What did you RECEIVE today? PHOTOS EDITION!

Was looking at the releases that had been put out by a small US boutique label called Deaf Crocodile and saw that they'd actually released an anime film, and a pretty obscure one at that, so I figured I'd try and get a copy. Luckily, someone was selling a new copy on eBay for around the same price as it would cost me to import it, but with less risk of damage since it was already in the UK, and zero risk of customs fees. Now that I've made the sacrifice, I await the announcement of AL putting it out here any day now.

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Joe said:
Was looking at the releases that had been put out by a small US boutique label called Deaf Crocodile and saw that they'd actually released an anime film, and a pretty obscure one at that, so I figured I'd try and get a copy. Luckily, someone was selling a new copy on eBay for around the same price as it would cost me to import it, but with less risk of damage since it was already in the UK, and zero risk of customs fees. Now that I've made the sacrifice, I await the announcement of AL putting it out here any day now.

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yeh Deaf Crocodile put out some neat stuff, one of my favourite US boutique labels. I watched Tamala a long long time ago, back in the ".avi file that takes all day to download" days. can't remember much about it tho, think I've got it mixed up with Cat Soup which I saw at the same time.
 
Mattrivers95 said:
Ah right thanks. I did read that it had been remastered but I assumed that it was just the newer set, I very nearly got the nine disc version cos it’s really cheap nowadays but I need the shelf space and I’ve still got delta and 7 to squeeze in. I might still get the movie set with the subs, I only got this pack cos it was dirt cheap on mandarake.
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I got my Frontier set for about $40 from suruga, your set is about $120-140. I just couldn't see spending more money than necessary especially since I finally got a Delta set last month for about $120. Honestly the only Macross series I'm interested in are +, Frontier and Delta. The earlier series are too cheesy and melodramatic for my taste.
 
zrdb said:
I got my Frontier set for about $40 from suruga, your set is about $120-140. I just couldn't see spending more money than necessary especially since I finally got a Delta set last month for about $120. Honestly the only Macross series I'm interested in are +, Frontier and Delta. The earlier series are too cheesy and melodramatic for my taste.
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I just finished watching 7 on Disney plus and got major tonal whiplash coming after plus. It grew on me eventually but it’s obscenely expensive on disc, even on dvd, so it might be one to skip for now.
 
The start of collecting a new physical manga! March Comes in Like a Lion by Chica Umino will now be collected alongside Dragon Ball Super, Sakamoto Days, One Piece, and Boruto.

The first three volumes arrived from SciFier today (volume 4 due out the end of March); this was my first order with SciFier for some time (going by my order history, since March 2024) - most importantly, they're still giving out free bookmarks!

The English language manga is being published by Denpa and this is my first experience with their manga. First impressions are very good: paper quality is excellent and the use of French flaps gives a more premium feel to the books. There is also a fold-out poster at the beginning of each volume. I'd say they are a slightly nicer version of the VIZ signature style; and at ~£7 a book, you're getting a much higher quality product than say a VIZ standard single, which go for around the same price.

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This arrived, the dustjacket has a v smol tear in one corner but I think I'll just mend it w scotch tape and stick with it instead of insisting on a replacement, given how small press and limited edition it is (I'm quite sure it's Royal Mail's error anyway), it's a phenomenally beautiful edition, comes with red ribbon bookmark as advertised plus she threw in a couple of artcards and a card bookmark as well, I'm greatly looking forward to reading it!! :) Both lots of plushie stuffing that I ordered have also arrived and I'm v happy with the quality :) Not sure if I mentioned before but my Orange Standard Blu-ray arrived from @Blaize and I haven't watched the whole series yet but it was in great condition and the slipcover was included, thanks muchly - I love the manga dearly so it's interesting to see how they adapted it into an anime :)
 

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Another round of imports from Japan plus a lil CD package from Polyvinyl today.

First off, for the imports we got:
  • Galaxias Vol. 1
  • Kagurabachi Vol. 5
  • Shiori Experience Vol. 23
  • S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gavv
  • MOSAIC.WAV - Heartsnative Limited Edition CD
  • Supercell - #Love Limited Edition CD Box
And for the Polyvinyl delivery I got:
  • American Football - American Football CD
  • Anamanaguchi - Summer Singles 2010/2020 CD
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2025 HAUL - FEBRUARY v1

More items have arrived over the past 7 days. Was working the past weekend and got today off hence the late post, but more items also arrived today. There is one set of items that aren't in this picture because one of them arrived today but too late to the point where photos wouldn't look good, so stay tuned.

