What did you RECEIVE today? PHOTOS EDITION!

2025 HAUL - SEPTEMBER v1.1

A lot has been going on over on my end, mainly work being a bit hectic, my daily exercises take up the pre & post work time, and also sorting out a few backlog like adding six Hong Kong films to my blog and watching a bunch of anime. But I did receive a bunch of packages which is going to have to be split up due to limitations with the image uploads.

Here's a few posts back-to-back going over what's arrived and picked up.


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#01: Discotek Haul
The last time I bought a whole bunch of Discotek Media Blu-rays from the Crunchyroll Store was around the early Spring time, since the previous batch was primarily exclusive to MediaOCD due to Urotsukidoji (which funny enough is in the next batch later this month). The haul this time features titles that have been constantly out of stock here and there so it did take a while before I could finally order them. We also have more Lupin the Third though sadly I was unable to secure Lupin the Third: Swallowtail Tattoo which is currently no longer available (but not listed as out of print on Discotek's website) at this current point. While it could have arrived in time for the August haul, it eventually arrived at the start of this month.

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Lupin the Third Part I & Part III
Based on Monkey Punch's manga series, here we have two television shows for Lupin the Third with the 23 episode 1971 series and the 50 episode 1984 series, both animated by TMS Entertainment. This franchise was one of the first that I checked out during the start of my anime watch journey but I hadn't watched the pre-2000s shows which thankfully Discotek have released on Blu-ray since Crunchyroll's streams were US & Canada only. Part I includes a new English dub from the Epcar Entertainment crew. Discotek Media released Lupin the Third Part I on Blu-ray in May 2022 and Lupin the Third Part III on Blu-ray in August 2021.

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Lupin the Third: Angel Tactics & Seven Days Rhapsody
Since the classic three-part series, the Lupin franchise received dozens of television specials and here we have the 17th TV Special Angel Tactics aired in 2005 and the 18th TV Special Seven Days Rhapsody aired in 2006. Both are subtitled only. Discotek Media released Lupin the Third: Angel Tactics on Blu-ray in June 2023 and Lupin the Third: Seven Days Rhapsody on Blu-ray in December 2023.

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Cromartie High School
2003 television anime series by studio Production I.G and director Hiroaki Sakurai, based on the manga written by Eiji Nonaka. I've heard about this series early on in my anime watching venture but it was primarily unavailable due to licensing until Discotek picked it up, though I never bothered to grab their DVD. Now it's on Blu-ray and features the English dub as well from the ADV release. I presume there's an on-going joke with the references to Queen throughout. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in August 2023.

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Lady Georgie
1983 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Shigetsuga Yoshida, based on the manga Georgie! written by Mann Izawa. Never heard of this shoujo classic prior to Discotek's announcement and I figured it was worth picking up especially considering we don't get much shoujo shows from this era these days. The main character is also Australian so the subtitles reflect this from what I read. Discotek Media released the series on SD-BD format in December 2023.

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Tetsujin 28 FX
1992 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Tetsuo Imazawa, based on the manga written by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. In case you aren't familiar with Tetsujin 28, it's one of the first giant robo titles out there and the author eventually made Getter Robo, but the anime has a few instalments and with this one it's a continuation from the events of the first series from 1963 though I believe you can hop on if you only watched the 80s version. Discotek Media released the series on SD-BD format in January 2023.

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Virtua Fighter
1995 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Hideki Tonokatsu, based on the SEGA video game fighting franchise of the same name. Discotek's released a lot of video game anime and cartoons and Virtua Fighter is the next anime on my list to pick up since I already own Darkstalkers, Fatal Fury and Street Fighter II. Interested to see how it holds up since it'll be following characters from the first two games. The Media Blasters English dub that was produced for 24 of 35 episodes are included with this release. Discotek Media released the series on SD-BD format in January 2023.
 
2025 HAUL - SEPTEMBER v1.2


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#02: Il Posto + I Fidanzati & The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit
Next up from Radiance Films are two double film pack releases, one of which also features a film on the 4K Ultra HD format.

Starting off with Ermanno Olmi's Il posto + I fidanzati collection, featuring his 1961 film Il posto (The Job) and also his 1963 film I fidanzati (The Fiances). The former is considered a classic in Italian cinema and since the limited edition was almost sold out I ordered one sooner than later.

Next we have Claude Miller's The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit, featuring his 1981 film The Inquisitor (Garde à Vue) in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and also his 1983 film Deadly Circuit (Mortelle Randonnée) on Blu-ray. These are two French thrillers and I'm looking forward to checking them out. I got this sooner than usual because Amazon priced the 4K set the same as the Blu-ray version.

Both limited edition releases feature scanavo packaging, reversible artwork, and a booklet.


