If you think about it, otaku in Austin are quite lucky by comparison. We could be living in a city where the only places to purchase manga are the big, national chain bookstores. Or worse, we could be in a small town without even a Borders or Barnes & Noble bookseller.
… Well, at least for those folks there are options online nowadays.
But we’re in Austin, and this city has a few specialized stores that carry much better manga selections than the big-box booksellers. The largest selection of manga that I’ve seen so far in Austin can be found at Austin Books, a comic bookstore located on North Lamar, just north of the Triangle.
Established in 1977, Austin Books has been specializing in the realm of fantasy and science fiction for over 30 years. And part of that specialization is manga. Whereas most bookstores set aside a small section dedicated to manga, taking up one whole rack of bookshelves (at best), Austin Books carries more than that in just the front of their store.
However, if you venture further back into the store, you realize there’s more manga there … much more. In fact, the manga section in the front of the store just contains manga with titles that start with letters A through E. The rest of the alphabet is in the back-left section, which is comprised of two long, double-sided bookshelves and includes anime and manga specialty magazines.
[table id=9 /]
The prices at Austin Books are reasonable; certainly no more than what you’d expect to pay at the big-box booksellers. But, on occasion, they have a big sale on manga, and you can save lots of money during those events. There is a very good likelihood that you’ll find whatever title you’re looking for due to the size of their selection, but, in the off-chance that you don’t, the store staff is very knowledgeable and helpful and can order whatever you need (if it’s in print).
Austin Books at 5002 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin Books is located just north of the Triangle split of Lamar and Guadalupe.
Address:
5002 North Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 454-4197
Store Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11am-7pm
Wednesday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 12pm-6pm
[rating:5.0]