The Normanic Vault

Otaku Collection Haul for March 2025

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of March 2025. This update features 5 anime releases, 9 manga volumes, 2 physical video games, 20 live-action Asian Cinema releases, and 6 live-action European Cinema release.

For this haul, live-action films is front and centre here with a lot of new releases plus a couple older titles that are well-known in the film community. There is of course a few anime, games and manga in the mix.

Bleach Part 4 & Naruto Set 2

The first package of the month arrived on the very first day of March, and its more shonen anime from Anime Limited. Keeping the classic shonen series train rolling we have Bleach Part 4, covering episodes 84-111, and Naruto Set 2, covering episodes 56-110. It’s a lot of episodes but there’s still more to go.

Blue Giant & Tekkonkinkreet

Next came the second Anime Limited package. Again like before, this was to make sure I save on the shipping cost. Here we have two films, one newly released in Japan and another that came out two decades ago.

Starting off with Blue Giant, the 2023 film about Jazz which I do own two of the manga omnibus volumes for but have yet to read them. I’m intrigued more for the film because its done by studio NUT but at the same time how they manage to cover 10 volumes into a theatrical experience. Anime Limited’s collector’s release is also pretty interesting and feels like a classic package of theirs that would have came out a decade ago. The box being larger by width to replicate the vinyl design is annoying but the package in general is solid.

Next we have Tekkonkinkreet, Studio 4°C’s 2006 cult classic film that Anime Limited have rescued from Sony Pictures for a new UK release. Interestingly this is also an Aniplex title and I didn’t realise that even with the previous UK Blu-ray release as its logo is on there. The extras from the previous release were carried over but you are going to deal with the French authoring antics of Com ‘On Screen, but it does offer support for French & German dub/subtitles.

Blackhat & The Chronicles of Riddick

After picking up a few Arrow Video releases for the regular 4K collection, I decided to take a look at any that grab my interest and there were two that did for the same reason – they each had exclusive content for the limited edition versions. Now I tend to ignore these since Arrow are notorious with this model and there’s a lot of demand for those pricey first print editions regardless, but here these two were reasonably affordable and I figured it was worth owning.

First we have Michael Mann’s 2015 film Blackhat starring Chris Hemsworth which I’m not too familiar with but I have known the director’s catalogue of titles like Collateral and Ferrari, both of which I also own but have not yet seen. This Arrow Video release has the theatrical cuts, both the US and International versions, on the 4K Ultra HD disc but what makes this limited edition release interesting is that it also includes a Blu-ray of the director’s cut.

Next we have David Twohy’s 2004 film The Chronicles of Riddick starring Vin Diesel, the second film in the Riddick film series and one that I have seen before but that was just over a decade ago. Arrow Video have released the first film (which was their very first 4K Ultra HD title) but I don’t own it yet. This has three 4K Ultra HD discs in the package – the first two discs will be available for the standard edition which are the theatrical cut and director’s cut while the third disc, which is exclusive to the limited edition, includes an alternate aspect ratio version of the theatrical cut, the cutscenes from the 2004 video game Escape from Butcher Bay, and a television special extra feature.

China O’Brien 1 & 2, Kuroneko, Kwaidan & Onibaba

Eureka Entertainment ran a small discount sale that included a recent release that I hadn’t picked up yet, which I held off due to wanting to wait for a good deal to come.

That was for Robert Clouse’s 1990 films China O’Brien 1 & 2 (罪惡判官 & 罪惡判官2) on 4K Ultra HD. Both films star Cynthia Rothrock and while this is a film solely produced in English for the American audiences, it was supported by Golden Harvest. I heard these films are not particularly great but I was intrigued regardless and considering it was available in 4K I figured it was worth picking up especially on sale.

I also ordered three more older titles from Eureka’s catalog as they have discontinued the booklets moving forward for older releases (newer print runs will omit them basically). Here I went for Masaki Kobayashi’s 1964 film Kwaidan (怪談) and Kaneto Shindō’s 1968 film Kuroneko (藪の中の黒猫) & 1964 film Onibaba (鬼婆). These are three classic Japanese films and ones that I had been meaning to own for years. I’ve already seen one of Masaki Kobayashi’s The Human Condition Trilogy which is excellent but I have yet to check out any of Kaneto Shindō’s works so far.

Breathless, Evil Does Not Exist, Irreversible & Train to Busan

Took a trip to York to check out a few things in HMV and I ended up grabbing a few interesting titles for both the Asian Cinema and European Cinema collection.

