The Normanic Vault

Otaku Collection Haul for May 2026

Welcome to the Otaku Collection haul for the month of May 2026. This update features 8 anime releases, 9 physical video games, 5 live-action Asian Cinema releases, and 3 live-action World Cinema releases plus 5 other live-action releases.

For this haul, we have a couple of Discotek Media releases, more films for the 4K collection including a few from the EVIL DEAD series, Radiance Films’ May bundle haul, and a batch of classic games for the Nintendo Switch 1 & 2.

Summer Wars

Anime Limited’s second Mamoru Hosoda deluxe edition release arrived earlier than its expected release date but Summer Wars is a really fun film. It’s a shame that the deluxe edition doesn’t live up to its name and I’m probably going to get rid of both this and Wolf Children‘s sets at some point. I may get The Girl Who Leapt Through Time just for completion and then replace them with different versions/editions.

UNIQLO Shueisha 100th Anniversary Batch 2 T-Shirts

Not long ago I picked up a couple shirts that were part of a range from UNIQLO celebrating 100 years of Japanese publisher Shueisha. They have been releasing new shirts in different batches and since the end of April the second batch have been released which included a couple more designs. Two of which I have picked up; one featuring 2000 Weekly Young Jump manga series GANTZ and another featuring 1976 Weekly Shonen Jump manga series KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, the latter of which has artwork on both sides so the one shown in the photo is actually the back cover.

There is a third batch which I believe is scheduled for around June time that includes artwork from Oshi no Ko, Kaguya-sama, One Piece and many more but I’m happy with what I have chosen. These shirts were also a way for me to replace the custom Red Bubble shirts I’ve had over the years.

Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection & Switch 2 Pro Controller

Early in May I’ve watched both the 2021 and 2026 Mortal Kombat films and enjoyed them, the latter of which was a big improvement in terms of respecting the source material. After watching the films I figured it was time to finally acquire the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection that Digital Eclipse worked on with Atari and Warner Bros.

This collection features 1992’s Mortal Kombat, 1993’s Mortal Kombat II, 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3 & Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, 1996’s Mortal Kombat Trilogy, 1997’s Mortal Kombat 4 as well as the two PlayStation spin-offs with 1997’s Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and 2000’s Mortal Kombat: Special Forces and the Game Boy Advance instalments with 2001’s Mortal Kombat Advance, 2002’s Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and 2003’s Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition. Each of these have different versions available where applicable.

I played most of the games in the collection and had a great time checking out the history of the franchise. Considering they’re retro games I felt Nintendo Switch 2 was the best fit to play them system-wise, though I was aware beforehand that Mortal Kombat 4 isn’t on the game cart (because they were rushed to reach the deadline of the physical release window apparently). To go with the collection I also needed the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller so I ordered the regular variant. I did consider the Resident Evil Requiem variant but I preferred the original design.

HMV 4K Ultra HD Haul

During my trips to town I always visited the local HMV to see what sort of films that I can pickup from their 3 for £50 4K Ultra HD deal and in a lot of cases they just don’t have enough variety to make any purchases, especially considering the webstore has more on offer. So I decided to order six films that would have made at least 2 trip hauls in one go which miraculously all arrived in a single day despite being shipped in about 4 different parcels.

First up we have two films from director Sam Raimi with The Evil Dead from 1981 and Evil Dead II from 1987. Both are classic horror films starring Bruce Campbell (various cameos with Sam Raimi films) and in preparation for the upcoming EVIL DEAD BURN I wanted to acquire the films that are currently available on 4K Ultra HD format. Sony Pictures distributed the first film while Studio Canal secured the rights to release the second film on the 4K format.

The first film also stars Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, and Philip A. Gillis, while the second film stars Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Ted Raimi, Denise Bixler and Richard Domeier.

Next up we have two films from director Guy Ritchie with Snatch from 2000 and The Gentlemen from 2019. Both have cult followings in the crime film genre and were on my radar to acquire for quite sometime. Sony Pictures distributed Snatch while Entertainment in Video distributed The Gentlemen for the UK.

Snatch stars Jason Statham (The Beekeeper), Alan Ford (The Long Good Friday), Stephen Graham (Adolescence), Brad Pitt (F1), Dennis Farina (Thief), Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another) and Vinnie Jones (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

The Gentlemen stars Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim), Michelle Dockery (Anna Karenina), Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice), Colin Farrell (The Batman) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians).

