Ooples

It’s cool to find a local store that carries animé and manga stuff, but they should maybe just stick to cards. Everyone (even the employees) were playing card games, and it was hard to get any assistant. The had tons of card and table-​top game stuff, but everything else was kind of limited, and had higher prices than convention venders! Organization was lacking and the place was messy. Might as well be a table top gaming lounge.
Some AC or a fan would help too. Heat, imports and nerds don’t mix. :P

The people are nice, but this place is really overpriced. There are never any Yu-​gi-​oh or Vanguard cards stocked up. When I walk inside, the first thing that I notice are 2 different booster packs sitting inside of the glass case for the Yu-​gi-​oh section, and when I go to the Vanguard section, they hardly have anything there either. I kind of find it funny that when you look at the Vanguard section, you see that they have all of the older booster packs, but at the same time they have a few of the newer packs that are 3 years outdated in the Yu-​gi-​oh section. The only time that the card section is stocked up is when the new releases come out. The cards go out in 2 days though, and the card area stays as it is with nothing there. I’ve been coming here for 8 months and the card section looks the same. I don’t think that anyone should go here. It is an outdated business, and everything is overpriced. I forgot to mention that they do not respond to messages. I’ve been messaging them for the last month, they look at my message, but they don’t respond for 2 weeks. Go to Hero’s and Fantasies if you want to find a store who stocks their cards hourly. 0 stars.

Good place to check out animé/​manga stuff! Didn’t see a lot of anything beyond mainstream shows but it was fun to walk through. Would be great if your into card games too! Lots of yu-​go-​oh! Cards and Magic the gathering. They were getting back from a convention so we could of not seen a lot of cool products but the Japanese mart next door was awesome!

Nice staff sometimes take a while to get card singles but their choice of singles is great and great card game community base here

Ooples has one major issue in my eyes. The mildew smell and the moisture stains on the ceiling. I was tempted to buy a sailor moon plushie when I was there, but I couldn’t get over how faded, dingy, and dusty it looked. Personally I couldn’t find myself buying anything that’s not packaged there, because of the mustiness. It horrifies me that they sell food. However, on the other hand I really do find the staff pleasant. They greet with smiles and ask if you need help finding anything immediately and they will even have good lengthy conversations with you. It is just truly a shame the place has revolting odors and a dingy atmosphere. If they could change locations to a nicer venue I would definitely give five stars, they have great merchandise and staff… but the smell in there just turned me off big time!

First off I wasn’t even greeted as I walked in. Employees were playing cards and I was completely ignored. Prices on merchandise are over inflated. Other Animé stores in town with much better customer service. Never going back again.

I had a great experience there when I went yesterday. The staff was very friendly and greeted me with a smile. I told him it was my first time there so he explained what he had in the store. I was pleasantly surprised by how much merchandise they had. They had clothing, accessories, games, cards. And I went in because a friend told me about it. And I must say that the cards are the cheapest in town by far. One thing I was amazed by was a system that they keep every card in inventory. You type in the name and it shows if they have it in stock and how many. I loved that the most. Also prices are great. Local businesses that treat their customers well are superb in my book.

I want to start by saying this place was great! Franklin was amazing. Went to Ooples for my first ever Magic tournament and had a blast. Packs for sign ups and packs per win. Franklin made my buddy and I feel at home for it being our first event. Players are all great and very helpful. Franklin genuinely cared to do business with us. Only reason I didn’t give a 5^th star was temperature. Was very warm and when players start to perspire in hoodies and jackets, yeah you get it. Check this place out! Definitely my new home for magic. Bye bye Heroes!

Finding Ooples was little tough but once I walked in, I was hooked. Attack on Titan figures, Kill la Kill shirts and Naruto plushies! DBZ and Bleach wall scrolls! I found a Pacific Rim Jaeger shirt that I’ve already worn more times than I’ll ever admit. In addition to their selection of shirts and accessories, they even carry some Good Smile products.
About ¹⁄₃ of the shop has merch while the rest is for card gaming and video gaming, little something for all geek variety. With Minnano a few steps away, I could easily see myself losing hours in this shopping center. Playing Smash while eating Mochi is on my to-​do list!

