As promised, I have combined both July and August together for this collection update. These past few months have not been that much but in terms of how much I had to pay for each of them makes up for it. In addition there are some new additional games added to the collection.
Word of warning, there's a lot of writing in this blog post.
The first title I picked up started out after watching Youtuber HellDestroyer going through his Japanese Import Collection Update (the one with Sengoku Basara HD Collection and a few others). He mentioned on his video that he used Nippon Yasan for his imports. I never knew what the site was so after having a look on what it provided I was surprised. Not only were the prices fairly cheap but they were 100% the Japanese version so there were no worries about ending up with the Region 3 (Asian) edition.
The game I picked was E.X. Troopers, an action shooter set in the same universe as Lost Planet (in fact it's actually a spin-off). The game plays differently to the main series, the main gameplay was basically the same but it has a hub where the main character can walk around, talk to people and start missions (apparently some people I know compared the game to Freedom Wars). I only played the game for a few hours due to the heatwave killing the room and other events going on, but overall I really enjoyed the game and its manga style cutscenes. I should note that the game is quite repetitive so don't marathon the game for hours and hours.
The first anime of July arrived earlier than I expected. I pre-ordered the set a month prior and I was aware that NIS America had to delay pre-orders after April due to the high demand (and create a second batch). Since I get my pre-orders from United Publications most of the time I was expecting them to add my order to the second batch. It turned out that my order ended up being part of the first batch and I was able to receive the set a week after it got released (UP1 is known for these type of delays but it depends on the item).
I haven't had the opportunity to watch the series entirely due to a personal event that occurred on the same day and I wanted to have the series kept away from that bad event. I did however watch the first episode in Japanese (even though the show includes an English dub) and I like the opening song.
Next up on the collection pickup is a show that I actually patiently waited 15 months for. And it's a good thing I pre-ordered the set as well since it sold out instantly.
I watched the entire series with Funimation's English dub (despite being very disappointed with their Date A Live dub) and I was surprised to hear how good it was. Now I can't properly judge the dub since I haven't watched the series in Japanese but I felt it was one of the better English dubs Funimation has done. Despite the series sold quite well in Japan there doesn't seem to be any sign of a second season but at least Yen Press have licensed the light novels.
This was actually a random pickup (and a very good one too). Last year when I got the main series, I was convinced to get the recap movies but at the time the Limited Edition set suddenly 'sold out' and so I decided to go after the domestic version. The domestic version was announced and it didn't look as great as the original set (US version contains both movies in both formats with a short booklet and paperboard box (similar to Madoka Magica Limited Editions), while the Japanese version contains a chipboard box with both movies on Blu-ray in addition to the OST & bigger booklet inside a digipack). I found out not long after that the original Limited Edition set was actually still in print but was only available to purchase brand new on Japanese online retailers like Amazon Japan and CD Japan. I ordered the set from CD Japan and was lucky enough to receive the set. CD Japan was the second site I tested (Nippon was first) to see how good the service was, overall it was great.
The recap movies were surprisingly well done. There were only some minor flaws with the both of them and overall I really enjoyed watching them again. The animation was re-done, the music is strong as ever and the pacing was much better than say.. Death & Rebirth. There was even a teaser for Rebellion at the end of Eternal.
After returning from my holiday break I instantly ordered the third Madoka Magica movie. After hearing about how fast Amazon was in terms of imports they weren't kidding. Rebellion took 3 days to arrive from Japan to my home in the UK. That's unbelievably fast considering getting anime from America takes a week or two which is ironic because Japan is much further away than America is. Amazon Japan was the third site I wanted to test with and thanks to their special Import Customs payment I can get the item without having to worry about custom charges (in a way I technically did pay the custom VAT but I save the money that Royal Mail charges).
