It was mostly a family vacation but i did find a bit of time in between to go to Super7. Very cool store, display outside was cool, with mostly S7 and vintage toys on display, lots of clothes and books. Took some pictures for those who have never seen what S7 looks like inside.
Wait, those vintage figures sit there all day with sunlight hitting them directly? Thanks for sharing pics, it must've been a very fun trip!
It's true. Janis Joplin and the Dead don't live there anymore. [/ The bums are all still there though. And a lotta' hipsters. But that's just a matter of semantics
The weekend wannabe hipster-shoppers are even more annoying than the panhandling gutter punks. At least the punks get out of the way. But at least Haight's got S7 and Amoeba.
Just so 666Doll doesn't feel too persecuted . . . I gotta say, as the American Mecca of all things kaiju and sofubi I was kinda anticipating having my mind melted. There was some cool stuff, but unfortunately it was lost in amongst the more pedestrian shelf-filling, hipster apparel and stock that time forgot and felt more like a pop-up shop rather than the über cool celebration of all things sci-fi and monster that I had imagined and hoped for. I would've resented the cab fare were it not for being able to catch up with Mr Zavaleta and a chance discovery of a Lango wall up the street. The stoners and vagrants wandering around the piss and bong-water soaked sidewalks like something from The Walking Dead did nuthin' for the ambiance either! By contrast, not long afterwards I called into Deus Customs in Venice Beach which really did melt my mind! Possibly the best retail environment I've ever had the chance to visit and well worth the detour if you're in the area . . . even if motorcycles don't usually float your boat!
I think you guys would have liked the old Post Street store a lot more. I did too, but S7 has taken a very different direction since then, which obviously isn't to everyone's taste. As a former S7 employee explained to me, "we're casting a wider net." It is a biz, after all, and the current location almost certainly yields more walk-in purchases than the former location in Japantown did. I miss being able to walk in and gawk at and buy from a large number of sofubi companies, but again, from a business perspective I can appreciate why the changes have been made. The Super7 Store ain't Skullbrain, which SB-based visitors would be well-advised to understand in advance.
it's still a nice space and from viewing the online store i wasn't expecting much more. maybe more S7 vinyl, prominently displayed and promo for new upcoming products. i appreciate the displayed vintage goodies. maybe use the space differently, shirts on hangers, the center of the store or at least half dedicated to a variety of S7 products, the brand, it's history and role in the sofubi world up to it's present day ventures. prop. the vinyl up on pedestals at least one of each toy in production to be viewed and praised, t-shirts are too common to be allotted such prime display space, at least cut it down by half.
Im sorry I wasn't trying to persecute anyone just wondering why "it's a complete and utter let down". That my friend is 90% of SF, nothing S7 can really do about that. S7 may not be the kaiju and sofubi mecha that you all imagined. but were else can you find a vintage Red King for sale. I have to say my fondest memories of S7 are from their anniversary parties. That is the mind melt you were looking for.
Don't worry Bryan, I wasn't feeling persecuted. I would have responded, but both Dean and Andy pretty much said how I feel. I'm not a huge fan of nor do I collect Star Wars, S7 toys and I'm not a douchebag hipster so their t shirts don't appeal to me. Other than that, what's there... As to vintage toys and the place to get them, this board and YJA seem to be good places to start. Carry on
I got into this Japanese toy world by stumbling into the old Post street Super 7 and buying my very first figure, a mini green splatter Mutant Head which 100's of toys later I still have. It was truly a classy store. I am glad some honest feedback is posted. I was disappointed with my first visit to the new store a few months ago. Of course, those small vintage shelves are nice. I do however miss the old Japan town store model, it also had the 'pop up shop tripe hipster t shirts, apparel' etc but it had that rarer more unique sofubi flavor the likes of which are usually only found in Japan itself. I miss the open shelves of vinyl figures and the numerous mini Japanese items (including the larger variety that used to appear on the website as well). What made for a legendary store for me, that got me into collecting, seems faded into a thing of the past. It would not take much to bring up the flavor, maybe it will make a come back.
thanks for sharing and the great pics! Went there 2 weeks ago together with Kidrobot. Great stores overall