Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of April 2021. This update features 6 anime titles, 2 light novel volumes, 10 manga volumes, 10 video games and 1 live-action Asian cinema title.
For this month’s haul, the main theme has been a mix between finishing off the two manga series that I had started collecting back in March as well as dealing with the panic buying saga for PlayStation 3.
#01 | Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 2
The first item of the month is Tenjo Tenge with its second omnibus manga. This one arrived from Blackwells and took a while to be delivered. Amazon did not have this particular volume in stock at the time, so I chose Blackwells because they were the cheapest to get. That did result in waiting a while for the book to dispatch and arrive, but at least it came sealed.
#02 | Monster Girl Doctor Novel 5, Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 9 & 10
The next batch was an Amazon order made to use the promotional discount code that I received for using the Amazon Photos app. This was a good opportunity to order Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 9 and 10 especially because these two were slowly being reduced in price, however the promo code required a minimum of £25 before it can be used. Therefore I also ordered Monster Girl Doctor light novel 5 because that book had also reduced in price, so in the end I got a pretty solid deal.
#03 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars
I finally bought a Nintendo Switch… game. That’s right, I currently do not own the actual console (because I am waiting for the Pro model to be officially released/revealed), but Nintendo had decided to make this particular game collection limited to 6 months (September 2020 to March 2021). Despite being available for the past half-year, I finally picked up Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection for alright pricing (Switch games don’t generally go down in price) before the scalpers were able to take the remainder of the stock.
Still interesting to see the Switch cases have the same height as the PlayStation 3/4/Blu-ray cases and the same width as the Vita case.
#04 | Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Silver Spoon Season 2, Welcome to the Ballroom Part 2
Anime Limited held an Easter sale which was both exciting and concerning because depending on what they had could have affected my wallet a fair bit. The good news is that it didn’t cover all of the titles that I wanted but what they did have was enough for me to grab them immediately.
Starting with Fullmetal Alchemist, now those of you who have been following me since the Blogger days may recall that I actually already own this series via the out-of-print Funimation Blu-ray set. The reason I wanted to double dip was because I wanted to own a Region B version considering the show’s length, and last year they re-released the show with new collector’s packaging which appealed to me more than the original versions a few years back. Therefore with this sale I was able to grab both parts for a small discount.
Then we have Silver Spoon Season 2 and Welcome to the Ballroom Part 2 which are both titles that I wanted to get to complete the series for the collection, considering I acquired the first half for both during the Christmas season.
#05 | Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 5 & 7
Next we have once again another Tenjo Tenge batch with Omnibus 5 and 7 coming from Book Depository this time. This was ordered back in late March and took a fair while for them to be delivered, but much like the previous books they were also sealed so that makes up for it.
#06 | Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 8
Also ordered from Book Depository though technically via Amazon was Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 8, which was ordered separately from the others due to bad timing and other factors.
Basically when I first made the order it was actually a lot more expensive and was going to be shipped from Australia, and then a day or two later the price dropped down and was going to ship within the UK. I cancelled that order and the refund took 14 days to arrive. Rather than waiting I re-ordered through the same retailer but through Amazon as mentioned.
#07 | 3D Dot Game Heroes, Ratchet & Clank: Nexus, Ratchet & Clank: QForce
Next we have the start of what I like to call ‘Operation PS3 THE FINAL Haul’. The goal is to acquire the remaining physical games that I have yet to own but want to include in my PlayStation 3 collection before the prices completely go up in value, which had started for some titles but then the panic buying caused by Sony’s store closure announcement (which eventually took a u-turn but it’s going to come back either way) added more to the mix.
One game that I did acquire was already expensive for the past few years, and that was 3D Dot Game Heroes which I ordered through CeX rather than eBay. Very happy to finally own this hidden gem but unfortunately the UK/EU/AU copies don’t come with a patch that adds some benefits for the players (especially if you are trophy hunting).
Next we have another CeX order with Ratchet & Clank: Nexus, which is the final game in the Future saga of the franchise. This one was going up in value by a lot thanks to the panic buying and I believe is still climbing considering it was released at the end of the PS3’s life-cycle. Going through CeX was better for pricing at least.
