Today I decided to “pop” into Anime Pop, a small store dedicated to Anime on Airport Rd. just north of Koenig.
When you walk in, there are two aisles full of anime stuff. Figures, magazines, books, pins, plushes, the works. If you are interested at all in anime, this is the place for you in Austin (though Gift World might have something you’re interested in).
Perusing the figures, the thing that struck me the most is that nearly every single female is scantily clad to various levels, to the point where while some of the figures were extremely beautifully done, I would have felt a bit ashamed to bring one home. So I didn’t. Instead I bought a pusheen plush, of which there were several.
I chatted briefly with the guy behind the counter, and got the impression that he’s pretty much an otaku – doing what he loves doing. He expressed a desire to someday get J-pop stuff in, and I agreed with him that that would be cool. He said he would like to have an Oshima Yuko (AKB48) figure, and I countered that I would love to see a Suzuki Kanon (Morning Musume) figure. We laughed a bit – like that will ever happen – and I left.
Of course, said figures would probably sexualize the hell out of them, so I’d probably pass anyway, but it’s a nice thought, anyway.
Anyway, it seems to be a decent place run by a knowledgeable guy, so if you like anime stuff, that would be a good place to visit at some point if you’re in Austin. There are also Anime Pop places in Dallas and San Antonio (as far as I know), so maybe it’s a Texas thing. Even if so, cool. Maybe I’ll stop by every now and then, even though anime is not and has never been my thing.