Top anime, manga and comics shops compared

Our top picks

1. 2. Large

   Returns run for 30 to 100 days, where the shops above offer a single standard window, and support covers email, chat, phone and more, adding a community channel to chat, phone, email and a help centre. The shop is operated as Large Popmerchandising BV from the Belgium and has traded since 1986. Preorders and a loyalty programme are both listed. Its range, anime merch, band merch, figures and more, covers anime merchandise, band merchandise, figures, game merchandise and apparel, though it carries no manga or comics, and orders are taken for Belgium and the Netherlands, a tighter map than EMP below it.

   • Return window: 30 to 100 days
   • Loyalty scheme: Yes
   • Pre-orders: Yes

   Pros

   • Starter outlays stay small, with €5.99 quoted for a Funko Pop! or a mystery box.
   • Figures span anime, Marvel and Star Wars lines, so a collector browses several fandoms in a single shop.
   • Figures, clothing and anime goods share a basket, so a mixed gift list needs a single checkout.
   • The storefront belongs to Large Popmerchandising BV in Belgium, so a named company stands behind the order.

   Cons

   • Shelves spread across fandoms and categories, so depth on any single line can be thin for a collector after a rare release.
   • A basket with several figures and clothing costs more than €5.99, the amount quoted for a Funko Pop! or mystery box.
   • The shops are set up for Belgium and the Netherlands, so a buyer elsewhere is ordering across a border and should read the delivery terms first.

2. 3. Kinokuniya

   Kinokuniya closes this ranking as the deepest generalist of the ten. Trading since 1927 and run as Kinokuniya Book Stores of America Co.,Ltd. from the United States, it combines manga and comics with figures, plush, posters, anime merchandise and mystery box lines in manga, comics, figures and more. Preorders and a loyalty programme are both listed, support runs on email, phone and help centre with a phone line, and returns run for 30 days. Free delivery kicks in at $50, quoted in dollars like Funko's threshold above it and unlike the pounds a UK buyer sees. It beats HobbyLink Japan, the shop just above, on the returns window and on reach.

   • Return window: 30 days
   • Free delivery threshold: $50
   • Loyalty scheme: Yes

   Pros

   • Returns and exchanges can be started within 30 days of purchase, so a faulty figure does not stay with you.
   • Shipping is free within the United States once an order reaches $50 before tax.
   • Members take a discount on most items in stores and online, and their points build towards a Kinokuniya Reward Card.
   • Preorders are held and sent with the rest of the order in one shipment, which suits planned collecting.

   Cons

   • A single unavailable preorder holds the whole order, so nothing ships until the last item can be filled.
   • Free delivery needs $50 before tax and runs inside the United States, so a small basket still pays postage.
   • The member discount covers most items, and points pay out as a reward card rather than as cash.

3. BF5. BD Fugue: best for BD Fugue

   BD Fugue is an online shop at bdfugue.com selling comics, manga and graphic novels.

4. Y6. Yvolve: best for Yvolve

   Finnish online shop for products from games, anime and manga, films and TV series, with gift cards and pre-orders.

   • Markets: FI

5. 7. VIZ Media: best for top pick

   VIZ Media holds the top pick label in this ranking because official licensing sits alongside a range that reaches beyond any single shelf type: anime merch, manga, figures and more. The shop is run as VIZ Media, LLC from the United States, and its order pages list 10 countries including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, so a buyer outside the US orders direct rather than through a third party. Support runs on email, phone and help centre, which puts a real person on the end of a phone line. Compared with FUN, the shop ranked next, VIZ Media leans on manga and art prints while FUN adds game merchandise and live chat. Returns are the same length at both.

   • Plan price per month: $1.99
   • Free trial length: 7 days
   • Offline downloads: Yes

   Pros

   • New subscribers get 7 days free, so you can read a run of a series before paying.
   • Offline downloads let you save chapters and read them with no connection on a commute or a flight.
   • Shop merchandise is officially licensed, so the designs come from the VIZ brands themselves.
   • Shop orders carry a money back promise of 30 days on most items.

