The Normanic Vault

Otaku Collection Haul for April 2025

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of April 2025. This update features 16 anime releases, 9 physical video games, and 4 live-action Asian Cinema releases, plus 6 live-action film releases.

For this haul, we have another Discotek Media haul and a few more Sentai titles. While a few packages didn’t make it in time for the month we do have a couple pre-orders arrive including a few imports from Play-Asia and Video Games Plus.

C-Smash VRS New Dimension

First item of the month is a package from Limited Run Games. This is C-Smash VRS New Dimension, a reimagined version of SEGA’s 2001 sports game Cosmic Smash, for PlayStation 5. I went for this because I was intrigued that a SEGA IP that isn’t as commonly known as others is back with a new look, and it also supports PlayStation VR2. Limited Run have also included a slipcase which was pretty basic and dinged during shipment so it’s not something I’ll be using for my collection.

Ninja Gaiden II Black & Venus Vacation Prism -Dead or Alive Xtreme-

Next we have two separate packages from Play-Asia. Koei Tecmo once again providing physical versions that are only available in Japan and Asia so here I opted for the Asian English releases which interestingly were made in Taiwan.

Starting off with the first one to arrive and that is Ninja Gaiden II Black. This is an action hack n slash game known for its pretty high difficulty and it’s a mish-mash between a remaster and a remake, as it’s an updated version of the original & Sigma versions whilst also redoing the graphics and mechanics. I’ve not played any of the previous games in this franchise but I heard this one is a good entry point.

Then the second one arrived almost a week later and that is Venus Vacation Prism -Dead or Alive Xtreme-, a new instalment in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series but this time it’s a dating simulation rather than managing with mini-games and gambling. Considering how fast the English copies for the previous instalment went out of print I decided to pre-order this one. Also worth noting most of these characters originated from the Venus Vacation gacha game which is Japan only.

Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition & Pikmin 1+2

With the recent Nintendo Direct focused on the Nintendo Switch 2, I decided to revisit the idea of picking up more of Nintendo’s first-party catalogue, though the idea of the Switch 2 Editions does put things up in the air to avoid double-dipping.

So the first thing I did post-direct is pick up some more Nintendo Switch 1 games from The Game Collection. Now part of this was to increase the number of points (which at the time was also on a 2x bonus) to put towards the console but unfortunately the pre-orders were just as bad as the PS5 was years back, but fortunately I have my order sorted via Amazon thanks to their 22 hours limit offer method done via invites.

Going back to the haul, I have been interested in picking up these two games for a while and they were available for a decent price. First up we have Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition, a remaster of the Nintendo 3DS action musou game by Koei Tecmo based on Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda franchise.

Also picked up was Pikmin 1+2, a collection of remasters from their Nintendo Gamecube instalments. Both games were released back in 2001 & 2004 and have been considered as cult classics for a while, and eventually Nintendo brought the IP back for Nintendo Wii U followed by Switch.

Limited Run Catch-up Haul

Next we once again have another Limited Run Games haul, however this time it’s from Canadian retailer VideoGamesPlus. At the end of March, the retailer unveiled another batch of stock and surprisingly they had a few that I was interested in and considering how fast these can sell out (with no way of knowing if they will get restocked) I immediately ordered the three games together.

The one that has been on my radar and thankfully being patient made up for it was the Gleylancer & Gynoug Combo Pack which I’m pretty certain has been available for a long while now and only now the retailer managed to get some stock. This is a collection of two classic shooters from the SEGA Mega Drive; 1992’s Gleylancer and 1991’s Gynoug, both developed by NCS Corporation.

Next we have an interesting addition to the collection called Ninja Five-O. This is a re-release of what is considered to be one of the most expensive Game Boy Advance games out there and it’s also using the Carbon Engine. This release includes both the North American version Ninja Five-O and the European version Ninja Cop, both released in 2003 and despite being developed by Hudson Soft the game was never released in Japan. It’s also published by Konami.