And then we have two Arrow Video releases – Alex Proyas’ 1998 film Dark City and Abel Ferrara’s 1990 film King of New York. The former is the standard edition release, therefore it only includes the director’s cut of the film because the theatrical cut was exclusive to the limited edition release. And the latter is one of Arrow Video’s first 4K Ultra HD releases so it took this long for me to get around to picking this one up.

Dark City stars Rufus Sewell (Old), William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk), Kiefer Sutherland (Stand by Me), Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream) and Richard O’Brien (Phineas and Ferb).

King of New York stars Christopher Walken (Dune Part Two), David Caruso (Rambo: First Blood), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Victor Argo (Mean Streets), Wesley Snipes (Blade) and Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects).

Clear River Games Spring Sale Haul

Clear River Games have been building up their reputation in recent years. They would put out various lesser-known games and then out of nowhere have become a solid alternative to various Limited Run Games releases. Not every game gets the lucky UK treatment but its been improving in the past year (especially if you’re after the super rare & expensive physical for The House in Fata Morgana which they’re releasing soon).

They recently held a Spring Sale on their webstore and despite the £10 shipping cost (because they’re based in Sweden), I decided it was worthwhile as each game was on offer for about £17 (with one of them being £9). I added six games because there were a lot that I had wanted to own but didn’t want to pay too much if I got them individually elsewhere.

Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute, NCS’ 1997 run-and-gun made for the SEGA Saturn in Japan, which has been re-released for modern platforms thanks to City Connection.

Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted, Toaplan’s 1993 vertical scrolling bullet hell made for Arcades & SEGA Saturn in Japan, which has been re-released for modern platforms thanks to City Connection and was the first in their line-up of ‘boosted’ releases as this one features extra content and UI for modern users.

Mamorukun ReCurse!, G.rev & Gulti’s 2008 vertical shoot em ‘up made for Arcade, Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 in Japan, which has been re-released for modern platforms thanks to City Connection and I remember this was one of the most expensive imports for the PlayStation 3. This remaster features modern content like widescreen support and twin-stick controls, arranged soundtrack and more.

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition, Capybara Games’ 2009 puzzle RPG made for the Nintendo DS and a spin-off to the Might & Magic franchise published by Ubisoft. The game was remade for modern platforms thanks to Dotemu and I heard it was a solid experience so I decided to grab this one since it was £9.

Under Defeat, G.rev’s 2005 vertical shoot em ‘up made for Arcade & SEGA Dreamcast in Japan which was eventually re-released for Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3, the latter of which I do own for my collection and got the Platinum trophy. This helicopter game has been re-released for modern platforms thanks to City Connection.

Ys Origin, Nihon Falcom’s 2006 action RPG made for PC which was eventually brought to the west on PC by XSEED Games while Dotemu handled the console releases. Limited Run Games and Arc System Works released physicals for the PlayStation 4 version in US & Asia so I own the Asian English release (though annoyingly my UK digital file can’t transfer saves due to being treated as separate games/versions), but the game was eventually brought over to Nintendo Switch which is how Clear River Games managed to get physical rights for Europe literally just as I had purchased the PS4 physical back in 2020.

Clear River Games have tons of other games that are also on my radar; Culdcept BEGINS, Culdcept The First Saturn Tribute, Dementium The Ward, Lolipop Chainsaw RePOP (which includes the patches on the disc), R-Type Delta HD Boosted, Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark, WiZmans World Re;Try and more.

EVIL DEAD RISE

Next we have a North American import that isn’t anime or Asian related which is also a first time addition to the collection. As mentioned earlier I’ve been making preparations to check out EVIL DEAD BURN which is out this July but I had only seen the 2013 reboot from the lot, so I wanted to own the remainder of the franchise. Because Army of Darkness and Evil Dead 2013 are currently not available in 4K, I secured what was left with the first two being picked up from the HMV haul.

EVIL DEAD RISE was a different situation. While Studio Canal have released the film on 4K Ultra HD over here in the UK, Warner Bros allowed Arrow Video to do a new release for North America which included Dolby Vision HDR and tons of new bonus features for the fans of the film and I decided to pursue that instead. I got my copy from All Your Music on eBay and price-wise was pretty decent considering you need to factor in VAT within the price itself so it works out and arrived in just 7 days from making the order.

This film is the second reboot in the franchise but pretty much a standalone story and I figured it was worth watching this latest instalment before jumping right into EVIL DEAD BURN and then EVIL DEAD WRATH when that comes out after. Directed by Lee Cronin, the film stars Lily Sullivan (Lee Cronin’s The Mummy), Alyssa Sutherland (The Devil Wears Prada), Morgan Davies (The Hunter), Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence) and Nell Fisher (Stranger Things 5).