Finally we have Ratchet & Clank: QForce which I actually bought through eBay because it was a few pounds cheaper than CeX and condition-wise was pretty good so I’m happy with that. QForce, known in North America as Full Frontal Assault, is a tower-defence spin-off in the series and is considered the weakest overall but regardless I still want to own a complete R&C game collection.
#08 | Violet Evergarden
An anime that was supposed to arrive back in December finally gets released! Violet Evergarden is pretty solid series and thanks to the new discs that were authored by MediaOCD, this release is now even better. The packaging is much larger than I had imagined so that makes up for the price-tag.
#09 | Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty
The next game in the PS3 haul is perhaps the biggest one in terms of price hikes. While eBay listings were ridiculous, I ordered it through CeX because it was reasonable. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty is the second game in the Future saga but is also an oddity because it’s not only 4 hours in story length but the game only received a physical release in Europe, so US owners had to deal with digital which explains the increase in value for the game.
#10 | OVERLORD Novel 4, Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 11
Now this particular order was the one that I had the most concerns with. A while back when I started focusing on Sekirei and Tenjo Tenge, I also noticed stock issues for OVERLORD light novel volume 4 and I feared that it was going out of print because it’s in hardcover format. Saying that, the US still had plenty of stock so I decided to take a gamble and order it through Blackwells hoping they would be able to secure a copy. Fast-forward a few weeks and they actually did (and so did a few other retailers not long after) so I can continue progress with this series.
I also ordered Tenjo Tenge Omnibus 11 from the same retailer, so both arrived at the same time. In addition, by acquiring this particular book I have finally completed the Tenjo Tenge manga collection so that’s one title that I started back in April 2014 now sorted many years later heh.
#11 | Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Another addition to the PlayStation 3 collection is Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the next instalment in the series after the original trilogy. Much like Ratchet & Clank: Nexus, this game was also released late in the PS3 cycle and has also been going up in value so I had no choice but order it at full retail price. That being said, the game was sealed but the case was damaged.
#12 | Planetes
Much like Violet Evergarden, Planetes was another series that was initially supposed to arrive a few months earlier but got delayed for unknown reasons. Now it has finally arrived and it’s basically a Discotek Media release in disguise due to the MediaOCD crew who worked on it. It’s another great release so I have no issues with it, and another classic series that I can finally watch.
#13 | The Caligula Effect: Overdose, inFAMOUS
Next we have two games from two different orders but all coming from eBay.
The first is The Caligula Effect: Overdose for the PlayStation 4. This one has been going in and out of print, and honestly I initially gave up on ever considering owning this release because of that. Then out of nowhere, reef (the seller that handles NIS America stock) had copies in stock going for £19.99 so that caught me by surprise. It was a no-brainer to order it and was sealed at least.
Next we have inFAMOUS for the PlayStation 3. The game was used but the condition was actually pretty good for the price. That is until the seller added void stickers which ruined the game case so I’ll have to find a replacement now (everything else is perfectly fine).
#14 | Sekirei Omnibus 8 & 9, Sekirei 365 Days Without Her
Another manga haul but this time comes from Hive with Sekirei Omnibus 8 and 9 as well as the single volume sequel Sekirei 365 Days Without Her. Last month I bought a whole bunch of Sekirei books (due to two of the books going out of print) but I didn’t want to use up all of my funds at once.
Therefore I saved the remainder of the series for this month’s haul to space it out and considering these books were released in 2019, the stock level should be in a better position. Either way, the Sekirei manga series is now complete so I can move on to the next title to sort out before it’s too late.
#15 | Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow
Arriving a bit earlier than expected, 88 Films latest release for the Jackie Chan catalogue is now here with Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow by director Yuen Woo-ping. This release is also an oddity in the catalogue for two reasons; the first is that the license window is much shorter so it’s only available until the end of 2021, and the second reason is that this release maintains its cut by the BBFC due to animal cruelty. Either way this release is solid, and I look forward to more of the distributor’s Hong Kong releases.
