Anime Collection - As of 28/03/2013

I decided to show off my anime collection after seeing other collections made through YouTube. Now because I'm rather new to anime (well 9 months but that's enough for now) I only have a small amount for the collection at the moment. I have plans to get a lot of anime on Blu-Ray and including Region A at some point in the future. Here's the current collection so far:

Just to point out that I have just recently bought three mangas from Waterstones in Cambridge (UK). These mangas are each really good, especially Evangelion which has a much better understanding in comparison to the TV version. The mangas are listed below:

Death Note (Black Edition) Vol.1 - The first two volumes of the Death Note manga series.

Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 Vol.1 - The first three volumes of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 Vol.1 - The first three volumes of the main Evangelion manga series.

Next to the mangas are the animes:

Death Note (Complete Series) - DVD

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Complete Series) - DVD

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (OVA Collection) - Blu-Ray/DVD Combo

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - Blu-Ray

Summer Wars - Blu-Ray

The first anime series that I own on DVD is Death Note, well worth it and includes all 37 episodes. Although the special is also released on DVD, I don't own that version thus far. I received the complete series of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on DVD plus the OVA Collection on Blu-Ray/DVD combo at Christmas 2012. Great series and very long so there's plenty to watch on the big screen, plus some outtakes on the 10th Disc in the 5th Volume in a similar way that Berserk's dub handled it. The OVA collection is well worth the money as it also includes the 16 episode special 4-Koma Theater which parodies the entire series. A month later I bought the double film combo of Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars on Blu-Ray from Amazon UK. Both well worth the money and very stunning in high definition.

On the next image are the rest of my collection:

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 - Blu-Ray

High School of the Dead (Complete Series) - Blu-Ray

Ninja Scroll - Blu-Ray/DVD combo + Collectors Edition

Porco Rosso - DVD

Pom Poko - DVD

Howl's Moving Castle - DVD

My Neighbour Totoro - DVD

Spirited Away - DVD

Ponyo - DVD

Akira - DVD

Ghost in the Shell - DVD

Studio Ghibli's Presents the Great Collection - DVD:

• Grave of the Fireflies - Dual Audio
• Howl's Moving Castle - Dual Audio
• Kiki's Delivery Service - Dual Audio
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky - Dual Audio
• My Neighbour Totoro - Japanese
• Nausicaa: The Valley of the Wind - Japanese
• Only Yesterday - Japanese
• Pom Poko - Japanese
• Porco Rosso - Dual Audio
• Princess Mononoke - Dual Audio
• Ocean Waves/Sound of the Ocean - Japanese
• Tales from Earthsea - Japanese
• Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro - Dual Audio
• The Cat Returns - Japanese
• Whisper of the Heart - Japanese
• Spirited Away - Japanese
• On Your Mark (Music OVA) - Japanese
• Ponyo - Japanese

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - DVD

Next up on the list are two animes I got in a sale from HMV during their bankruptcy in January. Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is a CGI revised version of the original film and does include the original version, for those who don't know already. The other title I got from the store is the complete series of High School of the Dead, both titles I got on Blu-Ray. The annoying thing about getting H.O.T.D. is that just moments after, Manga UK announces a new version with OVA included (extreme face-palm there). While very annoyed, the OVA isn't on Blu-Ray because it wasn't worth it apparently (I've watched it in 1080p via computer and it's only about 20 minutes long, full of fanservice). They will release it separately for owners of the series but only through Expos. Back on topic, the next title is a special 20th anniversary collectors edition of the classic Ninja Scroll film, with Blu-Ray and DVD included. Loved the film and the HD visuals are great. The collectors edition also includes a 30-page booklet with behind the scenes interview and such.

Next up on the list are six Studio Ghibli films I got for my birthday back in June 2012. These were the ones I picked from the whole collection existing and then got the Great Collection at the same time as an extra present. The Great Collection is actually a bootleg from Malaysia, but each one included in the collection has been licensed after doing some research. There are no extras but there are various language versions with half of them in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. All of them have English subtitles. This collection is Region free because it's not an official release however but I didn't pay for it luckily enough. I watched them in English first then watched the others in Japanese afterwards. My favourites from the collection are Grave of the Fireflies, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, Whisper of the Heart and Spirited Away. The others I also enjoyed including the weak Tales from Earthseas which I understand why it has been hated on.

The last few animes left in my collection are Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on DVD. Akira was the first anime I properly watched (not including the kids animes such as Pokemon etc.), wished I bought the collectors edition though I probably will as they are still around on Amazon UK. Ghost in the Shell was a Manga Force version which I found has a rather unattractive box cover but the film itself is great. Very dated compared to other animes but at least it's also in the 2.0 version on Blu-Ray. For Advent Children, I watched this film about 50 times over the past five years so you can probably tell that I loved this film so much. I watched this in both English and Japanese and the extras are really interesting which gives a good back-story of the original game Final Fantasy VII.

And that's about it for my collection for now. I am planning on purchasing some more manga for my collection over the Easter season with a bunch of anime to be added in June (Birthday). I will also try and get some Region A anime since Manga UK will not bring out Blu-Rays for existing released animes such as Clannad and various others. Baccano! will be the first because it's Region Free for all countries. I'll be planning on getting the complete series of Angel Beats and both seasons of Code Geass on Blu-Ray.

UPDATE: I forgot about one more title because it wasn't added in my collection. The Animatrix was the title that I didn't mention because it was hiding in my Matrix collection box-set which was at great value. I enjoyed the short films very much, it was a starting point to my interest in anime in general.

One more extra to add, notice that I also own an asian film which was a gift from a friend. Battle Royale is the superior version of the Hunger Games series for those who don't know already, it's the same concept but BR is much more violent and way better in terms of the plot by opinion. I have read the Hunger Games book and felt the film was suitable enough, it just wasn't as good as BR for the suspense and fun.

Battle Royale (Asian Film) - DVD