Working To Open An Anime & Video Game Place

My love of video games started back in '97 with playing Sonic & Knuckles at my uncle's and then getting a PlayStation with Final Fantasy VII the Christmas. From there I would play any games that came my way for the next 25+ years until today. In '99 I started my journey into anime when I saw Princess Mononoke in theatres, taking to watching anime online by late 2000/early 2001 on sites like ShareYourWorld before places like Dailymotion and YouTube changed the game. Another venture I've gotten more into recently has been table-top gaming/board games, while I've been into card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic since the early 2000s. I hadn't really sat down for a true table-top board game until last year with things like Catan, Scythe, and Ticket to Ride. I wanted to be able to share these passions with the community around me and create a spot where people of similar interests could gather and meet. As of right now, we're working to open up the place in the Great Eastern Shopping Plaza in Northwood, Ohio during Spring 2024 in the building shown below.

The plaza owners have renovated the building since this picture, though we're responsible for flooring, as well as any walls we'll put up. We have most of the paperwork/permits needed so far, as well as suppliers many of the products we would be carrying. The things we would be carrying would be mainly anime DVDs/Blu-rays, Video Games (mostly 5th through 7th generation consoles), Table-Top RPGs/Board Games, as well as varying merchandise to accompany (themed necklaces, wall scrolls, bags, figures, and others). We would also have a variety of snacks and drinks available. If possible, we would like to carry manga, though it wouldn't be for sale, rather there for anyone to come in and read, or we could possibly offer a library system. For now though, the store would not be large enough to carry a large supply of manga with multiple copes. The current building space we have is about 1,400 sq ft, and though not completely to scale, we made up a floor plan to show how the layout would be.

Keep in mind that this is just a general model and not 100% to scale (especially doors and tables), though gives a full representation of what we're aiming for. Tables are just stand-in models and would have more 4 to 6 person tables, ideally with a square table or two to better suit table-top games. The front half of the store would be retail focused, with the back half being more of a hangout space. The back half would also function as a space for events (Example: Smash Bros. Tournament), and, if we can make it possible, watch/movie nights.

Currently we have roughly 1,000 anime series and 1,400 video games in our inventory. Below will show a few (not all) of our rarer/more desirable titles for our anime:

And for our video games:

As for what the funds would be used for, it would be to cover:

As well as the first three months of expenses.

The current logo used for this page is a stand-in and will be updated going forward. In place of the girl will be our mascot whom we would use as a branding. The main reason for this campaign is to raise enough to offset any start-up debt that we would otherwise acquire, to guarantee the longevity of the the venture. So we're asking for anything you can donate if you genuinely support this project, and if you can share it wherever you can.

If you have any questions or just want to talk, I'll be streaming everyday from September 19th to October 18th, 2023 at www.twitch.tv/9aracna . I'm aiming to be live eight to twelve hours each day, and to start most streams in the late afternoon/evening EST. I'll be going through as many games as I can during the time, and willing to answer any questions about this that I can, though I apologize if I'm unable to answer everything.