Let’s start off with the Asian Cinema titles. First up is a film that I had only discovered recently that had been released on home video already in the UK and that’s Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 2023 film Evil Does Not Exist (悪は存在しない), distributed by Modern Films on Blu-ray. Hamaguchi is the director of the award-winning film Drive My Car and I remember this film as it was distributed in North America by Janus Films so I was expecting that or MUBI but that’s not the case here.

Next we have Yeon Sang-ho’s 2016 film Train to Busan (부산행) on 4K Ultra HD by Studio Canal. This Korean film I have seen before half a decade ago when it was made available on Amazon Prime and I really enjoyed it. Studio Canal’s handling of this release is weird considering its 4K only and uses a slimmer case. The live-action film Peninsula received similar treatment but I haven’t picked that up at the time because it wasn’t part of the 2 for £30 deal in the store.

Shifting over to the European Cinema titles, we have two well-known French classics. First we have Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film Breathless (À bout de souffle) on 4K Ultra HD by Studio Canal. This release celebrates the film’s 60th anniversary and I only discovered this film fairly recently out of morbid curiosity and staff credits even include François Truffaut as the scriptwriter which is neat to see.

And last but not least is Gaspar Noé’s 2002 film Irréversible, distributed by Indicator on Blu-ray. This release is the standard edition version since the limited edition box set sold out years ago. This cult classic thriller is known for its reverse narrative and extreme themes which won’t fit well with many filmgoers. I watched the original theatrical cut and it’s an interesting experience, especially with how it manages the camera work and storytelling. This release also includes the 2020 Straight Cut version which flips the narrative order from beginning to end rather than the original’s end to beginning approach.

Travelling Man Viz Media Manga Haul

After HMV, I took a trip to the Travelling Man store and picked up more volumes for the Viz Media Shonen Jump titles that I have yet to catch up on.

First up we have Black Clover Volumes 15-17. This series has been on the back-burner for a while and now it was time to grab some more volumes for it. There’s still tons to go and they’ll be the Italian prints either way but at least they’re in stock.

Next we have a few newer volumes with Chainsaw Man Volumes 16-17 and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Volume 11. The former is the US print versions whilst the latter is sadly the Italian prints which is annoying as it was only out within the past year.

And then we have Jujutsu Kaisen Volumes 21-23. These are also the Italian print versions however they don’t look as bad as the other series which makes their appearance on the shelf more tolerable.

Radiance Films Catchup Haul

For the past few months I’ve had a fair amount of gift card funds for Amazon thanks to work and I figured it was time to finally use them all up and for that I put it towards a Radiance Films haul consisting of seven films across six releases. One from each region!

Starting off with some European Cinema releases we have Dominik Graf’s 1988 German film The Cat (Die Katze), Bo Widerberg’s 1984 Swedish film The Man from Majorca (Mannen från Mallorca), Damiano Damiani’s 1979 Italian film A Man on His Knees (Un uomo in ginocchio), François Truffaut’s 1969 French film Mississippi Mermaid (La Sirène du Mississipi).

Followed by a few Asian Cinema releases with Patrick Tam’s 1982-89 Cantonese films Nomad (烈火青春) & My Heart is That Eternal Rose (殺手蝴蝶夢), and Eiichi Kudo’s 1981 Japanese film Yokohama BJ Blues (ヨコハマＢＪブルース).

88 Films Shaw Brothers Haul

At the start of March, distributor 88 Films finally re-opened their website due to a warehouse change and that means their latest releases are also available to order on their store. I made one order first but soon after realised they did tweak their points system which would also expire soon. Eventually I settled on a second order to focus on the recent Shaw Brothers releases.

This haul is also split across two orders because one of them, Tony Lou Chun-Ku’s 1983 film The Lady Assassin (清宮啟示錄), was listed on the store as if the first print edition was already gone. For context, they tell you in bolded writing whether the listing has the first print edition items like a slipcase and booklet, plus the artwork would also reflect that. The film was released back in February and either it had a lower print run or it sold better than expected. Therefore I took a gamble with Amazon and it arrived without issue.

The order from 88 Films’ store covers their three titles released for March. Here we have Eddie Ling-Ching Fong’s 1984 film An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty (唐朝豪放女), Clifford Choi’s 1983 film Hong Kong, Hong Kong (男與女), and Lau Kar-Leung’s 1983 film The Lady Is The Boss (掌門人). Out of these three, I would say Hong Kong Hong Kong is the most interesting of the batch because it’s a different genre and setting compared to what Shaw Brothers are known for which is their martial arts historical pieces. Shaw Brothers have delved into different genres before, like spy thrillers as seen with Eureka’s recent release a few months back.