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#03: Tetris Forever
I've been meaning to pick up this game collection for a while and eventually out of a whim I just wanted to order it. This is Tetris Forever on Nintendo Switch from distributor Clear River Games and developer Digital Eclipse, which is a collection & documentary of the Tetris games.

The collection features 1 Electronika 60 version, 5 MS-DOS versions, 1 Apple II version, 4 Famicom versions, 1 NES version, 2 Game Boy versions, 5 Super Famicom versions, 1 Game Boy Color version and a new version made for this collection. This collection doesn't include any of the more commonly known Nintendo developed ones, though their NES version was added to Nintendo Switch Online.


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#04: Gradius Origins Collection
Another collection of retro goodies this time from Konami and it's Gradius Origins, their latest collection in the same format as Castlevania and Contra with various versions and games included in one set. The Nintendo Switch physical release I have is from Limited Run Games.

The collection features Gradius with 5 versions (JP ROM, JP Bubble, North American Nemesis, European Nemesis, North American Prototype Nemesis), Salamander with 2 versions (Japanese, North American version known as Life Force), Life Force (Japanese version), Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou with 4 versions (JP Early Version, JP Mid Version, JP Late Version, North American version known as Vulcan Venture), Gradius III: Densetsu kara Shinwa e with 4 versions (JP Old Version, JP New Version, Asian Version, JP AM Show Version), Salamander 2 (Japanese version) and a brand new game Salamander III.


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#05: The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, Sailor Suit & Machine Girl & Versus
One of the interesting approaches I have done as of late is revisit the older Arrow Video catalogue for the Japanese films and ones that I would have gotten back in the day but never did. So on eBay I found various editions and ordered them to the price that I was happy with and they arrived across different days.

The first one to arrive is The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, featuring three Japanese films by director Michio Yamamoto with 1970's The Vampire Doll (幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形) starring Kayo Matsuo (Outlaw: Gangster VIP) and Akira Nakao (Godzilla film series), 1971's Lake of Dracula (呪いの館 血を吸う眼) starring Midori Fujita and Chōei Takahashi (Casting Blossoms to the Sky) and 1974's Evil of Dracula (血を吸う薔薇) starring Toshio Kurosawa (Lady Snowblood) and Mariko Mochizuki. Sadly despite having the slipcase, the booklet is not with my copy so I wonder if others had a similar case but I just got unlucky.

The next day the other two films arrived. Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (セーラー服と機関銃), Shinji Sōmai's 1981 film starring Hiroko Yakushimaru (School in the Crosshairs) and Yuki Kazamatsuri (Ichi the Killer), and Versus (ヴァーサス), Ryûhei Kitamura's 2000 film starring Tak Sakaguchi (Tokyo Gore Police) and Hideo Sakaki (Ju-on: The Grudge). Both of these have their slipcases and booklets. The former I almost had an opportunity but I wasn't a fan of the price but am very happy with my copy as it was treated really well. The latter does have an issue with its case but the rest is not harmed at all.


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#06: The Invisible Swordsman
At the same time that I was sorting out some older Arrow Video orders, I also went back and ordered one of the newer releases with Yoshiyuki Kuroda's 1970 film The Invisible Swordsman (透明剣士) starring Osamu Sakai (Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series) and Yōko Atsuta (Haunted Castle). Initially was going to order this through the Terracotta store but it was a bit cheaper to order it directly from Amazon UK.


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#07: HMV 4K Ultra HD Haul
On my day off from work I took a trip to York to visit the HMV store and picked up some more films for the 4K Ultra HD format as part of their 3 for £50 deal.

The one that caught my interest the most was The Substance, Coralie Fargeat's 2024 body horror film starring Demi Moore (Ghost), Margaret Qualley (Death Stranding) and Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) which I did see at the cinema and going in blind (mostly as I did see the first trailer which is spoiler free) was one of the best choices I did because it was such a good experience from start to finish. That final act was something else.

Also picked up was BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee's 2018 crime drama film that I also did see at the cinema and it was really interesting. I had been wanting to revisit this film for a while and I'm glad to own it on 4K. John David Washington (Tenet) and Adam Driver (Star Wars) were both really good in their roles too.

And a film that I haven't seen but had been meaning to watch ever since it was first released is The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's 2021 superhero film starring Margot Robbie (Barbie), Idris Elba (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & 3) and John Cena (Bumblebee) and one of the very few DCEU titles that I had yet to watch. Considering the DCU's direction, I think watching this film is worthwhile especially considering it was one of the better received films in the franchise.
 
2025 HAUL - SEPTEMBER v1.3


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#08: The Beast to Die & Hokuriku Proxy War
In HMV I also purchased two more Japanese films for the Radiance Films collection.

