Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - Revenge of the Special Edition
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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Egad, how time has flown by. It seems like only a small handful of years have passed since first I saw those series. (In my case, fortunately or otherwise, it was!) |
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Tratious
 Posts: 316 Location: Savannah, GA |
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Azumanga Daioh
Evangelion Gurren Lagann |
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capt_cardor
Posts: 14 |
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I have the Negima "Magic Box", the Haruhi Suzumia specials, the ROD The TV "book" and the Kamichu "Shrine Box".
Sorry to see those days go. |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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I got the first and seventh LE boxes for Eureka 7 because those also came with the soundtracks which I loved and the t-shirts weren't terrible either. And I think I've rewatched bascially every show I own on DVD actually, usually there's been a long enough gap between when I first see the show and when I buy it that I want to watch it again so as soon as I get it I marathon the show all over again.
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Ryujin99
 Posts: 186 |
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Speaking as one that falls a little bit in between the DVD high and the more recent digital era, I'm looking forward to seeing how the market is going to change in the future. I was too young to really get in on the DVD hype back in 2002, when I was still only watching shows like Pokemon and Dragonball Z, so I think it would be pretty exciting to start seeing more limited-edition releases for the shows I really like.
I've finally got a fledgling collection of about $3000, and personally I think it would be pretty nice if I could start adding fancier copies of the series I love the most to my shelves. Granted, I'm sure it will take a long time to make the discussed transition, but for now I'm enjoying the nicer-looking releases from companies like Aniplex and Funimation. I will admit that I'm a little concerned about the US manga industry, however. Thought manga and anime are technically separate entities, they seem related enough that the changes in business for one will probably effect the other. Essentially, I just hope that I'll still be able to buy physical copies of the manga that I like. Especially after such heavy blows as the loss of Borders, Bandai, and Tokyopop. Borders had several stores in my area, so their loss makes it a lot harder for me to find manga that I want in stores since there are no longer half-a-dozen places to check for the same item. Bandai, though they weren't releasing much manga that I've been buying, was another potential license holder for series that I hope to see licensed eventually. And finally, I've heard a lot of bad about Tokyopop, but they licensed several things I was looking forward to purchasing, so I was pretty sad to see them go, regardless of what I tend to hear from haters. Either way, it will be interesting to see how this digital age pans out. I just hope that there will still be a source for all the hardcore fans to get their anime or manga fix. Unfortunately, It's kind of hard to say which series I'm revisiting a lot since I've had the resources to do so recently. However, at the moment the show that I feel the need to revisit every now and then is shakugan no shana.[/b] Last edited by Ryujin99 on Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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victor viper
 Posts: 630 Location: The deep south |
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A very interesting article. I have a number of special editions which I hold near and dear. Some of them:
Noir: The special edition came with a nice-looking artbox and a t-shirt of the dorky-but-deadly Kirika. Admittedly, the t-shirt is not of the highest quality (I don't dare put it in the dryer!) but it's the rare anime t-shirt that can be worn in public without attracting stares. Gunslinger Girl: The special edition came with a nice cloth poster. I bought a frame for it and it hangs in my living room. The World of Narue: This set was notable at the time because Central Park Media released the whole show in a set; forgoing singles was something of an oddity circa 2004. There was some obvious care here, as the case that holds the discs folds out and underneath each disc there is artwork from the show. Negima! (season one) The special editions came with Figumate trading figures which are quite cute. I bought all the special editions starting with the second volume, but unfortunately I never bought the standard edition of volume one, so I'm missing the Asuna figure. |
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Mc-Taz
 Posts: 111 |
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I think Bandai probably had the best Special Edition packaging out of all of the US distributors. You can really see the amount of detail they put into these sets and all of the extras that came with them. They often have the best looking art boxes and intriguing packaging designs.
You failed to mention NISA's Premium sets though, as they do a great job of delivering that special look and feeling. It especially works very well for them when they release shows that contain beautiful artwork and detail that brings those premium art books to the next level. For this reason I think a show like P.A. Works' Hanasaku Iroha would be a great fit for them, since P.A. Works always has stunningly detailed animation. Another thing that has probably been a factor in the death of the art box and super sized sets is just that. We're realizing after amassing these huge collections of large packaging and many volume sets that most of us are finding less space to put it all within our living arrangements. I know that personally I feel like I could build a fort in my room with all of these DVD and Blu-ray boxes, and I practically do that already with these large special editions. So the encroachment on our space is coming at a premium itself. We may no longer want these sets taking up our rapidly decreasing space, and so we like the prospect of smaller full series collections. I believe the special edition still has a place in the market, but I also can only see myself really going for them for those shows I've really enjoyed. I certainly can't commit to limited editions for every anime I choose to buy. |
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Zump
Posts: 131 |
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I don't think this counts as a special edition, but does anyone else remember the tarot cards that came with the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure DVDs released by Super Techno Arts?
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Sakura Shinguji
Posts: 190 |
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Great article as always, Mike. Don't forget, though, the first artbox to hit the U.S. market was the Love Hina series artbox included as the bonus item with the limited edition of the first DVD from Bandai, which landed in early 2002. One side was badly stitched-together images screencapped from the opening sequence, but hey, it sure was something anyway!
