How to buy online from Animate Japan and Ship Worldwide

Are you looking to get your hands on rare and high-quality original Japanese anime and manga comics, DVDs, figurines and much more from outside of Japan? Let us help you get your favourite items to your door with a free address from our Japanese forwarding service that transports your purchases through our Japanese warehouse and then on to your front door in no time at all.

We’ve put together the below guide to help you purchase products from the Animate Online Shop quickly and easily.

Animate is Japan’s top anime, manga and video game retailer. No matter the franchise you are into, from Pokemon to Dragon Ball Z, you will find products from your favourite series and shows at Animate. Animate online replicates their in-store experience by providing anime and video game fans with many products to purchase or pre-order from.

At forward2me, we understand how important it is to own pieces of memorabilia from your favourite shows, which is why we want to help you purchase from Animate Online and get your products shipped to you. Just follow our simple step by step process, and your new items will be with you in no time.

1 - Sign up for your free Japanese address

First, sign up for a FREE forward2me Japanese forwarding address that you will use for shopping on the Animate Online Shop.

2 - Go to the Animate Online Japan website and start shopping

Head over to the Japanese Animate Online Shop and start browsing for the products you want to buy. The website will be in Japanese, so that you may need a third party translator, like Google Translate, which is built into Google Chrome, to understand what the site is saying.

3 - Order your items to your forward2me Japanese address

Once you have found the products you want, add them to your basket like any other online store. Pay for your products and put in your forward2me Japanese forwarding address. This ensures your products are shipped to our Japanese warehouse.

4 - We receive & ship your package

Once your package arrives at our Japanese warehouse, we will notify you so that you can indicate which shipping method you would prefer us to get your items to. If you have ordered multiple items from different sellers, we can hold your package and combine and repack it to save you on shipping costs. 

5 - Your items from Animate Japan arrive at your home 

Sit back and relax! Once you have told us what delivery method you prefer, your items will be shipped directly to you. We can ship from Japan to the USA, UK, Australia and other overseas countries.

Manga & Comics

As the largest retailer in Japan for Manga and other anime comics, Animate Online is the best place to get those limited edition items of your dreams, including Tokyo Revengers, Kimetsu no Yaiba and Elios Rising Heros products.

Blu-rays, DVDs & CDs

Animate Online also has a large selection of Blu-rays, DVDs & CDs of all of your favourite anime shows. If you can’t get a theme song or soundtrack out of your head, you’ll probably find it available to purchase from the Animate Online shop.

Doujinshi

For those of you who enjoy self-published print works, Animate Online has a vast selection of works from well-known and up-and-coming artists who have created new stories and scenarios for your favourite anime characters.

Even though the Animate Online store is for people living in Japan, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy products from the online shop. The process of buying from the Animate Online store is easy with forward2me.

Step 1 - Go to the Animate Online Shop

Head over to the Animate Online Shop Japan and start searching for what you’d like to buy. To ensure you get your hands on limited-edition merchandise, go to the Japanese version of the site rather than Animate International. Even though this is a dedicated international online shop, it has a much more limited selection of products. Use the search bar at the top of the homepage to directly search for items. The site has a built-in translator to help you navigate, no matter the browser you are using.

Step 2 - Navigate the website

Getting around the website might seem daunting at first with how colourful the website is, but using the following tips should help international shoppers get around the Japan site.

The top drop-down navigation has three options to choose from: 

• Title Search - Search for a series by its title.

• Categories Search - Search by different manga categories 

• Product Category Search - Search by product types, such as figures, games, or music.

Under this drop-down is a blue navigation bar that has additional filters for you to browse through:

• Title Search - Search for a series by its title.

• New products: Shows only new products or up and coming available pre orders

• Limited Edition Rewards: Shows only limited edition products or come with a reward from Animate themselves, such as a keychain, postcard, or even figurines.

• Fair events: List all of the events that are occurring in the physical Animate stores in Japan.

• Ranking: Shows which items are most popular or best sellers at the current or chosen moment in time.

• Sale: This is the page that has current product sales, showing discounts and offers available.

Step 3 - Add products to your basket

Once you have found the items you want to purchase, add them to your basket, ready to check out and buy. When placing your order, remember to use your Japanese forwarding address and not your home address to ensure it can reach you internationally.

Step 4 - Order using forward2me's Japanese address

When you have placed your order, your item will be shipped to our Japanese warehouse and forwarded to your location. We have a range of shipping methods available for you to send your package overseas.

If you need further help on shopping in Japan, read our Japanese online shopping guide.