Otaku Collection Haul for December 2024

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of December 2024. This update features 41 anime releases, 3 manga volumes, 13 physical video games, 15 live-action Asian Cinema releases, and 1 live-action European Cinema release.

For this haul, I received numerous packages from all over the place, whether they came from sales over in the UK or US, or even pre-orders that showed up before the year was over, earlier than planned. Plus there’s also the Christmas haul.

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III

The first arrival of the month comes from Limited Run Games which is actually earlier than expected. Japanese publisher Edia released Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III, the third instalment in a collection of classic games from the Valis franchise, which got translated for the first time in the west and Limited Run Games have released this collection physically in North America. This includes five games/versions; both the Famicom and PC-88 versions for Valis: The Fantasm Soldier, the MSX2 version for Valis: The Fantasm Soldier II, the SEGA Mega Drive version for Valis III, and the Super Famicom version for Super Valis IV.

Pretty much this is now every Valis family-friendly game now released on modern platforms and translated in English for the first time. There is one more game in the franchise called Valis X but they jumped from consoles into eroge visual novel territory which is a somewhat unfortunate end for the main lead.

Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution & Persona 3 Reload

Next I decided to order two more video games from Amazon. The first one came from Amazon’s Black Friday deal which was coming to a close and that was for Persona 3 Reload, the remake of Atlus’ classic Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 from the PlayStation 2. I played the FES version available on PlayStation 3 (via PS2 Classics line-up) and really enjoyed my time with it. The remake does include the FES storyline as a DLC expansion which I may check out given that I never bothered to play that portion considering it was mostly dungeon focused content.

The other game that I picked up is a return to the Nep Nep universe with Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution, the latest Hyperdimension Neptunia game in the franchise until they release their new one in a few months time. This is also an Action RPG spin-off and presented by Idea Factory in their Day One Edition package which comes with a standee and poster. I reversed the artwork because I’m not a fan of having the German age rating on the packaging. It’s more tolerable on PlayStation compared to Switch at least.

I haven’t played any games from this franchise in a long while ever since I finished the PlayStation Vita line-up (minus one of them which I skipped owning), but I will eventually jump onto the PlayStation 4 line-up at some point in the coming months.

HMV 4K Ultra HD Haul

In December I started taking more time off work as I had to use up my remaining annual leave before the year was over. Great to take time off but also means I’ll need to work extra hours in the evening to make sure everything works out or is done ahead of time to avoid any issues.

Anyway I took a trip to York as it’s been a while but skipping the cinema trip because there was nothing to watch up to that point. The first store that I always check out is HMV because of their Blu-ray and 4K titles. The 4K selection was actually pretty decent this time and since payday came recently when I took the trip there was an opportunity to spend more than usual.

One of the films that I picked up just got released very recently and that was for Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, the sci-fi horror film that recently releases back in August. I watched the film in IMAX and loved it, one of the better films in the franchise and a great return to form (with the director being inspired by Alien: Isolation as well). So it was a no-brainer to pick up the 4K release as soon as possible.

The rest came from HMV’s 2 for £30 deal which I don’t make much use of in all honestly, but here they were a special case. Pretty much each of these came with slipcases given the age of when they first came out so I figured why not make use of them. We have Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien, Robert Rodriguez’s 2019 film Alita: Battle Angel, John McTiernan’s 1988 film Die Hard, and Jan de Bont’s 1994 film Speed.

The Alien franchise is one of my all-time favourite sci-fi franchises out there, and while I own the original on DVD I hadn’t yet upgraded to Blu-ray or 4K up to this point. I rewatched the original Alien on Disney+ which was in 4K and the transfer looked really good so I made sure to pick up the 4K disc. I watched Alita: Battle Angel in the cinema years back and it was a surprisingly good film based on the classic manga series Battle Angel Alita, and in case you didn’t know James Cameron wanted to direct the film but got occupied by his Avatar franchise.

Die Hard is the best Christmas film and the last time that I watched this was also in the cinema back in 2018 with its anniversary screening. I can’t remember if that screening was based on a 4K restoration or not but I did eventually watch the film again on 4K which looked great as well. And then that leaves us with the only film that I have not seen in this haul which is Speed, and I heard it was really good plus it has Keanu Reeves who is one of my favourite actors in film.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Also picked up in town is another game for the PlayStation 3 collection. I finally visited the Sore Thumbs Retro store which I struggled to enter because its hard to tell if the store was open or not. While they didn’t have any PlayStation 2 games worth buying I did find a copy of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for the PlayStation 3 so I picked it up. I did notice a scratch on the disc but it should play fine.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird & Horrible History

Terracotta Store has been my go-to for various new Asian Cinema releases and this is one perfect example.