   Cons

   • The free tier is the VIZ Manga service, so there is no free entry to the anime catalogue.
   • Shop orders carry a money back promise of 30 days on most items, so a specific product still needs checking against the return policy.
   • The plan is billed monthly at $1.99, so a long series adds up across a year.

6. 8. FUN

   FUN earns its place in this ranking on reach and support together. It lists the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, runs preorders and a loyalty programme, and answers on email, chat, phone and more, pairing live chat and a phone line with email and a help centre. Founded in 1992 and run as FUN.com, Inc., it carries a long trading history behind the storefront. Its range, anime merch, figures, game merch and more, covers anime merchandise, figures, game merchandise, apparel and plush, so it overlaps VIZ Media above it and adds game stock, while Funko, ranked next, goes further with comics, band merchandise and posters. Returns run for 30 days, matching VIZ Media.

   • Return window: 30 days
   • Price from: $4.99
   • Markets: US, GB, AU

   Pros

   • Costumes open at $4.99, and full outfits sit beside sale pieces on the costume listings.
   • Returns are allowed when postmarked within 30 days of the original order date.
   • The shop trades as FUN.com, Inc., with a company story that starts at 1992.
   • A loyalty programme lets a return come back as store credit rather than money.
   • Outfits sit beside wigs and props, so a look can be finished in a single order.

   Cons

   • The 30 day postmark rule comes with no stated processing time for a refund.
   • Support runs on email, chat, phone and more, with no published response time for a question.

7. 9. Funko

   Funko takes third in this ranking by pairing officially licensed goods with a market list that reaches North America, most of Europe, the UK and the Gulf: 37 countries including the United States, Canada and Mexico. That spread lets a buyer in Warsaw order from the same storefront as one in Manchester, and it is where Funko pulls ahead of FUN, the shop ranked just above it. Loyalty and preorders are both in place, so repeat buyers and upcoming releases are covered. Support runs on help centre, email and community, which means no phone line, so reaching the shop runs through the help centre, email or the community board.

   • Brand or store: Brand
   • Pre-orders: Yes
   • Officially licensed only: Yes

   Pros

   • The products are officially licensed, so characters carry the approval of the studios and publishers behind the shows.
   • A fan rewards program gives repeat buyers perks, now in a simpler design that is easier to track and use.
   • Shelves are grouped into anime merch, comics, figures and more, so a hunt can start by fandom or by format rather than by scrolling a long flat list.

   Cons

   • The $3.49 figure comes from a marked-down Mystery Pocket Pop! Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the sale section, so it reflects a discount rather than a standard shelf price.
   • Free delivery starts at $65, so a small basket still pays postage at checkout.
   • Returns close 30 days after delivery, which is tight when a preorder arrives late or a piece turns up damaged.

8. 10. HalloweenCostumes

   HalloweenCostumes sits fourth in this ranking on trading history and reach rather than on range size. Its market list, 5 countries including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, covers North America, the UK, Australia and Mexico, and the store is operated by the same company behind FUN, so the run since 1992 stands behind both storefronts. Preorders and a loyalty programme are both listed, which helps buyers tracking a release date.

   • Return window: 30 days
   • Price from: $5.99
   • Markets: US, CA, GB, and 2 more

   Pros

   • Sale pricing on a decorated prop dips to $5.99, and a preorder cart holds reservations on pieces that have not shipped yet.
   • A fit problem still has a deadline to work to, because returns must be postmarked within 30 days of the original order date.
   • Monster Rewards puts points on every purchase, so fans kitting out several characters across one season collect something each time they check out.
   • The shop sells cosplay costumes, anime costumes, game costumes and more, so wigs, footwear and props can join a costume in the same basket.
   • Trading since 1992, the retailer has a long record in seasonal dress-up rather than a brief trend cycle.

   Cons

   • Returns must be postmarked within 30 days of the original order date, so the window runs from checkout rather than from the day the parcel lands.
   • The $5.99 price belongs to a skull decoration rather than to an outfit, so costume buyers pay above the entry figure shown on sale items.
   • Help runs through phone, chat, help centre and more from a base in the United States, so a shopper on another continent waits across a time gap to reach a person.

Top anime, manga and comics shops compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Mexico
• Philippines
• Poland
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV