Arisu Anime is a fun store at Olde Mystic Village in Mystic, CT. The Totoro figurine outside immediately caught my attention and when I walked in, there were life sized figurines of Naruto, Monkey D. Luffy, and Goku. There is a collection of anime, manga, origami kits, cloths, blind boxes, houseware, kitchenware, art and posters, figures, DIY kits, Funko pops, gatcha machines, and a plethora of other Japanese treasures. On the right of the store next to the outside deck with tables, there is a Japanese food market with authentic imported pre-packed Japanese foods like instant ramen, different kinds of Japanese noodles, Japanese grocery items, snacks and chips, sweets and candy and ice cream, Japanese drinks and anime theme drinks. By the registers, there are free arcade games to play. I took my time walking through the store and looking at everything. It could be overwhelming at first. I really liked looking at the Sanrio, The Studio Ghibli Collection, and Pokemon items. I learned after that Arisu means "Alice" in Japanese and it's a tribute to their first store "Alice in the Village" which is also located in Olde Mystic Village. If you're in Olde Mystic Village, definitely stop by and take a look at Arisu Anime and Alice in the Village. read more

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Arisu is a sprawling Japanese pop culture store located in Olde Mistick Village that feels more like an attraction than a typical retail shop. Inspired by Tokyo's Akihabara district, the space is filled with anime merchandise, manga, collectibles, arcade games, and Japanese snacks, creating an experience that goes well beyond shopping. The colorful displays, oversized character statues, and lively atmosphere make it easy to spend quite a bit of time exploring every corner of the store. The figure and collectible selection is one of the biggest highlights. Display cases are packed with authentic Japanese scale figures, Nendoroids, and prize figures representing a wide range of anime and gaming franchises. There is also an impressive wall of blind boxes featuring brands like Pop Mart, Sanrio, and Sonny Angel, making it a fun stop whether you are searching for a specific collectible or simply enjoy the surprise of opening a mystery box. The manga section is equally extensive, with shelves lined with thousands of volumes spanning both popular series and lesser-known titles. Another standout feature is the Japanese market area, which offers a wide variety of imported snacks, candies, drinks, and instant ramen. Being able to browse food items alongside collectibles adds another layer to the experience, and the retro-style Japanese arcade cabinets and rows of Gachapon machines provide even more reasons to stay and explore. It feels like a place where you can shop, play a few games, and discover something new each time you visit. Despite the large amount of merchandise, the store is clean, well organized, and easy to navigate. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, offering recommendations or helping locate specific items when needed. Free parking throughout Olde Mistick Village and the surrounding collection of shops make it an easy destination to include as part of a day exploring the area. Overall, Arisu is a must-visit for anime fans, manga readers, and collectors looking for authentic Japanese merchandise. The combination of its extensive inventory, interactive arcade features, and imported food selection creates an experience that is both entertaining and enjoyable. It is the kind of place I would gladly return to whenever I am visiting Mystic. read more

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If you're into anime, you've gotta check this place out. It's packed with figures, plushies, manga, snacks from Japan, and all kinds of cool collectibles. Last time I went, I grabbed some imported ramen and a cute pair of chopsticks. I'm planning to bring my kids next time since they're obsessed with anime and ramen. I thought it was cool that they have a little spot where you can make your ramen right there, and some people were even eating outside on the patio, it just adds to the whole vibe. I did notice that some stuff, like the Hello Kitty ramen I usually get at Target, was more expensive here, but honestly, the variety, the atmosphere, and how nice the staff is make it worth stopping by. We'll definitely be back, and I'll probably end up buying even more stuff next time. read more

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Very cool store! I heard so many great things about it and I couldn't wait to visit. If you like anime , this place is for you! Snacks, books and so many other fun things to discover and enjoy. My daughter ended up buying a collectible item and the price was very reasonable. read more

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This shop was really interesting and vibrant with all the anime and ramen they have. I walked out of here with 5 different kinds of ramen! They have alot of stuff I wasn't too familiar with when it comes to anime but my girlfriend had some knowledge on them. They have these really nice ramen bowl sets that I wanted to get but I spent enough for the day lol. My girlfriend bought a set of chopsticks. But i will be back for sure for some more ramen and one of those ramen bowl sets. read more