And then we have what I like to call the ‘slapping’ game which is apparently a collection itself. This is Rose & Camellia Collection, developed by Nigoro with WayForward helping out with this collection release. The games began as a flash title back in the 2000s by Nigoro with some collaborations for La Mulana and The House in Fata Morgana, before WayForward stepped in with voice-over, an anime-inspired cutscene and a release on the Switch.

Second Sight 4K Ultra HD Haul

Second Sight Films have been releasing a lot of intriguing titles every now and then, but their 4K range has always been pretty expensive. Then one day HMV decided to start their DEAL50 sale which is essentially 50% off specific releases and these included a fair number of their releases which I took advantage of, because every time I discover they’re on sale they tend to sell out pretty fast. Five of the six arrived altogether, and the other arrived a day later.

David Cronenberg’s 2022 sci-fi body horror film Crimes of the Future is my first Cronenberg title and one that I have not yet watched, but am familiar with his body horror style. Adam Wingard’s 2014 thriller film The Guest I watched for the first time and really enjoyed its premise and story, especially going in without knowing much about it other than praise from when it was first released. Same goes for David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 horror film It Follows which was a very interesting horror film with a solid ending and unique premise.

Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ 2024 supernatural horror film Late Night with the Devil was the first film I watched from this haul and I really enjoyed the concept and presentation, though I am disappointed they used generative AI for some still shots. Martin Scorsese’s 1973 crime drama film Mean Streets is another gangster flick that I have yet to watch but has a striking cover. And speaking of Cronenberg, Brandon Cronenberg’s 2020 sci-fi psychological horror film Possessor was one of my most anticipated films to watch for years and it lived up to the long wait.

They didn’t have Drive or The Witch in the sale but I was very happy with the selection that I went with.

Discotek Media Haul No. 20

It is officially the 20th Discotek Media haul that I’ve done ever since I first started picking up their releases in April 2022. A lot has happened since but the collection has grown pretty well with a lot of quality titles. Including these new arrivals I have a total of 216 anime releases from the distributor, which is not as high as Anime Limited but takes up half the size on the shelf funny enough. Because Discotek don’t produce collector’s editions, they mainly use standard cases with slips, so the collection took up to 4 rows whereas Anime Limited’s collector’s editions alone took up a whole 10 rows on the shelf. Goes to show that big rigid box sets isn’t always the way to go for collecting anime heh.

Anyway so the goal for this haul was to pickup a specific long-running anime series to avoid losing out on any of the sets because once one goes, the rest will as well and it’s no easy feat (as seen with City Hunter). The rest were added bonuses and were dependant on the price and stock availability but they were on my priority list.

Aim for the Ace!

A 1973 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Osamu Dezaki, based on a manga written by Sumika Yamamoto. This is a tennis series and I think is the first tennis sport to be with my collection. A relatively popular series given this was directed by the well loved Dezaki himself. This is the first of many anime adaptations for the manga. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in February 2023.

Aim for the Ace! Another Match

A 1988 original video anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Noboru Furuse, also based on a manga written by Sumika Yamamoto. This is the sequel to the TV series but the third series in the franchise, as Discotek have skipped Shin Ace o Nerae! which is apparently a remake. Osamu Dezaki still worked on this series and this doesn’t have a HD master in Japan, instead Discotek have upscaled it for this release. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in November 2023.

Aim for the Ace! the Movie

A 1979 theatrical anime film by studio TMS Entertainment and director Osamu Dezaki, also based on a manga written by Sumika Yamamoto. This is a new adaptation of the manga, like an alternative retelling of the story but with updated animation and Dezaki himself returning to direct. This was released just after the remake series had finished airing in Japan. Discotek Media released the film on Blu-ray in May 2023.

Kekkaishi

A 2006 television anime series by studio Sunrise and director Kenji Kodama, based on a manga written by Yellow Tanabe. This supernatural series is one that I was familiar with because when I first started getting into anime I was making notes of what titles each distributor currently had and for this series, it was originally with Viz Media who also released the manga in English. As expected licenses expire but Discotek Media rescued the series with the entire 52 episode run altogether in HD with the Viz English dub. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in June 2022.

