アニメ Republic

The round of items for February has a good mix of titles including a number of Blu-ray discs. Though the Akira and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence discs are in fact the US release versions, I decided to add them in just for the continuity. The main feature however is the Ghost in the Shell 2.0 BD box set from Japan. You can see the covers, booklet and TrueHD card here. I’ll probably still pick up the US release of Ghost in the Shell 2.0 BD due out later this year if it comes with an English audio track. If not though, I think I will just stick with this set. The set comes with both versions of the film plus a bonus disc. The original version disc has both English subtitles as well as English audio while the 2.0 version has English subtitles only.

Moving on we have the final volume for Ikki Tousen Great Guardians complete with First Press mini-poster, postcards, and pencil board. I have also included the Limited Edition version of the Great Guardians OP/ED CD which comes with a bonus DVD containing clean OP/ED sequences for the series. Also in the shot are a couple of card holders that were being offered at the same time. They turned out to be somewhat different then I had thought. Fortunately they were only around $8 each. Now we just sit back and wait to see if they decide to do a forth anime series.

Next up is the first volume in the new Kodomo no Jikan series. This comes with a box, booklet and plastic slip-cover for the DVD case. You can see the front covers here as well as the back cover of the box and DVD case plus the disc art for the DVDs and a sample page of the booklet here. I also included both pillow covers I picked up this month here though I already mentioned them separately. Here is the Ryomou front and back (or is it the other way around?) and here is the Zoku Satsuriku no Jango front and back.

Enjoy!!

Something I have been questing for quite some time now has been the deck of tarot cards released by then Pioneer as a mail-in offer for their release of the Sol Bianca OVA series (not to be confused with the two OVA/Movies that were released in the early 90’s).

You can see the whole deck here as well as a couple of shots I took of the deck I finally found recently on eBay here and here. I really don’t know much of anything about tarot, but this was one of those anime related rare treasure items that was released in limited quantities almost ten years ago that I just had to have.

Enjoy!!

Well I know wonders never cease, but I have added a couple of new pillow covers to the Linens & Things collection.

First up is the latest in a long line of Ryomou Shimei (Ikki Tousen, like you needed that) pillow covers. You can see one side here and the other here.

Also added to the collection is this one from Zoku Satsuriku no Jango video game/visual novel/whatever thing. Honestly, it was on sale and she looks hot. I have never played or even seen the game for that matter. Yeah, it doesn’t take much. You can see the other side here.

More later.

Enjoy!!

This is the third and for the most part final entry in the VHS flashbacks I have presented. I have managed to acquire most of the old and hard to find titles that were only released on VHS that I have been questing for. There are of course a rare few, including this impossible to find title, that are still out there but none are ones I am truly questing to find.

Up first is a bit of a repeat of sorts from the first round. This lot features Sol Bianca 1 (English dubbed version) and Sol Bianca 2 (subtitled version), both of which I had listed in one form or another already. Also in this lot are Gude Crest from ADV (subtitled version) and Dragon Century from the late US Renditions (subtitled version).

Next up are a number of “also-rans” in terms of general quality and fan opinion. Such titles as Armageddon and especially the English dubbed (and butchered) version of the original Dangaioh OVA add to the list of forgettable titles that also include Dragon Slayer and Psycho Diver. Nothing much better is on hand in the following round of ADV releases with such unmemorable titles as Fire Emblem and Panzer Dragoon.  There are a couple of titles that bring things up a notch however with the addition of Rail of the Star and Dragon Knight – Another Knight on the Town (the only Dragon Knight title not released on DVD).  More filling in the gaps this time with the subtitled version of Compiler vol. 1 and the clam-shell release of Dangaio (just to be a completist) adding to a couple of titles from AnimEigo and TRSI.

The next round brings things home in a big way as far as hard-to-find titles go. We have both volumes 1 & 2 of Homeroom Affairs (by Star Anime) and volumes 1 & 2 of First Loves (by ADV’s long lost adult label SoftCel Pictures). All four tapes are Japanese with English subtitles and at the time were considered “adult” titles but by today’s standards would hardly be considered anything more than “R” rated material. First Loves was the last of the SoftCel Pictures VHS titles (that had never been released on DVD) that I had been hunting for.

Finishing things off we have a few rounds of miscellaneous titles that either finish off series I had started or were alternative versions of titles that had been released in other forms such as Windaria (by Streamline), Outlanders (original English dub) and Mermaid Forest (English dub version to add to the subtitled version I have on LD already).  Some more forgettable titles by Viz and ADV such as Ogre Slayer and Hanappe Bazooka make you realize why some titles were never brought to DVD. Let’s not forget about Mad Bull either. After all it’s important to have that complete series. And lastly adding to the completion of another series is the second volume of End of Summer by SoftCel Pictures (the first volume had been released under the ADV logo as SoftCel had not yet been created).

That brings the majority of the VHS hunting to a close. There are only a few titles left on the list of “anime that DVD forgot” that I am even remotely interested in so I doubt I will do another major update. If anything notable comes in I will more than likely post it separately.

Enjoy!!