Otaku Collection Haul for February 2025

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of February 2025. This update features 10 anime releases, 12 manga volumes, 4 physical video games, and 16 live-action Asian Cinema releases.

For this haul, the first Discotek package of the year arrives plus a couple of AnimEigo & Nihon Nights releases also make their appearances. Meanwhile, we catch up on the latest Ghost Ship manga volumes as well as a dozen of Asian Cinema releases including recent Shaw Brothers, Category III and Director’s Company titles.

Freedom Wars Remastered & Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus

Starting off the month with another video game pickups from Canadian retailer Video Games Plus. Here it’s pretty much import focused for the PlayStation 5 that isn’t from Limited Run for once.

Recently Bandai Namco in collaboration with Sony released a remaster for Freedom Wars and in a weird move it’s physical version is exclusive to Asia, but it does have English support so I decided to pick it up given that I do own the original PlayStation Vita version but admittedly never got around to playing it. The remaster does include better resolution and frame rate which will make the experience a lot better.

Since VGP also has free shipping available if you spend a specific amount I also decided to add Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus to the collection. It was a bit cheaper than the European release so it worked out. This is an adventure game by the people behind Danganronpa which originated on the Nintendo Switch but supposedly had performance issues on the console, so this expanded version was made available on other platforms including PS5 which is where I’ll be playing it.

Discotek Media & Nihon Nights Haul

It’s another Discotek Media haul, and the first one I’ve sorted in a long while now considering the previous batch was back in early November (which arrived in late November). Now this one is a different mix than the usual because there were in fact a lot of stock issues across the whole line-up on the Crunchyroll Store, but I was lucky to be able to grab most of the newer releases that were on my priority list. So if you’re wondering where’s Lovely Complex or Rainbow in the batch, well it’s not available yet at the time I made the order.

We have the following:

Futakoi

A 2004 television anime series by studio Telecom Animation Film and director Nobuo Tomisawa, this is twin-girl themed harem which I’m surprised hasn’t been used that often with modern anime but it sounded like a lot of fun to check out. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in March 2024.

Futakoi Alternative

A 2005 television anime series by studio Feel, Flag and Ufotable and director Takayuki Hirao, this is a reimagining/remake of the 2004 twin-girl themed harem series but what seems to be a more serious take on the idea. The vibe of this when you look at the promo artwork does remind me of Key’s titles, so I’m interested to see how the original and this one compares. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in July 2024.

Kiss x Sis

A 2010 television anime series by studio Feel and director Munenori Nawa, based on a manga written by Bow Ditama (Mahoromatic). This is the second series based on the very popular harem manga, though the OVA series was more spread out across the years whilst this TV series was all done in a single cour’s worth. I suppose I should start with the TV series first then the OVAs? Who knows, either way I now own a one of a kind anime. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in September 2024.

Kurokami the Animation

A 2009 television anime series by studio Sunrise and director Tsuneo Kobayashi, based on a manga written by Lim Dall-young (Freezing). Also known as Black God, I remember reading about this series when I first got into anime and it was mainly due to how it was the first simuldub anime and then put out on Blu-ray by Bandai Entertainment in North America as an English dub only title. I also find it interesting it was written before Freezing came along. Also worth noting this was part of the Sunrise Sentai package deal alongside GaoGaiGar, Overman King Gainer, and s-CRY-ed. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in January 2024.

Saint Tail

A 1995 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Osamu Nabeshima, based on a manga written by Megumi Tachikawa. Also known as Mysterious Thief Saint Tail, it’s a classic magical girl shoujo series that was adapted into a four-cour anime which only had a portion of its episodes dubbed into English by Tokyopop. Considering how titles like these need to sell in order for the distributor to release more of this genre, I decided to pick it up. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in April 2023.

Tona-Gura!

A 2006 television anime series by studio Daume and director Tatsuya Abe, based on a manga written by Hidetaka Kakei. We have ourselves another romance comedy anime from the mid 2000s era which is always great to see. I do appreciate Discotek bringing more titles from that time period considering not a lot of them are available nowadays outside of the super popular titles or are stuck to streaming only. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in September 2024.