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#01: Freedom Wars Remastered & Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus
Starting off the month with another video game pickups from Canadian retailer Video Games Plus. Here it's pretty much import focused for the PlayStation 5 that isn't from Limited Run for once.

Recently Bandai Namco in collaboration with Sony released a remaster for Freedom Wars and in a weird move it's physical version is exclusive to Asia, but it does have English support so I decided to pick it up given that I do own the original PlayStation Vita version but admittedly never got around to playing it. The remaster does include better resolution and frame rate which will make the experience a lot better.

Since VGP also has free shipping available if you spend a specific amount I also decided to add Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus to the collection. It was a bit cheaper than the European release so it worked out. This is an adventure game by the people behind Danganronpa which originated on the Nintendo Switch but supposedly had performance issues on the console, so this expanded version was made available on other platforms including PS5 which is where I'll be playing it.

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#02: Discotek Media Haul (No. 19: 2025 v1)
It's another Discotek Media haul, and the first one I've sorted in a long while now considering the previous batch was back in early November (which arrived in late November). Now this one is a different mix than the usual because there were in fact a lot of stock issues across the whole line-up on the Crunchyroll Store, but I was lucky to be able to grab most of the newer releases that were on my priority list. So if you're wondering where's Lovely Complex or Rainbow in the batch, well it's not available yet at the time I made the order.

We have the following:

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Futakoi
A 2004 television anime series by studio Telecom Animation Film and director Nobuo Tomisawa, this is twin-girl themed harem which I'm surprised hasn't been used that often with modern anime but it sounded like a lot of fun to check out. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in March 2024.

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Futakoi Alternative
A 2005 television anime series by studio Feel, Flag and Ufotable and director Takayuki Hirao, this is a reimagining/remake of the 2004 twin-girl themed harem series but what seems to be a more serious take on the idea. The vibe of this when you look at the promo artwork does remind me of Key's titles, so I'm interested to see how the original and this one compares. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in July 2024.

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Kiss x Sis
A 2010 television anime series by studio Feel and director Munenori Nawa, based on a manga written by Bow Ditama (Mahoromatic). This is the second series based on the very popular harem manga, though the OVA series was more spread out across the years whilst this TV series was all done in a single cour's worth. I suppose I should start with the TV series first then the OVAs? Who knows, either way I now own a one of a kind anime. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in September 2024.

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Kurokami the Animation
A 2009 television anime series by studio Sunrise and director Tsuneo Kobayashi, based on a manga written by Lim Dall-young (Freezing). Also known as Black God, I remember reading about this series when I first got into anime and it was mainly due to how it was the first simuldub anime and then put out on Blu-ray by Bandai Entertainment in North America as an English dub only title. I also find it interesting it was written before Freezing came along. Also worth noting this was part of the Sunrise Sentai package deal alongside GaoGaiGar, Overman King Gainer, and s-CRY-ed. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in January 2024.

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Saint Tail
A 1995 television anime series by studio TMS Entertainment and director Osamu Nabeshima, based on a manga written by Megumi Tachikawa. Also known as Mysterious Thief Saint Tail, it's a classic magical girl shoujo series that was adapted into a four-cour anime which only had a portion of its episodes dubbed into English by Tokyopop. Considering how titles like these need to sell in order for the distributor to release more of this genre, I decided to pick it up. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in April 2023.

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Tona-Gura!
A 2006 television anime series by studio Daume and director Tatsuya Abe, based on a manga written by Hidetaka Kakei. We have ourselves another romance comedy anime from the mid 2000s era which is always great to see. I do appreciate Discotek bringing more titles from that time period considering not a lot of them are available nowadays outside of the super popular titles or are stuck to streaming only. Discotek Media released the series on Blu-ray in September 2024.

Also joining the list are some more Nihon Nights releases. It's been 22 months since I last received any from this live-action label of Discotek's. They weren't prioritised because they were likely to stay in print longer than the others from my perspective but I figured now was a good opportunity to add more to the collection.