Arrow Video have recently released a Korean film for the 4K Ultra HD format and for the best deal I pre-ordered through Terracotta. From Korean director Kim Jee-woon we have his 2008 film The Good, The Bad, The Weird (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈) which is a Spaghetti Western but made in Korea. I hadn’t heard of the film prior or at least forgot about it until Arrow announced the release. Due to animal cruelty i.e. horse falls, the BBFC forced the UK release to be cut by a few seconds, but as long as it’s not noticeable it should be fine.

Also arrived is the latest Shaw Brothers release from Eureka Entertainment with their Blu-ray collection Horrible History: Four Historical Epics by Chang Cheh, which features four films from director Chang Cheh released between 1972-1976. These were Marco Polo (馬哥波羅), which is also known as The Four Assassins, The Pirate (大海盜), Boxer Rebellion (八國聯軍) & Four Riders (四騎士).

Anime Limited’s 12 Days of Christmas Sale Haul

Anime Limited’s 12 Days of Christmas sale is pretty good if you didn’t bother to pick up any of their titles throughout the years and for me there really wasn’t much to offer because I had ordered everything that I wanted in advance for the most part. But there were some that I wouldn’t mind owning if the price was right, and in this instance two particular releases both appeared during the Flash Sale.

Let’s start off with Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water, also known as Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which is a 1990 anime series that Hideaki Anno directed before Evangelion came along. I didn’t bother with the initial Blu-ray release by Animatsu and Sentai so waiting until now somewhat paid off.

The Ultimate Edition release is a combo pack with 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray versions of the series – the 4K based on a newer restoration that removed all grain from the master, while the Blu-ray is the older master that kept the grain, so you have two versions available with this set. The artbook is really nice and well-detailed with various information and artwork so I do recommend getting this if you are a fan of the anime and if the price is right (I paid £50.99 which is pretty good value for the 39 episode series + Artbook + UHD/BD combo pack format).

Next we have Tower of God Season 1, the anime adaptation of the popular WebToon series from South Korea. I really enjoyed watching the anime adaptation and have seen half of Season 2 thus far. I didn’t buy the UK release immediately because the price was steep but having this available in the flash sale was a good opportunity to pick it up (at £48.49 because of shipping costs). The artbook is good and there’s a lot of designs and notes about the series included.

Crunchyroll UK Store Black Friday Haul

Before Black Friday weekend came to a close, I discovered that Crunchyroll UK’s Store was also running a sale of their own and beforehand I initially shrugged it because their main prices were too expensive and not appealing at all. But then I had a proper look at the sale prices themselves and it was quite honestly really surprised at what was on offer because they ended up being way better than many of the UK retailers that were running sales of their own. If you were someone who wanted to get the same prices that United Publications used to provide, then you would have liked this sale I reckon.

As I wasn’t sure when the sale was going to conclude at the time, I placed two big orders on the same day; one dedicated to a selection of limited edition releases, and another for a selection of standard/regular releases. Both are all that I could have pre-ordered but with so many titles being put out each month I had to pick and choose, especially if the price wasn’t right.

Starting off with the limited edition batch. First we have Hell’s Paradise Season 1, this is a pretty neat action historical dark fantasy type series adapted by MAPPA. I own all 13 volumes of the manga from VIZ SIGNATURE but I saved reading them until the anime finishes the story, since there is a second season in the works. The limited edition Crunchyroll produced is pretty good, though I am sad that they didn’t go with the same model that One-Punch Man had where the art cards could be used to change the front cover design inside the slipcase.

Next we have Tomo-chan is a Girl!, an entertaining romance series that adapted the manga in its entirety. A surprising series because I didn’t expect it to be this good, and I’m happy that Crunchyroll provided a limited edition since the story is one and done. The side characters were fun too.

And then we have Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2, which I have yet to watch because of bad timing. I thought the first season was surprisingly decent and I liked the characters and story considering this is one of those shows where the female lead picks on the main protagonist trope. I heard the manga has progressed pretty well so I am curious to see if studio ENGI decides to make more seasons of this.

Here we have the standard/regular release batch. Starting off with The Great Cleric, a surprisingly entertaining isekai series, not for everyone and pretty basic in animation but I enjoyed it enough to pick up the Blu-ray. The anime aired in July 2023 and was adapted by studios Yokohama Animation Laboratory (The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt) and Cloud Hearts (Whisper Me a Love Song).

Next we have My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1. Not seen this isekai but it was on offer so I figured I’ll pick it up. I actually thought it was a sub only release but there is an English dub. The anime aired in July 2023 and was adapted by studio Maho Film (I’m Standing on a Million Lives).

