Springfield, VA 22150
Blue Line to Franconia-Springfield
Ah, the mall. A fine late 20-century American institution. Except by a
convergence of factors, this winds up being one actually worth going to. I
don't know whose smart idea that was, but there are two separate and competing
anime stores in the place now - Anime FX on one floor, Pandora's3 on the
other. Both are nearly identical - that is, both also rent and sell videos,
piles of t-shirts, Japanese CD's. Both wind up sending their staff to the same
anime cons. Somehow, both manage to exist without putting the other out of
business. And I swear, both make it oh-so-very-hard to walk out without buying
stuff. While we're at it, there are also a good five arcades scattered
throghout the place, an American comic shop, and the requisite Software Etc.,
and Babbage's. In short, geek-gamer-otaku paradise, air-conditioned, too, and
most importantly, subway-accessible. NOTE: A 10-minute walk from the subway
station IS required. - MK
4809 Fairmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856
Red Line to Bethesda
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426 Maple Avenue East
Vienna, VA 22108
703-242-9412
Orange Line to Ballston
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3145 Dumbarton Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961
Orange/Blue Line to Rosslyn
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With three stores throughout the metro DC area, Big Planet Comics is probably
the easiest place around to get comics. Visiting the Georgetown location was a
pleasant experience. It occupies the first floor of a townhouse a few feet off
the neighborhood’s major thoroughfare. The décor is more reminiscent of a
small independent bookstore, with shelves, rather than racks. Although the requisite monthly issues are present, there is also a very strong European presence, as well as several shelves of manga. A pleasant shopping experience, and very much not what would expect of a comic store. - MK
7315 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498
Green Line to College Park-U of Md
When leaving the main entrance of the UMD: College Park campus, you can turn either right or left onto Route 1. If you turn right, you soon arrive at the Closet of Comics. This is a small comic store, but the only one in the area, so it suffices. For such a small store, it has a decent selection of small print titles. The clerks are friendly and knowledgable, and have a tendency to show up randomly at anime conventions with no warning. Sales are frequent, albeit pretty pathetic. The only real problem with the place is the lack of sheer quantity of stock. - DS
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Anime Pavilion and Comics
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7395-B Lee Highway
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-204-1844
http://www.animepavilion.com
Orange Line to Dunn Loring-Merrifield
It's somewhen in the late 1980's, and you've just graduated from one of
America's top universities with a degree in international affairs. What do you
do then? The answer is simple - open an anime store. Upon this paradox is
based Anime Pavilion and Comics, one of currently three anime stores in
northern Virginia, but the most distinctive one. It maintains a heavy presence
at every East Coast anime convention, sending a dedicated group of staff,
always supervised by Steve Lin himself. The actual store, one of many in a
strip mall, is basicaly piles of boxes on the floor, and a staff that
generally knows where everything is in those boxes. On the very odd chance
that they don't, all it takes is a yell to Steve - and he DOES know where
everything is, and more importantly, whether something even exists to begin
with. A great and wonderful place, to say the least, but a bitch to get to
without a car. - MK
7984 Tyson’s Corner Center
McLean, VA 22102
703-442-8282
Orange Line to Ballston
Proudly and uncompromisingly, a store for the Cartoon Network generation.
Brightly lit, uncluttered, and full of pastel colors, it fits in perfectly with the rest of the shops at the Tyson’s Corner megamall. Most of one wall is devoted to Sanrio products, as usual everything from plushies to backpacks to pencil cases. Towards the front on the other wall is a spread of Dragon Ball Z t-shirts, Gundam models and Yu Yu Hakusho wallscrolls. Farther back on the
same side are messenger bags and backpacks – youth-oriented brands like YakPak (of Megatokyo fame) and Dickies. By the register there is a small selection of Asian candies and Pocky. While lacking the merchandise diversity of the area’s established anime/manga retailers, Fancy World remains exactly what it appears to be -- a purveyor of the most surface and basic attributes of fandom, but one that does that job well. - MK
8507 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
301-474-4931
Green Line to College Park-U of Md
Right past the Fire Department and behind the liquor store, next to the Indian restaurant, there is an anime store/rental place called Pandora's Cube. The owner is a fat, obnoxious, foul Indian man with a taste for rude comments (especially towards us darling girls who like renting tentacle porn). They rent out fansubs but do not sell
them, which strikes me as ridiculous. But it's a convenient walk from the dorms, and only $2 for a one night rental, so hell, it's better than nothing for a college town in Bumblefuck, Maryland. - DS