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The Bullet Train (新幹線大爆破)
A 1975 live-action Japanese film directed by Junya Sato (1973's Golgo 13) starring Ken Takakura and Sonny Chiba. This is considered a classic among the films made from Japan. Now if you've been following my hauls, you may recognise that I already own this release on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment. The reason for the double-dip purchase is because when Eureka released the film, the presentation wasn't perfect so Discotek spent additional time amending it to look better plus the subtitles I believe were also revised. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in November 2023.

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Fatal Frame (劇場版 零)
A 2014 live-action Japanese film directed by Mari Asato (2009's Ju-On: Black Ghost). This is an adaptation of the Fatal Frame (Project Zero) Japanese horror video games, though it covers an original story with a new cast of characters. Apparently it's a solid take on the series' lore so I'm interested to see what it's like. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in January 2024.

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Recently, My Sister is Unusual (最近、妹のようすがちょっとおかしいんだが。)
A 2014 live-action Japanese film directed by Yuki Aoyama. This is an adaptation of the manga series of the same name and just like the anime, this live-action is also pretty raunchy. I'm surprised Discotek decided to release it but they did the same with the anime so anything can happen. This release includes both the theatrical and home video versions to add more popcorn to the mix. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in November 2023.

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Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (立喰師列伝)
A 2006 live-action Japanese film directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). I've known that Oshii has worked on a bunch of live-action projects but I wasn't aware of this particular film until Discotek announced it at their panel. It's a documentary type film that's part of his Kerberos Saga which is related to a couple other multi-media titles, including Jin-Roh. Sounds complicated but this film looked like a fun time so why not. Nihon Nights released the film on Blu-ray in January 2024.

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#03: Dragon Fist
88 Films have kept the Jackie Chan Hong Kong cinema train rolling for the past seven years or so, and now we have come full circle with the final film of four from their first batch of releases now re-released with new masters and treatment with Lo Wei's 1979 Hong Kong film Dragon Fist (龙拳).

For some context, this film alongside To Kill with Intrigue, Battle Creek Brawl and Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin were the first films that distributor 88 Films released from the Jackie Chan catalogue, and they were just straight onto Blu-ray type releases. Serviceable but not perfect by all means. It wasn't until the second batch onwards, starting with Crime Story where they started putting more effort into their packaging and disc authoring (and that's how their reputation got to this point - provide a solid release, and it'll sell in return).

In recent years, 4K is becoming more prominent and other distributors have started to pick up titles that 88 Films could have gone for, but this has given the distributor an opportunity to revisit their older releases and give them a fresh of new paint, whether its a better restoration or even a jump onto the 4K Ultra HD format. 88 Films are also planning on re-releasing both Crime Story and Miracles: The Canton Godfather in the coming months on the latest format which is great.

Back to this film, we have two versions available in terms of artwork. The 88 Films store exclusive version is focused on the original theatrical poster style treatment while the regular edition uses KUNG FU BOB's artwork. I love his artwork but I like the idea of owning a release that looked like a import from Asia which is why I went with the store exclusive version, but at least his artwork is shown throughout here and there. The deluxe edition includes both the 4K and Blu-ray discs as well as a poster, cards and a booklet.

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#04: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II
Next we have The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II, the 2022 JRPG by Falcom and another instalment to The Legend of Heroes franchise. Again I've been picking these up because they tend to sell out pretty fast and I plan to go through the entire Trails franchise at some point. This instalment is apparently one of the weakest but considering there's so many in this franchise that's had positive feedback, it's fine to have a flop here and there.

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#05: Third Window Films' Director's Company Wave 3
After a brief hiatus due to issues with getting titles onto Amazon, Third Window Films is back with a new line-up of films for their Director's Company collection. All three films were released for February, bringing the total to nine titles.

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We have Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 1985 film Bumpkin Soup (ドレミファ娘の血は騒ぐ), Toshiaru Ikeda's 1984 film Mermaid Legend (人魚伝説) and 1985 film Scent of a Spell (魔性の香り). The latter of which is also part of the Nikkatsu Roman Porno range but just happens to be with a different distributor (which works considering Third Window tried to include Evil Dead Trap but were outbid by 88 Films at the last second).
 
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