Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of October 2022. This update features 13 anime releases, 20 manga volumes, 3 physical video games, and 7 live-action Asian cinema releases.
This month’s haul introduces the return of receiving items from Japan, while also running another batch of manga from Seven Seas & Viz Media, more Asian Cinema releases, and older anime titles along the way.
Joseph Kuo’s Cinematic Vengeance
Starting off the October haul is a box set that went on sale over on Eureka’s official website. From what I saw, it looks like the box set is also pretty much selling out going by the stock on other sites.
Released last year, I now own Joseph Kuo’s Cinematic Vengeance limited edition Blu-ray box set, which includes 8 martial art films.
Those eight films are The 7 Grandmasters (虎豹龍蛇鷹絕拳), The 36 Deadly Styles (迷拳三十六招), The World of Drunken Master (酒仙十八跌), The Old Master (师父出马), Shaolin Kung Fu (少林功夫), The Shaolin Kids (少林小子), 18 Bronzemen (少林寺十八銅人), and Return of the 18 Bronzemen (雍正大破十八銅人).
I don’t actually know much about the Taiwanese director and their films, but I recall there were some fanfares given for both 7 Grandmasters and 18 Bronzemen.
Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 80s Kadokawa Years
Next, we have another collection of films from Japan thanks to Terracotta shipping stock out early.
From Third Window Films we have Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 80s Kadokawa Years limited edition Blu-ray box set, which includes 4 of his films released between 1981-1986. This is the second box set that the distributor has released that covers the works of Obayashi after the release of the Anti-War Trilogy. It is impressive to see 7 of his films released in the UK on Blu-ray across two years, and hopefully we see more over time.
The box set includes School in the Crosshairs (ねらわれた学園), based on a novel that was also adapted into an anime as Psychic School Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (時をかける少女), based on a novel that was also adapted into an anime by Mamoru Hosoda, The Island Closest to Heaven (天国にいちばん近い島), and His Motorbike, Her Island (彼のオートバイ、彼女の島).
NEO: The World Ends With You
NEO: The World Ends With You went for a pretty solid price-point over on Base, and as it’s been on my to-acquire list for a while I decided to order it now. This is the sequel to the Nintendo DS cult-hit that Square Enix & Tetsuya Nomura made many years ago, but I heard this one can be played without too much prior knowledge of the original game.
Goshogun & Goshogun: The Time Etranger
Back in August, Discotek Media announced that five of their titles released back in 2017-2018 would discontinue and they sold out in a matter of hours. Two of those were Goshogun and Goshogun: The Time Etranger from studio Ashi Productions. I wasn’t able to justify the cost, so I had to pass on them, and while there was a second opportunity in September United Publications failed to secure stock for them in time (though Space Warrior Baldios was rescued).
After some digging around, I was pretty fortunate to find stock available online, but I had to rely on a forwarding service to retrieve them. It was also fortunate that the price did end up costing as much as it would to get them from Rightstuf, especially given the exchange rate which crashed in the UK over the past month and a half, and the condition was brand new with no sign of damage which is nuts.
In the end I did miss out on Dancouga but I heard it used the less-received Blu-ray transfer, so I figured there was no point in going for it.
Fire Punch Vol. 7-8
After a bit of a holdback in getting the volumes, I finally acquired the remainder of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Fire Punch manga series. Volume 7 was ordered through Blackwells while Volume 8 was from Amazon UK. I wanted to get the series completed before they would end up going out of stock again because of the Chainsaw Man anime adaptation.
Discotek Media Haul #4
With a batch held in April, August and September, we now have the fourth batch of releases from Discotek Media. This covers seven catalog and two new releases from their October line-up.
Crusher Joe the Movie, from director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and from Studio Nue & Sunrise in 1983. This release also includes both 4:3 & 16:9 versions of the film. Always good to have more classic Sunrise sci-fi anime. Plus, we also have Crusher Joe: The Complete OVA Series, from director Toshifumi Takizawa. Just two episodes from 1989 and released after the film but may as well get both together!