Also joining the list are some more Nihon Nights releases. It’s been 22 months since I last received any from this live-action label of Discotek’s. They weren’t prioritised because they were likely to stay in print longer than the others from my perspective but I figured now was a good opportunity to add more to the collection.

The Bullet Train (新幹線大爆破)

A 1975 live-action Japanese film directed by Junya Sato (1973’s Golgo 13) starring Ken Takakura and Sonny Chiba. This is considered a classic among the films made from Japan. Now if you’ve been following my hauls, you may recognise that I already own this release on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment. The reason for the double-dip purchase is because when Eureka released the film, the presentation wasn’t perfect so Discotek spent additional time amending it to look better plus the subtitles I believe were also revised. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in November 2023.

Fatal Frame (劇場版 零)

A 2014 live-action Japanese film directed by Mari Asato (2009’s Ju-On: Black Ghost). This is an adaptation of the Fatal Frame (Project Zero) Japanese horror video games, though it covers an original story with a new cast of characters. Apparently it’s a solid take on the series’ lore so I’m interested to see what it’s like. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in January 2024.

Recently, My Sister is Unusual (最近、妹のようすがちょっとおかしいんだが。)

A 2014 live-action Japanese film directed by Yuki Aoyama. This is an adaptation of the manga series of the same name and just like the anime, this live-action is also pretty raunchy. I’m surprised Discotek decided to release it but they did the same with the anime so anything can happen. This release includes both the theatrical and home video versions to add more popcorn to the mix. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in November 2023.

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (立喰師列伝)

A 2006 live-action Japanese film directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). I’ve known that Oshii has worked on a bunch of live-action projects but I wasn’t aware of this particular film until Discotek announced it at their panel. It’s a documentary type film that’s part of his Kerberos Saga which is related to a couple other multi-media titles, including Jin-Roh. Sounds complicated but this film looked like a fun time so why not. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in January 2024.

Dragon Fist

88 Films have kept the Jackie Chan Hong Kong cinema train rolling for the past seven years or so, and now we have come full circle with the final film of four from their first batch of releases now re-released with new masters and treatment with Lo Wei’s 1979 Hong Kong film Dragon Fist (龙拳).

For some context, this film alongside To Kill with Intrigue, Battle Creek Brawl and Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin were the first films that distributor 88 Films released from the Jackie Chan catalogue, and they were just straight onto Blu-ray type releases. Serviceable but not perfect by all means. It wasn’t until the second batch onwards, starting with Crime Story where they started putting more effort into their packaging and disc authoring (and that’s how their reputation got to this point – provide a solid release, and it’ll sell in return).

In recent years, 4K is becoming more prominent and other distributors have started to pick up titles that 88 Films could have gone for, but this has given the distributor an opportunity to revisit their older releases and give them a fresh of new paint, whether its a better restoration or even a jump onto the 4K Ultra HD format. 88 Films are also planning on re-releasing both Crime Story and Miracles: The Canton Godfather in the coming months on the latest format which is great.

Back to this film, we have two versions available in terms of artwork. The 88 Films store exclusive version is focused on the original theatrical poster style treatment while the regular edition uses KUNG FU BOB’s artwork. I love his artwork but I like the idea of owning a release that looked like a import from Asia which is why I went with the store exclusive version, but at least his artwork is shown throughout here and there. The deluxe edition includes both the 4K and Blu-ray discs as well as a poster, cards and a booklet.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II

Next we have The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II, the 2022 JRPG by Falcom and another instalment to The Legend of Heroes franchise. Again I’ve been picking these up because they tend to sell out pretty fast and I plan to go through the entire Trails franchise at some point. This instalment is apparently one of the weakest but considering there’s so many in this franchise that’s had positive feedback, it’s fine to have a flop here and there.

