What did you RECEIVE today? PHOTOS EDITION!

2024 HAUL - OCTOBER CHAPTER: BATCH #5

As expected I received a few more packages but because of work and the days getting darker there was no way for me to get good looking photos within that timeframe. So for the first time in my unboxing ventures I moved the unboxings until after the month was over (normally I would try to fit the within the same month they arrive in). At the end of the day, better to have a delayed post than a rushed one.



Arriving close to the end of the month marks my entry into two iconic Shonen Jump anime shows, and I have never watched either of these two when they first aired or streamed on Crunchyroll for simulcasts.

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Let’s start off with 2004’s BLEACH from Tite Kubo. This series had a mixed reception because while a lot of people enjoyed its cast and story, the filler impacted the anime to which it ended before they could reach the final arc. My first experience or interaction with the BLEACH franchise was watching the second to fourth films that aired on Sky TV back in 2013. I liked the English dub but I am undecided if I’ll watch the entire anime in English or go with Japanese.

Either way, this is Part 1 of 13 for the anime arriving from Anime Limited. This release covers the first 27 episodes while also re-using the Viz Media Blu-ray assets. Each part will have a limited edition slipcase and small art cards but Part 1 also has a collector’s edition box to house Parts 1-5 and a very big artbook. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.

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Next we have the other huge anime that inspired many fans across the world – 2002’s Naruto from Masashi Kishimoto. Similar to BLEACH, Naruto suffered from having way too much filler but the series was so popular the anime managed to reach the end of the story after 720 episodes. My first experience or interaction was picking up the first three manga volumes back in 2014 during my second year of University and I was actually invested in its story. So for a shonen I say it did the job really well. Sadly I never managed to buy more volumes because I believe the manga box sets got reprinted not long after.

Either way, I didn’t watch the anime knowing its filler but I figured I’ll go all the way with these new releases from Anime Limited. There’s two versions of Naruto’s first series for the UK in terms of its releases. If you went for the standard editions, you’re dealing with 8 parts. But if you went for the collector’s editions, you’ll have 4 sets to pick up.

So here I have Set 1 of 4 for the anime, covering the first 55 episodes and re-authored in an attempt to improve the video quality of the series rather than use Viz Media’s discs. Each set will have a collector’s rigid box with two Amaray cases and a mini booklet, but if you purchase this box set through Anime Limited’s store they have limited quantities of a storage box to house all 4 sets. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.

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Also arriving alongside the two Shonen Jump shows is the recently aired series BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 1: The Blood Warfare, also released by Anime Limited. The anime has a long history and I’m happy to see fans are able to get closure with the anime through this four-part season, which is still currently airing.

The packaging for this release is similar to Viz Media’s release but interestingly the discs were instead authored by Com ‘om Screen in France. I am aware that Viz’s discs aren’t well made and given the reputation of this authoring company I don’t know if they’re better or worse than Viz. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.



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Also arriving early as well are three classic anime titles distributed by AnimEigo, which is now owned by the folks over at MediaOCD, the authoring group well known for their work on producing discs for Anime Limited and Discotek Media.

AnimEigo has a long history in the anime scene, much like Manga Entertainment they helped introduce anime to a wider audience and were able to keep hold of a number of anime licenses throughout the past 30+ years at this rate. While they have worked on a few Kickstarter campaigns in the past 10 years, supposedly the disc work wasn’t particularly perfect and neither were the standard editions that came after.

So MediaOCD have decided to re-do the discs for the anime licenses that are still under AnimEigo one by one, and what I have here are the first three under their new ownership – Riding Bean, released last September, Otaku no Video, released for October, and the Megazone 23 Trilogy, releasing in November. Re-authored and even including a few extra audio/subtitle tracks and extras whenever available. So while I missed out on these Kickstarter box sets, owning these versions makes up for it. If you order through MediaOCD’s store (which supports UK pre-paid VAT and friendly shipping plus a points-based system for future discounts) you can also receive a slipcase for each of these whilst stock lasts.

I haven’t yet ordered their next few titles but I am looking forward to owning both Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash! when I get around to it. I believe Gunsmith Cats is the only one that’s unlikely to return due to licensing issues that have occurred in recent years but at least I’ll be able to own most of them. I have Macross II: Lovers Again via their Kickstarter to keep the consistency of owning Macross in nice box sets on-going.



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Another final arrival for the month but arriving from Canada by the good folks over at Video Games Plus are two more Limited Run Games releases for the PlayStation 5 and for PlayStation VR2.

Tetris Effect Connected is the newer version of the well-received puzzle game that adds a new style to the mix with its visual and music appeal. I remember the announcement trailer really well and it was funny how it turned out to be Tetris of all things, but jokes aside I am very interested in checking this one out and I may hold out for the VR experience if I can.

Also picked up is the rhythm violence game Thumper which has also intrigued my interest for years. I’m a big fan of the rhythm genre and this game looks like it’ll be a ride worth checking out. This horror tone actually reminded me of Japan’s pinball cult classic game Paranoiascape of all things. It does support VR but I reckon I’ll probably get motion sick if I went with that approach.
 
I bought the DVD of Twilight of the Warriors at £9.99 as the Blu-ray is £8 more. I decided the extras weren't worth it.
The Cannonball Run. I went for the Dual format as it has a Roger Moore interview and a booklet.
I know, that doesn't make sense.

Top Heavy: The Art of Brian Miroglio.
He's a comic book artist.
I assume I don't have to explain the content. I did think while buying of getting another copy for Girls with Guns as a wind up. 💥
Amusingly, someone at Forbidden Planet had put extra price stickers on certain bits.
 

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Naruto sets 1 through 8 from Amazon US. They came out to around £23 per set, including shipping costs to the UK, so not too bad of a deal for roughly 27 episodes per set.

And my God, the subtitles are better than I expected on my TV; much better to read than the AL subtitles for my eyes, personally. I do like how the covers create an image when put together like this as well.

Although, the on-disc Blu-ray menu is much better in the Anime Limited set, in my opinion.

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Lu over the Wall was one of the last Blu-ray's I had left to upgrade to the collectors edition and I got it for an absolute bargain, £8.99 brand new! I also upgraded my old copy of Dazed and Confused to the Criterion version as I heard it is much better. Finally I picked up a couple of Ralph Bakshi movies that I still needed on Blu-ray, I got the German version of Fire and Ice because it was a lot more reasonably priced than any other version.
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You would not believe how long I spent mulling over what headphones to buy. I started looking into options in August...last year. I was planning to wait until the Sony XM6 comes out next year, but circumstances forced my hand when both my current pairs of aux-compatible headphones became unusable for different reasons at the same time.
 
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