Then comes Rent-A-Girlfriend Seasons 2 & 3. The cringe adventures of Kazuya continues into this season. I’ve watched Season 1 but not the rest and I didn’t get the chance to watch the later seasons during simulcast, but I have heard the development is what you would expect from Kazuya. Season 2 adapts volumes 7-12 and Season 3 adapts Volumes 13-19 of the manga apparently (there’s 38 and counting by the way). The anime’s second season aired in July 2022 and the third season in July 2023, both adapted by studio TMS Entertainment (MEGALOBOX).

Then we have That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond, an original theatrical anime film for the isekai series. Slime is like the Monogatari of the isekai genre because it’s a very dialogue driven show with not much emphasis on action for the most part. I know a lot of people hated the third season due to so many conversations but Slime is interesting enough for me to keep going. Granted I’ve not seen the third season yet because I wanted to watch this film first which takes place before that. The film theatrically released in November 2022 and animated by studio Eight Bit (Blue Lock).

And last but not least we have Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, which is also an isekai series but based on a South Korean web novel. I haven’t heard much about the series but the art style and premise had me intrigued so I figured I’ll pick it up. The anime aired in April 2023 and was adapted by studio Typhoon Graphics (Dahlia in Bloom).

Video Games Plus Black Friday Sale Haul

Next we have a Black Friday haul from Canadian retailer Video Games Plus. This haul is a bit random but it was hard to pick which ones that I wanted to get and own in the moment as a lot of the titles available will still be around for next time.

Starting off with EXZEUS The Complete Collection, this is a collection of two arcade shooters developed by a French studio living in Japan. The first game saw a release on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii while the second game came out on Windows. Both games are together here and received a physical release through Limited Run Games as a standalone release (not part of their numbered line-up) which went on offer on VGP.

Next we have Record of Agarest War, which is a remaster of the PlayStation 3 strategy RPG that Idea Factory & Compile Heart made back in the day. Some of you may be more familiar with the European name Agarest: Generations of War from Ghostlight, which I do own but I admittedly haven’t played considering these are pretty long RPGs. Now Ghostlight did release the game for Nintendo Switch but they decided to make it digital only, and the North American physical version is rather uncommon so it was a miracle to see Video Games Plus receive more stock for it during the sale.

And last but not least we have The World Ends With You: Final Remix, a remastered version of the classic Nintendo DS game by Square Enix. Now I believe this Switch version is based on the mobile version of the game and the only issue is the use of motion controls which put off a lot of people, but to me this was just another way of being able to play/own the original game since this was not brought over to PlayStation compared to its sequel. The game did receive a physical in Europe but its very uncommon.

Clock Tower: Rewind & Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S

The next batch of Limited Run Games finally arrived, consisting of two Nintendo Switch physical games, when they started shipping them out back in November.

The big one here is Clock Tower: Rewind, an enhanced port of the 1995 cult classic Super Famicom game released only in Japan at the time by Human Entertainment, the developers behind Twilight Syndrome. The rest of the world saw the sequel released on PlayStation as the first one but that’s not the case. This is a point and click trial and error survival horror game with a presentation style reminiscent of Dario Argento’s Phenomena which looks great. I also like the WayForward intro and their anime inspired character designs though the main game itself is still the original look. The game is said to be short but difficult unless you know the crit-path.

Next we finally have a physical release for a Picross game. Hatsune Miku: Logic Paint S is a puzzle game developed by Crypton Future Media, the same folks behind the other Hatsune Miku games and here it’s picross as mentioned. This was released in 2021 and Limited Run Games have provided a physical release for the Nintendo Switch version which I immediately jumped on because it’s absolutely criminal that a Picross game has yet to be released physically for crying out loud. Overlord and Shield Hero both have Picross games but those are still digital only.

Sentai Filmworks Black Friday Sale Haul

When it came to big sales, the ones that I wanted to look out for the most was Sentai Filmworks because their prices are really good and you can buy as many as you want and still have the total cost be much smaller than ordering them from Crunchyroll’s Store which is shocking in my opinion. Now the downside is that you will need to use a forwarding service outside the US, but I got that covered since late 2023, though I wish I got it sorted much sooner.

For the Black Friday sale, my aim was to pick up titles that I’ve been meaning to own for a while but this sale didn’t have everything or did have some but not at a discounted rate.

I’m going to start off this selection by highlighting some releases that I did initially own the MVM Entertainment version for. I sold the UK releases because I didn’t like the packaging – it felt sluggish and looks really awkward on the shelf. But more importantly, all five of these anime were re-released with new discs by Sentai Filmworks.