Third Window Films’ Director’s Company Wave 3

After a brief hiatus due to issues with getting titles onto Amazon, Third Window Films is back with a new line-up of films for their Director’s Company collection. All three films were released for February, bringing the total to nine titles.

We have Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1985 film Bumpkin Soup (ドレミファ娘の血は騒ぐ), Toshiaru Ikeda’s 1984 film Mermaid Legend (人魚伝説) and 1985 film Scent of a Spell (魔性の香り). The latter of which is also part of the Nikkatsu Roman Porno range but just happens to be with a different distributor (which works considering Third Window tried to include Evil Dead Trap but were outbid by 88 Films at the last second).

2.5 Dimensional Seduction Volumes 7-12

Last year the anime adaptation for 2.5 Dimensional Seduction started airing, but unfortunately it was tied to HIDIVE so I wasn’t able to check out (as I don’t want to buy another subscription for like one series). That said I did however plan ahead and grab a couple of the manga volumes before it aired. A year has passed and more volumes are now available, so I wanted to be ahead of the game and ordered more volumes.

The first order, covering Volumes 7-9, came from Amazon, because Scifier didn’t have all of these available in stock on their store. They shipped across three different days; Volume 8 first arrived on Sunday 9th, then Volume 9 arrived on Monday 10th and then finally Volume 7 arrived on Wednesday 12th.

The second order, covering Volumes 10-12, was ordered directly from Scifier and pretty much I have now caught up with the English releases, as Volumes 13 onwards are out this year. These arrived on Saturday 15th.

Facets of Love, Kid From Kwang Tung & The Kung Fu Instructor

Next we have some more 88 Films Shaw Brothers releases, which is thanks to the distributor running a warehouse sale on their online store which meant a lot of their titles were on offer for as low as £8.88 for a number of titles, and I used that opportunity to order their October 2024 titles that I didn’t pick up initially.

In this batch we have Li Han-Hsiang’s 1973 film Facets of Love (北地胭脂), Hsu Hsia’s 1982 film Kid From Kwang Tung (廣東靚仔玉) & Sun Chung’s 1979 film The Kung Fu Instructor (教頭).

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2

I went to town for the first time in a while, and before I took the trip I immediately checked the CeX website to see if there’s anything of interest. Normally this doesn’t provide much as my local branch is pretty weak on the selection, and to my surprise they had one game in particular that caught my attention. I did check eBay to see what the prices were like before I would try and hunt it down.

Upon going into the store, they didn’t have it on their PS3 selection or on their glass shelves so I asked the staff if they had a copy available (just in case, since sometimes people can beat you to the punch). And miraculously they did as it was behind their counter. I was allowed to check the condition and I went for it, especially considering I did have CeX vouchers already so I only paid for half of what it was going for.

So yes, I now own Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2, the 2012 Dynasty Warriors spin-off game by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 3. This is one of the most expensive localised games out there and that’s partly due to how it was not only released at the end of the PS3’s life-cycle, but North America did not receive a physical version outside of the Xbox 360 release, and considering PS3 games are region free (99% of them that is) it’s no-brainer that importers would try to grab the UK/EU versions.

Looking at CeX’s pricey PS3 games, there’s a fair amount of other expensive ones that I don’t own like Godzilla (which had a PS4 version anyway), Blades of Time (a Konami game), the HD remaster for the first Killzone game (which again, will likely get a PS4/PS5 re-release via the PS Plus Classics programme), and Lost Dimension (published by NIS America which I reckon will get a re-release also).

Cliffhanger & The Elephant Man

In HMV I picked up two more 4K Ultra HD films for the collection, both part of their 2 for £30 range. I went for Renny Harlin’s 1993 film Cliffhanger and David Lynch’s 1980 film The Elephant Man, both were distributed by Studio Canal for the UK. I’ve been interested in picking up David Lynch’s works as well as Sylvester Stallone’s filmography for a while now and this is the start.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Volumes 7-12

Around the same time as picking up the volumes for 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, I also bought volumes for The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You a while back before the anime started airing. I watched the first season of the anime in a single day because it was that good, but it does mean the manga would go out of stock here and there, so I wanted to make sure that this series is also kept up-to-speed as much as possible.