Rainbow

A 2010 television anime series by studio Madhouse and director Hiroshi Kōjina, based on the manga written by George Abe. This one is pretty interesting due to its licensing situation. The series was streaming on Funimation but never had a home video release and would have one of the perfect examples of a title warranting an English dub, but it never happened. Thankfully Discotek Media were able to rescue the series and release it on Blu-ray. The anime also has Coldrain for their opening theme song which is cool. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in February 2024.

Thermae Romae

A 2012 television anime series by studio DLE and director Azuma Tani, based on the manga written by Mari Yamazaki. This is a short series about a roman guy who ends up in a bathhouse in modern-day Japan. A bizarre concept but has done well enough to have a live-action adaptation and a new Netflix anime series. Discotek Media released the three-episode series plus the two bonus episodes on Blu-ray in December 2020 with a new English dub also.

Sgt. Frog – ALL 7 SEASONS

A 2004 television anime series by studio Sunrise and directors Junichi Sato, Yusuke Yamamoto & Nobuhiro Kondo, based on the manga written by Mine Yoshizaki. This is a comedy series before Gintama came along for Sunrise and it’s fun to see the entire series now released in the west. Funimation dubbed the first 78 episodes (Season 1 & half of Season 2) before abandoning the show, but Discotek has included that dub alongside all 358 episodes in Japanese with English subtitles. They’re all in SD but that’s fine for a series like this. Discotek Media released Seasons 1 & 2 on their own in October 2021 & June 2022, followed by a Seasons 3-4 collection in September 2023 and then Seasons 5-7 collection in November 2024.

Sentai Filmworks Lucky Sale Haul

Around the same time that I had ordered parts of the Discotek haul, Sentai started a new sale known as the Lucky Sale which lowered the prices for a whole bunch of titles but not to the same level as their Black Friday offerings. That said, I did look into a few titles that were on my radar.

Starting off with the re-release for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky OVA series, which is a condensed adaptation for the first game in the Trails franchise by Falcom. Not exactly well received but nice to own especially as the previous Blu-ray was one of their earlier releases. The anime aired in October 2011 and was adapted by studio Kinema Citrus (Made in Abyss).

Another game that I am happy has been re-released is Outbreak Company, one of the first modern isekai adaptations from the 2010s before the genre exploded even further. The series wasn’t available for streaming in the UK and the UK release itself was DVD only so I waited for the right opportunity. The anime aired in October 2013 and was adapted by studio feel. (Spy Classroom).

Next we have the classic sci-fi series RahXephon, which I’ve heard about ever since I watched Evangelion back when I first got into anime. Supposedly an Evangelion-clone of sorts but still got the following over the years. Sentai Filmworks have had the license for a long while with various re-releases and this is one of their most recent versions. The set also includes the theatrical film RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio and the OVA RahXephon Interlude: Her and Herself – Thatness and Thereness. The anime aired in January 2002 and animated by studio Bones (Eureka Seven).

And we have a newer release which is also technically a re-release in a sense. The Rozen Maiden Collection contains four shows; Rozen Maiden, Rozen Maiden: Träumend, Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre and Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen. The latter previously released on Blu-ray but the other three were DVD only, so this marks their Blu-ray debut for North America. It’s an fairly old series that has gained a following over time while the newer series is not as well-received. Each series aired in October 2004, October 2005, December 2006 & July 2013 respectively, and adapted by studio Nomad (Yozakura Quartet) while studio Deen (Konosuba) worked on Zurückspulen.

88 Films April Pre-Order Haul

Next we have an 88 Films package that came with a few April pre-orders.

One of them was Jackie Chan’s 1989 film Miracles: The Canton Godfather (奇蹟), now available on the 4K Ultra HD format. This is a double dip as 88 Films previously released the film on Blu-ray six years ago, but this is a nice package. Apparently it’s almost sold out so there won’t be many left before they shift to a standard edition release. This release includes both the Original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut and the International Export Cut, but you can watch both cuts in English if you prefer that method.

