Some major changes are in store for my future but before that happens we have ourselves another haul of stuff. This month’s haul is a mixture of Anime Limited, Neptunia and more Arrow Academy titles!
For this update, we have 5 video games, 4 anime titles, and 5 live-action Asian cinema titles.
#01 | The Human Condition and Hong Sang-soo’s Two Film Collection
The first items of the month were during a trip to the shopping mall where I had to sort out some stuff with the bank. While I was there I checked out the HMV store and to my surprise, there was a new Buy One Get One Free promotion, this time towards Arrow Academy (Arrow Video’s sister label for more arthouse, international, classic or niche films). The films were as follows:
- The Human Condition (人間の條件) from director Masaki Kobayashi. Released in 1959-1961.
- Woman is the Future of Man (여자는 남자의 미래다) and Tale of Cinema (극장전) from director Hong Sang-soo. Released in 2004-2005.
I watched all of the films throughout this month. The Human Condition is a classic 9 hour epic which was split into three films for the international audience due to its length. Arrow’s release doesn’t come with a booklet because it was exclusive to its limited edition version released years ago. Meanwhile, the Hong Sang-soo film collection does have a booklet and the two films were okay but I did like Tale of Cinema.
#02 | Killzone 2, Megadimension Neptunia VIIR and Puppeteer
I went to CeX and picked up some more PlayStation 3 games to continue building up the console’s games collection. I selected Killzone 2 as it was supposedly the best one in the trilogy and for 50p it was in solid condition. I also picked up Puppeteer which had been said to be a hidden gem among players as it was released late in the cycle. The PlayStation Move controls are optional thankfully so I can play it with a normal controller.
At the same time, I also acquired Megadimension Neptunia VIIR, a remake of the original Megadimension Neptunia VII. It was available for £20 used and considering how expensive the Neptunia games are on the PlayStation 4 I decided to get it while I can.
#03 | The Happiness of the Katakuris
Also at the same time as the three games above, I also discovered CeX had a copy of Takashi Miike’s The Happiness of the Katakuris. I picked it up as it was one of the films that I wanted to watch and it was really good. The film is a 15 but a featurette had footage of other Miike titles that were rated 18 which lead to the Blu-ray set with an 18 also.
#04 | After the Storm, Dragon Ball Super: Broly and The Third Murder
About a week later I went to the HMV located in town. I was actually considering the newly released Of Flesh and Blood collection from BFI but the pricing was much cheaper online after checking. So I decided to check out his other films that were available through the Arrow Academy sale. The films were as follows:
- After the Storm (海よりもまだ深く) from director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Released in 2016.
- The Third Murder (三度目の殺人) from director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Released in 2017.
Like the earlier films, I also watched these two throughout the month. After the Storm was bundled in the Family Values set so there’s no booklet on its own, however, The Third Murder does include one. I enjoyed both films.
At the same store, I also picked up Dragon Ball Super: Broly as it was on offer for £9.99 which was a fair bit cheaper than it was online. I won’t be watching the film just yet but I have yet to decide on whether to save it until I’ve checked out the series or watch it standalone.
You can view my unboxing post for Dragon Ball Super: Broly here.
#05 | Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Part 2
A few months back I picked up the first part for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online and I figured I may as well get the second part to ensure I got a copy of the collector’s edition set before it was too late. I’m glad that the UK release is basically a replica of the US release in terms of on-disc content, and the packaging is rather nice.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#06 | Cyberdimension Neptunia and Megadimension Neptunia VII
So earlier I mentioned that I picked up Neptunia VIIR, well after purchasing it and doing more extensive research. It turns out that the two games are rather different in both gameplay and content, and so I decided I should try and get the original before it goes out of print, as stock is slowly diminishing for the game.
Considering it’s been an exact year since I made my Neptunia Vita haul I decided to use the same eBay seller that I had used prior and acquire both the original Megadimension Neptunia VII but also the spin-off game Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online for the PlayStation 4.
#07 | Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Part 1
Continuing the journey to acquire every Gundam UK Blu-ray set, the next one to get released is Mobile Suit Gundam Wing with the first part now available. I’m going to save this series until I have acquired the second part of the set which is scheduled for later in the year.
You can view my unboxing post here.
#08 | Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower
Also part of the Gundam haul is Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower which arrived later than Gundam Wing due to my order being one of the last to be shipped out. I’m going to check out this installment as well as Gundam: Char’s Counterattack pretty soon.
You can view my unboxing post here.
Additional Notes
That’s every item I received during the month of August.
Right an update on the personal situation – after spending months trying to find a job I decided that continuing with that path was only going to lead to more depressing matters, thus I was given the opportunity to return to University (the same University where I studied my BSc degree) and take a post-graduate degree (MSc) with an option of a work placement if possible. I am hoping this will give me the chance to amend my career path. I know some folks on the forums have disagreed with this idea, but those who know me had fully supported this approach and I even spoke to the Uni themselves about this option. This is a decision that I have taken seriously and I feel this is a better path to take than spending many more months getting nowhere on the job hunt.
In terms of what you can expect for the month of September, at the moment I finally ordered Chivalry of a Failed Knight thanks to the Sentai Flash Sale a couple days ago ($33 plus postage at today’s rate is about £47.43). I also decided to order Fate/Stay Night [Heaven’s Feel] II. lost butterfly but this time just the regular limited edition through Amazon Japan. I have also been testing out Yahoo Auctions and Buyee to see if I can get Love Live! The School Idol Movie limited edition since Amazon’s listings are now third party sellers and therefore not international shipping friendly.
Manga and Funimation have revealed their slates for the Autumn season. I intend on getting the UK releases for Fruits Basket, Goblin Slayer (LE), and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime while for the US there’s the How Not to Summon a Demon Lord (LE). The issue at the moment is that in regards to importing the currency rate is at its worst due to the UK approaching the No Deal route (which is causing further uncertainty) so this will be a rocky few months for importing.
The Normanic Vault 