Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and that means Black Friday is hot on its heels! So while you should by now know to check out the sales at Right Stuf, Sentai Filmworks, and all the other anime superstores, what kind of anime-related deals can be found at some of the major retailers? Well, unfortunately, you won’t find that anime Blu-ray you’ve been hunting for in any ad, but let’s take a look!
Note that some stores’ sales are already live, others will start tomorrow, and a few will kick off on Black Friday itself.
Video Games
PS4 Spider-man bundle – $199.99 at all retailers
The PS4 Pro Spider-man bundle sold out rather quickly, but if you don’t need the extra power, the price drop on the PS4 Slim is the way to go. You’ll find this price everywhere, with many places already having this offer live.
Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – $299.99 with $50 gift card at GameStop
While this bundle is available everywhere, GameStop is the only place where you are enticed to buy one. In fact, they’re offering the $50 gift card with any Switch console (including the Let’s Go Pikachu special edition), and they’re also giving a $50 gift card with either a PS4 or Xbox One console purchase (minus the Spider-man and Minecraft discounted bundles).
DragonBall FighterZ – $17 at Walmart
It’s not often that an anime game is so well-received and has a dedicated following. This may be the time to pick this up for fighting game enthusiasts and DragonBall Z fans. Other places have this one sale, but not quite as cheap. Either way, keep an eye out to see if the Day One edition is available for the same price.
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Strikers – $25 at Walmart
Have a 4v4 battle where you can have various squads face off against each other. Plus, Walmart is undercutting Target’s Black Friday price by $5.
Pokémon
Pokémon Ultra Sun/Moon – $19.99 at Best Buy
I’m surprised that more stores aren’t putting these games on sale, but if the latest Pokémon entries aren’t your cup of tea, you can get these for 50% off.
Pokémon The Card Game tins – 50% off at Target
This has become an annual sale, but for TCG players, this is a good time to stock up on some cards.
Mega Construx Pokémon Jumbo Pikachu – $24.99 at Target
This foot-tall Pikachu made Best Buy’s holiday book and Amazon’s holiday toy list. So the fact that Target is going to offer this posable building set for 50% off is a great deal. There are some negative reviews about missing or misshapen pieces, so you may want to include a gift receipt if giving as a gift so they can exchange for a new set.
50% off Gamer Books at Barnes & Noble
Well, we won’t know the actual lineup until the sale goes live, but even the featured Pokémon title is going for almost $13 on Amazon. Less than $8 is a pretty good deal for a book for a Pokémon fan.
Streaming & Digital
Roku SE – $20 at Walmart
If you’re looking for the cheapest way to stream anime on your TV, this Walmart-exclusive version is probably it. This is only available in-store, so unless you want to brave the crowds, you can find the regular edition for $5 more at most retailers. Or you can look for the non-stick version for 50% off or look at Chromecasts.
$50 App Store & iTunes Gift Card – $40 at Best Buy
Okay, this isn’t strictly anime-related, but if you need to reload for the various gacha games or want to own digital anime seasons, 20% off is a great deal. As a comparison, Google Play $50 gift cards are going for $45 this weekend.
Advice & Thoughts
Console deals are rather slim this year, so if you were hoping for some gift cards with purchase or discounts on Nintendo 2DS/3DS consoles, this isn’t the year. Even the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle is only impressive if you get it at GameStop, as the game has been at or below $45 while Switches have been $250 or less.
Lots of other Japanese-inspired games are on sale like Monster Hunter games for PS4 and Switch, Pokken Tournament, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. PS VR systems are also $100 off.
Amazon may be price matching a lot of these, but they may be limited to Lightning Deals. Browse the Lightning Deals section online and set up alerts on your computer and/or phone for when they go live.
Several stores are offering free shipping including Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, so take that into consideration.
Cyber Monday is a bit of an odd duck. Some stores will just have Black Friday Redux, and at other places, Cyber Monday deals may be better than Black Friday. In particular, keep an eye out in case Target does their 15% off sitewide sale again.
Many items may be listed as “can’t combine with other coupons/deals”, but it often doesn’t hurt to check.