We start off with Dai Shogun: Great Revolution, a historical mecha ecchi anime series that isn’t received well by anime fans, but it’s not often you have something like this. I do remember they tried to produce a CG anime but that failed the crowdfunding project. The anime aired in April 2014 by studios J.C.Staff (DanMachi) & A.C.G.T. (Freezing).

Girlish Number is the only one of the five that I have watched in the backlog, and it’s a pretty good series about voice acting in an anime. While the final arc is a bit harsh, the series as a whole was solid. The anime aired in October 2016 and was adapted by studio Diomedéa (Ahiru no Sora).

Love and Lies is a romance series with an interesting premise but how it ends I have no clue and it could go either way. The art style also intrigued me though I can see putting off many viewers. The anime aired in July 2017 and was adapted by studio Liden Films (Tokyo Revengers).

Love, Election & Chocolate is another romance series based on a visual novel, which was pretty common during the early 2010s. What intrigued me to check out the series were the character designs being adapted by Hiroaki Gouda (Amagami SS), and also a promo card that Rightstuf sent out back in the day when you order anime from them. The anime aired in July 2012 and was adapted by studio AIC (Persona 4: The Animation).

And then we have Yusibu: I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job which has a silly name but it works given the crazy amount of premises we have nowadays thanks to isekai. This series was produced in-between The Future Diary and Big Order so it was the calm before the storm for quality by the studio by the looks of it. The anime aired in October 2013 and was adapted by studio Asread (ARIFURETA).

Now let’s take a look at the anime that’s properly new to the collection. Here is a tough mix but ones that have been on my list for a while. Let’s take a look.

The highlight of the haul is probably Getter Robo Arc, the latest series in Go Nagai’s Getter Robo franchise to be adapted into an anime. Now I recall this one isn’t exactly newcomer friendly but with Discotek putting out so many of these it’s not too hard to keep up. I am surprised there’s a whole disc dedicated to bonus features which is cool. The anime aired in July 2021 and was adapted by studios Bee Media (Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!) and Studio A-Cat (Highspeed Etoile).

Idol shows is one that I have been looking to check out more often and Locodol was one of them. This series has caught my attention for a while with its character designs and somehow this was on offer for as low as $1.99 during the sale, that’s insane. The packaging has also been updated with Sentai’s current logo so it must have gotten reprinted hence the cheap value. The anime aired in July 2014 and was adapted by studio Feel (Spy Classroom).

Maria Holic & Maria Holic Alive is two seasons bundled together in one complete series collection. This anime first caught my interest when Sentai released them on home video, but I later discovered the staff credits include Yukihiro Miyamoto (Puella Magi Madoka Magica), Akiyuki Shinbo (Monogatari) and Tomokazu Tokoro (NieA_7) as the directors. The first season aired in January 2009 and the second season aired in April 2011, and both were adapted by studio SHAFT (March comes in like a Lion).

Another similar packaging is Samurai Girls & Samurai Bride, two seasons also bundled together in one complete series collection. My first encounter with both seasons was actually the fact that it had a Blu-ray release by KAZE UK & Manga Entertainment as soon as I started buying anime. It’s basically ecchi samurai action because why not. The first season aired in September 2010 and the second season aired in April 2013, and both were adapted by studio Arms (Queen’s Blade).

Waiting in the Summer is a series that I’ve been interested in picking up for a long time. It started off as a subtitled only release then Sentai Filmworks re-released the series with an English dub and an OVA episode, and then it was given the newer re-release treatment as of late, so it was a good opportunity to finally pick it up. Tatsuyuki Nagai (Anohana) directed the series and it’s probably the most polished show in this haul. The anime aired in January 2012 and was adapted by studio J.C.Staff (Toradora!).

Next we have Young Black Jack, a prequel to Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack series. I don’t go out of my way to watch a Tezuka franchise these days but the Black Jack franchise has caught my attention the most. I do own the film Black Jack the Movie that Discotek released years ago but I haven’t watched yet, though I read its one of the best. Considering Sentai Filmworks decided to re-release the series in recent years, it does make me wonder if the series did well enough in sales to get that kind of treatment. The anime aired in October 2015 and was adapted by studio Tezuka Productions (The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses).

And last but not least is a spin-off that people wouldn’t realise is related to the Z/X Ignition series – Z/X Code Reunion. Not long ago I bought Z/X Ignition which was released by Discotek Media, and since these two were related in some form I immediately wanted to check it out because I was curious to see what direction they took. The anime aired in October 2019 and was adapted by studio Passione (Spice & Wolf).

