[merylsilverburg]

Originally posted by Preventer Wind

I wouldn't say it's because they have access to it. Northwest Ohio has a couple of good movie stores.

But it's not just about buying anime. What I meant about "access" is: CA and NY are huge cities. There is a larger population there. Because they are both huge cities, people there are going to try to get the "coolest" and "latest" trends around. Not only that, but CA and NY have a large majority of Asians there (which is why there are so many Japan Towns, Chinatowns, etc.) and these Asians will introduce many Americans to anime/manga. So, because of this, anime "pop culture" is more wide-spread in these cities than any other. These people will then have access to these Japan Towns/Chinatowns and get, not only anime, but manga and merchandise/goodies too. If more people buy these types of things, people are going to recognize and see. The sales will go up (like in Japanese bookstores, the sales of the number of mangas sold will be high) and thus, people there will be in more of a demand for anime stuff. So, that's why the Bebop movie is shown in a lot of theaters there. I hope I didn't confuse you or anyone else...

I would say it's due to the fact that most people where I live think it's for "geeks".

Maybe this is also another reason too. I mean, if a certain town isn't accepting of anime, of course anime movies are less likely to be shown there. That's what I mean by the difference of CA/NY and other towns. CA/NY people are more accepting of anime because they have more "access" to it. Like, in my town, anime is...well...slightly popular here. I mean, the main thing that I hear people talking about is DB/DBZ, Love Hina, Cowboy Bebop....all the ones that are released here along with the graphic novels as well. That's why the Bebop movie isn't shown around in my little town, but in Chicago instead. (There's a nice little Chinatown and a small Japanese town up there and it's very popular).