Otaku Collection 2014: May Update | Light Novels and Fairy Tails

It's time for the May collection update! Let's see what I have to show you all this time.

I've done my first year of University so I went onto Rightstuf and bought any items that I wanted to get before I end up having to change the details again (it's complicated when you're outside the US). Unfortunately half of these items were delayed due to the Customs office but thankfully they are not as insane as people say (the only thing you have to do is go to the sorting office and pay whatever's on the silver card).

Pickup 1 - Rightstuf packages

Starting off the month were two parcels from Rightstuf that were delayed by Customs. The first parcel contains both seasons of Strike Witches before they entered the Super Amazing Value Edition. The main reason for doing this was the show's popularity (it didn't deserve the SAVE line) and the wonderful artbox that holds both parts. Unlike Season 1's SAVE edition, the standard combo pack has a reversible cover that actually fits the second season's set. The second parcel contains three standard Blu-ray sets that were mainly extras for my collection. The first Appleseed film on Blu-ray (which the UK doesn't have), Black Lagoon's Roberta's Blood Trail and the eighth One Piece movie; both on Blu-ray. I've saved Appleseed: Ex Machina till I had bought the first film so I'm glad to own the film and to my surprise also includes a new English dub that uses the same cast as its sequel. However unlike the more recent Sentai titles where it's possible to play on UK players, this film can't which is actually quite odd. Regarding Roberta's Blood Trail, it's obvious why I have chosen the Funimation version over the UK version (Kaze UK). Not to mention I have the first two seasons from Funimation it makes sense to do the same with this mini series. Finally we have One Piece Movie 8, which recaps the second arc in the series and since I only got up to the end of Alabasta in the manga it's good to have this film to keep me amused. Only both seasons of Strike Witches are compatible with UK Blu-ray players (Season 2 is also compatible with Region 2 DVD players).

Unboxing - Appleseed
Unboxing - Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
Unboxing - One Piece, Movie 8: The Desert Princess and the Pirates, Adventures in Alabasta
Unboxing - Strike Witches: Complete Season 1
Unboxing - Strike Witches: Complete Season 2 (Limited Edition)

Pickup 2 - United Publications package

One day later, after I just received my two packages another one arrived but this time from UP1USA. This package contains Fairy Tail and Haganai NEXT. I decided it was time to make use of Fairy Tail due to the currency exchange and bought the first five parts in the series (Episodes 1-60), sadly Part 1 doesn't have a slipcover since it's been around for a while but the reversible cover is great on the shelf. Haganai NEXT sold out on day one and I was quite lucky to have the Limited Edition set pre-ordered. This series is great and does match with Season 1's artbox. All of the items in this package are compatible with UK players.

Unboxing - Fairy Tail: Parts 1-5
Unboxing - Haganai NEXT: Complete Season 2 (Limited Edition)

Pickup 3 - Sword Art Online Light Novel and Bakemonogatari WeiB Scwartz

Something rather quick, went to my local Space Centre shop and picked up the first light novel volume in the Sword Art Online franchise. The first volume covers the main journey of Aincrad and it's much better in terms of pacing than the anime. The other item I bought from the card shop nearby and it's basically a souvenir for my Monogatari collection (I will use them sometime in the future), they also had Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica, Love Live, Hatsune Miku and much more. 

Pickup 4 - Haruhi Suzumiya Light Novel

I've been getting the hang of Light Novels thanks to SAO and Fullmetal Alchemist's Ties That Bind. After searching for quite a while and with Amazon now only labelling it as Kindle only, I found a copy on UP1UK for a good price. The version I've been after are the Hardback cover editions. These ones contain the original Japanese cover as the front cover and has a nice spine for the shelf.

Pickup 5 - HMV Ghibli offering: Arrietty and From Up on Poppy Hill

Been quite a while since I bought a Ghibli title. The last one I bought was Whisper of the Heart which at first had the wrong number and then later on was given the correct number (thank you Studio Canal & Ghibli UK very much). So I decided to make use of the 2 for £25 offer and bought these two. Arrietty also had the wrong number when it was released and luckily the standard Blu-ray version has the correct one. From Up on Poppy Hill is one of the few titles I've not seen in the Ghibli catalogue so that's primarily the reason why I picked it up.

Unboxing - Arrietty
Unboxing - From Up on Poppy Hill

Pickup 6 - Attack on Titan Part 1 and One Piece: Pirate Warriors PS3 Game

The final pickup of the month are Attack on Titan and One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PS3 game). Attack on Titan is a popular show and knowing the fanbase it will sell out really fast. This Limited edition set is different as Funimation have turned it into a digibook, let's hope they have an artbox in Part 2. And lastly the only game of the month; One Piece: Pirate Warriors. This version dubbed 'Treasure Edition' contains all the DLC for the first game which is mainly skins and themes.

Unboxing - Attack on Titan: Part 1 (Limited Edition)

So that's it folks, that's all I have from May, and it's almost time for my Birthday in June.

A quick reminder:

 - Gurren Lagann: Ultimate Edition is arriving this August due to an artbook design approval.

 - Patema Inverted: Ultimate Edition is arriving this September.

 - The Q3 schedule has been revealed and only 1 title has caught my eye (Ghost in the Shell steelbook) which won't be around for quite a while. The rest are okay.