there is no forever

CLAMP - X Zero
Scans of X Infinity available at sasmira's journal.

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CLAMP - Mutuality: CLAMP Works in Code Geass

Scan FAQ

I'm also peddling some wares. Show your appreciation by buying something.

Another pair, since these are two branches of the same store.

Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles)

Carries:
*New Japanese manga (~35% of the store)
*New Japanese books (~35% of the store)
*New Japanese CDs (10% of the store)
*New Region 2 DVDs (~2.5% of the store)
*New anime goodies (cell phone straps, pencil boards, gashapon, etc.) (~0.5% of the store)
*New stationery (manga tones, Copic markers, overpriced cute pens, stationery, origami paper, etc.) (3% of the store)
*New Japanese magazines (~4% of the store)
*New English books (Japanese language and culture focused) (~5% of the store)
*New English manga (~4% of the store)
*New Japanese artbooks (~1% of the store)

Prices:
*New Japanese manga: $5.50-$15
*New Japanese books: $4.50-$30
*New Japanese CDs: $12-$70
*New Region 2 DVDs: $40-$120
*New anime goodies: $2.50-$20
*New stationery: $4.50-$12.50
*New Japanese magazines: $7.50-$20 (back issues discounted)
*New English books: $10-$40
*New English manga: $10-$15
*New Japanese artbooks: $25-$70

Parking:
This store shares a small parking structure with Marukai (Japanese supermarket), Hurry Curry, a few small cafés, and Bank of the West. Ever since Bank of the West opened, parking in that little structure has been nightmarish, no matter the time (but it's especially bad on weekends and Tuesdays. They hold farmers markets on that street every Tuesday.). Even if the structure is full, they do not put up a "LOT FULL" sign. So unless you know exactly what you're doing and you KNOW you'll be in and out in under twenty minutes, I'd opt for the $5 flat rate parking across the street. You could also look for meter parking on the street, but that's quite rare too. If you do park on the street, remember to read the signs, parking enforcement makes very frequent rounds.

Comments:
This store is HUGE, and all the books are organized so well that I can find whatever I want, and I don't even read Japanese. If you have trouble finding anything, the younger employees tend to be the ones that speak very fluent English, and they're very helpful. If you managed to get a spot in the parking structure, they validate your ticket up to two hours, but they seem to hesitate to give you the full two hours if you didn't buy a lot. >_>
By the way, Kinokuniya has online inventory, always handy if you want to check if they have the latest releases in stock yet. The inventory only covers books though.

Overall Rating: 4/10 (It's ok if you don't come here, there are plenty of other places that are just as good. Once upon a time I'd have given this place a 10/10, but yes, the parking really is that bad.)

Kinokuniya in Costa Mesa

Carries:
*New Japanese manga (~40% of the store)
*New Japanese books (~30% of the store)
*New Japanese CDs (10% of the store)
*New Region 2 DVDs (~2.5% of the store)
*New anime goodies (cell phone straps, pencil boards, gashapon, etc.) (~4.5% of the store)
*New stationery (manga tones, Copic markers, overpriced cute pens, stationery, origami paper, etc.) (2% of the store)
*New Japanese magazines (~4% of the store)
*New English manga (~4% of the store)
*New Japanese artbooks (~3% of the store)

Prices:
*New Japanese manga: $5.50-$15
*New Japanese books: $4.50-$30
*New Japanese CDs: $12-$70
*New Region 2 DVDs: $40-$120
*New anime goodies: $2.50-$20
*New stationery: $4.50-$12.50
*New Japanese magazines: $7.50-$20 (back issues discounted)
*New English manga: $10-$15 (10% off on Mondays)
*New Japanese artbooks: $25-$70

Parking:
This store shares a big parking lot with Target, Henry's Foods, and several other small gift shops and cafés. On the weekends it gets quite crowded, so you might have to park pretty far away.

Comments:
This store is not as big as the branch in Little Tokyo, but they do seem to make better use of their floorspace. Of all the Kinokuniya branches on the west coast, this one seems to get new items the fastest (I judge by checking the online inventory), plus they seem to have the largest stock of older manga (only the ones I've looked for, though).
Unlike the branch in Little Tokyo, this branch sells quite a lot of anime figures. However, I've never seen anything really extraordinary.
What I love best is the HUGE display for artbooks, they even get doujinshi artbooks from time to time, which is always a treat.
Kinokuniya has online inventory, always handy if you want to check if they have the latest releases in stock yet. The inventory only covers books though.

Overall Rating: 10/10 (You'll regret it if you don't make the trip, however far and out of the way it is.)

Ok, I kinda forgot I was doing this, but the same person prodded me that I'm not telling her enough places to go shopping when she comes down for AX. So I'll see how many I can do until I forget again.
I'll round off the other two local Book Offs today.