My visit to Ooples was on a Sunday evening and surprised me how busy it was. As I walked in my first view was of nothing but tables and lots of people. Walking into the adjacent room I found the same setup. Not sure what exactly was going on and since there was a line at the counter, I figured the guy working behind it didn’t have time to explain. After walking through in hopes of finding gift ideas, everyone that noticed me smiled and nodded a hello. The place was clean and looked to be neat, people were friendly, so I continued to peruse. There was all kinds of gift ideas, lots of fun stuff to look through, in one room was a wall of animé videos. Making my way back to the counter the young men there asked to help. Upon requesting if they sold graphic novels as well as animé, (no joke) one seemed to laugh at my newbie knowledge about the place I had dared to enter. Suppressing a smile both young men started giving instruction where I could go and find what I was looking for, but that they didn’t sell that sorta stuff here. They were very friendly. After leaving I realized they were probably laughing at me, which is understandable. I trekked into unknown terrain without foreknowledge of my surroundings and proceeded to show my true colors… Outsider! I still loved this place and will probably go back again to see what other fun stuff they have!

Good gifts for teens

Great find! This all-​about-​animé shop is almost as good as one might find in Shinjiku, Tokyo. Franklin the youngish owner will drop everything as dazzle you with his personal knowledge of all types of animé from E to everyone to Mature. The store arose from his own pile of animé books, so he’s pretty much read everything on the shelves. Excellent collection of manga in both Japanese and English, he’s got DVDS, and character collectibles— authentic, not cheapo imitations— for a reasonable price. Fair trade for used manga if you’re looking to sell.

Man, I debated long and hard about how to review this place.
If you’re not into animé, if you’re not into glorious nippon, if you are slightly freaked out by the sheer weirdness that comes with all that, this is not the place for you. I am totally one of those people.
HOWEVER…
I can totally respect what they are doing here. They offer small and large viewing rooms. They have VCRs set up for stuff that hasn’t made it to DVD. They offer classes in Japanese. They have some traditional costumes you can try out and buy.
In short, they’re not out to take nerdy kid’s lunch money. It may not be my bag, but I’m all for a business that can cater to a certain group of people that is, um, undeserved?
Some of the other stuff like the games seems to be almost an afterthought as their core is clearly animé. But that’s OK. It may not be the best in the city for that stuff, but it’s here and you can take advantage.

It’s great that there’s an Animé, Manga & Gaming store nearby. They have great merchandise and the owner is very sweet and helpful. However, I can’t say the same for the other «Staff». The only time I enjoy my stay at Ooples is when Franklin is there. Otherwise I feel unwanted and like I should apologize to the staff for bothering them from eating their ramen or looking for their «effing chopsticks». I asked for some merchandise and the man who helped me out did not seem happy about having to get off his seat at all.
I really have high hopes for Ooples, but please hire friendlier staff who at least know what some products are rather than saying «I have no effing clue». Not very professional and I do know that’s what Ooples was going for when they decided to make all these expansions and changes.

Cool place to go if you like TCG’s and animé stuff. They have a huge play area for TCG’s and have a free weekly FNM! SO come by and have some fun!

Franklin, Crystal & the Ooples staff work extremely hard to please their customers.
The plethora of animé merchandise that they carry is extremely impressive. They started out in a 12’x12’ spot in «Wonderland Mall of the America’s» and now they have a business that rivals the most seasoned retail shops. Their passion for animé shows and is what drives their business.
Ooples never fails to impress me, I’ve been a loyal customer since the very beginning back in July of 2010.
Glenn Herring — Owner of Herrings Engraving & Jewelry Repair

I love OOPLES!!! The store is awesome and the owner and employees are awesome too! I’m like 2 minutes away and its my favorite shop to go to!

Ooples is a very diversified animé shop. By diversified I mean the cater to their target audience but supply enough to ensnare the closet animé fan (much like myself). For those looking for things to fufill their fandom with material possessions this is the place! They have lots of gaming tables and special room for different events. The suite is somewhat small though. Although I visited on a Saturday, it was very crowded and the (not surprising AT ALL!) smelly, crowded, and, hot atmosphere was much of a turn off. More space would have been great! I will try to visit soon when there’s less of a crowd cause I’d like to buy some Hatsune Miku swag you know?