there have heard 
"It'll be coming in next week" probably a bit too often :-)).  
They usually sell out of all of the hot/new titles within several 
days but it's probably not a good idea to put down a deposit (see 
below).  They have a few anime titles for rent, although they're
priced a bit steep (~$6/night). Eldon, the manager, doesn't 
seem to know much about anime, other than the titles and can 
sometimes be pushy.  While LP is probably one of the wider known 
anime LD/CD sources, I'd recommend trying other places like Mikado 
or Nikaku first; for one thing, they seem a lot more sincere and 
knowledgable about anime and offer a few pre-order discounts on
boxed LD sets I think.
	Fans planning on doing mail order from LP should heed this
advice: only order stuff that's in stock.  It seems that LP's number
one concern is getting your order in, whether or not they have the
item you want it stock; apparently, they often will not volunteer
information regarding whether or not they have it in or not.
Additionally, if you are ordering multiple items, they will not ship
until all of the items you ordered have come in.  Many customers
have placed orders, only to be told when they call back to inquire
about it, "That item isn't currently in stock.  We're expecting it
in next week".  In my previous versions, I've mentioned that LP will
place priority on in-store customers (i.e. if they want an item that
was special ordered for a mail-order/telephone customer, LP will
sell it to them on the spot); apparently, a netter asked him about
this and his response is that they do no such thing (I can't prove
or disprove this, so you'll have to decide for yourselves if this is
true or not).  As of late, Eldon appears to have been calling a few
customers up to try and improve LP's PR; seems there's a distinct
possibility that he may have net access (if you're reading this
Eldon, please note that I'm not trying to destroy your business or
anything; I'm just calling 'em as I see 'em :-)) and has heard some
of the things said about LP's service in the past.  Hopefully, this
means he's actually working on better service and that should be
commended.  Overall, to be fair, it would seem that as long as
LP has what you're looking for in stock, then mail order service has
said to be pretty good.  As for their new location, it's _big_;
at least now there's room to breathe when the new shipments come in
^_^.  Anime LD's are now near the front of the store.  Rental anime
LD's are near the back with the other rental discs.

[a one-shot note: I noticed he's trying to clear out a few disc
titles for pretty good prices- he had a few copies of Patlabor
P-13/14 (or somewhere around there) for only $55.  The box containing
all of these "close out" titles isn't prominently displayed- if
you're familiar with the store, it's on the rack beneath the bins
where the anime titles used to be.  BTW, most of the titles are
brand new, not used.]

A quick note: if you're also looking for English translated manga
(Viz, Elicpse, Dark Horse, etc.) there's a comic store called
"Comics and 'da Kind" one block over to the left when facing LP.  If
you're in the area for a limited time only, you might be able to do
your comics shopping here to save time.
------
   Newtype Toys & Hobbies
   1531 10th Avenue (@Kirkham)
   SF, CA 94122
   (415) 731-3077
   Sat-Sun: 10:30-6:30PM
   Mon-Fri: 6:30-9:30PM by appointment only

Comments: This place might be a little hard to find at first, since
it doesn't really have a storefront, other than a sign on the
street.  The actual store is behind the owner's garage and it's
actually bigger than I thought it would be.  This place is an anime
modeler's heaven as it's basically wall-to-wall models, both garage
and plastic.  But aside from a quite large selection of models, he
also carries some animation cells, some subtitled videos, and a
small collection of books (which I'm told will grow).  The owner,
whose name eludes me at the moment, is a really nice guy and he does
mail order.  A catalog is availible for $2.  Right now he's planning
on expanding his selection to lots of other items such as videos,
pencil cases, etc. (a la Nikaku).  Prices are a little expensive,
but the service (in my experinces anyway) has always been good.  I
am told that altho they cannot regularly carry a large selection of
other items such as discs and what not due to budgetary reasons, they 
can special order almost anything for you.  First time mail/phone
orderers: I'm pretty sure he won't accept first time credit card
phone orders (i.e. if you've never ordered anything from him before
and call him up with something specifically in mind, I don't think
he'll take the order); you have to get a catalog from him first.  I
think this has something to do with keeping down credit card fraud
as well as getting a definite home address established or something
like that.
-----
Tower Video Outlets
2 locations of note:

2280 Market St. (slightly larger anime selection, but lousy parking
                 and the area isn't exactly the kind of place you'd
                 want to hang around at night)
(415) 255-5920

3205 20th Ave (in the Stonestown Galleria on top of the "Good Guys")
(415) 681-1311

All Towers are open 9AM to midnight all year long if memory serves.

