Bryan-College Station | Houston | Austin If anyone has more to add, just drop the PR Flack a line, eh? Bryan-College Station BCS Books & Comics Tel: (409) 846-7412 The Good: Lots of anime for rent. Quite a lot to choose from; an entire wall and half another are dedicated to rentable anime. Also occasional anime merchanise in stock, including soundtracks and model kits. The Bad: Dubs vs. Subs; the more popular anime series (Neon Genesis, Ranma, Tenchi Muyo, etc.) are almost guarenteed to be stocked in the dubbed versions, while others (Key the Metal Idol, El-Hazard, etc.) are available in subtitles. And other times it seems completely random whether or not a series will be stocked in the subtitled or dubbed versions. For example, why are the first two volumes of Slayers available in subtitles while volumes 3 and 4 come dubbed in English? Considering that the nearest place to get any alternative is a little over a hundred miles away, otaku are stuck with whatever version BCS decides to stock. Overall: BCS Books & Comics (if you couldn't guess by the name) is primarily a comics and RPG store, and therefore almost all of the merchandise is geared towards such. Don't know how well they could special order anime, however. Lytle's Comics & Games Tel: (409) 846-2977 The Good: Special Ordering; it may take anywhere from several weeks to several months but it should eventually get there. And without huge markups either. For example, the PR Flack ordered an Eva-02 action figure in August. It got here in mid-November, but without the price hike that is normally seen. The figure at Lytle's cost $32. In the Houston stores it may go for $40 to $50. The Bad: There is virtually no stock. Manga selections are limited, and a pile of videos for sale have been gathering dust for 2 years or so. Overall: It serves its purpose. Not much more. Houston Ani-Magic Tel: (281) 227-8910 (First Colony Mall); (281) 679-6868 (West Oaks Mall) Where: Westheimer & Highway 6 at West Oaks Mall near Meryvn's; I-59 & Highway 6 at First Colony Mall in the Food Court URL: http://ani-magic.com The Good: Just about darn near everything. The prices are great, the stock is great, the parking is great, etc. Ani-Magic is also very easy to find being on or near major highways. They also carry alot of cut-rate CDs for $15, which is great for a budget-concious student. Ani-magic carries a huge stock of resin and plastic resin kits, also going for decent prices. A 1/5 scale (10-12 inch tall) resin kit of Rei Ayanami was being sold for $39; the same kit can be found elsewhere being sold for $80 and up. The Bad: If you want the authentic Japanese edition it's going to cost you. An original Japanese edition CD runs about $50. Also most of the manga and books are are in Chinese rather than Japanese. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot bad about Ani-Magic. Heck, some of us find Chinese easier to decipher anyway. Overall: Buy Ani-Magic. Buy Ani-Magic. Buy Ani-Magic. Planet Anime Tel: (713) 523-7122 Where: 2439 Times Blvd., near the Rice University campus URL: http://www.neosoft.com/~planet The Good: The stock is better than Ani-Magic's, with more merchandise and variety. Good manga and VHS selection. Lots of artbooks, LDs, non-bootleg soundtracks, toys, etc. Rents and sells VHS. Imported Playstation games. The Bad: Where to start? First, location; it's on one of those pliddly little streets where if you blink you miss it. If you're coming in from out of town you'll have to switch between three major freeways to get there, then deal with central Houston traffic. Those streets were probably paved when the traffic flow was much, much lighter. Parking is impossible to find. Second, pricing; okay, a 1/8 scale Skuld plastic kit costs $120? When I can get it at Ani-Magic for $40? And that's just the start. Planet Anime is horrendously overpriced. Overall: If you want authentic Japanese imports, and you don't mind paying inflated prices and possibly driving up your car insurance premium in the process, then go to Planet Anime by all means. Austin Eh, I dunno. Go ask The Anime Club at the University of Texas or Anime Heretics of Austin. Previous: Contacting Aggime | Top: Aggime Index | Next: Links & Things