Up until 2002, my source for local anime was Animagix, located at 2801 Guadalupe St on the second floor. It had a good selection of rentals (mostly VHS), some video sales, T-shirts, lots of posters and wallscrolls, fansubs, models, and other miscellaneous stuff. While I never really got to know the people who worked there, I did get on a first name basis with a few of them and it was a big disappointment to hear they were going out of business. Surprisingly for such a UT-heavy area, sales were weak and they couldn't make enough money. So they packed their bags and closed shop, leaving me scratching my head to wonder where I could rent anime.

Most chain rental stores (Blockbuster, Hollywood Video) have ever-increasing anime selections, but they are still paltry and incomplete compared to a true specialty store. I've been to the Momoko Tea Shop on 705 W 24th St but it's more of a Japanese cultural store and the emphasis is on household items and clothing, not anime. It's the same with Morning Glory, on Airport near Highland Mall.

So it was a welcome respite to get a flyer from a co-worker who found it on the windshield of his car a week ago. The flyer was for Neko Neko (Neko²), located at 9037 Research Blvd #700 (the northeast corner of 183 and Burnet in the shopping center with the Black Eyed Pea). I stopped by there last weekend to give it a once-over and see what the place was like.

Turns out it's owned and operated by the same general people who owned and operated Animagix! Their selection seems a little smaller, but that may be due to the smaller floor space they have compared to the store before. Their selection is more focused on DVDs though they still have an average variety of VHS available. Fewer T-shirts and wallscrolls are in stock, though the people behind the counter said they'd be getting more, along with anime soundtracks. Their collection of art books is better. The store is also selling speciality Japanese teas, has a free DDR machine, and a comfortable viewing area with a large TV and a surround sound system for video games and anime showings.

It's a nice location and a clean store. Much more professional than the previous digs. Though the stomping from the DDR machine can get annoying, the prices are good ($2.50 per DVD for two nights and $1.00 per VHS for two nights) and it looks like they are hooking up with the rest of the anime community in Austin to get information out to everyone else about events and screenings.

I rented the last three volumes of NieA_7 and the first two volumes of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO). I'll certainly be back for more.

UPDATE(11:45am)
Speaking of anime, Steven Den Beste picked up quite a bunch and has some interesting reviews.