Thanks to Scifier, I was able to order Volumes 7-12 altogether (which were alongside 2.5 Dimensional Seduction‘s Volumes 10-12 in the order) and they arrived safe and sound. I have also caught up with the English releases, as Volumes 13 onwards are out this year.

Terracotta February Pre-Order Haul

Similar to the previous month, I pre-ordered a few new releases that were scheduled for February from distributors Arrow Video and Eureka Entertainment.

From Arrow Video we have Kazuo Mori’s 1967 films A Certain Killer (ある殺し屋) & A Killer’s Key (ある殺し屋の鍵) from Japan, both are Yakuza themed starring Raizō Ichikawa. I’m familiar with Kazuo Mori because he directed films for the Shinobi series and Zatochi: The Blind Swordsman series which were put out by Radiance & Criterion respectively.

From Eureka Entertainment we first have Jamie Luk Kin-ming’s 1990 film Doctor Vampire (殭屍醫生) from Hong Kong. This Chinese horror themed film is not part of the Category III line-up despite how it looks but I am familiar with the director’s style thanks to his other film Robotrix. Over in the US, Shout! Factory included this film alongside various CATIII titles that 88 Films have released in a box set but here Eureka were the ones to release this.

Also released by Eureka Entertainment as part of their Masters of Cinema line-up is Kinji Fukasaku’s 1983 film Legend of the Eight Samurai (里見八犬伝) from Japan. This is another one of Fukasaku’s fantasy type films after producing so many Yakuza stories over his career.

Bubblegum Crisis & Bubblegum Crash!

Next we have our second AnimEigo haul from the MediaOCD store. This time focusing on two of their newer releases since I already owned Time of Eve.

First we have Bubblegum Crisis, the classic 1987 OVA series. I missed out on the Kickstarter and while I would have loved to own the set it was pretty expensive and OOP by that point, then the standard edition felt like an insult since it crammed 3 Blu-ray discs onto a single disc with packaging that felt bootleg-like. So when I heard that MediaOCD through AnimEigo were re-releasing the series with new discs, I decided now was the time to pick it up. The 2025 re-release comes with a slipcase and booklet, and they were also offering a T-Shirt featuring the main lead Priss, so I figured I’ll order that as well. It’s a very cool shirt.

Next we have Bubblegum Crash!, the 1991 OVA series and sequel to Bubblegum Crisis. Only three episodes long, but this was another one of the AnimEigo titles that were re-released for modern audiences, though not part of any of the recent Kickstarter campaigns. Two of the three episodes had to use AstroRes but from what I heard they look good. Like recent AnimEigo sets the slipcase is a limited run through MediaOCD’s store.

So this will probably be the final order I’ll make through MediaOCD’s Store for a long time because their newer releases Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, Nobody’s Boy Remi and Romeo’s Blue Skies are all not available for purchase for UK owners (I can still get them through Crunchyroll Store but it means I won’t have the slipcases).

Berserk Golden Age Arc: Memorial Edition & Goblin Slayer II

Crunchyroll UK titles are on sale once again, though the prices aren’t as strong as they were a few months back. For this occasion I decided to focus on only two of the recent releases that have been on my radar in terms of priority.

First pick is Berserk Golden Age Arc: Memorial Edition. This is a TV version to the three part film trilogy (which was very good for the most part) and I was curious to see how this holds up since there were notes of how the animation had been tweaked here and there plus a new episode of content was added (which was in the 1997 series but not in the films). I don’t own all of the films annoyingly but waiting for the right opportunity to see if they’ll get re-released one day. Aniplex produced the TV series hence why Crunchyroll managed to grab the rights instead of Viz Media.

Next we have Goblin Slayer II, the second season to the fantasy slaying series that aired a few years ago. I missed out on watching this season during simulcast but now I finally got it. I did watch the Goblin’s Crown special beforehand so I can jump into this at any time. Interesting about this UK release is that it’s in a slim case than the usual UK one which is weird but if it makes it easier for the shelf-space then I’m fine with it.

