Can anyone recommend some stores in Los Angeles for buying or renting Asian DVDs or VCDs?

Thanks

Hello,

This is a perfect occasion for a weekend daytrip.

I have a cousin in Westwood doing time in med school as it were. To get your fix of all things Asian, she'd tell you, with an ebullient SoCal perkiness, "go East, young man!" Literally. Get on the expressway and head eastward for San Gabriel.

The physical store for Five Star Laser is out there as is one of America's premiere Chinatown's--"Little Taipei" based around Monterry Park. There are signs for miles on end completely in Chinese (or in Japanese and Vietnamese for the respective enclaves.) All the usual suspects are out there from the Ranch 99 Market to the local branch of the World Journal Bookstore accompanied by a palimpsest of small mom n' pop gaming stores. I mention them for reference because such places tend to stock things associated with idol (ouxiang; ou-hsiang) fandom: soundtracks, glossy mags, VCD movies, you name it. Five Star would be a better bet to purchase DVDs but who knows what VCD gems you would come across making your way through the gauntlet of console shops and fluffy pop stations.

Five Star, however, doesn't open until noon so drop in at 10am for morning tea and dim sum (in the "Little Shanghai" quarter if you've had your fill of Cantonese and Fukienese dim sum). Drop in at Five Star as the doors open. Make your way to World Journal whilst weaving through mom n' pop places and hawker stalls. Eat pho for lunch. Go to Ranch 99 or one of the other huge Asian supermarkets to get your week's (or alternatively, month or year's?!) supply of Pocky sticks, prawn chips, assorted dried delacacies, etc to accompany the viewing of your growing bulge of discs. Grab dinner at someplace that you've always wanted to try but was way to expensive in L.A. proper. And then catch "Yesterday Once More" playing at the National (Kuo Hwa), probably double-billed with something like "Escape from Hong Kong Island." Who knows, maybe "2046" is on the marquee? Regardless, drive home fully satiated.

Two quick notes: don't forget to take photos whilst there to document your weekend "trip to Asia" (there literally is little to no English-language signage and very few non-Asians mulling about so San Gabriel could pass for parts of Hong Kong, Taipei, or Shanghai but not Singapore--the buildings aren't tall enough). It would be good for some charming water cooler talk. Second, despite the overwhelming non-Englishness of things, it is still America so people will be able to communicate with you. Just be sure to print out a list of titles or stars names from the HKMDB for the older shopkeepers whom may not be familiar with the English names of things. And yes, there are rental places too. Have fun!