The early morning sun slanted across Pico Boulevard and into the quiet storefront as employees busily prepared for the excitement to come. Dejiko stood in the window arms open in welcome, the cast of I'm Gonna Be An Angel! rehearsed their stage show and the red monster was as menacing as ever.

At ten o'clock, the morning of September 29, the OmochaBox retail store commenced its Grand Opening celebration.

OmochaBox.com is an online retail website specializing in Japanese animation and comics sponsored by L.A. based Digital Manga, Inc. Last April, Digital Manga announced a partnering with Broccoli Co, LTD, the second largest distributor of anime and game merchandise in Japan. OmochaBox thus became the exclusive US distributor of Digi Charat, Broccoli's most famous property. Additionally, Broccoli's well-known retail chain, Gamers, was expected to receive an American incarnation. That incarnation came in the form of OmochaBox.

Some of the first customers of the day happened to be a pair of cosplayers. Promising free gifts for anyone in costume, OmochaBox attracted a sizable portion of Southern California's cosplaying community. More than a few customers admitted to stopping by just to check out the motely regaled crowd forming outside the store.

And the crowd, costumed and not, kept growing. The majority of those who came in the store waited long after they were done shopping in eager anticipation of the two o'clock autograph session featuring famed Sailormoon and Revolutionary Girl Utena director, Kunihiko Ikuhara.

To tide over their anime-hungry guests until that time, OmochaBox hired the award winning cosplay group Sailor JAMboree to perform a quick musical stage performance throughout the day. Dressed as the overly cute cast of I'm Gonna Be An Angel!, Sailor JAMboree sang and danced to the bizarre tunes of said anime. Diana Kou, voice actress for Angel's heroine Noelle, turned out fully in character to lead the festivities.

When Ikuhara arrived, his fans were already lined up out back, each holding a ticket admitting them to the exclusive autograph session. For the next two hours the popular director joked, shook hands and practiced his new english skills with customers and store staff alike.

Sunday saw much the same success with singer-songwriter-actress Mari Iijima. Though fewer cosplayers turned out for the more mature, laid back crowd, Iijima's fan presence was felt just as strongly. Best known for her hugely popular role as pop-idol Lynn Minmay in the classic Macross series, Iijima currently plays the Los Angeles club scene promoting her latest album, Right Now.

Joining other well-known anime outlets such as Animate and Mandarake, OmochaBox is a welcome addition to the anime community in Southern California.

For more information, head on over to the OmochaBox retail store website. Also visit Akadot's Kunihiko Ikuhara Observation journal and Luis Reyes' latest interview with Mari Iijima.