#16 | Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
The final items of the month is a bundle that I ordered on eBay with Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction for the PlayStation 3. These two wraps up the first batch of my PlayStation 3 haul and were a bit cheaper to acquire than going through CeX. Tools of Destruction is the first game in the Future saga, while A Crack in Time is the third game, therefore I was able to get the rest of the main instalments with only one spin-off left to acquire for the series.
Bonus | Digital PlayStation 1 & 2 Classics on PS3
A bonus addition to this month’s haul are $150 worth of digital PlayStation classic titles for the PlayStation 3. These were downloaded just before Sony had announced plans to keep the stores open, which was both annoying but at the same time being able to download them sooner helps for future reference. I will be toning this part down (so rather than spend $100 per month I’ll perhaps get $50 instead) but I will continue to acquire more throughout the year, so that if the store does plan to close (and it will) I will at least have most of the games sorted.
The following PlayStation games acquired were:
- Arc the Lad
- Dino Crisis
- Jumping Flash!
- Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
- The Legend of Dragoon
- Mega Man Legends
- Mega Man Legends 2
- Parasite Eve
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- R4 Ridge Racer Type 4
- Suikoden
- Suikoden II
- Tomba!
- Um Jammer Lammy
- Vagrant Story
- Xenogears
The following PlayStation 2 games acquired were:
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
Unboxing Links
You can view more photos & specs for the titles below:
- Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Parts 1 & 2 (CE Blu-ray)
- Planetes (CE Blu-ray)
- Silver Spoon Season 2 (CE Blu-ray)
- Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (First Print Blu-ray)
- Violet Evergarden (CE Blu-ray)
- Welcome to the Ballroom Part 2 (CE Blu-ray)
Additional Notes
What’s to Come for the Hauls
May Arrivals
The haul for May in terms of pre-orders is currently focused on Anime Limited. We have Makoto Shinkai’s 4K Ultra HD release of Your Name as well as the Ultimate Edition Blu-ray release of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. Both are on target for the second half of May.
June Arrivals
Coming in June are a few more Anime Limited releases. Initially planned to arrive in April & May but is now due for June is Mobile Suit Gundam F91. Also ordered and currently planned for June is Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine which is another double-dip for the collection!
Other Tidbits
The job hunt has made some progress but again I won’t promise anything just yet. It seems more roles are becoming available than before so that’s handy. The UC funding is still arriving as expected and the job centre folks are happy with my progress at least, so next month’s funds should be the same (hopefully).
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 have saved their July 2021 titles (and May 2021 early birds) for May Day bank holiday so that means I will have to wait a little longer to see what they are planning to release. So far Demon Slayer Part 2 is still on target to be available for pre-order during the month of May but no exact date has been given. Anemone: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution is currently on offer but it turns out they upped the price a bit so I’m debating on whether to get it now or wait for a sale later.
The distributor also teased The Future Diary for their line-up which is an interesting one because I watched it during my early days into anime but at the same time never bought it on Blu-ray, so this is a good opportunity to do so. I have no clue on what else they could be offering but I did save enough to sort out both Demon Slayer and a £59.99 SRP show (so in this case it’ll be Future Diary unless it’s scheduled for later).
Manga is now known as Funimation, and unfortunately their CLANNAD release turned out to be the worst case scenario so I’ll not be buying that release, same goes for K-On!. They may have really nice collector’s packaging, but if you’re going to end up using 10 year old dated masters knowing full well that there’s been revised versions released recently, it’s not really acceptable now is it? Not to mention they already had 9 months to sort this error.
That being said, the newer titles aren’t an issue. BOFURI got delayed to June so that helped given how much I spent during the month of April, and Plunderer is still on target for June also. They also revealed their Q3 line-up which has the SRP reduced for the standard Blu-rays which is going to help greatly for retailers.
MVM is slowly offering more titles from the Sentai catalogue which is great, but I’m still hoping for Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl (from the Aniplex catalogue) to show up at some point.
Light Novel & Manga
Sekirei and Tenjo Tenge, two manga titles that I had the first omnibus or so years ago, are now completed. Which is good news and good progress also. The question now is where do I go next.