Collateral, The Lighthouse & Mulholland Drive

Whilst browsing the Blu-ray forums I noticed there was a sense of panic over Arrow Video’s release for Robert Eggers’ 2019 film The Lighthouse on 4K Ultra HD as it’s been out of stock in various places and speculation that it’s actually out of print due to a new release incoming from a different distributor. I didn’t want to miss out on their 4K release so I ordered one through HMV’s online store.

HMV still runs their 2 for £30 deal on 4K Ultra HD releases so I also added two more films to the list with Michael Mann’s 2004 film Collateral released by Paramount, and David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive released by Studio Canal. As you can tell, the latter doesn’t have a slipcase and I suspect its due to Studio Canal reducing their print run for those moving forward as they used to include them during the previous years.

Erotic Ghost Story Trilogy & Sex and Zen

88 Films have finally managed to release their next Category III film releases after months of delays for these two sets in particular.

First we let’s go over the Erotic Ghost Story Trilogy box set. They have already released Nam Nai Choi’s 1990 film Erotic Ghost Story (聊齋艷譚) a few years ago which I’ve watched and liked for what it was, and in this new release it also includes the Extended Mandarin version (so it’s now on-par with the Shout! Factory release).

The other two films included in this set are Peter Ngor Chi-Kwan’s 1991 film Erotic Ghost Story II (聊齋艷譚續集: 五通神) and Ivan Lai Kai-Ming’s 1992 film Erotic Ghost Story III (聊齋三集之燈草和尚). All three films share similar themes but they’re not connected in terms of the characters. It’s interesting that these erotic films did super well in the Hong Kong film scene though, especially given a Category III rating means its restricted to 18 years or older.

88 Films’ box set is similar to Gaira’s Guts Trilogy with its foil covered box art, Scanavo packaging and included a booklet in one case, poster in another case, and art cards in the other. The distributor has confirmed it is limited to 3000 units this release.

Speaking of which, the one I’m more curious about is Michael Mak’s 1991 film Sex and Zen (玉蒲團之偷情寶鑑) which was one of the first Category III titles to make a breakthrough in the UK if I remember correctly when I watched a featurette on Ebola Syndrome‘s release. Granted the previous releases were cut by the BBFC but here it is fully uncut for the first time. You may also recognise Michael Mak’s name for his work directing The Long Arm of the Law Parts II-IV.

88 Film’s Deluxe Collector’s Edition release for this film is like their recent titles Island of Fire and Legacy of Rage, which has a rigid box (but this time using a Scanavo case instead of an Amaray case) with a booklet and poster.

What’s to Come for the Hauls

March 2025

A lot of Anime Limited titles that I had ordered in the past five weeks all ended up being pushed back into March. Here’s what’s expected to appear:

• Assault! Jack The Ripper (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• Bleach Part 4 (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
• Blue Giant (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
• Castlevania Dominus Collection (Nintendo Switch)
• Center Stage (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• China O’Brien 1 & 2 (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)
• C-SMASH VRS (PlayStation 5)
• The Eel (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• The First Slam Dunk (Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
• Kwaiden (Blu-ray)
• Kuroneko (Blu-ray)
• Macross Zero (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
• Naruto Set 2 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
• New Religion/Neu Mirrors (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• Onibaba (Blu-ray)
• Penny’s Big Breakaway (Nintendo Switch)
• Pinocchio 964 (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• Play It Cool (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
• Tekkon Kinkreet (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
• Yojimbo & Sanjuro (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)

Also Arriving in 2025

A few items are currently expected to arrive around the Spring & Summer timeframe. These can shift around but for now here’s what else is also coming:

• Cosmic Fantasy Collection II (Nintendo Switch)
• Cyber Citizen Shockman Collection (Nintendo Switch)
• Macross II: Lovers Again (Premium Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
• Magical Drop VI (Nintendo Switch)
• Ninja Gaiden II Black (PlayStation 5)
• Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme (PlayStation 5)
• Victory Heat Rally (Nintendo Switch)

Other Tidbits

No unboxings for the month of February, due to lack of new special edition anime releases and the Asian films that I’ve picked up are in a position to showcase just yet (as I want to watch them first before making a post about them).