Next we have a new addition to the Nikkatsu Roman Porno collection. Noboru Tanaka’s 1972 film Night of the Felines (牝猫たちの夜) is another Pink film and also the director’s second work in his filmography. Like the previous titles in the collection, this is presented with a Scanavo case, a removable OBI strip (like Radiance’s releases) and a booklet which includes an essay about the film and its director.

For the Japanarchy collection, there’s Kinji Fukasaku’s 1964 film Jakoman and Tetsu (ジャコ萬と鉄), which is one of his earlier films in the filmography, releasing the same year as his Yakuza film Wolves, Pigs and Men. And Hideo Gosha’s 1986 film Yakuza Wives (極道の妻たち), which was made during the latter part of his film career. Both are presented with a Scanavo case, a removable OBI strip, reversible covers featuring the original Japanese poster artwork, and a booklet which includes an essay about the film and its director.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 & The First Slam Dunk

Arriving pretty late into the month were two newer releases from Anime Limited.

Starting off with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2: The Separation, the second cour of four in the final season of Bleach. This set was why my order was held up because Anime Limited dun goofed on the authoring by having one of the episodes use the wrong subs which thankfully was included inside the packaging of this set (in other words, they redid the stock).

Next we have The First Slam Dunk, Toei Animation & Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue’s new film released only a few years ago, now finally available in the UK on home video and more importantly on 4K Ultra HD. This release does use GKIDS discs but I have heard they were pretty solid so that’s neat. My only feedback to Anime Limited is that they need to ditch the idea of having the discs placed on separate cases when they could have easily used the 4K case for both discs, because this just feels like unnecessary padding for no reason and therefore a complete waste of space, resources and money.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Nearing the end of the month and after a fair gap of not receiving any packages, a brand new French RPG was released and it’s had my attention since it was first revealed. This is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and it takes inspiration from the turn-based RPG genre like Final Fantasy and Persona, and it’s a very interesting game so far. The combat is fast and strategic and it handles progression from fight to fight differently to others because AP resets at the start of each fight so you don’t have to worry about running out when you make progress in the story. It’s a fairly long game but should be finished in May.

So far really strong first impressions and it was only £40 to pick up day one because the developers wanted to make it affordable for everyone to hop on.

Unboxing Links

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

What’s to Come for the Hauls

May 2025

Two orders dispatched but did not make it in time for this month’s haul so they’ll be arriving very soon.

  • The Bells of Death (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Bleach Part 5 (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Catherine Full Body (Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy IX (Nintendo Switch)
  • God Wars: The Complete Legend (Nintendo Switch)
  • I’m Standing on a Million-Lives (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)
  • The Miracle Fighters (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Nintendo Switch)
  • A Samurai in Time (Blu-ray)
  • Shaolin Boxers (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • Throne of Blood (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)
  • Tokyo Pop (Blu-ray)
  • The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & DVD)
  • Two Taoist Tales: Taoism Drunkard & Young Taoism Fighter (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
  • V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal (Limited Edition Blu-ray)

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)
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Console
  • Victory Heat Rally (Nintendo Switch)

Other Tidbits

The overtime at work is slowly easing as mentioned before, but there’s still lots of work to sort out. As we are getting more days that are bright and sunny, the unboxings and haul posts will be available on a daily basis, though there hasn’t been much to unbox due to delays as of late.

Anime Limited

They ran their Easter Sale recently but it didn’t have anything of particular interest for me as the prices were still steep, but still I am committed to being more selective for my collector’s edition collection because their releases in recent months have been mostly art cards and a poster for double the price of the standard edition which is baffling in all honestly.

They did reveal some new updates in their latest blog posts. Ex-Arm to start off with which was a surprise April Fools joke that ended up happening. It’s a Crunchyroll Original series that was infamous for its terrible animation which is a shame given the original artwork for the source material. Then we have home video release date confirmations for Naruto Set 3 (plus Volumes 5-6) and Project A-Ko which are arriving in May. The latter, despite being restored in 4K by Discotek Media and released years after their US release, is only presented here with a collector’s edition containing a small booklet and on Blu-ray. Considering there’s no word on the second, third & fourth instalments I don’t see the point in owning their release at this point in time.

