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11 reviews for Sugoi Life
Now this place is quite a breath of fresh air for the otaku. Really, visited it today and there was a distinct lack of body odors and mold smell that is typically associated with many anime stores around the LA area.
For the regular anime/japanesetoys/Gundamplamoo fans this place is a pretty good find. Decent selection of Blind box toys too, and for the fan of the more girlish items, there a good selection of those too. (the store is divided down the middle Boys/toys on one side and Girls/accessories on the other).
As far as prices go, they are a tad on the pricy end when it comes to Gundam kits (typical 1/144 00gundam models are in the $30 area). tho they have a sort of a clearance deal continuously on going. The same with the blindboxed toys about $1-4 difference (tho they don't open them and price them differently according to the rareness like Jungle Anime do).
The collection of Arcade games and claw machines scattered in the store is pretty fun, tho they are much more gimmicky and some just seem out of place in the shop (Fast and Furious Bike racing game? really? that's just odd)
All in all, a great place for the regular anime/japanese paraphenelia fans, especially within the northridge area. Just a bit pricy for what they sell.
Sugoi Life is freaking awesome! To the hardcore otaku, it might be a bit of a gimmick. But for American otakus and those who are just excited about random Japanese products (points at self), this is the place.
Everything and anything that relates to Nintendo, Gundam, Sailor Moon, and whatever Japanese Anime is hot right now is here. Food is here too. Simple snacks like Pocky and drinks are available for purchase. They also have these random towels that look like hamburgers and what not. I really don't get it but whatever.
Prices can get pretty steep on my big toys. I'm talking about the Gundams and Limited Edition action figures. But the whole store is moderately priced.
Watch for some sales though. Some signs are really clear so ask one of the extremely helpful staff members the pricing.
I'm so glad they took over the Shoe Pavilion retail space, they really needed it. Great place to buy anything Japanesey, I call it the Otaku heaven.
Their anime merchandise selection sucks though, I keep asking if they have any Katekyo Hitman Reborn! stuff and they never do (even though they insist they're ordering it). They only stock up on anime series that are popular in the US (Bleach, Death Note, Naruto). That's the only reason why I don't give this store 5 stars.
It's a bit pricier than Marukai 99 for the household and miscellaneous sundries, but I'm willing to pay a little more since the nearest Marukai 99 locations are in Gardena and Little Tokyo.
I have yet to try those cute (but pricey) photo booths that have the built in Photoshop program in them.
It's like walking into a weaboo wapanese teenager's wet dream.
That being said - they do only stock recently commercially successful stuff. However, there will be a thing or two if this kind of babytoy nonsense is your cup of tea. (Hey, sometimes I drink it too!)
It seems like they have a lot larger space than they are using, and they have a ton of those teeny bopper photo booth sticker machines for anyone who wants that. As usual, prices are a bit steep for the imported stuff you're getting, but you can get a pretty good deal on sale items.
Some guy did try to pressure me into buying a chibi Indiana jones blind box toy for 10 bucks. If it was 3 bucks max, MAYBE. ;p
Sugoi means fantastic. And this store is indeed fantastic.
Tonari no to to ro totoro to to ro totoro
My neighbor Totoro can be found here. Two of my friends coincidentally bought me New Year's presents from the Totoro collection at Sugoi Life. They got me a cell phone holder and a picture frame. Super cute!!!
Mario and his friends are impossible to miss. This store now has 2 giant Yoshi in possession. Toad is also here. The whole gang is here! They're all colorful and ready to be brought to a new home.
Sugoi Life also sells Pocky...but I didn't buy one because the price is higher than the price that Nijiya Market offers. But like L'aura L. said, it's a great store for people in the valley who don't want to drive all the way to Little Tokyo or any other area that has a lot of anime stores.
The store's flyer says, "Sugoi Life seeks to offer a unique shopping experience to the consumers...Our goal is to create a 'portal' that will transport you to a showcase of lifestyle products from Japan that is both clever and functional in everyday life."
I would like to thank the owner of Sugoi Life for opening this store in Northridge or else I would have to go to Little Tokyo all the time.
The stores nice and big might be the biggest in LA. If they add some manga and a better dvd collection which is pitiful right now they'll do better. It's competing with Power Anime for biggest anime store in LA.
The layout could be nicer. The have a lot of gasahpon little toys that recently come from Japan. A big stuffed section. A nice Japanese candy section which you might get cheaper at the World Market right near by the store.