Book Off in Rolling Hills

Carries:
*Used Japanese manga (~35% of the store)
*Used Japanese books (~20% of the store)
*Used Japanese/English CDs (15% of the store)
*Used Region 1 & Region 2 DVDs (~10% of the store)
*Used Japanese magazines and artbooks (~4% of the store)
*Used English books (~15% of the store)
*Used English manga (~0.5% of the store)
*Used English and Japanese Playstation games (~0.5% of the store)

Prices:
*Used Japanese manga: $3-$8, clearance items $1
*Used Japanese books: $3-$15, clearance items $1
*Used Japanese/English CDs: $8-$30, clearance items $3
*Used Region 1 & Region 2 DVDs: $8-$70, no clearance items
*Used Japanese magazines and artbooks: $4-$45, clearance items $1
*Used English books: $3-$30, clearance items $1
*Used English manga: $6-$9, no clearance items
*Used English and Japanese Playstation games: Never looked at them. ^^; I'll check the price range next time I go.

Parking:
This store shares a small parking lot with Nijiya (Japanese supermarket), a mens' clothing store, a small café, a chiropractor, and a very small book shop. The lot gets rather crowded on weekends, but it adjoins a VERY large parking lot for the AMC theater. It's quite a walk if you park there though.

Comments:
I love the atmosphere of this Book Off, the floors and many of the shelves are hardwood; I bet the spot used to belong to a mom and pop type bookstore, it's definitely the most "homey" of all the stores I frequent. When you walk in, you hear an echoing "Welcome!" from all the staff (someone watches the door and cues all the others to say it). They also say "Thank you, come again!" when you leave. And when they have a sale, someone announces it every 15 minutes or so. All well and good, but I prefer to shop in silence. If you do too, go on a weekday when there are no sales and fewer people. If you like the liveliness, then go ahead and go on a weekend, because that is when they have sales.
This store has the largest number of used English books of all the Book Offs in the area. I've found lots of lovely things, but most of the really good ones weren't anime related.
(blatantly plagiarized from my previous review)
Book Off also buys used books, CDs, and DVDs, but I wouldn't recommend selling to them if you're hoping to make money, they give you approximately 1% of the purchase price on books, 10% on CDs, 25% on DVDs, and 10% on magazines and artbooks. The only time I bring books to SELL is when I was going to donate them to charity anyway.
Book Off is similar to a vintage clothing store, they get new things all the time, and things get sold all the time. You can find wonderful things, but only if you look. Fortunately, the shelves are pretty well organized, so you don't have to spend hours looking around (though everyone I've brought there HAS anyway).

Overall Rating: 8/10 (It is pretty out of the way, but you'll be glad you went. You might regret it a little bit if you don't go)


Book Off in Costa Mesa
Carries:
*Used Japanese manga (~35% of the store)
*Used Japanese books (~20% of the store)
*Used Japanese/English CDs (15% of the store)
*Used Region 1 & Region 2 DVDs (~10% of the store)
*Used Japanese and English magazines and artbooks (~5% of the store)
*Used English books (~9.5% of the store)
*Used English manga (~5% of the store)
*Used English comic books (~0.5% of the store)

Prices:
*Used Japanese manga: $3-$8, clearance items $1
*Used Japanese books: $3-$15, clearance items $1
*Used Japanese/English CDs: $8-$30, clearance items $3
*Used Region 1 & Region 2 DVDs: $8-$70, no clearance items
*Used Japanese and English magazines and artbooks: $4-$45, clearance items $1
*Used English books: $3-$30, clearance items $1
*Used English manga: $6-$9, no clearance items
*Used English comic books: $1

Parking:
This store shares a small parking lot with Marukai (Japanese supermarket), a credit union, and a florist. The parking is ALWAYS rather busy, but it's mostly people who are making a short visit to the credit union, so if you can't find a spot, wait for someone to leave, it never takes very long.

Comments:
This Book Off has the biggest lot space, but it's my least favorite of all three. I have found some nice things, but nothing of the "Oh my god, this is so rare!" variety, all my nice finds at this store have been of the "Oh my god, this is so NEW!" type. So if you want to try your luck finding new items for used prices, then you'll probably like this place a lot better than I do. I expect that most of their are "rejects" from Kinokuniya (which is across the street) rather than things that people have brought in to sell, hence the high volume of new stuff. They really are just like new, too, I've bought many things here that even still had ad inserts and furoku (bonus toys).
This Book Off has a kind of hidden room in the very back of the store (in the Japanese book section). It's behind a curtain, and I've been too shy to go in, but I get the feeling that it's an adult video/book area.
(blatantly plagiarized from my previous review)
Book Off also buys used books, CDs, and DVDs, but I wouldn't recommend selling to them if you're hoping to make money, they give you approximately 1% of the purchase price on books, 10% on CDs, 25% on DVDs, and 10% on magazines and artbooks. The only time I bring books to SELL is when I was going to donate them to charity anyway.
Book Off is similar to a vintage clothing store, they get new things all the time, and things get sold all the time. You can find wonderful things, but only if you look. Fortunately, the shelves are pretty well organized, so you don't have to spend hours looking around (though everyone I've brought there HAS anyway).

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 (Good place to hunt for new stuff at good prices, but you'll probably make up the difference in gas to go there, only go if it's on your way or not too far. BTW, if you're staying in Long Beach for AX, it's too far.)