Bleach Part 2

BLEACH Part 2 arrived after a week’s delay because of Royal Mail and their occupied deliveries from the holiday rush. This collection covers episodes 28-55 of the long-running shonen anime series. This is treated as a ‘limited standard edition’ as it comes with a slipcase and three small art cards.

I don’t plan to have an unboxing for this set on its own because there’s not much value going with it and there would be a lot of repetition in the writing. So instead my plan is to wait until Part 5 arrives and combine Parts 2-5 together into a single post.

The Golden Lotus, The Shadow Boxing & To Kill a Mastermind

A few months ago, 88 Films revealed they picked up another batch of films from Celestial Pictures for the Shaw Brothers collection. As you may or may not know, the Blu-ray line-up of Shaw Bros titles pretty much started through 88 Films though their first 25 releases have now discontinued. I jumped onto the Shaw Bros bandwagon with their second batch of releases.

These are Li Han-Hsiang’s 1974 film The Golden Lotus (金瓶雙艷), Lau Kar-leung’s 1979 film The Shadow Boxing (茅山殭屍拳) aka Spiritual Boxer Part II, and Sun Chung’s 1979 film To Kill A Mastermind (七煞). Each of these were released around September this year and their first print editions come with a slipcase and some art cards. Since their second batch onwards (for context, these films are part of their third & current batch of releases) they have commissioned artwork by various individuals who have worked on different Asian Cinema releases which look great like KUNG FU BOB.

I plan to get their recent Shaw Bros releases around early next year.

Eureka Entertainment Catchup Haul

Surprise we have four more Eureka Entertainment releases, picked up from retailer Terracotta Distribution. Now the reason for this is because I’ve been occupied by various priorities of titles throughout the past year and because there’s been so many Asian Cinema releases which is awesome, sometimes, especially in Eureka’s case, the pre-order price isn’t at a good deal or it’s just bad timing. So this haul was there to pick up a few of the titles that I missed out on so that going into the new year there’s less titles to worry about losing out.

Anyway, the ones that I received are Brandy Yuen’s 1983 film The Champions (波牛) starring Yuen Biao, Lo Wei’s 1973 film A Man Called Tiger (冷面虎) starring Jimmy Wang Yu, Ting Shan-hsi’s 1976 film A Queen’s Ransom (鱷潭群英會) also starring Jimmy Wang Yu which is also known as International Assassin in some territories, & from the Masters of Cinema line-up I also picked up Kinji Fukasaku’s 1964 film Wolves, Pigs and Men (狼と豚と人間).

Also worth mentioning that if you’ve been a fan of Eureka Entertainment’s output and haven’t been caught up with the latest news, Eureka has also revealed that their booklets will now remain first print edition exclusives across the whole slate going forward, including catalogue releases. So at some point I do want to pickup around 6 Japanese titles left on my list before it’s too late.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season: The Final Chapters

It has taken 10 years but we have the final instalment now released on home video. The limited edition release for Attack on Titan: The Final Season: The Final Chapters arrived via ordering through MVM’s Anime-on-Line store which I decided to pre-order to get the series out of the way.

Now this is just two television specials, but the limited edition came with a 120-page artbook which caught me by surprise. It’s basically covering the entire season. I know a lot of people were disappointed by the series’ conclusion but I thought it was good. There is a theatrical compilation film called Attack on Titan: The Last Attack coming soon which will probably be people’s preferred way to finish the story since it’ll have animation corrections and 5.1 audio. I expect Crunchyroll will release another collection focused on the OVAs and films at some point.

88 Films January Release Haul

About a month ago 88 Films revealed their release slate for January 2025 with the goal of making sure these titles do reach their dates because they’ve been pretty unlucky for the past year with a lot of delays due to various factors. And out of complete nowhere, I receive a package that contains all of the Asian films from January’s slate already here a whole month early. What a twist.

Starting off we have a new addition to the Japanarchy collection which is Teruo Ishii’s 1969 film Love And Crime (明治・大正・昭和猟奇女犯罪史), which if you’re familiar with his works it’s another anthology type film. Also arriving from their regular 88 Asia line-up are two releases directed by Stanley Kwan with his 1986 film Love Unto Waste (地下情) and 1987 film Rouge (胭脂扣). All on Blu-ray.

You may have noticed that I didn’t pick up any titles from 88 Film’s new line-up called Nikkatsu which is dedicated to Roman Porno. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to picking up those titles despite being packaged and priced well, but their 2025 line-up has convinced me otherwise. 88 has confirmed they are repressing those titles so I’ll have an opportunity to grab those films at a later point.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2

Near the end of 2023, I bought the Crunchyroll limited edition due to FOMO and as soon as I received it, Anime Limited eventually announced the license. It was a frustrating ordeal given that they should have said something even though they apparently couldn’t.

