Not wanting to be outdone by its Ikebukuro counterpart, Animate’s Akihabara store has also been undergoing a revamp but not to its already existing store, but to a second store which is set to open on December 9. Only one building over from the newly renamed Animate Akihabara Building 1, Animate Akihabara Building 2 will feature not only new store space but also an event area and a cafe.

Newly released image of Animate mascot character Meito Anizawa

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From the top down, Animate Akihabara Building 2 will have “Open Shops” on floors six and seven as spaces for pop-up stores for franchises, with floors one, three, four and five as usual Animate floors, floor two an anime-themed cafe with latte art on the drinks and the basement floor as an event space. The cafe will be collaborating with different anime for its art, starting with Akiba Maid War, Ikemen Sengoku: Romances Across Time, Takeshobo Fes and Is the Order a Rabbit? on opening day and continuing until the end of January 2023.

The first Animate Akihabara Building came together in January 2022 when Animate Akihabara Annex, which was previously known as Animate AKIBA Girls Station prior to March 2019, was merged into it. The original store opened in December 1997 and has been part of the landscape and culture of Akiba since then.

Source: Press Release

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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.