Seven Seas manga titles I may go back to try and continuing making progress with, both the ones I have like Monster Musume and titles that I have yet to acquire like GIGANT and Dumbbells, but the issue all comes down to stock availability.
For Yen Press, the series that I am interested in acquiring is Prison School but the first omnibus book is not in stock in the UK and Rightstuf claims there’s more incoming so I’m holding out some form of hope that it does get restocked.
Viz Media on the other hand, I don’t think I need to worry too much about at the moment. What’s left in terms of titles I have already are the Urasawa titles Master Keaton, Monster, and Pluto which are quite popular, and then there’s Terra Formars which does have a lot of volumes but the series seems to be doing fine I suppose.
Video Games
As stated earlier, I have started ‘Operation PS3 THE FINAL Haul’ and there’s still a variety of games left to acquire, so below is my current list at the moment.
Localised/Western developed games: Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel, Awakened Fate Ultimatum, Bleach: Soul Resurrección, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Cross Edge, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, Genji: Day of the Blade, God of War HD Collection Volume 2, Guided Fate Paradox, Hitman HD Trilogy, inFAMOUS 2, Lair, Lost Dimension, Prince of Persia HD Collection, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Sonic & Racing All Stars Transformed, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Time Crisis: Razing Storm, Twisted Metal, Way of the Samurai 4.
Japanese imports: .hack//Versus, AFRIKA, Biohazard Chronicles HD Selection, Boku no Natsuyasumi 3, Dungeons & Dragons Mystara Eiyuu Senki, Everybody’s Golf 6, Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting!, The iDOLM@STER: One for All, The Last Guy, Machi-ing Maker 4, Mahjong * Dream Club, Miyasato Miyoshi Kyoudai Naizou: Sega Golf Club, Nurarihyon no Mago: Hyakki Ryouran Taisen, Sakigake!! Otoko Juku: Nihonyo Korega Otoko Dearu, Sengoku Musou 2 with Moushouden & Empires HD Version, Sengoku Musou 3 Empires or Z, Super Heroine Chronicle, Tokyo Jungle.
PS1 Classics (Remaining): Arc the Land II, Arc the Lad III, Breath of Fire IV, Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis 2, Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 2 & Toy Story Racer, Hot Shots Golf 2, Jumping Flash! 2, Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Parasite Eve 2, Silent Hill, Tekken 2, Tomba! 2, Turnabout, Vib-Ribbon, Wild Arms.
PS2 Classics (Remaining): Adventures of Cookie and Cream, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, Grandia III, Suikoden III & IV, Trapt.
For the JP digital list (which remains unchanged), you can see it in last month’s pickups discussion. The list above does not mean I plan to get all of them, but most depending on the situation.
Asian Cinema
Last piece of discussion is for the Asian Cinema catalogue because while I haven’t bought that much over the past few months under this section, there’s tons of new additions coming soon from each distributor.
For Arrow, they do have a couple that of interest like the Daimajin Trilogy but I am willing to hold out for re-releases if needed be.
88 Films is introducing a new section for their Hong Kong cinema line-up with the Category III films (which is basically the equivalent of NC-17 and BBFC 18) with Erotic Ghost Story, Robotrix and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky being among the first revealed so far. Each will be presented similarly to Jackie Chan’s The Young Master so it’ll be priced higher but hopefully I can get them at the current pace. They also have Forbidden City Cop as well as Jackie Chan films Armour of God and Half a Loaf of Kung Fu coming soon.
Eureka Entertainment have Encounters of the Spooky Kid and The Millionaires’ Express from Sammo Hung, as well as One Armed Boxer, PTU (which is a license rescue from Third Window Films), Time and Tide and Wild Search.
Third Window Films have Tezuka’s Barbara, a re-release of One Cut of the Dead that includes the Hollywood film spin-off, and plans to release a second Toshiaki Toyoda box set and a double pack for Funky Forest and The Warped Forest which is exciting.
And that’s basically it for the April 2021 haul. I want to try and balance the funds a bit more so hopefully I don’t go overboard during the first half of the month like I did with this month’s haul. That way I can have plenty left for June’s batch.
The Normanic Vault 