FN-2187

Damn, tried to grab the Fullslip in the GB, but it looks like it’s already sold out! Guess I’ll have to try to grab it from Mantalab themselves when it goes live! Never purchased anything through them DIRECTLY but it can’t be that hard, right?

OooooOoooooooh. I DO love this movie but I already have the Steelbook from a few years back. So I think I’ll have to pass on this one... ;D

Got my “Wolf’s Rain” Ultimate Collector’s Edition Art book signed by a few of the voice actors this past weekend.

Mary E. McGlynn's first job as an ADR Director was for Cowboy Bebop. She directed the cast (she's now married to Steve Blum) differently from how most ADR Directors would at the time anime was being adapted in the 90's. Mary McGlynn was an actor by trade so her first and foremost concern was getting a convincing performance out of her Voice Actors, whereas most other ADR Directors at the time were more concerned with lip-syncing things perfectly. I really credit her direction on character performances on Cowboy Bebop to be THE reason why that show's English Dub is considered superior to the actual original Japanese version. She also did splendid work as an ADR Director on the Bones Studio series "Wolf's Rain". And while I'm not a fan of Naruto- I know she did the ADR Directing on Naruto: Shippuden. She also did the English Dub on Appleseed.

Rule of thumb SHOULD be- Watch all Anime in Japanese UNLESS the English Voice Acting Director is Mary E. McGlynn. If Mary E. McGlynn is the English ADR Director- THEN, and ONLY THEN, should you watch the English dub!

As a personal HUGE fan of Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199, I was fairly excited to see WHAT the English dub would be like. I watched the first 8 episodes and I can safely say that it is not my favorite. I highly recommend watching Yamato 2199, it’s a fantastically well-paced and well-written series... but either watch it in it’s original Japanese with english subtitles- or don’t watch it at all.

Hey, does anyone want to help me out with this? I really want the hardbox for this set (the one with the gun on the front cover)- but I don’t want the Steelbook. Was anyone interested in just getting the Steelbook and not the hardbox? Would very much like to work out a deal.

Haha! Hey @Grendel- Yeah. I saw the new Funimation Set. The set comes with some cool stuff, the Vinyl is awesome, but the steelbook looked REALLY underwhelming- which is kind of what pushed me to hunt down the Korean Steelbook. Normally, what happens is I see what the U.S. markets are planning to release- and that motivates me to get any of the other editions. That's what happened when I saw Funimation release their edition of Wolf's Rain, Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199, and now Cowboy Bebop. Also I've mentioned this before, but every time you mention "Sentai" I don't think of the distributor, I think of the actual series in Japan.

Finally picked up the Korean Cowboy Bebop Steelbooks for a hefty price on http://www.asiandb.com/store/detail.php?num=22024 This was my first purchase from them, and I've heard nothing but sketchy things- so as a result, let me tell you what happened with me. Order placed for Volume 1 ONLY on June 29th, at the time, I was informed that the item would ship out in 2-3 days. After 23 business days, I was informed that they actually DON'T have Volume 1 in stock, and that I would have to send them an additional $120USD for the Volume 2 (since they had volume 1 and 2 in stock). After sending the requested money, it took another week before the item was dispatched. When I got it, I found out that the items were opened and pre-owned and not new. I contacted the customer service page, and was informed that all "Rare Items" should be expected to be second hand, even though this was not detailed anywhere when I placed my order. Furthermore, I am STILL trying to work this out with Customer Service because the item was not listed as a "Rare Item" when I placed my order. All in all- a huge headache. So while I did eventually get what I ordered, it was a hassle and I don't even know if it's worth it. Honestly, if there wasn't a Cowboy Bebop reunion happening at NYCC'18 this year- I probably wouldn't have bothered. I also don't know what to do with this lenticular. I'm not keeping it on my shelf- so I might get rid of it.

Took a while for me to post it here- but a HUGE, HUGE thank you to @larson1977 for snagging me the Ultimate Collector's Edition of Bones Studios' 'Wolf's Rain'. Lovely little surreal work beautifully adapted here in the US by fabulous ADR Director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn.

Okay... Odd question for anyone out there. But is anyone interested in JUST getting the Steelbook? Because I REALLY want that Hardbox slip.... but I don't need the Steelbook... anyone interested in a deal?