Anyway how was the film? Well not many people will agree with me on this one but honestly I really enjoyed it. I tried my best to avoid spoilers for Rebellion and thankfully I was able to be surprised for a lot of the events going on in this film. The main problem that everybody had with the film was the 'twist'. Now there are theories going around that Gen Urobuchi (Script writer for the entire Madoka franchise) had no idea how to end the series and was originally going to give it an ending that he normally doesn't do (for spoiler reasons I won't mention) but his team gave him a different idea for how it should end and he agreed with it and as such gave everyone the weird expression in their faces. There is really only one scene that helps support the events of the 'twist' but other than that many will find the ending to be out of place. Nevertheless I loved the movie and it's soundtrack. That Holly Quintet scene was so awesome.
After a while of deciding whether I should get the series, I decided to finally own the popular Shakugan no Shana series. I started off with Season 1 via the Super Amazing Value Edition which to me is a stupid edition to bring out because it disrespects the show itself with it's rather ugly spine and for some shows have no reversible cover which can make it even worse. Thankfully Shana Season 1 was the first S.A.V.E. edition in ages to have the original stock left untouched and also for the first time have a new slipcover with the S.A.V.E. spine (unlike Season 1 which was DVD sized height, the S.A.V.E. edition is Blu-ray sized).
The show itself I felt started out rather average and for a moment I was quite depressed at the predictable outcomes and actions of the main character, but after a while it got better and I started to get properly attached to all of the main characters in this series. Overall I really enjoyed the first season and especially the opening and endings. I also should note that I watched the series in Japanese due to the change of actors for the English dub which would ruin my experience with the show (Geneon handled Season 1 while Funimation handled the others).
Now this season was a tough one to find. Funimation had re-released the season into the S.A.V.E. edition but unfortunately they failed to add a proper reversible cover to it (or even add a slipcover like Season 1 thus ruining the consistency). So I decided to hunt down the original artbox and it's second half. I did however manage to find both Part 1 and Part 2 at a decent price on Amazon US.. at a cost.
The Limited Edition artbox was damaged sadly but at least it gave me a reminder on why everyone hates Amazon's packaging service over in the states. It doesn't mean I won't stop using them but I will only use them for sets that have a slipcover (because they protect the case surprisingly). I have yet to watch Season 2 but I hear it's as good as the first.
The final pickup for the update is a big one. I now officially own a PlayStation Vita. I figured it was about time I owned one and I doubt that Sony would have a price cut any time soon. I picked one up in GAME as a bundle across a few Memory Card sets. After reminding the staff that I needed a ton amount of memory for the set they managed to provide me a 16GB bundle without any additional cost whatsoever. I basically saved about £40 which is great because memory cards are ridiculously expensive.
I downloaded some games prior to owning the portable console because of PlayStation Plus so I had Hotline Miami, Metrico, Muramasa Rebirth and PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate prepared. I later on purchased a physical copy of Gravity Rush but due to Sony's silly plans I won't be able to get the Downloadable Content Trophies since my game is from America (since it's region free, UK sellers end up with American copies after the print run is done). At least the trophy listing for the English version applies to both versions (and not have a separate list like some games do), so I decide to get the EU version via PSN and it's DLC the trophy listing should be completed.
And that is pretty much all I picked up throughout July and August. It wasn't as heavy as June but in all honesty these sets were pretty expensive. Now I avoided manga since they generally last longer than anime in terms of being available but I personally want to prioritise on anime for the next season or two at least. If you want to know which sets I have planned for the Semester pickup, I'll list them down below.
- Attack on Titan - Part 2 [Limited Edition + Artbox]
- C Control [Limited Edition]
- Fractale [Limited Edition]
- Gargantia of the Verdurous Planet [Limited Edition]
- Gurren Lagann [Ultimate Edition]
- HAL [Collector's Edition]
- Heroic Age
- High School DxD New [Limited Edition]
- Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions - Season 1 [Collector's Edition]
- Sailor Moon - Part 1 [Limited Edition]
And for video games I have Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus [Let's Get Physical Limited Edition] pre-ordered.
And for video games I have Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus [Let's Get Physical Limited Edition] pre-ordered.
Due to changes in finance earnings I'll be delaying a majority of the Anime Limited sets for next year since the orders were already pre-ordered. I'll do my best to get some additional sets during the rest of the year.
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