Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of March 2021. This update features 2 anime titles, 5 light novel volumes, 10 manga volumes, 1 video game and 2 live-action Asian cinema titles.
For this month’s haul, I decided to put some more focus on the books side of things and that was one rather stressful venture because I left it for too long. Along the way I was able to acquire some rarer releases.
#01 | Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle
The first item of the month is a video game, and one that was part of the massive gaming batch that I did during the final week of February. Basically I was going after a number of games that I wanted to own before it was too late and one of them was Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle, known in Europe as A.O.T. 2, and it suddenly went out of print and very hard to find except for eBay which has ridiculously overpriced listings.
Fortunately CeX had a copy available. It wasn’t cheap but it was better than getting a copy through those scalper prices. It arrived and was in very good condition. I would play it sooner but my PS4’s HDD space is full at the moment so it’s basically in the backlog for the meantime.
#02 | Revue Starlight
MVM held their usual Deal of the Week offering and one of them was for Revue Starlight‘s collector’s edition which was priced way better than the offering during the Christmas sale. So it was a no-brainer that I would grab it when I could.
Overall it’s a pretty neat package, basically a version of the Sentai set but focuses on the more important physical items and translates well for a UK release from the distributor.
#03 | Arifureta Novel 5, Realist Hero Novel 4, Monster Girl Doctor Novel 4
Next I decided to shift gears and put some more focus on my light novels. So I made one big Amazon order with ARIFURETA: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 5, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Volume 4, and Monster Girl Doctor Volume 4.
Each of these titles are all not up-to-date but it’s one step closer at least. I would have acquired more volumes of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash but unfortunately the second volume was out of stock.
#04 | Destiny Lovers Vol 2
Also arrived at the same time as the light novel books batch was Destiny Lovers volume 2 manga. This series was the one that I had intended on catching up a while back but I wanted to wait for a few more volumes to be available before ordering more.
#05 | Arifureta Novel 6
A day later I also acquired ARIFURETA: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 6 which has always been in and out of stock from time to time so it did take a while for me to actually continue buying the series over the past year. I plan to get more volumes before the second season airs.
#06 | Guilty of Romance
Next we have a rather random pickup for the Asian Cinema collection. So pretty much I saw a friend’s Asian cinema haul and I noticed Guilty of Romance was there. I remembered that the UK release was out of print and that the US release had two cuts of the film. Turns out the UK release does have some added content while the US release was barebones, so I decided to locate the former which was available through CeX. I like Sion Sono stuff so I’m happy to finally own the film.
#07 | KONOSUBA: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! Season 2
Probably one of the more exciting items of the month is KONOSUBA Season 2 which arrived from Anime Limited after ordering the set via its early bird back in February. I have the first season and I love the franchise as a whole so it was a no-brainer again to secure a copy of this set. It does feel weird that this is on a single Blu-ray disc but Discotek Media did a solid job with it as per usual.
#08 | OVERLORD Novel 3, Sekirei Omnibus 4 & 7
From here on is where I first decided to properly deal with my manga collection because at the time I had discovered that Rightstuf decided to note that Omnibus 5 & 6 for Sekirei were ‘no longer available’ which meant that I had to quickly resolve it sooner. Fortunately it did dispatch but this order that I made through Hive arrived first.
For the manga we have Sekirei Omnibus 4 & 7 and for the light novel we have OVERLORD Volume 3. OVERLORD’s case is mainly because the series was released as a hardcover format but Volume 4 is out of stock in the UK which is annoying. Hopefully I can get the book sooner than later.
#09 | Sekirei Omnibus 5 & 6
As mentioned in the previous post, I ordered Sekirei Omnibus 5 & 6 first which came from Book Depository as they were the only retailers to actually stock the books, thanks to the assistance of Bookfinder which lists every available retailer for a specific ISBN listing.
I am very lucky for this considering I would have had to drop owning the series otherwise because there’s no point in owning an incomplete series (which unfortunately has already happened with Higurashi and Jormungand manga).
#10 | Lucky Stars Film Collection
This one is another random pickup. So I was aware that Eureka Entertainment were releasing Sammo Hung’s Lucky Stars Film Collection but what caught me off guard was that the set’s price drastically reduced in value to £12 for a few hours on Amazon and I decided to go for it. Moments after my copy shipped, the first print edition sold out and will be replaced by a standard edition, so I narrowly acquired the slipcase and booklet items which was neat.
The Lucky Star Film Collection features three films released in Hong Kong during 1983 and 1985; Winners and Sinners (奇謀妙計五福星), My Lucky Stars (福星高照) and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (夏日福星) across three Blu-ray discs. The team who worked on the 88 Films Jackie Chan releases also contributed to this project so it’s got the best treatment possible.