Tomba! 2 & Ys vs Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga

Limited Run Games somehow forgot to ship out one of my orders. I had to contact support because I knew full well that both of these games were already out in the wild and they did respond at a decent pace and get them shipped out the next day.

Tomba! 2 The Evil Swine Returns Special Edition is a 1999 action adventure game released on the original PlayStation by Japanese developer Whoopee Camp. This game ultilises full 3D environment this time around and is the same gameplay style as the predecessor. Limited Run Games ported the game over to modern platforms using the Carbon Engine.

Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is a 2010 fighting game released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan only by Japanese developer Nihon Falcom. No one picked it up for localisation over the years until a new distributor came along called Refint/games to remaster the game for modern platforms, which worked with Limited Run Games to release physical versions. The game also features full English voice acting with the cast from previous Ys and Trails games returning to reprise their roles.

Radiance Films May Pre-Order Bundle

The next batch of releases from distributor Radiance Films has arrived and from their 10% off bundle selection I went with three of their mainline releases and one from their partner label.

From Japan we have Sadao Nakajima’s Aesthetics of a Bullet (鉄砲玉の美学) released in 1973. The director’s works have slowly been released by the distributor including the Japanese Godfather Trilogy and The Rapacious Jailbreaker (and Discotek also released Jeans Blues: No Future in North America). The film stars Tsunehiko Watase (Battles Without Honor and Humanity), Miki Sugimoto (Terrifying Girls High School film series), Jun Midorikawa (Sex & Fury), Mitsuru Mori (Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable) and Setsuko Mochizuki (Turtle Geisha).

From France we have a two-part film release with Jacques Rivette’s Joan the Maid I: The Battles (Jeanne la Pucelle I: Les Batailles) and Joan the Maid II: The Prisons (Jeanne la Pucelle II: Les Prisons) released in 1994. This one had my intrigue because it’s an adaptation of the Joan of Arc story so I am interested to see how the Va Savoir director handled it. The films star Sandrine Bonnaire (Vagabond), André Marcon (Things to Come), Tatiana Moukhine (The Children), Jean-Marie Richier (The Track), Baptiste Roussillon (Nouvelle Vague), and Bernadette Giraud (Gang of Four).

Also from France we have Georges Lautner’s The Professional (Le Professionnel) released in 1981. An action thriller that stars famous French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless) which also had my intrigue. The film also stars Robert Hossein (Rififi), Elisabeth Margoni (The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time), Jean-Louis Richard (Joan the Maid) and Jean Desailly (Le Doulos).

From Hungary we have György Pálfi’s Taxidermia released in 2006. This satirical body horror film was previously released in the UK by Tartan Video which is how I knew about the film prior, so it’s good to see it was rescued and brought over to Blu-ray. Like the other partner label releases, this release also includes Scanavo packaging, a slipcase and a booklet to go with it. The film stars Csaba Czene (The Investigator), Gergely Trócsányi (Infinity Pool), Marc Bischoff (Run Lola Run), and Piroska Molnár (The Tragedy of Man).

Third Window Films Haul

Third Window Films have released two brand new releases in April and May and I ordered both of them together which meant that I had to wait until now to receive them.

Starting off with New Directors from Japan: Takashi Ono, the second in a new sub-series for Third Window focusing on representing new Japanese directors. They previously released a collection exclusively for Kickstarter well over a decade ago so it’s interesting to see they dedicated to bring this back. In this release we have Takashi Ono’s most notable film with 2023’s I Am Baseball (野球どアホウ未亡人) starring Mitsuki Moriyama (Tonda Tackle Daisenpu), and also included are three of his short films with 2019’s Pick it up and Throw it Away! (拾って捨てろ！), 2018’s Fashion Runner (ファッションランナー) and 2016’s Cheating Office Lady: Wet Galaxy (不倫OL 濡れ銀河).

And next we have Toshiaki Toyoda’s Transcending Dimensions (次元を超える) released in 2025, which is one of the director’s latest films in his career starring Yosuke Kubozuka (GO) and Ryuhei Matsuda (Blue Spring). This release also features 2009’s The Blood of Rebirth (蘇りの血) starring Tatsuya Nakamura (Bullet Ballet) and the 2025 theatrical compilation Such Is the Person I Wish to Be (そういうものに、わたしはなりたい。) which compiles three short films starring Kiyohiko Shibukawa (9 Souls).

