February’s haul is a slower pace in terms of anime due to the early arrivals in January and the delays in March, but I picked up a bit more variety this time around.
For this update, we have 2 video games, 6 anime titles, 5 manga volume, and 1 live-action Asian cinema title.
#01 | ZOMBIE LAND SAGA Season 1
The first anime of the month is an early arrival from MVM’s 20% off January sale and a delayed one also because it should have arrived at the final day of January. Delivery issues moved the item to February instead. Either way, this is the UK replica limited edition release of ZOMBIE LAND SAGA (£36) which turned out pretty well and like GRIDMAN it came with a slipcover for the Amaray case and different front cover artwork from the LE but I actually like this one over the original US version.
#02 | My Hero Academia Season 1 & Two Heroes
The second pickup is a case of wanting to have consistency and such. I went to town to hunt down the first print copies for My Hero Academia Season 1 (£20) and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (£13) because I wanted to own the series with the slipcovers since Manga pretty much confirmed they’ll re-release Season 2 later down the line. Thankfully I was lucky enough to find the last copies of both of them with their slipcovers.
#03 | Interspecies Reviewers
The next pickup is the first part of my Man of Culture haul which essentially focuses on titles that have fanservice content to them. Interspecies Reviewers volume 1 is surprisingly hard to find because it sold out throughout the past month due to the recent anime series. I managed to find a copy at United Publications in the end.
#04 | One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
Next we have another PlayStation 4 game with One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 which I managed to pick up at CeX for £10. I couldn’t say no to it because I have been interested in owning this game for a long while and while I am not yet up-to-date with the manga, I do still want to own the game before Pirate Warriors 4 was released.
#05 | The Legend of the Stardust Brothers
On the same day as One Piece, I also went to HMV and picked up a cult-hit Japanese film called The Legend of the Stardust Brothers (£23) by director Makoto Tezuka (Osamu Tezuka’s son). His film is surprisingly good but it depends on your taste for music because this is a musical compared to other Japanese films out there. The release by Third Window Films is a limited edition so it also includes a slipcover and original soundtrack CD with it.
#06 | Plastic Memories Parts 1 & 2
Next, we have another new anime release, this time its Plastic Memories with the first part was released on time and the second part shipped early because I bought the bundle back in Anime Limited’s 12 Days of Christmas sale for £50. It’s pretty expensive but when you consider the fact that it’s an Aniplex title and the US version is no longer in print, the price was fine for now. The Collector’s Edition is pretty good since it has a box to house both parts and a few extra goodies, the US release was barebones as well so a lack of booklets made sense.
#07 | Plus-Sized Elf, World’s End Harem & WEH: Fantasia
The next pickup is the second part of my Man of Culture haul and these three were ordered via Book Depository Amazon marketplace as they were a little bit cheaper than Amazon and the retailer’s own website. I chose the manga titles Plus-Sized Elf volume 1, World’s End Harem volume 1 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia volume 1.
I actually have read World’s End Harem online via Shonen Jump Plus’ Japanese simulpub website which has the latest chapters for free before it goes into the premium mode. Admittedly I don’t know Japanese but I had a general idea of where the story was going. Sadly the Ghost Ship release doesn’t include the colour pages during the fanservice segments but so far volume 1 is complete in content.
#08 | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
Next, we have a very lucky pickup because for some reason Marvelous Europe decided to let the game go out of print (or in this case the standard edition). I won an eBay auction for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (£25) and it was a close call. I have yet to start the first Cold Steel game because I need to start the Trails of the Sky trilogy first (I have 1 & 2 on Steam so far). Given the rarity of the franchise, I will probably try and get Cold Steel III sooner than later.
#09 | Destiny Lovers
The next pickup is the third & final part of my Man of Culture haul and this manga was also ordered via Book Depository Amazon marketplace. Annoyingly despite being ordered and shipped at the same time as the other three, this one didn’t arrive until the next day. Anywho, the title was Destiny Lovers volume 1 and I am curious to check this one out.
#10 | Penguin Highway
The final item of the month is another early arrival with Penguin Highway (£30) from Anime Limited. I was going to go for the Nozomi limited edition but it had been delayed to an unknown timeframe and as the currency rate is not particularly great I decided to stick to the UK release. This is a nicely packaged set and I like the film a lot when I saw it at the cinema last year via a special festival program.
Additional Notes
And that wraps up the February 2020 haul. As expected it was a bit of a slower pace on the anime side but the other items made up for it.
The Funimation UK Clearance sale is still on-going in terms of getting the items out to the customers so GANGSTA. and Lucky Star both have yet to be shipped. There is a chance that they may not ship until April if MVM is still struggling with the pace.
Meanwhile, I do have a couple of anime expected to arrive in March with Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2, King’s Game the Animation, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz scheduled. I have yet to make any more orders for the month but there’s also MCM Comic Con Birmingham coming up that I plan to attend (assuming that the people at my anime society manage to sort out the trip).
The Normanic Vault 