Otaku Collection 2014: October Update | Nice Boat, Nice Shinobi, Nice Toothbrush

October was an interesting month. Not only did I manage to get more Aniplex titles but I also went to MCM Comic Con for the first time in my life. There's also some important news that I need to address at the end of this post but first here's what I had picked up over the course of October!

[#1] Gargantia (Viz Media) and more Monogatari (Aniplex)

I have finally picked up Nisemonogatari. I delayed it for such a long time (was originally going to buy the set back before summer) but because I wanted to use my cash on Funimation's LE box sets I put the show on hold. Now that I have the set there was one more I needed to finish the first season and for that I also picked up Nekomonogatari Black, the prequel to Bakemonogatari that covers the events of Golden Week. Unlike Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari Black and Monogatari Second Season cost way less so I was able to get them both. I will pursue Second Season in 2015 before Final Season starts to officially roll out (despite one of them starting at the end of this year).

These two Monogatari shows were not the only ones that arrived. Viz Media's Collector's release of Gargantia arrived also and it's basically what Aniplex should have done with Monogatari. Gargantia is also my first Viz Media title for the collection, and there will be more in the future. I managed to finish all three shows in this pickup and I relatively enjoyed them all though I am still scarred by Gargantia's plot twist because DAMN YOU UROBUCHI!

[#2] Gurren Lagann (Anime Limited) and Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus

After that (since they arrived at the very beginning of the month), I pretty much waited until Anime Limited finally brought out their first of their Ultimate Edition sets. Gurren Lagann is here and I actually managed to watch the first nine episodes quite a while back when I was using Lovefilm for games. Gurren Lagann is a really good show and one title that deserves to be in my collection, unfortunately I haven't watched the rest of the show (and it's two recap movies) yet and not to mention there's some unfortunate flaws to the set which will be fixed (all except the Video Quality due to damaged materials). Despite pre-ordering the set back in January when it actually appeared on Amazon within minutes I ended up being number 900 or something..

A day later, my second retail Vita game arrived. Senran Kagura is a fun series to play and I pre-ordered the Shinovi Versus Let's Get Physical edition from XSEED over at Amazon US. The main reason? The UK release was digital only. I am not bothered by digital titles but when it comes to the Vita having a physical version is really useful because the memory cards are not cheap. It also came to mention that apparently despite getting a 16 rating by PEGI the EU version (which includes the UK and possibly even on the Australian version) has some censoring made by the publisher themselves (not XSEED, but Marvelous Europe). The physical set is great and the game is surprisingly fun despite having heavy fanservice.

[#3] Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.

Just before heading over to MCM Comic Con, I managed to win my first eBay bid. I picked up Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs for only £8. The game is from Japan and it's my 4th Japanese PS3 game. The gameplay is a mixture of J-Stars Victory Versus with Gundam skins combined with arcade style controls and ridiculously tough AI. It even has 2 player mode and for some reason a Linkin Park song for the main menu (I don't hate the band by the way but it's just very random to see this happen).

[#4] MCM Comic Con London

Now for the big one. This was my first time attending a convention and also the first time that I have ever appeared at MCM so going to this made me very excited. Now before this I was given some major advice such as using only cash and getting tickets early. I pretty much achieved a majority of that advice. The only problem was that, like all first timers, I went beyond what I had wanted to spend. Before explaining, let's show you all what I had purchased:

Anime

 - Kill la Kill (Anime Limited)

 - Martain Successor Nadesico (Rightstuf/Nozomi)

Manga

 - All You Need Is Kill (Viz Media)

 - Chobits (Dark Horse)

Games

 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)

 - Persona 4 Golden (Vita)

Other

 - Attack on Titan Wallscroll

 - Sword Art Online Wallscroll

Those ones above were what I was perfectly fine with. However it was this when I realised I need to be careful:

Visual Novels

 - Saya no Uta: The Song of Saya

 - School Days HQ

The fact that these two were 18+ versions of the Visual Novels were not the problem (heck there's nothing to lose you head over with School Days). The problem was that I just spent way more than those two were actually worth and worse of all I paid them by card. But the question that is more important is whether they were worth my money? Well I have finished Saya no Uta and honestly it's one of the most f**ked up games I have ever played and at the same time was written really well. For those who didn't know, Saya no Uta was written by Gen Urobuchi who's mostly known for directing/writing popular animes including Fate/Zero, Gargantia and Madoka Magica, each have their own dark twisted moments that he's known for doing. He also wrote Phantom of Inferno (Visual Novel) which some might recognise from it's anime adaptation Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.

Just to note Saya no Uta can be finished at around 5-6 hours if you use save points to change course between the story so it's best to buy the game at a low price if you can. As for School Days, that game (though I have yet to start) is quite long and provides multiple endings so there is some money well spent on that case.

Conclusion - I Can't Spend Much Now
And that's all I got for October. I'm unfortunately at a critical point and such I cannot get any more anime or manga until such notice. I originally cancelled HAL due to budget reasons but unfortunately they ended up shipping the film despite the man in charge being aware that I cancelled it. The film was only £25 so I will let it go for now (I won't be able to watch it until Christmas because it's shipped to my home address not the current one). And thanks to my silliness by buying overpriced stuff I can't continue my goal of getting the rest of the Funimation sets until such notice. Chances are I may be able to get 1 LE set in December but it depends if I can nearly dodge the overdraft limit (I can overdraft but that would mean less stuff to buy at Semester 2 Part 1).

But There Is Good News
I've been given some advice by my flatmates and I'll be trying to tone down on the food spending so that I can get some actual cash left in the end. Basically I average myself to pay at least £10 a day on anything (mainly food) and as such I'm going to find alternate ways to save up. As for the pre-orders, they will be kept. That's right I will still pay off High School DxD New and Sailor Moon Set 1 which arrive in November, and Giovanni's Island in December. The main reason for this is because they are 'Limited Edition' sets and have been so popular that chances are they will no longer be available at Day 1 (similar situation occurred earlier in the year with Haganai NEXT and Love Live! Season 1).

TOO MUCH TEXT I DON'T WANT TO READ
To keep the situation short here's the plan
 - Not enough cash to spend on more anime, manga and video games unless I save up on food
 - Outside of pre-orders I'll be at my limit, with pre-orders I'll have an overdraft of around £100
 - Pre-orders will be kept due to how limited these titles are
 - If I manage to have some spare cash I will try and get some more in Dec.
 - Don't forget there's Attack on Titan Part 2, HAL & Patema Inverted to unbox and show off in Dec.
 - Don't use card at conventions unless you know who the retailer is. Keep that in mind!

Until next time folks!