We are back with another abnormal haul, though in this case, I did my best to make use of the sales that were available. We also have some out of print titles into the mix.
For this update, we have 3 video games, 5 anime titles, 3 light novel volumes, and 4 live-action Asian cinema titles.
#01 | Super Robot Wars V
The first item of the month goes to a game that was ordered back in June. It feels weird to own a Super Robot Wars because I never would have thought they would localise the game in English. I have yet to start it but I’m glad that I picked it up on sale since they can be quite expensive to own.
You can view my quick look post here.
#02 | Is it Wrong to Expect a Hot Spring in a Dungeon?
Next, we have an ’emergency pickup’ title because for some daft reason I didn’t order this one month ago. The DanMachi OVA’s first print went out of print a couple of months ago and this variation included the original soundtrack for the first season. I quite like the franchise and so I went through the extra spending to make sure I own this release. I did watch the OVA episode before jumping into the second season, and it was good fun.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#03 | Orgies of Edo, Retaliation, Wolf Guy and Yakuza Law
Arrow Video’s Buy One Get One Free sale was coming to a close so I made another stop to the HMV store to buy some more Japanese films under the publisher. It was a bit of a struggle but I found four in the end that totaled £30. The films were as follows:
- Orgies of Edo (残酷異常虐待物語 元禄女系図) from director Teruo Ishii. Released in 1969.
- Retaliation (縄張はもらった) from director Yasuharu Hasebe. Released in 1968.
- Wolf Guy (ウルフガイ) from director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi. Released in 1975.
- Yakuza’s Law (やくざ刑罰史 私刑) from director Teruo Ishii. Released in 1969.
I have yet to watch any of these films, but I was quite surprised to find that all of them still came with their first print booklets.
#04 | Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut
On the same day that I picked up the Arrow Video Japanese films, I went to CeX and found a copy of Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut. The game is relatively rare to find, as it can still be picked up online but only for £40-60. This is one of those cult classic budget-like titles and I had been meaning to own it for a long time.
#05 | Mirai
Anime Limited’s latest big film release arrived a little bit early thanks to Amazon shipping. The set itself is pretty good but it’s one of their more debatable releases due to the lack of on-disc extra content that other territories have. The price did make up for it as I got it for £18.99 compared to Shop AllTheAnime’s £24.99, the difference was thanks to the £5 I was given as part of Amazon’s Prime offers back in June. The set is reportedly now out of print or almost on the verge of selling out.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#06 | Katamari Forever
A week later I venture back into CeX to see if they had anything new for me to acquire. To my actual surprise, they had a copy of Katamari Forever, which is pretty damn rare to find unless you go for the North American version. The game is one of the couples that I had wanted to include in my first 100 titles haul but I couldn’t find it in person, so I’m very happy to now own the game for the console.
#07 | Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Light Novel 1
Now here is one that I was surprised to get. The anime adaptation for Arifureta began airing and I was really excited to check it out because it’s one of those isekai stories that has gotten a lot of love. When I finished the first episode, it felt like I was missing something while watching and it turns out I was right – the anime butchered the adaptation, cutting out the introduction and was poorly produced with tons of budget-like CG animation. The character designs and the opening song were the only good parts in my opinion.
So, as a result, I was motivated to get the first volume of the light novel and after reading it was much better than I had imagined. Granted the story does go into places that people may judge whether its the tone change or the way the main character goes, but I am fine with it.
#08 | Attack on Titan Season 2
As part of Amazon Prime Day, they were offering a discount on select anime titles and the second season of Attack on Titan was included in the mix. As the set was pretty much identical to the US release outside of the DVDs being PAL I went for it to save myself the hassle of importing and it’s a very nice set overall. It’ll match the first season and I do intend on getting the UK Season 3 LE release later down the line.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#09 | Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Light Novel 2
Because of how addicted to the first novel I was, I eventually picked up the second light novel volume for Arifureta which introduces the Bunny Girl Shea and it’s an interesting set of chapters to read. I expect the anime to likely rush through this volume quite a lot.
#10 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
The next Gundam title to join my collection is finally the one that finishes the Amuro & Char storyline. I patiently waited for the opportunity to watch this movie and now I can. Admittedly I have yet to start it but I’ll definitely be watching it before more Gundam arrives.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#11 | Sword Oratoria: Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side
Another US import release with the DanMachi spin-off series. Rightstuf had a sale and they added this for around $39 and I went for it despite the high shipping cost and eventual customs fee. Luckily the set went out of print just after my copy had shipped so that was a close call.
I went for this version instead of the MVM release was to remain consistent with the main series which I have under Sentai Filmworks. Price-wise it was roughly a little bit more than the UK version, but I got the OST and hardcover version of the booklet to make up for it.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#12 | Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Light Novel 3
Yep, to no one’s surprise, I eventually picked up the third light novel volume for Arifureta which introduces the Dragon Girl Tio and this set of chapters puts Hajime in a weird position so I’m curious to see what happens next after that. I expect the anime to wrap up their episodes at this volume.
Additional Notes
That’s every item I received during the month of July. Not going to go into detail about my personal situation, but I’ll mention it later.
In terms of what you can expect for the month of August, at the moment it’s currently going to be Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Part 1 and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower. Yep, as you probably guessed it, I focused my priority on Gundam specifically because their stock levels vary and heck Char’s Counterattack sold out so it could happen again.
While Fate/Stay Night [Heaven’s Feel] II. lost butterfly is coming soon, I am going to hold out a little bit longer in case the currency rate improves and the price may go down like the first film has done. As for Funimation’s upcoming limited editions, I am going to also hold off until Manga reveals their Q4 2019 slate just in case they pop up in the UK schedule like for instance Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 1 and Steins;Gate 0.
The Normanic Vault 