Otaku Collection Haul for January 2019

We begin the new year with a surprising amount of titles joining the collection. A fair amount have been purchased/ordered prior to the new year but we also have a bunch more that were acquired through sales. January’s main focus was all about going after titles that I could get on offer as well as a few more variety including more manga and live-action Asian Cinema titles.

For this update we have 7 video games, 12 anime titles, 9 manga volumes, and 5 live-action Asian Cinema titles.

Note: This collection haul update has been updated on 3rd January 2024 to be consistent with the current layout of the write-ups but also amend some visual inconsistencies. Everything written has been preserved with some minor spelling corrections, so you can see the journey from back then to the present.

Anime Limited’s Delayed Christmas Haul Part 1

The first anime haul of the month is a delayed haul that were supposed to arrive in December. Anime Limited’s Christmas sale ran into some problems so every item in the sale was delayed by weeks. Honestly it was not too bad for me personally given the reception was closed for the season.

The titles included were Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, A Letter to Momo and Martian Successor Nadesico. The first two I have yet to watch, while the latter is a Blu-ray upgrade for my collection which I have already watched and enjoyed a lot (minus the film lol). A Letter to Momo personally I am glad finally turned up on sale given it’s a fairly old release from the distributor.

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs manga volumes

The next haul are a couple manga volumes from the Shonen Jump series Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs which is basically ecchi harem goodness. Despite being a shonen jump series, Seven Seas are publishing it this time around instead of Viz Media due to its content. I really enjoyed the anime series so I went ahead and acquired the first three volumes at a local bookstore. I have yet to read them though.

Princess Arete

Princess Arete was released by Anime Limited around early 2018, however it was a shop exclusive title and it never went on sale (in fact it was part of their mystery box for 2018). Luckily some folks were selling their copies for a very good price and I opted for one since I did want to pick it up when it was on early bird offer.

Ghost in the Shell ARISE, Maoyu and Valvrave the Liberator

Next we have another forum related haul thanks to a fellow friend. He wanted to part ways with a bunch of anime he acquired years ago so I decided to go ahead and pick a select few. The titles were Ghost in the Shell ARISE borders 1 & 2, Ghost in the Shell ARISE borders 3 & 4, Maoyu, and both seasons of Valvrave the Liberator.

What’s notable about this haul is the fact that I have another Aniplex of America release through Valvrave. I know the show is not well-received but for the price I got for it I figured it was a pretty neat deal especially as the show is on its way to the out of print territory by the distributor.

Arrow Video x Third Window Films Christmas Sale Haul

Also arriving in the same day as the forum haul is another batch of live-action Japanese movies from distributor Third Window Films as part of their Christmas sale with Arrow Video. Each title was around £7.50 on Blu-ray so I picked up Lesson of Evil from Takashi Miike, Love Exposure from Sion Sono, The Story of Yonosuke from Shūichi Okita, and The Woodsman and the Rain from Shūichi Okita also.

I actually watched The Story of Yonosuke back in the Japan Foundation Programme Festival in 2014 and I really liked it, so it’s surprising how it’s taken me this long to acquire it. Love Exposure is the one I’m most curious to check out as its runtime is nearly 4 hours long.

Toukiden 2 and Warriors All-Stars

And also arriving on the same day once again are two games I picked up for a very cheap price luckily. Toukiden 2 and Warriors All-Stars have been on my radar for a while and I picked them up when I had the chance to do so. Not yet played them but at least I have another musou game via Warriors All-Stars.

Black Clover and The Promised Neverland manga volumes

Much like Yuuna, I went to the same bookstore weeks later to acquire some more books. I was hoping to grab The Rising of the Shield Hero but unfortunately the earlier volumes were out of print so I decided on the first three volumes for both The Promised Neverland and also Black Clover to give the series a shot. So far I have read The Promised Neverland and it’s really good so I recommend it.

Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal

After many months, the European collector’s edition release for Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal finally arrived. I like the packaging overall though it could with a bit more offering given the price point but it’s nice to have another Senran Kagura game for the collection. I am aware of the PS4 version’s controversy but at the moment I’m saving the game until after I have started/finished Peach Beach Splash first.

Onimusha: Warlords and Tokyo Xanadu eX+

Next we have a haul from Amazon US. I always wanted to check out Capcom’s Onimusha franchise and they remastered the first game for the current generation. The game even received a physical release for the PS4 in North America so I decided to opt for that given it was only $19.99. I also added Tokyo Xanadu eX+ to the mix since it’s quite hard to find nowadays. Unfortunately the latter arrived with a damaged game case and luckily Amazon support refunded me for the damages so that I can use that for a replacement case later down the line.

Anime Limited’s Delayed Christmas Haul Part 2

Once again the next batch of titles from the Anime Limited Christmas sale has arrived, this time these lot were shipped to my home address as it was supposed to be a Christmas gift. They were brought to my address with my new phone.

The titles included were ALDNOAH ZERO Season 2, Daimidaler: Prince vs Penguin Empire and Snow White with the Red Hair. I’ve already watched the former so it’s just Daimidaler and both seasons of Snow White to check out. I really like how Anime Limited have handled Snow White, though it is a bit silly to provide a collector’s edition many months after releasing it only on standard edition, but then again every distributor does that.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

On the same day I also went to the local game store and picked up the Spyro Reignited Trilogy for £22. I can’t remember if I had played all three of the original PlayStation games but I definitely owned the third one. Won’t be installing the game onto the console just yet as it will take up a fair amount of space which I needed to save for another title.

One Cut of the Dead

Earlier in January I watched One Cut of the Dead at the local Showroom cinema and I really enjoyed it. It’s one of those films where you can get the most enjoyment out of it by avoiding any spoilers for it from the previews and reviews that are out there. As such I decided to pre-order it and it arrived on a Sunday thanks to Amazon delivery.

Kingdom Hearts III

Last but certainly not the least is the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. I am currently playing the game at the time of this writing and I am so far really enjoying the combat and graphics. The worlds have also been designed so that it’s like one big area rather than little ones with loading screens in-between. The story is so far so good but of course it depends on how much you know about the franchise.

Additional Notes

That’s every item I received during the month of January. In a surprising turn of events I managed to save more money than the usual, though from here on the bills are being adjusted – most notably the phone bill (due to the switch in providers and a new phone itself), the train pass, the water bill and potentially the electric bill.

Currently I only have one anime on-order and that is the long awaited pickup for Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] Box Set II from Aniplex of America. The anime series is now going out of print after all these years so it’s just weird timing to pick them up, granted they are not cheap. Hopefully future Aniplex hauls should be more doable from here on.

The UK currency rate is still being unstable especially given the current climate so I expect some pretty bad results over the next two months. Regardless I’m going to do my best to get a fair amount of imports if possible.