Comments: Tower has recently added an import section to their LD
bins which include a few anime titles.  Although the selection leaves
something to be desired (mostly popular titles like "Akira",
"Gunbuster", "Lensman", etc.) what is of interest here are the rock
bottom prices.  "Akira" is going for about $49 (about $20 cheaper
than any import place that I know of) and "Gunbuster" OAV's, usually 
about $98, were going for about $60.  I'm still trying to find out
if special orders are taken or not, but if they do, I think Tower's
going to be able to give LP, Mikado, et al. a good run for the
money!  BTW, Tower Video outlets also sell most, if not all, of the
subtitled anime being put out now (i.e. US Renditions, US Manga
Corps, Animeigo). [update: I'v revisited both locations 
and you might as well forget about heading to these places unless
you've got some time to kill- the Stonestown location now has no
anime titles at all and the Market St. location still has the same
3-4 titles they had when I last visited them- so much for Tower 8-P)

-----
SF^2:  According to chiu%ucsee.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU 
this place has closed up (doesn't surprise me).  Here's what I've
been told:
"Revision: SF^2 has cease retail operation as of late May, 1992. Rumor has it
that they're moving toward an all mail-order operation, but I have no
concrete information/evidence to confirm the rumor."
-----
   Laser City (formerly Wong's)
   1433 Bush
   SF, CA
   (415) 474-9664

Comments: Just anime LD's here, folks.  Not a large selection, but
they do get boxed sets in occasionally (they once had a Gundam set
that had all 4 movies).  Prices are comparable to LP's, but I've
noticed that when they have a store-wide sale, they even mark down
the anime titles (10-15%).  The discs are in a bin behind the "new
releases" shelf that you see when you walk in.  I think they also
might have a few anime titles for rent. [Update: it seems they're
cutting back on the anime titles here, so it's probably not worth
your while unless you happen to be walking by]
-----
   Comics & Comix
   Various locations in the Bay Area

Comments: Not a whole lot in the way of anime here, aside from the
usual Viz/Studio Proteus comics, but they carry some posters and
some anime related magazines (Newtype, Model Graphix, Animage,
Animag, etc.).  Occasionally, they'll get some manga or film
comics/books of the more popular things like Akira, Miyazaki films,
etc.
-----

   Disc-is-it
   Corner of 9th. Avenue & Judah
   SF,CA [sorry- left the address/phone # at home; I'll get it next
          time :-(]

Comments: As the store's name implies, this is an LD place.
Although their anime selection isn't that big, what is of interest
here are the Chinese imported anime LD's.  Although most of them are
dubbed in Chinese (usually on the 2nd audio track), a few have
English as well (the only one I can remember is the "Urotsuki-Doji"
movie).  They have maybe one or two japanese imported LD's as well.
If you don't have a membership, foreign discs cost $6/night to rent;
memberships are flat figures for a certain # of rentals but probably
aren't worth it if you only come here once in a while.
   

SAN FRANCISCO JAPAN TOWN
------------------------
There's a small cluster of stores here that sells anime related
materials.  The Center itself is located along Geary Street (cross
street varying with the stores) and the parking isn't that great.
Underground parking is availible, but it's a little too pricey for
my tastes.  What I usually do is drive on over to the Safeway on the
other side of Geary and park in their parking lot for free and just
walk on over to J-town using the overhead pedestrian bridge.  In
addition to the stores mentioned below, there are also several "mom
'n pop" video stores sprinkled around the area that I've never
really tried out.  

Just a warning to commuting shoppers- the stores here often close up
for japanese holidays (Kinokuniya shuts down for a few days around
New Year's Day) so if in doubt, call 'em up before making a 4 hour
drive :-). There are basically two buildings to J-town that
you'd be interested in: the Kinokuniya Building and the Kintetsu
Building.  I'll start with the Kinokuniya building...