The latter is also Third Window’s new approach to their home video releases. They revealed a little while ago that they have a different authoring studio to help polish up their titles moving forward (including their upcoming 4K Ultra HD release for Survive Style 5+). This release is also using a Scanavo case which looks neat.

Back Arrow

Next up we have Back Arrow, the original sci-fi mecha series by Studio VOLN (I Want to Eat Your Pancreas) and director Gorō Taniguchi (One Piece Film: RED). Funimation licensed the series a couple years ago and was also one of the many titles that they were able to acquire the rights from Aniplex, which Crunchyroll eventually distributed for home video due to the acquisition. Despite its mixed reception I’ve wanted to own this series for quite some time and it was a bit of a rocky road.

This arrived across two packages because there was an issue with Part 1. Part 1 was originally ordered from the Crunchyroll Store alongside Part 2 as it was on offer during their May sales, but instead they dispatched Part 2 without Part 1. After contacting support which took a few attempts, it was revealed they didn’t have stock and I was able to get a refund for the order. This of course put me in an annoying situation as I didn’t want to own an incomplete series for my shelf. Miraculously eBay had stock available and price-wise it was £10 more than my Crunchyroll order.

The eBay journey for Part 1 took a while and had untracked shipping but it arrived safe and sound. Turns out the reason eBay had tons of stock was because they actually have the Australian version of the series, which is technically the US version but with stickers for the Australian ratings (because Australian releases don’t need age ratings printed on the disc artwork or packaging technically so they’re allowed to import stock from other regions). Either way, as long as it matched the US release it’s what I wanted.

Part 2 arrived only a few days later and that had its slipcase so the haul was worth it. The real reason I didn’t order the series sooner was because I wasn’t sure if the slipcases were still available because people’s hauls with the series sometimes didn’t have them.

The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3

Next we have The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 from Aniplex of America. In the previous monthly haul I acquired most of the anime that was previously released on Blu-ray a few years back and now I have the most recent release, meaning that I’m now caught up on the franchise ahead of the upcoming film that covers the next arc from the light novels.

The original plan was to have a haul that featured a couple of Aniplex of America releases, but the price was getting pretty steep and I wanted to see if any more could get brought over to the UK from MCM London Comic Con which didn’t end up happening.

Discotek Media April Haul

Wrapping up the month of May is another Discotek Media haul which technically would have arrived way sooner, but myself not finalising my Crunchyroll Store haul for weeks is why it took almost a whole month later to get these items brought over.

Similar to the previous Discotek Media haul, this one is a combination of the Deep Dives batch and the recent releases as a way to both secure the newer releases that I wanted the most and grab a couple older ones whilst they were available.

Starting off with the Deep Dives batch we have Kodocha, the 1996-98 Studio Gallop series directed by Akitarō Daichi. This classic shoujo series was previously licensed by Funimation and even received an English dub, however they only covered the first half and never released or dubbed the second half. Discotek’s release marks the latter half’s English home video release debut and due to the materials available, the entire series is presented in a Standard Definition on Blu-ray format. Discotek Media released the series on SD-BD across two season sets in November 2021 and May 2023 respectively.

Next we have the new releases. First up we have Shin Aim for the Ace!, the 1978-79 TMS Entertainment series directed by Minoru Okazaki. Another shoujo sports series and pretty much the last one left to be released from the franchise by Discotek. Unlike the previous series, this one is a remake of the 1973 series so I’m curious to see how it differs from the original. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in January 2026.

And last but not least is the Zone of the Enders Perfect Collection that features two anime titles based on Konami’s cult classic mecha game series that Noriaki Okamura & Hideo Kojima worked on for the PlayStation 2, with the OVA prequel Zone of the Enders: 2167 Idolo, and television series Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i, both animated by Sunrise in 2001 and directed by Tetsuya Watanabe. ADV Films previously licensed and provided an English dub for both of them, so it’s great to see these make a return on the HD format and together in a complete collection. Discotek Media released the collection on Blu-ray in March 2026.

Heroes Two & Red Beard

Wrapping up the latest Asian Cinema pickups for May were two titles that didn’t fit my other orders. I got both of these from the Terracotta store.

