I stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up a PSL, the latest issue of Otaku USA, and to check out their blind box/collectible section. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they now carry anime figurines! There were two displays, showing off Bandai products. There were Sailor Moon and DBZ Figuarts, as well as some Gundam kits. It appears that not every Barnes and Noble will carry these, so you'll have to check with your local store to see if they are carrying them in stock. Price seems on par with what you'll get elsewhere, and saves you money on shipping!
The next review will be of my S.H. Figuarts Sailor Saturn figure; it's being released next Tuesday, so hopefully Amazon will get her to my house by Thursday or Friday morning.
ETA: Since this *is* the "Hobby Haven," and since one of my hobbies is anime, I figured I'd toss in some upcoming news for home video releases. I do "news roundups" for my friends periodically for certain releases, so why not put them here?
Sailor Moon: Viz Media has achieved the impossible and licensed Sailor Moon for a home video release, bringing it back to America retailers after more than a 10-year absence. (You may or may not remember me gushing about this earlier.) They will be releasing it by season, in half-sets. (For example, season one of Sailor Moon is 46 episodes long, and will be released in two 23-episode sets.) Season One, Part One will be released 11/11/14, and is available for pre-order at several online retailers. I would particularly recommend ordering from The Right Stuf or Robert's Anime Corner Store. They have it available for MUCH cheaper than Amazon, surprisingly enough. (Right now, Amazon lists the basic DVD set at $40. TRS and RACS offer it for about $30. Why shop elsewhere?) There are two versions available. The first is a DVD-only set, and is pretty barebones. You get episodes 1-23, and a few trailers, and that's it. But for $30, which is a terrific price. The second option is a limited collector's edition which is a DVD/BD combo pack. You get episodes 1-23, a slew of extras (mostly featurettes about the new English dub), as well as an art booklet and a chipboard box which will house both sets of Season One. This will set you back about $55. For comparison, most anime retailers who are NOT Aniplex of America sell BDs with about 12-13 episodes on them for $40-50. This is a really good deal. Note that these prices may or may not be special pre-order discounts; I cannot guarantee if they will go up or not once the product is released. So pre-order 'em while you can!
Cowboy Bebop: Hooooo boy. Funimation has license rescued CB and is giving us a plethora of options to pick from. They are offering two standard editions and two collector's "premium" editions. We'll start with the former. They are offering a standard DVD edition and a standard BD edition, both of which can be ordered from lots of retailers (again, links for TRS and RACS). The DVD version is retailing for about $30, and the BD for about $35. You get all 26 episodes of Cowboy Bebop, plus some extras. These are mostly episode commentaries, some interviews, and a featurette on the making of the English dub. The BD edition will have an additional featurette reuniting the English cast to do a script reading. Sound awesome? Want more? Then why not consider the premium editions? There are two different premium editions to choose from. The first is exclusive to Amazon. You get all the episodes and bonus features mentioned on both BD and DVD (combo pack). It comes in a special "clamshell style" art box, and with two art books, one in black and white and the other in color. They feature concept art and designs. It is currently available for $89.98. The second premium edition is exclusive to Funimation (you can buy directly from their website). Like the Amazon edition, you get all the episodes on BD and DVD. The packaging, however, is a "tri-fold" design "in the style of a vintage record cover." It comes with a display easel and five displayable art cards, one of which has the series' director's autograph foil-stamped onto it. You can pre-order it for $64.98 on their website.
I thought is was very interesting how they offered two versions. Funimation stated "We know some Premium Edition buyers primarily want pack-in content and items, and some prioritize having a display piece for their shelves. While both of our Cowboy Bebop Premium Editions feature display-worthy packaging and bonus items, their differences are intended to reflect these different priorities." Funimation, I guess you know what you're doing, but wow, that price disparity between the sets...I ended up ordering the Funimation exclusive version, both to save a little money, and because I was intrigued by the record cover design. One of the strongest elements about CB is its music, and I thought that this would be a great tie-in. These all street on 12/16/14, by the way, so Merry Christmas to us!
That's all that I've got (for now), so I'll see you later, space cowboys!
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