88 Films March Pre-Orders Haul

Next we have even more 88 Films titles.

First up we have the latest Nikkatsu Corporation Roman Porno titles that 88 Films have been releasing over the past few months. Once again this is a two-part order due to an incorrect date listed for Masaru Konuma’s 1977 film Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell (夢野久作の少女地獄) which led me to believe it was to be released in April, and given how the system works if the date was true the whole order would have been delayed to April. Turns out the date was incorrect and it was part of March so I had to figure out a way to get it whilst also not spending too much on shipping, so I ordered the film alongside the three Shaw Brothers titles mentioned earlier.

Also part of the pre-order haul are a bit of everything from 88’s line-up. One of them being Yasuharu Hasebe’s 1976 film Assault! Jack The Ripper (暴行切り裂きジャック). This was the batch that convinced me to pick up these films entirely as they stood out. Yasuharu Hasebe is also a well-known Japanese director so that was another factor too.

Moving onto the other releases. Next we have Stanley Kwan’s 1991 film Center Stage (阮玲玉), which is an interesting pick for the distributor. This release not only uses the 4K restoration master but is also the 155 minute extended version. It doesn’t have the other versions (theatrical & edited) but this one is considered the preferred viewing method by many from what I have read.

And last but not least is the latest release for the Japanarchy line-up with Shozin Fukui’s 1991 film Pinocchio 964 (ピノキオ√964). Now for starters the artwork is really nice on this release and I love it. Secondly this is an interesting choice in terms of format and license pick because over in North America it’s distributed by Media Blasters who are also releasing the film on 4K Ultra HD. Now it’s possible that 88 Films did review the masters and felt it wasn’t worth the upgrade but sometimes that happens.

Terracotta Pre-Orders Haul

They just keep coming. Another batch of pre-orders also arrived and they focused on various distributors outside of 88 Films and Eureka Entertainment.

From Arrow Video we have Yasuzō Masumura’s 1970 film Play it Cool (でんきくらげ) with a striking cover art design and receiving the limited edition treatment with a slipcase and booklet to go with it. This is my first film from the director and I know Arrow have released a lot from his catalogue over the years so I will look into those whenever possible (sadly I would have missed out on the booklets but it ain’t easy trying to get them all though).

From the British Film Institute we have a double dip and upgrade with Akira Kurosawa’s 1961-62 films Yojimbo & Sanjuro (用心棒 & 椿三十郎) on the 4K Ultra HD format. This is the second 4K Kurosawa release by BFI after their Seven Samurai title a few months back but presented in a regular first print package than the sturdy type the former had. On the plus side both films are together considering they feature the same main lead. Unlike Seven Samurai I actually haven’t seen the other samurai films in the Blu-ray collection that I picked up back in 2020 so this will be my first time watching them.

From Radiance Films we have another highly anticipated release with Shohei Imamura’s 1997 film The Eel (うなぎ) starring Kōji Yakusho (Cure). Shohei Imamura is also another iconic and well-known Japanese director that I’ve not had the chance to watch any of his films over the years and if I manage to track down that Arrow box set I definitely would. The director’s catalogue works very well with Radiance’s line-up also.

And from Third Window Films comes an interesting J-Horror title that was released a few years ago and also includes a short film as well – Keishi Kondo’s 2022 film New Religion/Neu Mirrors (ニューレリジョン/ノイミラーズ). New Religion is the main feature here while Neu Mirrors is a companion that helps support the former with the story and context. Hadn’t heard of these films prior but they were shown in festivals and Third Window likes to support modern Japanese films whenever possible so this is a cool pick for home video.

Castlevania Dominus Collection & Penny’s Big Breakaway

The latest Limited Run Games releases arrived and roughly on track from its original release window! Not bad considering a lot of people had to wait a long time for their other games from the distributor.

Castlevania Dominus Collection continues the compilation releases for the franchise from Konami, this time focusing on the Nintendo DS instalments with 2005’s Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, 2006’s Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and 2008’s Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Also included is Haunted Castle Revisited, a remake developed by M2 based on the original 1987 Japanese arcade title. With this collection, I suspect the next one is likely to be the 3D action titles from the Nintendo 64 & PlayStation 2 era.

Next we have Penny’s Big Breakaway, a 2024 action platformer by developer Evening Star (comprised of members who worked on Sonic Mania). While the game is available on other platforms I decided to go for the Nintendo Switch version which did receive an update to improve its performance (and that update is on the cart itself).