From 88 Films we have the latest Shaw Brothers release for their 88 Asia collection with Chang Cheh’s 1973 film Heroes Two (方世玉與洪熙官), starring Chen Kuan-Tai (Crippled Avengers), Alexander Fu Sheng (The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter), Fong Sam (The Chase), Chu Mu (The Delightful Forest) and Wong Ching (Spiritual Kung Fu). This first print edition includes a slipcase, fold-out poster and booklet.

From British Film Institute we have Akira Kurosawa’s 1965 film Red Beard (赤ひげ), starring Toshirō Mifune (Seven Samurai), Yūzō Kayama (Sanjuro), Tsutomu Yamazaki (Kagemusha), Reiko Dan (Sanjuro), and Miyuki Kuwano (Late Autumn). This first print edition includes a booklet.

Unboxing Links

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

What’s to Come for the Hauls

My Birthday is coming up which will mean another small batch of extra items to join the collection. I also have a new order sorted with MediaOCD which will probably slip into July so expect them to appear in that timeframe.

June 2026

  • Arrow Video June Pre-Orders Haul:
    • Audition (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)
    • Bullet in the Head (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)
    • Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits! (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD)
  • Play-Asia Haul:
    • Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute (Nintendo Switch)
    • DRAINUS (Nintendo Switch)
    • Ray’z Arcade Chronology (Nintendo Switch)
    • Shanghai Legend (Nintendo Switch)
  • Other Pickups:
    • The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story (PlayStation 5)
    • The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray)

July 2026

  • AnimEigo & Discotek Media Haul:
    • Alien Nine (Blu-ray)
    • The Dagger of Kamui (Blu-ray)
    • Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior: Legend of Kenshiro (Blu-ray)
    • Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior: Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Death in Love (Blu-ray)
    • Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior: Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Fierce Fighting (Blu-ray)
    • Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior: Legend of Yuria & Legend of Toki (Blu-ray)
    • Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope (Blu-ray)
    • Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers (Blu-ray)
    • Osamu Tezuka’s A Thousand and One Nights (Blu-ray)
  • Radiance Films July Pre-Order Bundle:
    • The Boxer (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
    • The Double (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
    • Histoire(s) du cinéma and other works (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
    • The Hourglass Sanatorium (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
  • Other Pickups:
    • Armour of God (Deluxe Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
    • Magnificent Bodyguards (Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D)
    • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM (Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)

Q3 2026

  • Other Pickups:
    • Capcom Arcade Stadium Vol. 1 (Nintendo Switch)
    • Capcom Arcade Stadium Vol. 2 (Nintendo Switch)
    • Deadlink (PlayStation 5)
    • Earnest Evans Collection (Nintendo Switch)
    • Fighting Force Collection (PlayStation 5)
    • Hi-Fi Rush (PlayStation 5)
    • Macross II: Lovers Again (Premium Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
    • Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition (Nintendo Switch)
    • Tenshi no Uta: The Angel Verse Collection (Nintendo Switch)

Other Tidbits

The company has once again made some changes and long story short, they decided it was best to part ways from being one big group of businesses and return back to how things were before Spring of last year, which I suppose was the right call otherwise my role probably would have been at risk with how things had been. I survived the process again, but now my Marketing team has been reduced from 4 members down to just me. Yep, it’s just like old times. It’s a shame but you can only move forward.

I know it sucks for everyone that has lost their roles. The world right now is bleak, people are struggling to find their first roles or even their next role in their careers. When I got this job in 2021, my goal was to ensure that I worked my ass off to ensure that I was in a position where I was needed the most to avoid situations like this, and I would like to think it’s paid off, but it comes with a cost – losing people around you as a result. I’ve seen people come and go in this company and that’s beyond my control and all I can do is hope they all find their next opportunities sooner than later.

Anime Updates

Anime Limited had a presence at MCM London Comic Con but there were no official announcements because they have a fairly big backlog that they have yet to release onto home video, for example a good number of films they announced for theatrical last year have yet to be seen.

The biggest ones shown off were two anime shows simulcasting this Summer; Kyoto Animation’s Sparks of Tomorrow for Netflix, and Science SARU’s The Ghost in the Shell for Amazon Prime. They also reminded folks that Dandadan Season 2 is coming to Blu-ray but that’s been relatively known beforehand. They also confirmed before the convention that Witch Watch will also be released on home video.

There was a Gundam presence at the convention as well, which was mostly about their merch and props than the anime licenses themselves. They did confirm that Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, the second in the film trilogy, will receive a UK theatrical release (of some sort) later this year which is pretty bad news considering every other territory received theirs by now and spoilers/leaks would be all over the place by the time its out over here.

