Abdullah Al Rushud
JEDDAH: The hottest and most popular anime goods sold during Jeddah Seaon can be found at these two stores: Animate International and Sanrio.
The first of their kind in the Middle East, they are located within the Anime Village in the City Walk, frequented by streams of visitors pouring in and out.
According to the staff of Animate International, the most popular selling goods are from the well-known anime “Naruto” and his son “Boruto,” alongside “One Piece,” “Attack on Titan,” “Demon Slayer” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.”
Meanwhile, the staff of the “Sanrio” store mentioned “Little Twin Stars Kiki & Lala,” “Hello Kitty,” “My Melody,” “Cinnamoroll” and “Kuromi” as among their most popular goods.
The spacious Animate International store has over 100 stores within Japan, along with overseas locations in China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, as well as an online store where customers can easily get their hands on any other goods they are wishing for.
Sanrio has more than 170 stores inside Japan, and also has their own online shop for customers to get easy access to their favorite goods.
Both stores are as cute as you would expect, and the energetic local staff are highly knowledgeable about their products. They provide such polite service that it might feel like you’re actually visiting the store in Japan.
While the iconic anime goods, figures, handbags, notebooks, keychains, and more are making a big splash among the youth in Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, they could make popular goods out of recent manga comic book characters that would hit it big overseas.