But now I have the UK version, which was not only split into two collector’s edition parts but was also technically more expensive than importing. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 is the rare case where I am happy to double-dip since the franchise is great. In Anime Limited’s defence, the UK version is the better edition thanks to the artwork and inclusion of adding the original soundtrack CDs, but for a cheaper and compact version the US version is a good alternative. I will eventually sell the US version but not in a position to sort that out just yet.

Time and Tide

Next is a semi-old Eureka Entertainment release. A few years ago, they released Tsui Hark’s 2000 film Time and Tide (順流逆流) in a first print edition release like any other and was one of the few to use the Scanavo case. This was when I wasn’t focusing much on these editions, and by the time that I decided to revisit these, this particular film had sold out on its first print edition. Since the standard edition would use the Scanavo case I figured owning that edition would look a bit weird on the shelf given most use the regular Amaray cases.

Recently, Eureka Entertainment announced a new batch of discontinued titles which included this film, and I figured I’ll check eBay to see if there’s any available for the first print edition. Surprisingly there was, and for a decent price so I bought one.

The only other films that I missed out on in terms of their first-print editions were The Bride with White Hair which I went for the standard because the first print was super expensive, and the horror themed titles like Mr. Vampire, Hopping Mad, Encounters of the Spooky Kind and The Dead and the Deadly. I passed on the rigid LEs like Kwaidan and Mothra as I felt they looked out of place (so will get the regular editions before the booklet discontinues).

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition & HUMANITY

Limited Run Games also dispatched the PlayStation 5 games that were estimated to arrive in December early and they came just in time before Christmas.

First up we have Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition, the second remaster of the cult classic action adventure 2003 game by Ubisoft. I played a bit of the first remaster that released for Xbox 360 but didn’t progress any further, so this new remaster is the best way to jump in. However, a word of warning, if your console’s connected to the internet Ubisoft will not let you play the game unless you have a Ubisoft Connect account. You can bypass this if your console’s offline. Very stupid and while Bethesda has a similar model at least they let you continue without requiring an account.

Next we have HUMANITY, the puzzle platformer game by tha LTD. and publisher Enhance Games. I played the beta demo when that first released and really enjoyed what was on offer and while it was available on PlayStation Plus, I held off in case there was a physical version and behold it happened. The physical release also includes a digital soundtrack code and a booklet that covers tips/tricks and concept art by the developers which is cool.

Shawscope Volume 3

A few years ago Arrow Video announced they had licensed a whole dozen amount of films from the Shaw Brothers company with Celestial Pictures, and they have since released two volumes worth of films; one in 2021 and another in 2022. They took a break in 2023 because of the Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest box set but now in 2024 they have released Shawscope Volume 3.

This volume includes 14 films of varying genres and directors, like the previous volumes were:

One-Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀) – Chang Cheh, 1967.
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀王) – Chang Cheh, 1969.
The New One-Armed Swordsman (新獨臂刀) – Chang Cheh, 1971.
The Lady Hermit (鍾馗娘子) – Ho Meng-Hua, 1971.
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (愛奴) – Chor Yuen, 1972.
The 14 Amazons (十四女英豪) – Cheng Kang, 1972.
The Magic Bride (天涯明月刀) – Chor Yuen, 1976.
Clans of Intrigue (楚留香) – Chor Yuen, 1977.
Jade Tiger (白玉老虎) – Chor Yuen, 1977.
The Sentimental Swordsman (多情劍客無情劍) – Chor Yuen, 1977.
The Avenging Eagle (冷血十三鷹) – Shu Chung, 1978.
Killer Constable (萬人斬) – Kuei Chih-Hung, 1980.
Buddha’s Palm (如來神掌) – Taylor Wong Tai-Loi, 1982.
Bastard Swordsman (天蠶變) – Lu Chin-Ku, 1983.

What’s notable about this volume is that we have two films license rescued for the UK, because both One-Armed Swordsman and Killer Constable were previously released by 88 Films. 88’s bonus features did not carry over (which makes sense because no one would want to touch Bey Logan commentaries these days) but Arrow’s include new restorations and in the latter’s case an additional version with 30+ mins of footage not seen previously.

Christmas 2024 Haul

And here’s the 2024 holiday haul, with the usual target of including a variety of items from each medium within a specific budget.

In the anime batch we have two more additions for the Crunchyroll UK line-up of releases. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill adapted by studio MAPPA, and the theatrical film Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island by studio Sunrise.