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I'll be honest, I don't know much about anime. I loved sailor moon and hello kitty forever but never truly followed this genre. That said this store really has a woooowwww factor for me. The decor and photo ops were endless. With huge figures of my children's favorite characters and every figurine or stuffed animal you could imagine. They had so many snacks and goodies. I purchased a frozen noodle dish that I can't wait to try. I also found multipacks of mini ramen which are perfect for shabu shabu for the kids. The lunch box section was amazing. So many decorative picks and other items to make your kids the envy of the school. They even have arcade games which the kids enjoyed playing. So much merch... I loved the store and would definitely come back. My kids loved it and it was worth the hr trip for us. read more

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As a huge anime and manga lover, I was super excited for Arisu to open. It's coined as one of the largest anime shops in New England so my expectations were really high. It's also located in the Olde Mystick Village where I frequent often for Deviant Donuts and the Alice in the Village Shop. The shop is very spacious, decorated like an Asian market, and an anime style mural of Alice in Wonderland. There are bookshelves of manga, figured, sections of current popular anime like Sailor Moon, Spy Family, One Piece, and Naruto to just name a few. There was a large section of Hello Kitty merchandise too. They had Gashapon machines which are Japanese vending/gum all machines that have toys in them. You do have to purchase the coins from the staff at the checkout counter. The life-size character statues of Luffy (One Piece and Naruto were great photo ops. Part of the shop had ramen, snacks, candy, ice cream, mochi, drinks and other groceries. There was even a station to make up ramen if you were hungry. Maybe due to Arisu's location being in a touristy area, the prices were very high. Arisu wasn't as amazing that I'd thought it be and it pains me to give them 3 Stars. There were a lot of key chains, stickers, socks and items that I could find at Box Lunch, Hot Topic, or the next ConnectiCon. The ramen, snacks, drinks and other groceries I can find at my local Asian grocery store cheaper. Overall, Arisu is very cool shop with how they it's decorated, the Gashapon machines, and life-size character statues. You have to take a photo with the large blow up Totoro outside the shop. read more

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Very cute place but I find it very expensive. Has interesting Japanese treats and Anime items that you can't find many places. If you're an Anime fan or like Japanese treats give this place a try. read more

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Fun spot! A bit overpriced but understandable given 90% of this is imported and to us worth picking up some unique pieces we've not seen before! The decor and vibes are half the fun and I'm glad we stopped by on our road trip. read more

Super cool, pretty new anime shop. I don't have a clue about the world of anime, but my oldest son(7 years old) made me promise him a trip in, after many walks past this enormously red building. Being that he's only into pokemon (doesn't have a clue how to actually play), there wasn't too much that peaked his interest. We did spend some time browsing, tried a few Japanese snacks and purchased some tokens for a pretty cool vending machine. If you're not into anime most of the stuff here will just look like "stuff" but for those of you, that enjoy anime... I think you're in for a treat! Enjoy Cheers read more

I was surprised to see an anime store here. I have to admit this place was a delight to browse until you see the prices. There is a great selection of studio ghibli items directly imported from Japan, cute plushies, snacks, etc. but all the things I wanted were prohibitively expensive so we didn't end up getting anything. I would still come back to browse if I'm ever in the area. read more

Saw this place on Instagram/Tiktok branded as the "largest anime store in New England." I'm not sure if that's actually true. It's in Old Mystic Village so if you're familiar with the shops in that area, it should give you a sense of how big this store is. It is fairly spacious inside and has a decent selection of anime-related items ranging from manga to katanas to Studio Ghibli notebooks and Sanrio plushies, but the snack section was really small. I expected there to be a larger variety of Japanese snacks, but Maruichi has way more options. My favorite part of this store was the giant Totoro outside. read more

I was so excited to go here, I heard so much about it! To be honest, I was disappointed. Because it's not a chain, I was hoping for unique products, and there is really not much you can find here that you can't find cheaper at FYE. The most unique thing about it are the gatcha machines, and it's $16 (I don't have the receipt anymore, but I'm 99% sure the price is $4 per token and 4 tokens per machine)for one use at a machine, which is absolutely crazy. I got some washi tape from the machine, so I paid $16 for like 10 cent item lol. But I paid it, because at least it's unique and not something you can find at many other places. Other than that, all of the products are merch from very popular Shonen anime, one little Sailor Moon section, the most popular shojo anime. I know it's an independent business, which is why I would be totally fine spending higher prices if the stuff was a little more unique. They had very little section of anime figurines and again, all stuff from demon slayer/one piece/ etc.. I hope that they start leaning into more unique items, and more types of manga and anime. More variety would be much better. I wouldn't mind paying their prices if they had some things you can't get at an FYE. I ended up buying some cute stationary items that were priced pretty well. In my opinion, if you're a parent with a child who likes some popular anime, this might be the place for you. If you're a regular fan of anime and manga, it's not worth it. read more