Then we have Nutcracker Fantasy, a 1979 stop-motion film by Sanrio (creators of Aggretsuko & Hello Kitty) and directed by Takeo Nakamura. Based on the classic ballet, the presentation is what had me interested in the film for a while and given Discotek’s warning that some stuff will discontinue, I figured this film (despite including a dub) is likely to be niche enough that it’s probably in the danger zone and so I decided to acquire it sooner than later.
The Princess and the Pilot, a 2011 film by Madhouse & TMS from director Jun Shishido. Discotek rescued the film from NIS America, though it’s a limited run release. While Manga UK did release the film in the UK, the Discotek release is re-authored with some tweaks to the subtitles and combined with the low price it’s a good time to pick it up.
Super Dimension Century Orguss, the classic 1983 series from Artland & TMS and director Noboru Ishiguro. I finally picked up this series and looking forward to it. This was rumoured to be part of the Robotech stuff but thankfully it wasn’t, otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten this series on Blu-ray in the best way possible. Discotek’s set also includes the incomplete English dub.
To Be Hero & To Be Heroine, two Chinese anime shows that aired in 2016 & 2018 from Studio LAN & Haoliners Animation League with director Li Haoling. Another limited release run and based on the Japanese broadcast version, but this does include improved subtitles.
Time for a triple bill for one franchise! Yowamushi Pedal Season 1, aired in 2013 from TMS and director Osamu Nabeshima. A really great anime series about bicycle racing, and I watched a lot of episodes back-to-back roughly half a decade ago. This season has 38 episodes which is a lot, but you’ll blitz through them easily. Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road, the second season which aired in 2014, gets better and I also watched this 24 episode series (which was all that was legally available at the time). The cast stand out pretty well. I really should start catching up with Seasons 3-5 now (New Generation, Glory Line & Limit Break).
Last but not least we also have Yowamushi Pedal Re:RIDE & Re:ROAD, the two compilation films that cover the first two seasons which released in 2014 & 2015 respectively. Honestly surprised Discotek released these but pretty neat none-the-less.
I’ll probably aim for 50 in total before 2023. And yes, these hauls are not cheap (especially as we non-US folks have to pay twice as much to acquire them) but the learning lesson here is to grab them as soon as possible and don’t leave it 5 years later lol. But on a serious note, not everyone can get them when they were first released (or even within the first 12 months) so yeah – sucks being an anime fan.
Anime Limited’s Unlimited Membership Magazine 2022
I received Anime Limited’s yearly Unlimited membership magazine which is focused on their 2022 Scotland Loves Anime festival.
Travelling Man Manga Haul
I took a trip to York which was supposed to be a combo between town shopping and a cinema trip (to watch Black Adam), but a fire alarm went out and cancelled the screenings which included mine, so I had no choice but to leave early (that said, they did refund the money and I watched the film the next day).
Never-the-less we have 9 more manga volumes from Travelling Man. This time it was £60! Because I focused more on the Shonen Jump £7.99 volumes more than previous hauls to avoid the 3 for 2 offers going wrong like last time.
First, we have two larger sized books with Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai Volume 4 and Fist of the North Star Volume 3. These two are technically 1.5 volume type sets like the JoJo ones and I have no clue how long the English releases will go on for. Also picked up under the Shonen Sunday label with Viz is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Volumes 4 & 5 which is mostly up to date (Volume 6 is out by now in some areas).
And from the Viz Shonen Jump label I acquired more Jujutsu Kaisen with Volumes 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14. This covers most of the Shibuya Incident story arc which doesn’t wrap up until Volume 16.
Cure, Destruction Babies & Meatball Machine
Terracotta Distribution have been holding a sale on a number of Blu-rays, which have been on rotation each week. During the second week, I ordered three titles!
The first is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure (キュア) from distributor Eureka Entertainment, which does have a better release from Criterion US but since it’s on sale I decided to go for it (and I would not be surprised if Eureka eventually re-releases the film on 4K Ultra HD since it does have a 4K restoration after this release came out).