[Note: If you take the overhead pedestrian bridge, it will take you
directly to the Kintetsu Building.  Since my list starts with the
Kinokuniya Building, I figured it might be a little confusing.  If
you want to go to the Kinokuniya Building first, once you get off
the overhead pedestrian bridge, just cross the street over to the
Kinokuniya Building- you can't miss it.]

   Kinokuniya Bookstore
   1581 Webster Street
   SF, CA 94115
   (415) 567-7625

Comments: As far as I know, they have the best selection of manga in
SF, although many of the popular titles may not always be in stock.
They have both the regular manga compilations as well as the
"telephone book" sized manga weeklies/monthlies.  As far as anime
materials go, they have a pretty good selection that varies from
time to time; they regularly get in Animage, Animedia,
Model Graphix, and B-Club magazines as well as a bunch of anime
books/mooks.  Most of the books are from mecha-related shows
(Patlabor, Gundam, etc.) but they also occasionally get in from time
to time some Miyazaki stuff (including "The Art of..." books).  They
also carry most, if not all, of the English-translated manga titles;
these are located roughly in the forward-right hand corner near the
children's books (for those interested, here is where you'll find
the elusive "Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair" english novels, if
they have them in stock)  The "pure" anime/manga is located in the
store's forward-left hand corner.
	In addition to books, they have a small selection of CD's 
(about 10 at a time maybe) and video tapes in the glass case to 
the right of the entrance.  Fianlly, they get in anime calenders
whenever the new year comes around.  They can special order stuff
for you, but just be sure you give them very specific information;
it takes quite a bit of time for them to actually get a special
order in (up to 1/2 a year) so it can get frustrating at times when
they get you the wrong thing. 

[Note: I've been noticing that they don't quite get in as many
magazines as they used to; they've stopped carrying Newtype for
sure]
------
   JBC Video

Comments: This is located just one level down from the bookstore.
I've never rented stuff from here before, but they have a collection
of anime tapes for rent.  All of the labels for the tapes are
computer generated and in Japanese, so if they weren't recorded off
of TV in Japan, they're most likely dupes.  They have some TV stuff
but it looked mostly like kiddie shows.  Still, they have other
stuff like City Hunter, Future War, and Akira.  Might help if you
know japanese if you decide to go here.

And that's about it for the Kinokuniya Building.  When you're done
here, take the bridge located next to the bookstore over to the
Kintetsu Building.  Right after you get off the bridge, turn right
and there you'll find the...

   Taiyo-Do Record Shop
   1737 Post Street
   Kintetsu Building 11-A
   SF, CA
   (415) 885-2818

Comments: This place has a small colection of CD's in the glass case
at the front counter.  Mostly just popular titles like Macross,
Akira, Miyazaki stuff, KOR, Maison Ikoku, etc. but they can special
order stuff for you as well.  Prices are roughly the same as
everywhere else (maybe a _little_ cheaper).  I am informed that they
do not accept checks for payment and that the people there are not
very knowledgable about the CD's they sell, so try and go in knowing
about what you want (i.e. don't rely on the clerks there for
information).

Thanks to Chih-Ping Kuo <kuo@seattleu.edu> for the added
information.

-----
A couple doors down is the...

   Mitsubishi Showroom/Mikado; now called "Mikado-Laser Japan"

  Mikado-Laser Japan
  1737 Post Street, Kintetsu Building Suites 8,9,10
  SF, CA 94115-3617
  (415) 922-9450 (same as the Gift Store's)
  Fax: (415) 922-1682

Comments: This place is sectioned into 2 rooms.  The room that you
see when you first enter has Mitsubishi projection TV's, VCR's, etc.
The second room has a bunch of LD's prominently displayed on a rack.
There are also some behind the counter, so be sure to ask if you
don't see the title you want.  Their selection, by now, seems
comparable to LP's and they can also special order stuff for you
much more quickly; popular stuff takes about 2-3 weeks and no
deposit is required if it's something that they think they'd be able
to sell.  Prices are no longer cheaper than LP; they've started 
using the 3% japanese sales tax price because of "the fluctuating 
dollar" as I've been told.  However, I think there still might be 
pre-order discounts on boxed sets; I'm not sure though.  They are
also now starting to carry some CD's (even some titles that are not
readily availible elsewhere I am told).
	They are now capable of mail order, payable by check or
money order (not credit card for some reason); the following are 
the rates:

USA: Shipping and Handling (ground): $5/disc + $2 each add'l disc
		           (2nd Day Air): $10/disc + $3 ea/adt'l
			   (1st Day Air): $25/disc + $3.50 e.a.d.