#11 | Destiny Lovers Vol 3, Sekirei Omnibus 3
We have two more manga that arrived from two different retailers. The first is Destiny Lovers Volume 3 which came from Blackwells because they were the cheapest but do take a while when it comes to shipping. The second was Sekirei Omnibus 3 which was actually supposed to be part of my Hive order but it sold out on that site so I ordered it through Book Depository instead. I should mention that all of the Sekirei books that arrived this month were all sealed surprisingly.
#12 | Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 4
With Sekirei mostly in a safe position to put on-hold for a little while, I changed focus towards another manga series that I bought a volume for many years ago. Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 4 arrived from Amazon and is the first of many that I will try and get to complete the series.
I first bought Omnibus 1 back in April 2014 so it goes to show how much time I held off on the series, but granted I thought it went out of print due to the stock not always being available from time to time. Despite arriving from Germany, Omnibus 4 was sealed so that was handy.
#13 | Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 3 & 6
The final items of the month is actually the second part of my Amazon order as Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 3 & 6 came a day after Omnibus 4. Basically much like the previous arrival, these two books also came from Germany and were sealed. I have no idea why the stock was in Germany but my guess was that it was the only place that had the books for their warehouses.
Therefore I am now left with Omnibus 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 to acquire. The book haul continues into the April 2021 batch so stay tuned!
Unboxing Links
You can view more photos & specs for the titles below:
- KONOSUBA: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! Season 2 (CE Blu-ray)
- Revue Starlight (CE Blu-ray)
Additional Notes
What’s to Come for the Hauls
April Arrivals
Oh boy we have some additional updates for this month’s haul.
For starters, both Planetes and Violet Evergarden are both currently on target to be released before the end of the month which is great. I’ve mentioned it before that both were delayed for a while due to various factors. In fact, Violet Evergarden‘s new author has been confirmed to be done by the folks at MediaOCD (aka Justin Sevakis and pretty much the folks who work on Discotek releases) so that’s fantastic news.
In addition we have some books coming as part of my plan to get some of these series completed sooner than later. At the moment it’s mainly Tenjo Tenge but I do intend on finishing Sekirei as well. Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 2, 5, 7 & 11 have all been ordered with the former being dispatched a while ago. Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 8 was initially ordered directly through Book Depository but I have now re-ordered it for a much cheaper price through the same retailer via Amazon instead. Omnibus 9 & 10 will be ordered soon.
May Arrivals
Next we have some new additions and an update on a series that I bought back in September.
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 and Your Name‘s 4K Ultra HD releases from Anime Limited joins the collection and are both scheduled for the month of May. In addition, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Ultimate Edition will also now be scheduled for May so it looks like the Blu-ray re-authors were now sorted. The packaging was also revealed and it looks great, pretty much the size of Gundam 00’s box by the looks of it.
Other Tidbits
Not much has occurred to be honest, the UC funding has appeared as scheduled and I have been doing my best with the job hunt. Been exercising 4 days a week for the past few months at least.
Moving on to the discussion of hauls as I always do with each of these monthly round-ups, there’s been some progress at least.
Anime
Anime Limited announced a new batch of upcoming releases and once again we have more titles to acquire – all scheduled for June 2021, fortunately it’s a mix of films and series so pricing is quite balanced. Two of them were titles that I actually expected to make an appearance sooner than later, which were Anemone: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution and Demon Slayer Part 2. Pre-orders for both will begin at the end of April and sometime in May respectively.
The other two are Love Live! The School Idol Movie and Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. The former I do own via the Japanese LE but I am perfectly fine with double-dipping for both consistency with the distributor’s Love Live releases and since I don’t have access to the English dub. As for the latter, I own the Funimation LE which is Region A only but because this new release will not only be Region B encoded but Discotek Media worked on it as well so it’s essentially an improved product in general. Pre-orders for both begin around mid-April.
Once this post goes out, Anime Limited will also be running another sale for the Easter holidays. I am after a selection of releases but it will solely depend on the prices because there’s a chance the prices will be better later if otherwise.
While MVM does have an Easter sale, unfortunately it’s only going to be focused on their products which pricing-wise I’m best waiting for either their DOTWs or the Christmas sale. This does mean I will have to get BOFURI elsewhere, but saying that Hive combined with the discount makes for a better price than UP1 surprisingly.
Light Novel & Manga
This April I intend on completing both Sekirei and Tenjo Tenge manga series, mainly because they’re either going to sell out potentially or in the latter’s case it has been in print for longer than it should.