Work-wise it’s still messy but its been decent in recent weeks. More people leaving but in return there’s also more joining which is still something that I’ll need to get used to. I haven’t spent as much as I could have done for February due to car insurance which I anticipated this time around so it shouldn’t impact the March haul.

Anime Limited

Nothing new to report for the most part. They revealed their next batch of early bird titles which happened to be the same titles they teased previously, but other than that they are bringing the first few episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on the big screen like GKIDS are doing in North America, which does suggest that Crunchyroll probably won’t be managing any of the Gundam properties moving forward for either territories.

Also want to mention that a staff member has confirmed a small number of titles in their catalogue that have been on their backlog for many years is now no longer planned for a home video release. Those titles being Comet Lucifer, Gakuen Basara: Samurai High School!, High School Fleet, and We Rent Tsukumogami. The former two did see a home video release through Sentai Filmworks, whilst Aniplex of America streamed High School Fleet which never saw a home video release by them, and We Rent Tsukumogami is a TMS Entertainment title that has a decent chance of being rescued by a US distributor later down the line.

With that news, it now means that both Cardcaptor Sakura the Movie 2: The Sealed Card and EUREKA: Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution are now the oldest unreleased titles in Anime Limited’s catalogue, which they have confirmed is still being worked on. These were licensed in 2018 & 2017 respectively, which is then followed by Naruto Shippuden and The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbye in 2023, and everything else picked up/known in 2024. Speaking of The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbye, the French branch have recently revealed their collector’s edition set so a UK version is probably on the schedule sooner than later.

Crunchyroll

It’s been a while since I mentioned anything about Crunchyroll’s UK & US branches as of late. They still have dozens of titles to release in their backlog but their home video slate is still kicking, though not as many as you would have wanted each month.

Let’s start off with The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 which was delayed briefly but is set for March in North America and May for the United Kingdom so I’ll be ordering the limited edition at some point. The UK also has Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Incident set for May with its limited edition as well.

The UK’s slate for March currently has BUCCHIGIRI?!, A Certain Magical Index III, A Certain Scientific Railgun S (re-release), Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death, One Piece: Collection 36, A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special Season 1, and Tales of Wedding Rings Season 1.

In April we have The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You Season 1, The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 Part 2, Berserk of Gluttony, A Sign of Affection, Shangri-La Frontier Season 1 Part 1, SPY x FAMILY Season 2 (& its limited edition), To Your Eternity Season 2, and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer.

And for UK’s slate in May (in addition to both Jujutsu Kaisen & Shield Hero mentioned earlier) we have Bocchi the Rock Season 1, A Certain Scientific Railgun T, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers, Classroom of the Elite Season 3, and Shangri-La Frontier Season 1 Part 2.

What’s missing in the UK schedule compared to the US schedule as of late are Gods’ Games We Play, My Hero Academia: You’re Next (mainly for the UK as TOHO handled the US release themselves), One Piece: Collection 37, SPY x FAMILY CODE: White (which Anime Limited have confirmed they have the home video rights from TOHO), and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Seasons 2 & 3 (which will likely be released in the same month later down the line).

Hoping to pick up more of the Crunchyroll titles. I could arguably pre-order these but I haven’t found the right place to order them and have them arrive together thus far.

88 Films

The Asian Cinema scene continues to provide more variety of releases for the UK, and 88 Films is no stranger with their Category III line-up, Shaw Brothers line-up, the Japanarchy line-up, Nikkatsu Roman Porno line-up and more including 4K upgrades. Being serious I’m really looking forward to what’s in store over the coming months.