MVM Entertainment revealed more Sentai Filmworks licenses for the UK; 2.5 Dimensional Seduction Season 1, I Parry Everything Season 1, My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, and Management of a Novice Alchemist. Interestingly they have yet to release Immoral Guild but I suspect its fanservice content probably got in the way with the ratings board. There were a fair amount of delays with their second quarter slate, but Lycoris Recoil was mentioned to be using the Aniplex of America discs (though there’s been no reports on the quality of the video as that tends to be the differing factor between the US & UK/AU sets).

Meanwhile Crunchyroll UK have been fairly silent. Partly due to their US counterpart doing barely anything for new releases this Spring. We do know that Sailor Moon Season 2 got rated by the BBFC so those planned steelbooks are still being worked on. The US branch did announce Clevatess Season 1, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A lonely dragon wants to be loved, and Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 4 for their August slate which should all be brought over here at some point.

Then we have AnimEigo and Discotek Media. Starting off with AnimEigo, they have updated folks on their Vampire Princess Miyu release and long story short, they made no progress getting this sorted because of some unfortunate road blocks and their license is expiring next year, so they made the decision to release the OVA series without any artwork on the packaging (the contents of the disc was signed off a year ago).

Meanwhile more Discotek Media Deep Dives have been added to their storefront. I got a bunch of titles ordered from this latest batch and there’s a good selection including Astro Boy (1980 series), Belladonna of Sadness, Blue Submarine No. 6, Cat’s Eye, City Hunter, Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior, Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers, RAINBOW, Shaman King, Sherlock Hound and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. The downside is that you are paying SRP for these releases but the points system on the MediaOCD Store will make up for it long term.

They’re teasing a couple of new announcements for their next slate presumably as their big Otakon panel won’t be until the start of August as per usual. AnimEigo is going to have some announcements around Anime Expo in July at least.

Asian Cinema Updates

Arrow Video have revealed their next title from the Golden Princess catalogue with John Woo’s Once a Thief. They have skipped A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy and A Better Tomorrow Trilogy in terms of the order, but they’ll eventually get around to releasing those box sets later down the line. They’re also releasing Norifumi Suzuki’s Shogun’s Ninja for the North American side which is likely due to potential cuts had they brought it over to the UK (G.I. Samurai had a similar situation).

Meanwhile Arrow also has a new sub-label called Toy Robot Video which will have a whole bunch of releases. The ones that have my attention are their Japanese titles; Norifumi Suzuki’s Roaring Fire, Kōsei Saitō’s Ninja Wars, and Junya Satō’s Manhunt. Details are still slim at the moment but happy to see more distributors and labels bring the films over here.

88 Films have delayed Armour of God from June into July, which I have on order as they’re also releasing a webstore exclusive slipcase which apparently is selling out. Outside of that, there’s the film Operation Scorpio planned for August while the North American fans will also have a couple Angela Mao films which Eureka Entertainment just announced they’re releasing for the UK.

Speaking of which, Reap The Whirlwind: Four Films with Angela Mao is the name of the four film collection that Eureka Entertainment are releasing for the UK this August. The films included are The Angry River, Stoner, The Tournament and The Himalayan which 88 Films are releasing in North America. Eureka haven’t released any Asian Cinema since March which is interesting but it does give them the chance to focus on their other titles like the DEFA releases and classics that folks have been wanting for a long time.

Over at Radiance Films they have another Japanese film being released in their slate with Kon Ichikawa’s Ten Women in Black. I’ve still not sorted out my order for the two Shohei Imamura films as they’ll no doubt sell out sooner than later. There’s still the second Radical Japan box set that’s in the works which I am very curious to see which director they’re putting the spotlight for.

And Third Window Films have revealed the films from their teased Chusei Sone double pack release; Scars of the Sun & Blow the Night scheduled for July. This release also marks their 100th Blu-ray release for retail so congrats to them for putting out a hundred releases filled with a lot of underrated and overlooked classics from Japanese cinema and a few from Asia & other parts of the world. What’s left for them is their J-Horror double pack from Hirohisa Sasaki with Crazy Lips & Gore from Outer Space, the 4K Ultra HD release of Survive Style 5+, and one film from Mitsuo Yanagimachi that has been teased for a future release.

That concludes this month’s haul. I don’t really have much to say to be honest as I tend to get a lot each month at this rate. The collector’s editions are being toned down in favour for more standard editions unless its a series or film that I really like and don’t take up too much space.

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