CANADA: S & H (ground): $10/disc + $4 e.a.d
              (air service): $40/disc + $6 e.a.d

This seems pretty expensive, although I'm not sure how it compares
to most other mail order places.  CA residents must add applicable
sales tax (8.5%) and the flyer I got mentions that "All sales are
final".
	Here's the deal with discounts on pre-ordered sets, as
quoted from the newsletter that I got from them:

"* Pre-payment should be received before our deadline date to
qualify for the "Spcial Offer" price. (No Refunds - No
Cancellations)

* If payment is received on time, disc(s) will be guaranteed to you
by the _official release date_.

* When disc(s) arrives, remaining balance can be paid for by COD
(Cash Only)"

Although I said that these discounts apply only to sets, I suppose
it could be implied that discount rates could also apply to specific
individual titles; all of the titles subject to "Special Offer"
prices are listed in their Newsletter.  I didn't notice any
signs in the store listing the special offers so be sure to ask
beforehand if you're pre-ordering a boxed set.  The discount rate    
appears to be about 10% or so.
	And finally, here's their new release policy:

"* All discs limited to stock on hand, all first come first serve
basis"

* No reserving of discs is allowed unless paid for in advance "

Although their prices are no longer any better than LP's (with
the exception of pre-ordered box sets possibly) I'd still
recommend them over LP just because their service is better
and they appear to know more about anime in general.  The person I
usually talk with, David, seems to really know his stuff about
release dates and info regarding both anime as well as japanese
import discs.

------
Yet another couple of doors down is...
    Mikado Gift Shop
    1737 Post Street, Kintetsu Building Suite 9
    SF, CA 94115-3698  
    (415) 922-9450 

Comments: This place used to have a really good selection of anime
models but now it's mostly SD Gundam and Zoids kits.  They get a few
good models in occasionally (like the HG Gundam series, Macross, and
Gundam in general) as well as anime action figures (St. Seiya),
die-cast toys, T-shirts, and buttons.  They used to have subtitled
copies of BGC 1 and the Macross movie.  They used to have a good
selection of posters, which included some of the older shows like
Mospeada and Ideon, but they don't seem to get much in nowadays.  As
far as magazines go, they have Animag, B-Club and Newtype as well as
a selection of Streamline T-shirts.  Their main focus in merchandise
nowadays is Nintendo stuff and Sanrio items.  I think they also have
Famicon cartridges.
-----
Another 3 doors down is...
    Japan Video
    1737 Post St.
    SF, CA 94115
    (415) 563-5220

Comments: Probably where most anime fans in SF go to to rent anime
and one of the few places that can order tapes for you.  They have a
large selection of anime titles as well as live action movies
(GunHed, Golgo 13, Maison Ikoku, Godzilla vs. Biollante).  In the
glass counter, they also have a small selection of tapes (mostly US
Renditions/Animeigo and dubbed stuff; but they do get some original
Japanese titles in from time to time) for sale.  They now have an LD
rack but still lack a selection.  As far as selection goes, they 
have a pretty good one and are pretty much up to date (although it 
seems kind of like they don't get in as much new stuff as they used 
to).  I've been renting from them for about 6 years now and the 
service is nice, but I've never tried ordering tapes or LD's from 
them.  Rental rates vary between $2.75 to $3.75 per tape
per day (with membership).  There's a limit to the number of tapes 
you can check out, but it's beyond what most anime fans can take 
anyway :-).  I believe there is a mail order catalog availible upon 
request.  Membership is $10 for 3 months and $25 for a year.  They
used to have a life-long membership (which is what I have) but they
don't seem to offer it anymore.  They have recently moved 2 doors
across to expand a bit; it seems like they'd be able to stock quite
a few more LD's now (there's a large rack labeled for them now).