I remembered when Sugoi Life started out as hole in the wall on the North End of the Northridge Mall and was surprised to see that it took over the former Shoe Pavilion, which made it more than double in size. By looking at the multiple photo booths they have, a big screen showing anime, and all the toys...this place reminds me of a Japanese Chuck E. Cheese! Nevertheless, Sugoi Life is a great place to find all the latest popular Japanese stuff, which for me is cool to look at but wouldn't see myself buying anything...except if it's their snacks (I'm a sucker for cool Japanese snacks!) and their canned or bottled teas. They are on the pricey side since their items are imported, but it's still worth a visit.
A friend of mine asked me about this store after he happened to see an advertisement on a television channel here in the LA area(UTB 18.2). So we planned a trip over to check it out.
The one thing in particular that we were looking for are these candy toys made by Re-ment. We did find find some, but we were somewhat disappointed at the lack of selection. We also noted (like another reviewer) that most of the toys are from whatever anime series that are popular in the US. Some items are a bit overpriced. The manga selection was weak and the DVD and CD selection were all pirated imports from either Hong Kong or Taiwan.
Overall, the store is OK but I have seen a better store before. Unfortunately it just recently closed its doors.
As far as going back to Sugoi Life again, we might visit again when we are in the area. Other than that its not worth the drive just for this store.
As a Japanese lifestyle retail store, Sugoi Life fits the bill. Located on the north end in the outside walkway to the Pacific Theaters, this small boutique has a little bit of something for everyone.
There are Nintendo plush such as Yoshi , Mario, and the mushrooms, Pokemon, and car models. Another section stocks Hello Kitty merchandise. There is a good selection of miniature food sets and mystery surprise boxes nearby. Near the cashier, a bakery case houses what appears to be real cakes and confections. On second glance, the confections are made of towels, folded to mimic strawberry shortcake or chocolate cake. Sugoi Life also carries Spicy Brown tees in the rear of the store surrounded by more Japanese organizational supplies and cooking tools.
Sugoi carries a good variety of Japanese items in a well organized store. The staff is attentive and helpful too. Most of these items can also be found at Japanese stores and supermarkets, but considering the distance from these, Sugoi is in a good location for valley residents who aren't up for driving around.
I was really glad to find that there was another store to provide me in one of my biggest interests. And the fact that they've moved into a more spacious area now makes it a nice casual place to hang out with friends. They've even added a little arcade area.
From far away this store looks like a dream come true. But looks can be very deceiving.
Don't get me wrong, I love that there is an anime store closer to my house now that something in Little Tokyo or China Town. I like the name, I think its in a very good location, and it has a very huge amount of space. Unfortunately just because an anime store (any store for that matter) has all these things doesn't mean its great.
The first thing I noticed when I first walked in was a huge back screen drop cloth with a variety of different music video's playing on it (Pretty good quality too). After looking around I notice the crane-game machines (would have been awesome if they had a UFO catcher instead), and some racing game that I didn't even bother with.
First thing people should check out is the display cases in the back filled with Comic-Con exclusive stuff. I liked the fact that they kept some of the old stuff that they had in their original location like the stationary and the art pens and the Japanese music magazines.
My first thought was what happened to display bakery case full of towels that looked like little bakery goods?
Moving on (GRRRR can't believe they took that out), another thing I liked were the little bunny shirts that they had for sale. A little bit higher than I would normally pay, but it seems like a fair deal for such an awesome shirt.
From my review your probably asking yourself, "Why did he only give it 2 stars?", well here comes all the con's about the store.
I really wanted to like this store, I really did. After looking around I realize that if Cartoon Network, were an actual person, and he/she threw up, Sugoi Life would be born. I've never seen so much main stream stuff in one place in my life time. Everything in the store was either something showing on Cartoon Network or some kind of Super Mario themed item. I will say that they had a few things sprinkled here and there, but this store is basically for people who are looking for the newest Naruto, Death Note, Pokemon, Gundam or whatever else main-stream thing that you could possibly think of.
I guess for people who have no choice and don't want to drive that far this store is good. I guess it also depends on what kind of Anime that you are into. Hopefully their diversity in Anime changes up over time. Oh and they need to get a lot more Anime Model's in there.
I'm not to hung up on them not having Manga or Anime DVD's, just because I used to work with small retail anime stores and I know that unlike stores like Borders, they can't just return merchandise that doesn't sell. Like it would be a nice thing, but luckily there is a Borders literally like 1 or 2 minutes away from Sugi Life.
All in all I know some people wont like my review but this is just my opinion, and to me I think the store is just OK. Not bad, but not great either.