Next, we have an older Third Window Films release with Tetsuya Mariko’s Destruction Babies (ディストラクション・ベイビーズ), which has been advertised as a violent focused film, so I am curious to see how it turns out. Then we have a unique release from Terracotta with Yūdai Yamaguchi & Jun’ichi Yamamoto’s Meatball Machine (ミートボールマシン), which comes with a slipcase and is also a J-Horror film from the mid-2000s era, so I am also curious to check this one out.
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
The only Anime Limited arrival for the month of October (because the others got delayed once again) is the television series version of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor in a collector’s edition Blu-ray release. While it’s not going to be the best release because Nozomi’s premium has all of the on-disc and physical extras, the UK set is a decent release. The OVA series will arrive later.
Greatful Dead & Righting Wrongs
the first Terracotta order finally arrived which was delayed due to the recent postal strikes. The first is another older Third Window Films release with Eiji Uchida’s Greatful Dead (グレイトフルデッド), which went on offer during their Halloween sale. The second is a brand new 88 Films Deluxe Edition set with Corey Yuen’s Righting Wrongs (執法先鋒), also known as Above the Law, which was originally scheduled for September but was moved into October.
Booty Royale, Do You Like Big Girls? & Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers Vols.
Earlier in the month I was given the gold award at work for my efforts in September, and thus I received £75 worth of Amazon funds. I held off on this for a while to see what was going on with my haul, and I had decided to use it on more manga volumes, primarily from Seven Seas because those aren’t cheap.
The choice to focus on Seven Seas is due to these volumes being available for a pretty decent range and were available to ship together. We have Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! Omnibus 4 (covers Volumes 7 & 8), Do You Like Big Girls? Volumes 3 & 4, and Hitomi-chan is Shy with Strangers Volumes 4 & 5. DYLBG Volume 3 arrived on Wednesday due to timing delays. These are mostly up to date on the English releases, and I say that because the next volume is out pretty soon for the latter two titles.
Japan Haul: Ace Attorney Collections & Yowamushi Pedal the Movie
After I received a notification that my Goshogun order was being dispatched, I then immediately placed another order, but to counter the shipping costs I also relied on Buyee to get a few more to join altogether. For some reason it made progress, but then stalled for a whole week, and I thought the package got hit by customs, but it just breezed through the moment it had updated. There was no damage to these sets as the extra protection to the packaging helped a lot.
As mentioned, I finally got my hands on Yowamushi Pedal the Movie which was out of stock at the time that I made the Discotek Media Batch 4 haul order. This film is also in a weird position, as it is listed as ‘discontinued’ on Discotek’s website, but the item is not yet in that ‘last chance’ status over on Rightstuf. Either way, the film also marks the 40th Discotek Blu-ray in my collection.
Alongside the film, are two more Japanese PlayStation 4 imports which have English support – Capcom’s Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles collections. Both were via Mercari and honestly surprised they shipped out and arrived as fast as they did. With Mercari, they tend to be in different scenarios like item was sold already, cancelled despite being paid, or take a while to arrive at the warehouse, but for these two they arrived before the film did. I have not played the Ace Attorney games before so this will be my first venture into the franchise.
Blue Giant, GIGANT, Plus-Sized Elf & World’s End Harem: Fantasia Vols.
After the previous batch I then made a second order to cover the rest of the free funds otherwise Prime renewal would eat it up. Keeping the trend going we have more Seven Seas manga volumes for the book collection with Blue Giant Omnibus 2 (covers Volumes 3 & 4), GIGANT Volume 8, Plus-Sized Elf Volume 7, and World’s End Harem: Fantasia Volume 7. I am hoping to complete both Blue Giant and GIGANT by the end of the year.
Unboxing Links
You can view more photos & specs for the titles below:
- The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (CE Blu-ray)
- Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 80s Kadokawa Years (LE Blu-ray)
What’s to Come for the Hauls
November 2022
Another batch of delays from Anime Limited, so what’s now expected for the month of November are Future Boy Conan Part 2, Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, Love Me, Love Me Not, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, The Relative Worlds and Violet Evergarden the Movie. Can confirm The Relative Worlds will arrive first as United Publications received their stock.