Seven Seas titles Destiny Lovers, Monster Musume, Plus-Sized Elf, World’s End Harem, World’s End Harem: Fantasia, and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs are all still on-target to be in a safe position. In fact by the end of the year, Destiny Lovers and World’s End Harem will finish their English run (though the story does continue with a second part which has yet to be licensed I believe, and if so may be released with a subtitle).
For the novel side of things, OVERLORD is still taking priority but it’s basically stuck in limbo if I can’t get access to a copy of the fourth novel. Granted I have ordered it through Blackwells but I do not know if they actually have it in stock at the time I ordered it since it’s now listed as ‘out of stock’ afterwards.
Video Games
Now this one is going to be a challenge. So long story short, Sony have announced plans to close the PSN stores for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita, therefore digital versions for select games and even the retro catalogue (PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC Engine games) will no longer be available.
As I mainly collect physical games, the PS3 catalogue is mostly sorted but there are a few things I’ll need to get like the DLC for Asura’s Wrath and Drakengard 3. But what’s gotten me more annoyed is that I do not think I will be able to grab as many of the PS1 & PS2 Classics as I can with the timeframe I have left. I have narrowed down my list for PS2 to a small amount which helped with the fact that I have acquired some titles in the past already (Shin Megami Tensei games Digital Devil Saga 1, Nocturne and Persona 3 FES as well as Fatal Frame Trilogy and GOD HAND for instance).
Anywho, I may as well mention them here for those curious.
PS1 Classics available on US PSN I would like to get: Arc the Land, Breath of Fire IV, Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis 1 & 2, Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 2 & Toy Story Racer, Hot Shots Golf 2, Jumping Flash! 1 & 2, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Legend of Dragoon, Mega Man Legends 1 & 2, Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Parasite Eve 1 & 2, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, R4 Ridge Racer Type 4, Silent Hill, Suikoden I & II, Tekken 2, Tomba! 1 & 2, Turnabout, UmJammer Lammy, Vagrant Story, Vib-Ribbon, Wild Arms, Xenogears.
PS1 Classics available on JP PSN I would like to get: Acid, Advanced Variable Geo I & II, Adventure of Little Ralph, Arkanoid Returns, Athena no Kateiban: Family Game, Battle Athletess: Daiundōkai GTO, Bishi Bashi Special, Block Kuzushi Kowashite Help!, Blockids, Bloody Roar, Blue Breaker Burst: Bishō o Anata to, The Bombing Islands: Kid Klown no Krazy Puzzle, Bushido Blade 2, Carom Shot 2 (Backstreet Billiards), Chō Aniki: Kyūkyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyō Otoko, Crime Crackers 1 & 2, Deadheat Road, Dezaemon Plus, Dragon Beat: Legend of Pinball, Ehrgeiz, Einhänder, GaiaSeed: Project Seed Trap, Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu, Geom Cube, Gunners Heaven (Rapid Reload), Harmful Park, Hashiriya: Ookamitachi no Densetsu, LandMaker (Builder’s Block), LSD: Dream Emulator, Lucifer Ring, Magical Date: Doki Doki Kokuhaku Dai Sakusen, Paca Paca Passion 1 & 2, Philosoma, Pocket MuuMuu, Psychic Force 2, Pukunpa: Joshikouki no Houkago, Puzzle Mania 1 & 2, Ray Tracers, RayCrisis, Saru! Get You! (Ape Escape), Shiritsu Justice Gakuen 2 (Rival Schools), Silent Bomber, Soukaigi, Tall Twins Tower, Tall Unlimited (Tall Infinity), Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzle-Dama 1 & 2, Touge MAX 1 & 2, XI [sai] (Devil Dice).
PS1 Classics available on JP PSN I would like to get but understanding the language is pretty much a requirement: Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life, Policenauts, Tokimeki Memorial: Forever with You.
PS2 Classics available on US PSN I would like to get: Adventures of Cookie and Cream, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, Grandia III, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 1 & 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2, Suikoden III & IV, Trapt.
PS2 Classics available on JP PSN I would like to get: Bravo Music (Mad Maestro!), Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz, Fu-un Bakumatsu-den, Gacharoku, Ikusagami (Demon Chaos), Ka 2: Let’s Go Hawaii, Kengo, Ninkyouden: Toseinin Ichidaiki.
And that’s basically it for the March 2021 haul. I did sort-of make my promise of offering a variety, though it did end up being mostly books but at least I gave the manga and novels more attention than the usual. For April expect more books and perhaps more games if I have the spare funds and right timing for them.
The Normanic Vault 