In the manga batch we have three volumes from the VIZ SIGNATURE line-up which is dedicated to the seinen type series. Goodbye, Eri from Tatsuki Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man fame, and the first two volumes of Trillion Game by Riichiro Inagaki & illustrator Ryoichi Ikegami.

In the video game batch we have Nightdive Studio’s remake of System Shock and Aspyr’s remaster for Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, both for the PlayStation 5.

In the Asian & European Cinema batch we have Criterion’s recently released 4K Ultra HD for Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 French neo-noir film Le Samouraï, and from Arrow Video we also have a recent limited edition Blu-ray release for Kinji Fukasaku’s 1966 Japanese film The Threat (脅迫).

In the miscellaneous batch we also have a book called The Oxford History of World Cinema written by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. This was released during the late 90s but it was gifted to me given that I’ve been going after various European films here and there.

In addition to the above items, I also received a whole bunch of snacks and clothes like previous years.

Crunchyroll Black Friday Sale Haul

Before the year came to a close and the Christmas holiday days ended, I received one final package from the United States which credit to Royal Mail for getting it out to my doorstep as soon as possible considering I wasn’t expecting this until the start of the new year. So the package consists of both the Crunchyroll Black Friday Sale and the Sentai Filmworks Holiday Sale hauls so I’ll divide them up here to make it easier.

For some context, when I first placed the order for the Sentai Filmworks Black Friday sale items, I decided there was enough room to add a few more titles to the mix before it gets shipped to the UK. So I placed an order with Crunchyroll’s Store, but they took too long to ship it out and I wanted to receive the package before the holiday season started ramping up in fear of losing the package during transit. Just as I shipped out the Sentai haul, the Crunchyroll Store order then dispatched to the forwarding service.

So we have three anime shows this time around, because these releases even on sale are not cheap to get unfortunately but what I have gone for is a nice mix.

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan is a series that I heard was pretty good and since it wasn’t brought over to the UK I decided to pick it up whilst I can. It’s also one of the earliest releases using the Crunchyroll logo so I’m surprised the slipcase was still available. The anime aired in July 2021 and was adapted by Studio Blanc (The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World).

Next we have More than a Married Couple but Not Lovers, a romance comedy series that I missed when it first aired and I heard was pretty decent. As I am not a fan of Crunchyroll’s multi-language packaging decisions in the UK, this was one of the last ones to get that kind of treatment before they amended it with their future titles. The anime aired in October 2022 and was adapted by Studio Mother (As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World).

And last but not least is Parallel World Pharmacy, an isekai series that surprisingly did not get released in the UK and I figured I’ll pick it up whilst I can. Sounds like it’ll be on the slice-of-life kind of vibe. The anime aired in July 2022 and was adapted by studio Diomedéa (The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent).

Sentai Filmworks Holiday Sale Haul

Next comes the official final batch to round off the year of 2024. Sentai Filmworks launched another sale after their Black Friday one, which pretty much had the same selection but with more options which caught my interest even further.

I had plenty of funds available thanks to avoiding Anime Limited’s sale for the most part so I placed an order for more titles to join my collection. Similar to the previous hauls I did focus on the cheaper releases however I wanted to own specific titles that weren’t fully discounted and didn’t want to wait many months for that to happen so this is a ‘more expensive than usual’ haul.

Starting off the haul we have two collection sets for the sports series Ahiru no Sora, which is centred on basketball. This anime hasn’t been talked as much as others, which is probably because HIDIVE had exclusivity, but it did well enough to get dubbed by Sentai Filmworks and I heard that it’s a pretty decent series. There was a premium edition available but I passed on it. The anime aired in October 2019 and was adapted by studio Diomedéa (Domestic Girlfriend), lasting a whole four cours.

Next we have Busou Shinki: Armored War Goddess, a series that I’ve heard of about a decade ago but saw it as no big deal whatsoever. Recently I decided to read the synopsis and this actually sounds like something that I would be interested in checking out, and since it’s on sale for a low price, I added it to the list. The show was released on Blu-ray a while back but was re-released by Sentai Filmworks. The anime aired in October 2012 and was adapted by studio Eight Bit (Tensura).

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 was released recently by Sentai and since I have the first season, made sense to go ahead and pick up the latest one. Now Anime Limited did license and release the first season in their usual collector’s edition packaging, but I came to the conclusion that a booklet and some disappointing artwork plus a high price wasn’t enough to convince me to double-dip, and considering there may be even more content on the horizon anime-wise (an upcoming film has already been confirmed), I decided to stick to the Sentai Filmworks releases. The anime aired in October 2023 and was adapted by studio Nexus (Darwin’s Game).

