One package arrived yesterday. Tomorrow is of course Christmas, and there's even a potential one final big package from Stackry on its way before the year is over.
A few years ago Arrow Video announced they had licensed a whole dozen amount of films from the Shaw Brothers company with Celestial Pictures, and they have since released two volumes worth of films; one in 2021 and another in 2022. They took a break in 2023 because of the Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest box set but now in 2024 they have released Shawscope Volume 3.
This volume includes 14 films of varying genres and directors, like the previous volumes were:
One-Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀) - Chang Cheh, 1967.
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀王) - Chang Cheh, 1969.
The New One-Armed Swordsman (新獨臂刀) - Chang Cheh, 1971.
The Lady Hermit (鍾馗娘子) - Ho Meng-Hua, 1971.
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (愛奴) - Chor Yuen, 1972.
The 14 Amazons (十四女英豪) - Cheng Kang, 1972.
The Magic Bride (天涯明月刀) - Chor Yuen, 1976.
Clans of Intrigue (楚留香) - Chor Yuen, 1977.
Jade Tiger (白玉老虎) - Chor Yuen, 1977.
The Sentimental Swordsman (多情劍客無情劍) - Chor Yuen, 1977.
The Avenging Eagle (冷血十三鷹) - Shu Chung, 1978.
Killer Constable (萬人斬) - Kuei Chih-Hung, 1980.
Buddha’s Palm (如來神掌) - Taylor Wong Tai-Loi, 1982.
Bastard Swordsman (天蠶變) - Lu Chin-Ku, 1983.
What's notable about this volume is that we have two films license rescued for the UK, because both One-Armed Swordsman and Killer Constable were previously released by 88 Films. 88's bonus features did not carry over (which makes sense because no one would want to touch Bey Logan commentaries these days) but Arrow's include new restorations and in the latter's case an additional version with 30+ mins of footage not seen previously.
Starting to think I have super serious OCD!
Not having the 3 Jet Li 4Ks next to each other looks wrong easily justified by arranging alphabetically never included the 'the' so Tai comes before To
That said I arrange my Arrow releases alphabetically but my 88 & Eureka ones by year of release.... I have a problem, I admit this.
Starting to think I have super serious OCD!
Not having the 3 Jet Li 4Ks next to each other looks wrong easily justified by arranging alphabetically never included the 'the' so Tai comes before To
That said I arrange my Arrow releases alphabetically but my 88 & Eureka ones by year of release.... I have a problem, I admit this.
Your first Anime Steelbook? Well, hopefully not your last! I never had a desire to collect steelbooks for live action movies, but decided to start a collection of anime steels and began with a few UK anime in steelcases I purchased back in 2016. I probably have right around 100 anime steelbooks in my collection now, maybe a few more, but I've never actually taken an inventory of just anime steelbooks to know the exact count. That might be a good "shut in the house for winter" project, lol.
Your first Anime Steelbook? Well, hopefully not your last! I never had a desire to collect steelbooks for live action movies, but decided to start a collection of anime steels and began with a few UK anime in steelcases I purchased back in 2016. I probably have right around 100 anime steelbooks in my collection now, maybe a few more, but I've never actually taken an inventory of just anime steelbooks to know the exact count. That might be a good "shut in the house for winter" project, lol.
A bit of luck rather than desire for a Steelbook.
I've seen Vermeil in Gold but didn't own the Blu-ray. Then I saw this advertised and on wowhd for £50. I thought that a very acceptable price so I went for it.
I don't usually go for any special, limited or collectors editions. They're not worth the money.
2024 HAUL - DECEMBER CHAPTER: BATCH #7 aka CHRISTMAS HAUL
It's the Christmas haul.
In the anime batch we have two more additions for the Crunchyroll UK line-up of releases. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill adapted by studio MAPPA, and the theatrical film Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island by studio Sunrise.
In the manga batch we have three volumes from the VIZ SIGNATURE line-up which is dedicated to the seinen type series. Goodbye, Eri from Tatsuki Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man fame, and the first two volumes of Trillion Game by Riichiro Inagaki & illustrator Ryoichi Ikegami.
In the video game batch we have Nightdive Studio's remake of System Shock and Aspyr's remaster for Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, both for the PlayStation 5.
In the Asian & European Cinema batch we have Criterion's recently released 4K Ultra HD for Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 French neo-noir film Le Samouraï, and from Arrow Video we also have a recent limited edition Blu-ray release for Kinji Fukasaku's 1966 Japanese film The Threat (脅迫).
In the miscellaneous batch we also have a book called The Oxford History of World Cinema written by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. This was released during the late 90s but it was gifted to me given that I've been going after various European films here and there.
And like before I also received some snacks including a Snack Verse randomised batch which this time focuses on Australian snacks.
Lucy is a psychopathic killer with powers beyond any humans. Nyu is a helpless child with no memories. Both could not be farther apart, but both find themselves inside the same body. Two students that have taken in Nyu find their world being turned around as the government sets out to kill Lucy...
Opened our presents this morning as yesterday was a bit busy getting ready and going out. Nice mix of practical gifts (socks that hopefully won’t go missing for a change and some new jumpers and toiletries), and Tremors 2 on 4K for good measure.
Finally got to open my Day 1 order from All the Anime too - spoilered for the mystery box contents if anyone still hasn’t seen those.
I thought I’d get my Gundam collection started this month with a couple of second hand libraries editions from mandarake. I’ve only a limited amount of shelf space left so I haven’t really thought this through.
