Otaku Collection 2017: July Update | Operation PS3 Haul Continues plus Anime Bargains

Throughout this month I've started my journey to find a job but in the meantime I've also managed to acquire a fair few items. Nearly half of the items are video games but it's important as I would like to acquire as many PS3 games that I want before they officially discontinue.

For this update I have 7 anime titles and 6 video games.

#01 | Ryū ga Gotoku: Kenzan! and Sengoku Basara HD Collection

The first package of the month goes to some more Japanese imports for my PlayStation 3 collection, concluding the third stage of my Operation PlayStation 3 Haul (which is basically myself aiming to have 100 PS3 games in total). These two were ordered just as I returned from my holiday in late June, and I wanted to use the 1000 Yen coupon I was given combined with the pound rate improving.

Ryū ga Gotoku: Kenzan! is the first main spin-off to the Yakuza series, set in Japan hundreds of years ago in a re-imagining of sorts. I haven't started the game yet but it does have a complete translated walkthrough available online. Sengoku Basara HD Collection on the other hand I did start playing and it's pretty much Dynasty Warriors set in Japan, plus it's very import friendly so I wouldn't worry about it. The collection includes 3 titles; Sengoku Basara (localised as Devil Kings which was a poor representation of the series), and two un-localised titles - Sengoku Basara 2 and Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes. I've only played the first Sengoku Basara for now but it's great fun.

You can view the unboxings for the following here:
 - Ryū ga Gotoku: Kenzan!
 - Sengoku Basara HD Collection

#02 | Rage of Bahamut: Genesis

The second item of the month belongs to a title that I did initially plan to import. Back then I was rather picky and didn't want to have an identical but not exact sort of release but eventually the pound got worse and it put me off entirely. Eventually the US limited edition went out of print but the UK limited edition was still around. I thought about it at first but the price was always stuck around £45 especially at conventions. Then Anime Limited started a sale on their webstore and the set was available for £30. I decided to dip in.

The UK version is basically the exact same but without the DVDs, however it is also larger than the US version because of the artbook. I don't know why exactly this is the case but it's possible that the paper quality is the reason for this. Anywho I've heard a lot about this particular series and now I can finally check it out.

You can view the unboxing here.

#03 | Deadman Wonderland, Spice & Wolf, and Steins;Gate

Like the Japanese games I received first, these three were ordered on the last day of June also as Amazon US held a deal of the day bargain with each of these shows going for less than $16 each. Took a little longer to arrive but it's here without any problems. I have already seen Steins;Gate but I have yet to check out the other two shows on the list. I've been aware of them for a while but never got around to watching it.

You can view the unboxings for the following here:
 - Deadman Wonderland
 - Spice & Wolf
 - Steins;Gate

#04 | Yakuza 0

Amazon UK held a Prime sale and for the most part there wasn't anything of interest. But Yakuza 0 was on sale for £22.99 and I decided to dip in because it was always pretty high priced for the past couple of months. I have yet to start the game due to my backlog.

#05 | Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

The last one in the Birthday haul is the arrival of the Final Fantasy XII remaster. I never got the chance to play the original release back on the PlayStation 2 so I'm happy to see it return for the current gen. Won't be playing this one just yet as I have a hefty backlog to go through included some other Final Fantasy games like X and Type-0.

You can view the unboxing here.

#06 | Belladonna of Sadness

Originally planned to be acquired back in June, I finally got a hold of this 1973 film which is also the oldest anime title in my entire collection so far. Belladonna of Sadness was reduced to around £20 on Amazon UK so I went for it since I figured it wouldn't go down to a lower price for a while as it just got released.

And I did sit down to watch this movie and it's... something. This is technically also the first hentai movie in my collection but it's not the sort of film you would expect. It's mature but has some rather bizarre scenes that is unique because it's got that 70s theme to it (which was all about hippies and drugs). I don't recommend this film to everyone, but it's worth watching for historical reasons.

You can view the unboxing here.

#07 | The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and The Wind Rises

This was more of a random pickup than anything. I was in town going to acquire Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as its sequel film War was just getting released but I had yet to watch the second film in the trilogy (I highly recommend this trilogy by the way). And I decided, well I should probably continue getting those Studio Ghibli films, and picked up one I have seen and one I haven't.

I already watched The Wind Rises when it came out in the cinema but I never got the chance to watch The Tale for the Princess Kaguya. I am aware of GKIDS picking up the rights for almost the whole catalogue but as I already own a few UK titles I decided to continue with the UK versions for the time being.

You can view the unboxings for the following here:
 - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
 - The Wind Rises

#08 | The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut, Saints Row 2 and Warhammer 40k: Space Marine

The last haul for the month goes to more progress towards Operation PS3 Haul with Stage 4. I was in town as per usual and decided to finally accept the pre-owned model properly, and picked up a couple western-produced games for the PlayStation collection. I already own a number of English games on the Xbox 360 so I never bothered much for the PlayStation 3 side of things but there were some that I wanted. The House of the Dead Overkill, despite being a Japanese IP, was actually produced by a British studio and they handled it well. Saints Row 2 I always wanted to try out but never bothered to get it after all this time. And Warhammer 40k Space Marine I played before on the Xbox 360 but this time finally owning a physical copy. I got all three for the price of £6.

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That's it for the July 2017 haul, there are in fact a fair few items on order but they have been delayed.

On-order but have yet to dispatch are three PlayStation 3 games; Drakengard 3, Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, and Wangan Midnight. There's a bit of a hold-up so I hope this will be fixed as soon as possible. Wangan Midnight is also the latest Japanese import for the collection, and quite rare in fact so I opted for the pre-owned version.

The limited edition release of Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls was unfortunately delayed due to Sentai's stock issues. The title is now expected to arrive at the end of August. Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash! is still due for the end of August.

I also have ordered the Anime Limited release of ERASED Part 1, so expect that to appear mid-August.