Another Crunchyroll title also appeared which was Iwakakeru! -Sport Climbing Girls-, a series that is actually on my radar and there seems to be more effort placed on the collector’s edition here so that’s nice. Sing “Yesterday” for Me was also officially confirmed as well for the UK. These are due for May and June respectively.

Discotek Media & AnimEigo

Discotek have started to dispatch their May 2025 line-up of releases but I have yet to order a few of the ones that are included in that slate. With the latest haul, the total number of releases that are currently on my priority list is now down to 31 which includes Angel Heart, Flame of Recca and Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend from the latest slate. With the exception of a few Lupin shows, the oldest priority titles are all from 2023 which are Cromartie High School, three Lupin III TV specials, Mazinkaiser vs the Great General of Darkness, Tetsujin 28 FX, Urusei Yatsura Collections 1-3 and Virtua Fighter.

There are also an additional 30+ releases that aren’t a priority but also interested in adding to the collection, but no point repeating what’s been said on that.

AnimEigo are also slowly releasing their new titles and I have yet to order their new releases of Nasu: Summer in Andalusia and Nobody’s Boy Remi because the MediaOCD Store geolocked non-US viewers so I’m not even able to ship them towards a forwarding service which shows how annoying it is. Either way, the only difference is not being able to get their o-card slipcases which I can live without. I don’t know why but their take on the artwork doesn’t feel as appealing as the usual ones (i.e. info on back cover). I can still get these through the Crunchyroll Store but it’s not a priority. Looking at the Full Moon will be accessible for non-US viewers at least.

Nintendo Switch & Switch 2

So Nintendo finally revealed their next console in more detail and I managed to secure a pre-order for the Mario Kart World bundle. But it’s not all good news in a sense, as we are starting to learn more about how physical releases will be handled moving forward.

The positive part is that the Switch 2 Editions will have both the original Switch and Switch 2 updates altogether on the same cart, which is good to know since I don’t own most of the announced titles so far (the only one being The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which I can sell and swap with the Switch 2 release whenever). I’m more concerned for the third-party publishers because of the introduction of Game Key Cards. The concept on paper is perfectly fine by all means, but the problem is that nearly every third-party publisher is opting for this version over a complete on cart experience. Supposedly its due to cartridge size issues but that’s only speculation at this point. I’m disappointed as I was hoping to put more focus on the new Switch for physical releases, but there’s no point going for those physical games since they not proper physical releases.

I could always change my mind in the future but its a waste of shelf space if all we’re getting is a digital key of sorts. If I want to own the games on Switch 2 I may as well go for the digital versions instead. But if they do get released on PlayStation 5 physically then I may just go for that instead. There’s also the increased prices of the first-party games which is why I opted for the bundle because it was half the cost of the physical version. This experience reminded me a lot of how the launch of the Nintendo 3DS was handled – which was an pricey device until they brought it down not long after. I’m not saying this is the exact same scenario, but if people vote with their wallet, Nintendo could change their strategy and fix the physical releases over time. But it does look like they’ll take it the wrong way and just stick to this for the long run. There is a misconception about physical on modern consoles – the truth is a vast majority of games are complete on-disc (the exceptions being stuff like Call of Duty and Indiana Jones, but if you’re a fan of Japanese games they’re all pretty much on-disc), and for PlayStation it’s like installing the content onto the console (though Sony does have a weird rule in place where expansions/DLC can’t be on the disc for some reason).

Anyway, it sucks that the future of physical for the Switch 2 in terms of third-party is up in the air for the time being (whether this is a first year only issue or long-term is too early to call) but there’s nothing I can do about it so I will just vote with my wallet when it comes to it. I’m still keeping my pre-order don’t worry, but I will prioritise PlayStation 5 or the original Switch on a case-by-case basis if the game in particular is a Game Key Card release.

And that concludes my April 2025 otaku collection haul update. A smaller batch compared to the past number of months but May should be much larger.

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