Starting off with the Category III line-up which started rather slow with only a small number of releases throughout the past few years but soon two more will also join the collection – Devil Fetus (魔胎), directed by Lau Hung-Chuen from 1983, and Her Vengeance (血玫瑰), directed by Lam Nai-Choi from 1988. Both are scheduled for the month of June currently, and they’ll be uncut for the UK release.

A line-up that’s been around for years has been the Shaw Brothers collection which continues to bring more releases in line with their recent sets from the past few years. Next in the slate are Lady of the Law (女捕快), directed by Stanley Siu Wing & Shen Chiang from 1975 and Lady With a Sword (鳳飛飛), directed by Kao Pao-shu from 1971. These are due to be released in June & May respectively.

But it doesn’t stop there because 88 Films will also be re-releasing Come Drink With Me (大醉俠), directed by King Hu from 1966, for the 4K Ultra HD format in June which I believe is the first one from Shaw Brothers to be released in 4K for English territories. Whether they’ll revisit any others I wouldn’t know but I’m curious to see how this one is presented compared to the rest in the line-up.

Also being re-released for the 4K Ultra HD format are three more Jackie Chan films. Originally scheduled for March but shifted over to April we have Miracles: The Canton Godfather (奇蹟), directed by Jackie Chan from 1989, followed by in May we have Crime Story (重案組), directed by Kirk Wong from 1993, and in June we have Armour of God II: Operation Condor (飛鷹計劃), directed by Jackie Chan from 1991. All three were released on Blu-ray about 5-6 years ago and I enjoyed all of them. Crime Story I assumed was part of the Category III collection but was re-rated as IIB so it doesn’t join that line-up which was interesting to learn.

Before mentioning the Japanese titles, 88 also have two more for the 88 Asia collection. In May we have Sunset Warriors (九死一生), the original version for Heroes Shed No Tears directed by John Woo from 1984, which is a surprise inclusion and is not going to have the same content as the previous release which I do own so it’s a case of you want to own both releases (like how Discotek have two versions for Digimon and Lupin the Third Part IV). And in June there’s Witch From Nepal (奇緣), directed by Tony Ching Siu-Tung from 1986, starring Chow Yun-fat which continued the supernatural theme that a fair amount of Hong Kong films have put out during its time.

Now the Japanese titles here are pretty intriguing, because some of these you would think would have been distributed by others! For the Nikkatsu Roman Porno line-up I recall they have around 10 titles in total, so here these are numbers 6 & 7 – Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell (夢野久作の少女地獄), directed by Masaru Konuma from 1977 which was delayed from March to April, and Night of the Felines (牝猫たちの夜), directed by Noboru Tanaka from 1972 arriving in April as well.

And in the Japanarchy line-up we have Gate of Flesh (肉体の門), directed by Shôgorô Nishimura from 1977, Jakoman and Tetsu (ジャコ萬と鉄), directed by Kinji Fukasaku from 1964, Yakuza Wives (極道の妻たち), directed by Hideo Gosha from 1986, Zebraman (ゼブラーマン), directed by Takashi Miike from 2004, and Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (ゼブラーマン ゼブラシティの逆襲), directed by Takashi Miike from 2010. The biggest surprise for me is seeing these two Takashi Miike films here because they were released in North America a while back (by Media Blasters and previously Funimation for the latter) and over here it would have worked under Arrow – but seeing it make its appearance under this label makes me hope they’ll look into more of his catalogue because there’s a lot that have yet to be released (or re-released) onto Blu-ray.

That’s a lot and I haven’t even mentioned the March titles. I suspect Shaw Brothers is pretty much going to be on a break again given their previous batch was around 9-10 titles and here it feels like they have reached the same number of releases again. I think Japanarchy had around 20 titles picked up so there’s not much left, though it’s probably done well enough to keep that going, and I am hoping for even more Category III titles since there’s plenty of big hitters from whether its in the erotic genre, or the extreme violent type or maybe they may even check out the Triad crime themed films instead. Who knows.

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That wraps up the February haul for the time being. We have a lot of packages expected to make their appearance in the month of March so look forward to those.