After weeks of waiting, my Stackry parcel has finally arrived! Consisting of: Space Sheriff Shaider BD (Discotek/Toku Time) Kamen Rider V3 BD (Discotek/Toku Time) The Kamen Rider Trilogy: Elite Kollection BD (Media Blasters)
All I need to do now is wait for the replacement disc of The Kamen Rider Trilogy to arrive at my Stackry locker, as Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue has out of sync audio (this was compared to the Japanese BD masters).
My Crunchyroll Store order from a while ago arrived today as I had to wait for Daily Lives of High School Boys to come off back order so I could consolidate my package at Stackry.
Land of the Lustrous arrived a few days before Christmas but I forgot to post it.
Bunny Drop, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Sound of the Sky, Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond and Land of the Lustrous
Let's start off with the Crunchyroll Black Friday sale haul which I ordered around the final week of November. The intention was to bundle a few more titles to join alongside the Sentai Black Friday sale haul but unfortunately Crunchyroll was taking too long to send it out and I wanted to receive the package before Christmas. Just as I shipped out the Sentai haul, the Crunchyroll then dispatched from the store.
So we have three anime shows this time around, because these releases even on sale are not cheap to get unfortunately but what I have gone for is a nice mix. Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan is a series that aired during the Summer 2021 season which I heard was pretty good and since it wasn't brought over to the UK I decided to pick it up whilst I can. It's also one of the earliest releases using the Crunchyroll logo so I'm surprised the slipcase was still available.
Next we have More than a Married Couple but Not Lovers, a romance comedy series that I also missed out on when it first aired during the Autumn 2022 season. This is one of Crunchyroll's multi-language releases which has been released in the UK. And last but not least is Parallel World Pharmacy, an isekai series that surprisingly did not get released in the UK and I figured I'll pick it up whilst I can. Sounds like it'll be on the slice-of-life kind of vibe.
Next comes the official final batch to round off the year of 2024. To make sure I have some value out of Stackry, I placed an order once again through Sentai Filmworks because they launched their holiday sale which was basically Black Friday's sale with a few more additions which helped pave the way for this haul.
Similar to the previous hauls I did focus on the cheaper releases however I wanted to own specific titles that weren't fully discounted and didn't want to wait many months for that to happen so this is more expensive than the previous ones I've sorted.
In alphabetical order we start off with Ahiru no Sora, a basketball sports anime series which isn't talked as much as the Shonen Jump titles but I heard it's a pretty decent one and since both collections were on offer for low prices I decided to grab them. There was a premium edition available but I passed on it. The anime aired in October 2019 and was adapted by studio Diomedéa (Domestic Girlfriend), lasting a whole four cours.
Next we have Busou Shinki: Armored War Goddess, a series that many of you have heard of for the past decade but honestly I only just paid attention to the synopsis and it sounds bonkers. The show was released on Blu-ray a while back but was re-released by Sentai. The anime aired in October 2012 and was adapted by studio Eight Bit (Tensura).
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 was released recently by Sentai and since I have the first season, made sense to go ahead and pick up the latest one. The anime aired in October 2023 and was adapted by studio Nexus (Darwin's Game).
You may have heard about Immoral Guild in recent years, it's a fantasy ecchi series that had different versions available during its broadcast. Sentai picked it up and had access to the uncensored version which is on the Blu-ray release. Apparently despite the ecchiness, it's a fun comedy so I figured I'll grab it as soon as it went on offer. The anime aired in October 2022 and was adapted by studio TNK (Redo of Healer).
I've still not seen the films but since it was on offer I may as well pick up Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, the second season of the hit anime series. The anime aired in July 2022 and was adapted by studio Kinema Citrus (The Rising of the Shield Hero).
And keeping the ecchi train going we have Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time: Super Extra, the second season and a shorter anime series (about 10-15 mins of length). I watched the first season during simulcast but not the second due to HIDIVE and there were different versions so I figured I'll wait for the Blu-ray to get the quality experience. The anime aired in October 2022 and was adapted by studio Seven (Rance 01).
Switching things up we have the idol series SHINE POST, which I heard was pretty decent and was recommended to me at one point. It's not a series that I would see be brought over here and since it was on offer I picked it up. The anime aired in July 2022 and was adapted by Studio Kai (Uma Musume Pretty Derby Seasons 2-3).
Next we have a re-release of one of Sentai's first ever Blu-ray releases. It's been out of print for quite sometime but I finally now own the anime adaptation for Tears to Tiara, and I still have yet to play the second game released on PlayStation 3. This is based on a visual novel produced by Leaf, the folks behind Utawarerumono and White Album. Sentai re-released the series out of nowhere and picked it up as soon as it went on sale. The anime aired in April 2009 and was adapted by studio White Fox (Steins;Gate).
Then we have Un-Go, the mystery series by Seiji Mizushima and one that I did manage to watch a couple episodes of over a decade ago. I did initially own the KAZE UK Blu-ray release in July 2013 but it was a stripped version release compared to Sentai's so I didn't keep it. I was surprised when Sentai re-released the series this past year and figured that given it's a fairly old license that I may as well get it sooner than later. The anime aired in October 2011 and was animated by studio Bones (Eureka Seven).
And that is it for the 2024 haul. A lot of anime, games, books and films now added to the backlog. There will be a complete collection post in the coming days so stay tuned for that on my blog.
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easily justified by arranging alphabetically never included the 'the' so Tai comes before To 
)
www.alltheanime.com