Along the way we will also have The Dungeon of Black Company incoming which was ordered via UP1 using the North American version. Another Discotek haul is in consideration before the year is over.
From the Asian Cinema scene, Dragons Forever (4K Ultra HD) is also expected to arrive at the end of the month.
December 2022
In December we will have the Anime Limited 12 Days of Christmas 2022 sale, though I have acquired almost all of the collector’s sets I needed so what’s left now is K: Seven Stories and any pre-orders not yet paid. In terms of orders, Anime Limited has scheduled The Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA Series and Summer Ghost.
From the Asian Cinema scene, we also have Ju-on: The Grudge box set which also includes Ju-on: The Grudge in 4K Ultra HD format.
Other Tidbits
We have now reached the time of year where it’s going to get darker during the evening and as you probably have noticed, the unboxing hauls will now be available on the weekends or during the day if I have time off work.
Anime
We are now reaching the time of year where the UK pre-orders start to slow down, while the US begin their holiday sales. Anime Limited will likely provide some pre-orders for their Blu-rays but I would not be surprised if they put more focus on vinyl to make room for the Christmas sale.
Discotek haul has gone pretty well and they recently announced their latest pickups for 2023 and beyond, which includes more Osamu Tezaki titles (Aim for the Ace, Treasure Island), more Toei Animation shows (Fist of the North Star: Legends of the True Savior, Mononoke, Ultimate Muscle), The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar and some neat live-action additions to their Nihon Night & Toku Time labels (Kamen Rider Black, Another, Golgo 13, Suicide Club).
I do want to try and get more Discotek Blu-rays, but I have yet to decide if I want to wait for Rightstuf’s holiday sale or get them immediately. One factor that can make or break the decision is down to the UK exchange rate, as the currency is slowly recovering in recent weeks and if it does continue this path then Rightstuf could end up being cheaper than UP1 overall. So far there had been zero out of print notices for October which was unexpected, but their warning that niche subtitled only titles can still discontinue is still known.
Manga
I am hoping to complete both Blue Giant and GIGANT by the end of the year, since the former was already fully released, and the latter will have its final volume released sometime in December. Plus-Sized Elf is also wrapping up at the end of the year, which is technically on-going because the author moved the series to a different publisher with an updated name, so the first series that Seven Seas licensed wraps up at 8 volumes.
As for the other manga titles from Seven Seas, World’s End Harem is now in its final arc in Japan, but Part 2 of the story (After World) has yet to be released in English – but Volume 13 is scheduled for later this Winter. Next year Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs will be fully released (Volume 24 due this Summer) and Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire is expected to be fully released next year as well since it’s a 7 volume series.
Asian Cinema
I plan to sort out the rest of 88 Films’ Shaw Brothers second batch of titles before the end of the year. The remaining titles left are Flying Guillotine Part II, Hero, Human Lanterns and Martial Club, so we’re not far off. There’s also 88’s other newer releases like Ebola Syndrome, Gorgeous, The Iceman Cometh and Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin that I still need to pre-order.
Eureka have the first four films in the film series In the Line of Duty, with Yes Madam! and Royal Warriors planned for December and January respectively, then the third & fourth films are rumoured to be released together as a double-pack to counter 88’s four-film box set for the US audience.
And of course, as mentioned earlier there’s also Discotek’s new label Nihon Nights which I will explore more throughout the coming months. Radiance Films also has some interesting Asian titles in the works, and I am interested in getting all of their first print editions if possible.
Video Games
The PlayStation 4 collection is slowly being sorted, though the prices are why I haven’t picked the remainder up immediately. In terms of Japanese imports, it looks like I have managed to narrow it down to just a few titles now unless I decide to pick up any more at the last second. 2023 will have more focus on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch titles, but it would be nice to get the PS4 collection wrapped up sooner than later.
That’s it for the month of October 2022. Hopefully the Anime Limited titles do make it to the month of November, otherwise December is going to be pretty large. Curious to see how it goes especially as I’ll have a week’s holiday which will mean timing of hauls may differ.
The Normanic Vault 
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