You may have heard about Immoral Guild in recent years, it’s a fantasy ecchi series that had different versions available during its broadcast. Sentai Filmworks picked it up and had access to the uncensored version which is on the Blu-ray release. Apparently despite the ecchiness, it’s reportedly a fun comedy so I figured I’ll grab it as soon as it went on offer. The anime aired in October 2022 and was adapted by studio TNK (Redo of Healer).

I’ve still not seen the films but since it was on offer I may as well pick up Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, the second season of the hit anime series. I do own the first season from MVM Entertainment but given that the second season hasn’t been released in any collector’s format (although MVM does plan to make their own), I decided to shift to Sentai Filmworks moving forward since I did pick up their movie collection a while back. The anime aired in July 2022 and was adapted by studio Kinema Citrus (The Rising of the Shield Hero).

And keeping the ecchi train going we have Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time: Super Extra, the second season and a shorter anime series (about 10-15 mins of length). I watched the first season during simulcast but not the second due to HIDIVE and there were different versions so I figured I’ll wait for the Blu-ray to get the quality experience. The anime aired in October 2022 and was adapted by studio Seven (Rance 01).

Switching things up we have the idol series SHINE POST, which I heard was pretty decent and was recommended to me at one point. It’s not a series that I would see be brought over here and since it was on offer I picked it up. The anime aired in July 2022 and was adapted by Studio Kai (Uma Musume Pretty Derby Seasons 2-3).

Next we have a re-release of one of Sentai’s first ever Blu-ray releases, and it’s an anime series that has been out of print for quite sometime now. Tears to Tiara is now back in print, and this is an anime adaptation based on the eroge tactical RPG/visual novel which eventually received a second game exclusively on PlayStation 3 which I did pick up years ago. The original story was produced by Leaf, the folks behind Utawarerumono and White Album. Sentai Filmworks re-released the series out of nowhere and picked it up as soon as it went on sale. The anime aired in April 2009 and was adapted by studio White Fox (Steins;Gate).

And the final item of the year is another interesting pickup and also noteworthy for the collection. Un-Go is a mystery series directed by Seiji Mizushima and one that I did manage to watch a couple episodes of over a decade ago. For a brief moment I did own the series on Blu-ray via KAZE UK’s release, but it was a stripped down version compared to what Sentai Filmworks provided so I returned it. I was surprised when Sentai Filmworks re-released the series this past year and figured that given it’s a fairly old license that I may as well get it sooner than later. The anime aired in October 2011 and was animated by studio Bones (Eureka Seven).

Unboxing Links

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

What’s to Come for the Hauls

January 2025

So because of some surprise arrivals, January’s haul is pretty barebones at this point so I’ll need to sort out some orders! Here’s what’s currently been ordered and expected to arrive in January:

Assault Suits Valken DECLASSIFIED (Nintendo Switch)
Glover (Nintendo Switch)
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)

February 2025

February is probably going to have more items than January due to timings and whatnot, but so far here’s what is expected to appear:

Bubblegum Crash! (Blu-ray)
Bubblegum Crisis (Blu-ray)
Castlevania Dominus Collection (Nintendo Switch)
Penny’s Big Breakaway (Nintendo Switch)

March 2025

In March we have a few items also expected to make their appearance:

C-SMASH VRS (PlayStation 5)
Macross II: Lovers Again (Premium Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
Macross Zero (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
Triggerheart Exelica (Deluxe Edition Nintendo Switch)
Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme (PlayStation 5)

Other Tidbits

December was somewhat better than before in terms of work, but it’s not perfect. I just learned before the new year that there was a major botch-up by a team member and I’m pissed, but these things tend to happen when I go on break which is a bit of a meme in itself. Either way, I want to go into 2025 with a new goal – to explore new opportunities as this role that I have admittedly enjoyed my time working on, is not sustainable and interfered with my personal time not just on the weekends but also in the evenings.

Meanwhile, 2024 was a pretty strong year for the otaku collection haul in itself. Granted all good things will eventually come to an end so these hauls will need to dial down a fair bit, but in the meantime I have just posted my latest complete collection update which you can view here.

And in an unusual change of space I’m not going to talk much else about what I want to get because I feel like it hasn’t changed much compared to the previous hauls. So what I’ll do is wait and see how January turns out before writing up another thoughts process.

Hope you all have enjoyed the monthly collection hauls so far. It’s been a strong year for these mediums and I am curious to see how it turns out next in the coming months.

Tags for this post:

Monthly Collection Update, Otaku Collection

Otaku Collection Haul for December 2024

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III