Otaku Collection Haul for November 2020

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of November 2020. This update features 3 anime titles, 5 manga volumes, and 1 live-action Asian cinema title.

This haul is smaller than I had anticipated because a number of anime got pushed back due to various circumstances, so right now it looks like I have a ton coming to December when they should have appeared months prior.

#01 | Shaolin Wooden Men

The first item of the month is another Jackie Chan release from distributor 88 Films with Shaolin Wooden Men. This was originally scheduled for October but got pushed back slightly into November but my copy arrived early. I ordered it via 88 Films’ website as the Jackie Chan titles tend to sell out.

Now much like the other three Jackie Chan films I ordered prior (Dragon Lord, Fearless Hyena, and Spiritual Kung Fu), I’ve not watched this film yet either. The reason is because I want to do another big batch of Asian cinema watching like I have done a few times before.

#02 | My Hero Academia Season 2 & Heroes Rising

The next batch of items came from the MVM Halloween discount sale where I wanted to acquire both My Hero Academia Season 2 and My Hero Academia the Movie: Heroes Rising with their slipcovers to keep consistency with the first season and first film. Unfortunately Manga didn’t design Heroes Rising correctly with the Blu-ray border so it does look at bit daft on the shelf.

I did consider ordering Season 3 also but I decided to hold out as it might stick around for a while given that the individual parts are still in print.

#03 | Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs volumes 7 & 8

Much like the previous months, I wanted to keep the manga catch-up rolling and this time I went with Wordery’s eBay store where they had volumes 7 & 8 for Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs under their Buy 2, Get 5% off discount. Now I could have gotten them through Blackwells but that site had volume 7 listed a bit off and to avoid a potential misplacement I played it safe and went with Wordery. Wordery’s eBay store actually shipped the two books pretty fast which was good.

I still have a lot of volumes to acquire before I am up-to-date with the series though. Volumes 9 & 10 are notable as they were removed from Amazon, but there’s about 6 volumes overall until I can catch up with the English releases.

#04 | Monster Musume volumes 4, 5 & 6

So a couple weeks passed and between that period were a bunch of delays on the anime that were supposed to make their appearance. One of which was the latest Code Geass film and considering it was moved into Q1 2021 that gave me some additional funds leftover. I wanted to have something for the haul to make up for it and took this opportunity to acquire volumes 4, 5 & 6 of Monster Musume.

I haven’t picked up any volumes for the series since early 2019 which is an issue, and I am still behind schedule on that part (there is at least 10 volumes left to get). That being said, I’m confident I can catch up on the series a lot better than the other titles especially on the pricing front.

#05 | Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious

The last item of the month is a slightly early arrival with Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious limited edition Blu-ray set from Manga Entertainment. I pre-ordered the set during the MVM Halloween discount sale so I got it early and at a reduced price. Pretty happy with the set in general and while I did receive a duplicated filmstrip I am not completely bothered by it.

Unboxing Links

You can view more photos & specs for the titles below:

• Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious (LE Blu-ray & DVD)
• My Hero Academia Season 2 (Blu-ray)
• My Hero Academia the Movie: Heroes Rising (Blu-ray)
• Shaolin Wooden Men (Blu-ray)

Additional Notes

What’s to Come for the Hauls

December Arrivals

So the 12 Days of Christmas sale is upon us, but before I go over that let’s recap what is currently expected to arrive before the year is over.

From Funimation & Manga’s limited editions list we have ARIFURETA: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest and Dr. STONE Season 1. Both of these are currently scheduled for 21st December and 28th December (Dr. STONE’s first half is set for 7th December). Both were supposed to arrive in November and got pushed back by a month.

From Anime Limited’s list of collector’s editions we have Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 1, The Promised Neverland Season 1, Sword Art Online: Alicization Part 2 and Turn-A Gundam Part 1. These are scheduled for 14th December and for the latter on 21st December. The latter was supposed to arrive in November but got pushed back by a month.

In addition we also have the deluxe edition of Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You scheduled for 7th December. This one was actually going to be released in November but had to be pushed back due to a packaging QC issue. While I do not own a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the regions for that disc is going to be an interesting one since the US GKIDS Deluxe set is region locked on the 4K disc (which shouldn’t happen but it did).

January Arrivals

Due to many factors, a couple titles I had expected to arrive in November and December got pushed back to the new year.

Those titles were Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection, Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, Turn-A Gundam Part 2 and Violet Evergarden. Yep it’s unfortunate but the distributor did say that some units for the latter might arrive in time for Christmas so stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, due to Sunrise messing up the masters, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED got pushed back to 2021 with an unknown timeframe. The good news is that all of the discs will be using the correct version.

Other Tidbits

And that’s practically it for the current upcoming items. Let’s quickly talk about the 12 Days of Christmas sale from Anime Limited and MVM.

Anime Limited revealed the early birds ahead of schedule with prices so I appreciate them for doing that. Of the 11 that were revealed, I want to get 7 of them but I can only go for 4 which are the most important for many factors. Those titles are Cyber City Oedo 808, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, Millennium Actress and Planetes with Children of the Sea, K and Summer Days with Coo saved for later.

For Asian Cinema I have New Fist of Fury planned for the Christmas haul while 88 Films just revealed plans to release Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow in March 2020 which is exciting but also worth noting that the BBFC cuts will have to remain due to animal cruelty. That being said, the distributor revealed their deluxe limited edition artwork for The Young Master and it looks great but will be inconsistent with the other releases. I still need to acquire John Woo’s Heroes Shed No Tears and Jet Li’s The Master.

For the Manga stuff, I made some progress with Monster Musume and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs so I am happy with that but we’re not done yet. With the exception of Monster Musume (which I have 10 vols to acquire), the rest still have volumes I need but were all released in 2020 which I currently consider to be a safe zone.

The Christmas haul itself is progressing pretty well. My plan is to have a variety of items much like last time and so far it’s shaping up to be a solid batch, so look forward to that. No anime has been included just yet as I am hoping to find something in the 12 Days of Christmas sale that would fit with the list.

That concludes the latest haul in this update. The December 2020 haul is going to have a lot of stuff at this rate so stay tuned for then. Also, I can confirm there will be another big complete collection update post at the end of the year so look forward to that!