Arisu Anime - Gatcha machines - Toy Stores Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

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This is basically the reason I went to mystic. I wanted to go into the store and I kind of wanted to be immersed in an experience of being in Japan without paying for the plane ticket. I would say the people are very friendly right when you walk in. However, because we went on the day when the guys were signing things it was extremely busy which we knew. I was just a little disappointed in the selection of things. While there is a lot of anime things, a lot of it are kind of the same. There isn't a lot that you can't get at other stores as far as cups and stickers and keychains. However, I do think it is a big selection of things, but I wish they had more of the school things that you can't get around here and Japanese candy like kit Kats or something like that. Also, the prices are extremely high but I understand you're paying for where you're at and they get them from Japan. I would definitely be back with my son read more

Arisu Anime - Toy Stores Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

Seen about this place on instagram. And since I was close by decided to stop by and see if it truly is the biggest anime store. That I can say they do have a ton of anime products. Loved it. The store greets you with huge figure of Naruto and One Piece. The store coming in was very inviting. Although coking in you are already so excited to see what they have. If you love to read manga. They have a big selection of mangas for you. As well as some food you can purchase. The staff was very friendly and helpful when I was asking questions to be able to add their business to Yelp. I definitely will come again. read more

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The amount of merchandise available today was much less than what they used to offer. We've been going here since it opened and my daughter was disappointed. I was surprised. read more

Went to Mystic to check out this anime store. Seemed a little smaller than I thought it would be, but they did have plenty of various items around the store that portrayed the anime theme. Looking thru their frozen area, there were some appetizing ice cream cone / sandwich variations. Was disappointed that a lot of these did not show a price on them. They did have a lot of "dangos" there, refrigerated and frozen. Too bab I don't eat those omochi style snacks. read more

Amazing place for Anime lovers that like life sized statues, anime figurines, Funko Pops, Mangas, Anime cook books and Japanese snacks. They also have a section of Japanese Ramen noodles using their microwave. read more

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Our first visit here, nice store with a cute theme carried throughout. However, I was expecting it to be bigger with a more diverse book selection. Lots of merchandise and snacks to check out. I have to agree with another reviewer that the prices are a bit high (tourist prices). Overall, it's definitely worth a visit if you're an anime fan! read more

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Very fun shop for fans of anime! Loved the studio ghibli merchandise. Plenty of Japanese snacks, candy and some Japanese instant ramen bowls available. Wish I got a picture of the inside. read more

Large selection of figures, books, clothing and posters. Also unique items like anime branded playing cards, chopsticks and Japanese foods. There is even katanas for sell. read more

Arisu Anime - Anime figure characters - Toy Stores Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

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It was very quiet and low key. The staff were super friendly. And there is something for everyone

this store was so cool! love the totoro stuff! i ended up getting the totoro wash cloths. i got 4 of them. so cute! staff was very friendly too. lots of different items from anime books, figurines, snacks etc. i wish they had more cute notepads but all i saw was page markers. loved the totoro outside the store too :) read more

Super cool place I visited with my best friend, I highly recommend you go check it if you're in Mystic Village. They have lots of cool merch from your favorite animes (My Hero Academia, Naruto, Sailor Moon, One Piece, and many more). Also, if you're looking for a new manga to read, they have a manga wall for you to browse. On the right side of the store, they also have Japanese snacks/soda, food/desserts, and bento boxes. read more

Arisu Anime - Toy Stores Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

I really wanted to be delighted by this "curious place" but unfortunately, I think it will take a few months to find their footing. The manga section is okay, but no better than a B&N. The majority of the store is plushies, key chains, or mugs of disappointing quality with prices that can be a little high (it is a tourist destination after all). The food section is small and everything there can be purchased at an asian market and in some cases your grocery store. ' As this store only opened a few months ago, I'm hoping it will get better but as of right now, to market itself as the "largest anime store in New England" and an "immersive experience" is just incorrect. I'm all for supporting small businesses, and if you are going to Mystic Village anyway, or have young kids that are getting into anime and manga, then by all means stop in and grab yourself a Ramune, but don't make my mistake and drive an hour to just visit this store. read more