EMERYVILLE
===========

1) Kimono My House
   1424 62nd Street (@ Hollis)
   Emeryville, CA (zipcode?)
   (415?) 654-4627

Comments: I haven't shopped here before, so I'm afraid I can't
comment on the service.  However, I'm told that they sell a variety
of items including videotapes, models, posters, pencil boards,
books, etc.  Their service is also said to be quite nice.
(Thanks to whoever gave me this info- sorry, I lost your name and
address! :-()

SAN JOSE
========
   Nikaku Animart
   615 N. 6th 
   San Jose, CA 95112
   (408) 971-2822
   Tues-Sat: 10-6PM
   Sun-Mon: 10-5PM

Comments: Most of you probably already know about this place, but
for those who are new to the anime scene, this place has the best
variety of anime stuff around.  They have anime LD's, CD's, posters,
manga, puzzles, shopping bags, books/mooks, pencils, calenders,
cels, models, garage kits, magazines, and audio tapes.  Their LD
selction is modest- about 50 titles or so.  Their CD list is
extensive, as is their selction of anime books.  I'd say they have
the best selection of anime posters and books in the Bay Area.
Service both in the store and thru mail order is outstanding.  For
mail order, there's a $10 minimum purchase and a $2 handling charge
on orders less than $50; there's also a minimum of 2 posters if
that's what you're ordering.  Orders placed before 3PM pacific are
shipped out on the same day; all orders are shipped by UPS air or
ground.  The people there are extremely nice folks (one time they
gave me promo posters for the Gundam 0080 Sound Sketch I and the
Venus Wars LD free of charge :-)) and pretty knowledgable.  Highly
recommended.  Maybe the only thing that kind of bugs me is that you
can't look at the display copies- you have to ask someone to get
another one from behind the counter if you want to see if something's
worth buying; but alas- it's a minor quibble :-)

There is also a video store nearby that sells a few LD's and rents
anime videos called Japan Culture Video.  After coming down from
Nikaku's stairway, turn right until you reach the corner and turn
right again and continue for about 2 blocks or so.  It's on 4th
and Jackson (Nikaku is at 6th); it's next to the Mikado gift shop.  
They have a pretty good selection of OAV's as well as some TV stuff 
like the original Gundam series, Patlabor, and Doraemon.  Thanks
to Mike Harlock (harlock@netcom.com) for the cross street- he
also had this to say about Japan Culture Video:

"Yea, here's some info:  Don't go there.  They charge too much.        
Ok selection, though.  They charge $5 a night for rentals, plus a       
yearly membership fee. just MHO.... :)"

-----

Laser Land
1035 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road
San Jose, CA
(South of Interstate 280; nearest Cross-street: Bolinger Rd.)
(408) 253-3733

Hours: Closed Monday
       Tues. thru Sat: 10:30 - 8:30
       Sunday:         11 - 6PM

Comments from Matthew Seitz:
"Another Anime LaserDisc store is LaserLand in San Jose on Saratoga-
Sunnyvale Rd.  They have about a dozen of the most popular titles 
in stock and will special order others.  They have just placed
Kiki's Delivery Service into their rental library and are waiting 
to see what response is like.  The owner and some of the workers 
are Anime-aware."
(Thanks to Matthew Seitz [seitz@netcom.com] for this entry)

-----

YAOHAN SHOPPING CENTER
----------------------
This is a japanese supermarket which also has a couple of places
worth noting:

   Kinokuniya Bookstore
   675 Saratoga Ave
   San Jose, CA 95129
   (415) 252-1300

Comments: Not quite as large as the SF branch, but they still have
a large selection of manga here.  Not a whole lot in the way of
anime though.  This place used to actually _be_ in the supermarket,
but has now moved next door, expanding the space a bit.  Manga is at
the very back of the store and I think CD's are just to your right
as you walk in.

   Video Eye

Comments: Since I live in SF, it's a tad inconvenient for me to rent
from this video place, but going on what I've seen on the shelf as 
well as talk on the net, they have stuff like Ranma, Chibi Maruko-chan,
Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, City Hunter, Aoi Blink, Macross, and Yawara!.  
If you're going to use a check, be sure to make it out to Yaohan,
though.
(Thanks to Mark-Newton John and others for letting me use their info
on this place)

-------
And one more comment about SF and SJ- if you look around in some of
the japanese food markets, you'll probably be able to find some
anime related food products here and there.

Once again, if anyone's got any corrections, comments, or additions,
I'd like to hear them!

-- 
*  Steve Mah                             smah@sdcc13.ucsd.EDU *
*							      *
*                    "Is it safe?"                            *
***************************************************************