Macross Zero

And the last item of the month is Macross Zero, the 2002 OVA series by Satelight and the second Macross to be released in the west and by Anime Limited. This is a pretty neat package and it looks like they have just replicated what was available from the Japanese release, even including two audio commentary tracks. Despite being advertised as such my copy didn’t come with a poster but I’m not too bothered by it.

Unboxing Links

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

What’s to Come for the Hauls

April 2025

More items have been ordered over the past month and there were also some delays, so this month is going to be a big one:

  • Aim for the Ace! (Blu-ray)
  • Aim for the Ace! Another Match (Blu-ray)
  • Aim for the Ace! the Movie (Blu-ray)
  • Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
  • C-Smash VRS New Dimension (PlayStation 5)
  • The First Slam Dunk (Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
  • Gleylancer & Gynoug Combo Pack (Nintendo Switch)
  • Kekkaishi (Blu-ray)
  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Blu-ray)
  • Ninja Five-O (Nintendo Switch)
  • Ninja Gaiden II Black (PlayStation 5)
  • Outbreak Company (Blu-ray)
  • RahXephon (Blu-ray)
  • RAINBOW (Blu-ray)
  • Rose and Camellia Collection (Nintendo Switch)
  • Rozen Maiden Collection (Blu-ray)
  • A Samurai in Time (Blu-ray)
  • Sgt. Frog Season 1 (SD-BD)
  • Sgt. Frog Season 2 (SD-BD)
  • Sgt. Frog Seasons 3 & 4 (SD-BD)
  • Sgt. Frog Seasons 5, 6 & 7 (SD-BD)
  • A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Thermae Romae (Blu-ray)
  • The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & DVD)
  • V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme (PlayStation 5)

Also Arriving in 2025

The following will arrive a few months later but should be here around the early 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)
  • Victory Heat Rally (Nintendo Switch)

Other Tidbits

The clocks have changed in the UK which means the days will be longer and I will be able to sort out unboxings and haul posts during the afternoon after work which is handy.

Work-wise the overtime is slowly easing and April has no weekend event work which is handy, but there’s still a lot of stuff to sort out especially when you have a few days lost due to bank holidays.

Anime Limited

It seems Anime Limited have a lot of titles from Crunchyroll considering they just keep coming, and many of them are just receiving standard Blu-rays with no collector’s sets which is a plus considering the quality of those releases has deteriorated in recent years.

To recap they have revealed ABCiee Working Diary, A Destructive God Sits Next to Me, I★CHU, Vlad Love and Woodpecker Detective’s Office plus the Crunchyroll Originals series Onyx Equinox and the Netflix Original series Hero Mask. Last year they also revealed I’m Standing on a Million Lives which has also been scheduled for release in May which is interesting because Sentai Filmworks (who have the license on behalf of Crunchyroll in the US) have yet to release theirs. The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes was also revealed for April after being licensed a while back, but this time it looks like they have gone for a shared author with France than re-use Sentai’s disc.

Not revealed officially by the distributor but there’s also plans to release Sing “Yesterday” for Me, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 2 and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 3 in the coming months. Considering GKIDS just revealed their home video plans for DANDADAN Season 1, I expect Anime Limited will reveal their plans soon alongside Undead Unluck.

Nintendo Switch

With the Nintendo Switch 2 direct coming pretty soon, I figured now was a good time to go over my plans. Yes I will be purchasing the new console as soon as possible, but there are a lot of Switch 1 games that I still want to pick up. Once Nintendo starts to properly focus on Switch 2, the Switch 1 games will likely become harder to find even with backwards compatibility being a thing.

There’s roughly 20-30 first party games left on my list to pickup. The ones that I would like to own sooner than later are Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Mario Golf: Super Rush, Pikmin 1+2 Collection, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Super Mario RPG, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

For third-party it’s a bit all over the place since they tend to stay in print longer than I had expected. So far on my list I have Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Goblin Slayer -ANOTHER ADVENTURER- NIGHTMARE FEAST, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Overlord: Escape from Nazarick, Saviors Of Sapphire Wings & Stranger Of Sword City, and Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. Lunar Remastered Collection and Suikoiden I & II HD Remaster are both in limbo as I have yet to decide if I want to own them on PlayStation or Switch.

With Switch 2 I am hoping it will have more focus on improving its performance, because I’ve been passing on the Switch versions for many titles due to resolution and framerate. While I don’t mind losing out on 4K resolution, 60fps is important and it makes the experience better when that’s included. Its why I opted for the Switch versions over PlayStation with the Nightdive Studio remasters.

And that concludes my March 2025 otaku collection haul update. A big batch for the live-action films but next month is expected to be more anime focused so stay tuned.

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