Thank you @Grendel! Yeah- I tried the gift wrap option this time- it still wasn't enough... But it still turned out better than the time I tried to order Season 2 of Agents of Shield from Amazon... that thing arrived utterly demolished. Why do studios go through the trouble of commissioning Scanavo to release slipcovers with their BluRays if there is no thought given to how they're sold? But oh man, I LOVE ordering things off of Amazon.co.jp- every order I've purchased from them has arrived in 3 days via DHL, and packaged shrink wrapped to a piece of cardboard with NO ISSUES. BluRays may be expensive in Japan, but the lengths that they go through to make sure that whatever you get arrives in pristine condition is very worth it!

Just got Avatar: The Last Airbender Series on BluRay here in the US, and, shocker, the slipcover is all beaten to hell. I've not found a reliable way to get bluray's with slipcovers and not have them arrived to me destroyed, in the U.S.- any advice?

Yeah.... it was.... approximately $300USD for the set. A far cry from the $50 U.S. release but entirely worth it, in my mind. Besides, I have a friend in Japan who I send Steelbooks to, so we work things out rather well.

After seeing that Funimation is releasing Uchuu Senkan Yamato: 2199 on Bluray under the “Star-Blazers” banner (yuck) I finally motivated myself to track down the overly expensive (and totally worth it) Japanese first pressing of the Yamato 2199 BluRay Box Set. It’s gorgeous.

While not TECHNICALLY anime- I felt that Tokusatsu was Japanese enough to qualify for this category. Thanks to the help of a friend in Japan, I was recently able to acquire box set 1 (of 3) for Kamen Rider Kuuga- a show that means a lot to me, personally... so much so that the symbol of the series was the first tattoo I got on myself. I'm not ashamed to say that I was so pleased when I received this that I may have shed a tear. The Box Set itself is astoundingly beautiful and very glossy, with a fully wrap-around image of the titular hero on one side, and the Grongi he faces off against on the opposite side. Pictured below are some shots that I took of the box set as well as the time that I met Japanese Superstar Odagiri Joe- who was the main character in, and got his start in Kamen Rider Kuuga.

Got this a while back when it was released at Best Buy- it's a beautiful piece.

New art.... new art... new art... Come on, Manta! You can do it!

Yeah- I've tried getting in contact with their twitter help account, but it doesn't seem to be monitored anymore. So it seems like the only way to contact them is through their website, so if they choose to ignore you- then... you're out of luck.

Thank you for the heads-up, @Grendel! Wow- I don't know if this is fantastic news or not. Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 (Starblazers 2199- god that title is still terrible), is definitely my favorite anime series of all time. But I think that I'm still going to opt for the Japanese releases, as expensive as it is, because I would gag if I had to see "Starblazers" on my shelf constantly. Also- is there is something seriously wrong with Funimation? I placed an order in January and they still haven't dispatched it, yet. And all my customer service inquiries have gone un-replied.

Thank you for the advice @Valminuto! I've had a few of these bags that you've mentioned- mostly coming from eBay sellers that have sent me steelbooks. But yeah- like you said- they tend to tear really easily, and they can crinkle when you place them back in to the fullslip.

I don't know if "Steelbook Treatment" is the riiiiiiiight place to put this thread/ question up- but I figured that it would be applicable considering it is the literal treatment of Steelbooks that I am talking about. I don't know about you- but I've noticed that my steelbooks tend to get tiny- superficial scratches whenever I slide them in and out of full or lenticular slips, ESPECIALLY steelbooks that come with Full Gloss treatments. MantaLabs Constantine is an example where the steelbook's gloss treatment seems to constantly take wear and tear every time I remove the steelbook from the sleeve. Steelbooks that I own such as BluFans the Jungle Book that have a large amount of embossing and debossing seem to fair better since less of the surface area of the steel is directly rubbing against the slip when it slides in to the fullslip. Has anyone else had this? I've resorted to buying extra copies of Mondo's Terminator 2 1997 Edition Steelbook - since it comes with a relatively blank slipcover that I can use to cover steelbooks before I place them in slips. But this has been costly and has not only led me to purchasing MANY of Mondo's T2 Steelbooks, but also giving these loose Steelbooks to every single one of my friends. Has anyone found a solution to this issue? Or does anyone know where I can get some of these slips like the ones for the T2 Mondo Steelbook without having to purchase completely new steelbooks EVERY SINGLE time? Help.

Very interesting- and I'm glad to see my favorite (sarcasm intended) Hollywood term being used... "Fixable-Mess". It's always interesting to see what happens to films that are given extensive reshoots. In some cases- like Rogue One- the reshoots can be apparent, distracting, but arbitrary; and in other cases it can end up like Fant4stic and Justice League where it feels like the film was frankenstein-ed together.

Yeah it's weird watching Veep and seeing that the parody that they're aiming at is calmer than the turmoil actually happening in our government now.