Starting off with a semi new release that came out last July with The Beast to Die (野獣死すべし), Tōru Murakawa's 1980 film starring Yūsaku Matsuda (Yokohama BJ Blues), which I reckon will sell out sooner than later. The other film I bought released around last February is Hokuriku Proxy War (北陸代理戦争), Kinji Fukasaku's 1977 film starring Hiroki Matsukata (Battles Without Honor and Humanity), Yumiko Nogawa (A Certain Killer) and Sonny Chiba (The Street Fighter) and is also one of the director's last Yakuza themed films before he shifted to other genres.

Both limited edition releases feature scanavo packaging, reversible artwork, and a booklet.


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#09: The Sister Street Fighter Collection
After purchasing the three Arrow Video films from eBay, I was reminded of another title that I was hoping to also own in its limited edition form and miraculously I found a copy available. In fact, it was a sealed copy which for the price I paid is a bargain considering I'm pretty certain this sold out pretty fast.

This is The Sister Street Fighter Collection featuring four Japanese films. The first three; 1974's Sister Street Fighter (女必殺拳), 1974's Sister Street Fighter: Hanging By A Thread (女必殺拳 危機一発), and 1975's Return Of The Sister Street Fighter (帰って来た女必殺拳) were directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and starred Etsuko Shihomi (The Bullet Train) in the leading role with Sonny Chiba also appearing from his Street Fighter film series, while 1976's Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist (女必殺五段拳) was directed by Shigehiro Ozawa which is considered an unofficial sequel but the leading actress reprised her role.


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#10: Bleach Part 7, The Colors Within & EUREKA: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution
Anime Limited dispatched two packages that featured three newer releases of theirs for the UK.

First up we have the limited edition Blu-ray for Bleach Part 7, which continues the long-running shonen series. In this set we have episodes 168-195 which covers The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc and The Arrancar Arc Part 4. As mentioned before, I still don't have Part 5 because it's currently not going to be here until mid-November.

Moving on we have a new film from Science SARU, director Naoko Yamada and writer Reiko Yoshida with the collector's edition Blu-ray & DVD release for The Colors Within. Must be pretty good if its managed to get a pretty fancy box set, though I do wish they could have made the release more compact by ditching the DVD and using a three-disc Scanavo case instead. But the set itself looks good for the most part. The disc is also done by Plaion so as you will have found out already it's got German & Italian support as well as English support. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.

And then we have a film that took a while to see a release and its now here with the collector's edition Blu-ray for EUREKA: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution, the third and final film in the new trilogy by studio Bones. The first film was forgettable while the second film Anemone was pretty good so I am hoping Eureka sticks the landing but reviews I heard have been pretty mixed. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.


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#11: Flaming Brothers, Proof of the Man & The Tattooed Dragon
Not long ago I mention that I ordered The Invisible Swordsman via Amazon UK, well the other new Arrow Video release as well as the latest two Eureka Entertainment releases I did order through Terracotta store.

Let's start off with the Arrow Video release which is Proof of the Man (人間の証明), Junya Sato's 1977 film starring Yūsaku Matsuda (The Beast to Die), Mariko Okada (A Story Written with Water) and George Kennedy (The Naked Gun) which as you can guess this film is located in both Japan and the US which is pretty intriguing.

From Eureka we have The Tattooed Dragon (龍虎金剛), Lo Wei's 1973 film starring Jimmy Wang Yu (The Chinese Boxer) and Sam Hui (Aces Go Places) which was released last July, and Flaming Brothers (江湖龍虎鬥), Joe Cheung's 1987 film starring Chow Yun-Fat (Hardboiled) and Alan Tang (The Dynamite Brothers). Both are part of Eureka's Classics range and includes a slipcase and booklet for their limited edition run.
 
Cromartie High School
2003 television anime series by studio Production I.G and director Hiroaki Sakurai, based on the manga written by Eiji Nonaka. I've heard about this series early on in my anime watching venture but it was primarily unavailable due to licensing until Discotek picked it up, though I never bothered to grab their DVD. Now it's on Blu-ray and features the English dub as well from the ADV release. I presume there's an on-going joke with the references to Queen throughout. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in August 2023.

You may already know this, but the ADV DVD covers for this were all parodies of various rock album covers. I couldn't find images of them now, but I remember one was based on Deep Purple In Rock, one was Little Feat's Sailin' Shoes, and I think there was Queen News of the World. There may have been another Queen one as well as others as I don't know how many volumes they had on DVD and I can't remember more.
 
Only had to travel 200 miles to save £10.

Got off the train and passed another HMV. My Unique Skill seems like the undemanding stuff I like.
 

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