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ajr
Posts: 465 |
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I've gotta admit, I'm not really clear why they haven't started selling the shows in a digital format. I mean, most of the companies are willing to sell digital access, but given that Geneon, CPM, Tokyopop, etc., etc. have stepped out of the US market all just within the last 5 years, I want to be able to hold a USB stick with the largely DRM-free files in my hot little hands before I start sinking a couple hundred bucks a year. If they're moving towards streaming subs, I doubt it would mean much more work on the production end of things. It's not like fansub files of these shows aren't out there already, but if physical media is going to be priced at Japan levels... *sigh*. I would think that would work for manga as well, is kind of plain those files are out there too. Is it just Japanese digitalphobia?
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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I avoided premium sets during the high holy days of anime in the United States because I could barely afford the ordinary versions. The only boxes that I bought in those days were the Now and Then, Here and There set and *sigh* the Saber Marionette J ultimate collection.
I have come to regret one of those purchases. Guess which. Amusingly enough, last year I bought the Noir premium box for less than ten dollars. I have the premium boxes for nearly every series that I bought in the past year, but paid in most cases as much for the whole series as I would have paid for a single volume back then. I also bought the special edition of the pornographic edition of Mezzo Forte that came with a shirt... and awful scenes of the otherwise cool, tough heroine being sexually abused for the titillation of unknown people whom I have decided that I probably don't like... because it happened to be the cheapest version available from The Right Stuf at the time. I try to choose series that I expect to watch again in the future. When I returned to active interest in anime last spring, part of that was watching all of my old series again. In all cases but one, that one being Saber Marionette J et al, I was very pleased to find that I still enjoyed them. The three series pictures below, "you're not likely to watch them more than once," amused me, because I watched Birdy the Mighty: Decode twice when I first got it and am angling to watch it over again some time in the near future. I'm funny that way. Usually I won't watch something that I saw entirely on Hulu more than once or buy it on home video. I like having physical media and can count the number of fansubs that I've seen on one hand. I'm not sure what I'll do in the coming era of costly premium sets. I hope to be able to pick the corpse of the boom long enough to have time to figure that out. Part of what I like is having my own, independent copy that won't vanish at the whim of some third party and I'll be slightly hesitant to embrace digital distribution unless it assumes a form that replicates that. Part of what led to my loss of interest in computer gaming was the rise of things like Steam and certain forms of DRM that felt like they put my ability to play any given game at the mercy of the distribution companies. Last edited by Surrender Artist on Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:24 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2260 Location: Online Terminal |
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Quick errata: Scrapped Princess had full figures, not just busts. I know because I have 8 of the 9 figures on my shelf (I didn't need a 2nd PVC figure of Pacifica)
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hakojo
 Posts: 208 Location: NE Ohio. |
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Funny; just the other day I found myself browsing some special edition boxes of stuff online that I've since bought on the cheap, and I was berating myself for not going for all of the extra merchandise-y crap
 It's just so shiny!
I did spring for the LE Haruhi Suzumiya DVDs, though; the box is just too cool, and I sleep on those pillowcases to this day. At one point in my collecting career, I made it a point to watch everything I bought at least once a year, but ironically, now that I have a full-time job and can actually afford to buy all the DVDs I want, I never feel like sitting down with any of them. I have the complete series of NANA, Eden of the East, and Samurai Champloo, all of which I loved, but for some reason I can't bring myself to watch any of them just once more. On the other side of the coin, I think I've watched GitS: SAC maybe 18 times by now in its entirety (both seasons + SSS) I lost count after the twelfth viewing and have to estimate - honestly, at this point I'm kind of afraid that the discs will catch fire if I put them in my DVD player again. |
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Sheleigha
 Posts: 1671 |
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With how Special Editions are now with anime, I actually enjoy what Funi has done with bringing back chipboards. It's either the nostalgia, or the pretty artwork, but I'm glad I picked up my Spice and Wolf II, Black Butler, and Sacred Blacksmith LEs! Also, Nisa's Premium Editions are just beautiful... Large chipboard and a hardcover artbook? They've done well with their idea!
Also, I think of how Special/Limited/Collectors' editions are in the game industry. Most of the AAA games now get them, however, fans are often too excited about these, and many seem to sit in stores for months to a year. The demographic for people who, say, play Skyrim AND who might be interested in a giant dragon statue with an artbook isn't all that big... Many just want the game. I still feel that these get WAY over produced! Halo, Gears, just to name a few, always sit in retailers... However, niche games like JRPGs, fighting games, etc always seem to do well! In fact, in the niche world, CEs are what SELL the game! Almost every JRPG that comes out now comes with some sort of special edition, usually a nice box/casing, artbook, and soundtrack, which has basically become the norm. In the game world, these are doing well, almost always printed in smaller numbers for preorders-only, and usually hard to find after release if not preordered. I like this model, and it seems to be helping out niche titles ALOT in sales! I realize that even with games, you CAN always download the game, artbook, AND soundtrack, but there will always be some people out there that will fight to get the real deal. In fact, I've seen MANY arguements in forums when a company decides to produce a downloadable-only game! We collectors will continue to exist... |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7338 Location: Maine |
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Hadn't heard that CPM story before, it's interesting that there would be an uproar over paper panties rather than the content of the show. Was it just because they were panties or was it because it was thought that a "cartoon" coming with a "toy" must be directed towards children?
It's funny, some of my favorite extras came from VHS tapes. Back when Dragon Ball Z got its big reboot FUNi would include a pack of DBZ trading cards wedged into the case. Thanks to that I've become quite the sucker from anime trading cards. I also used to like getting those postcards that came with each volume of Nadesico. .hack really does (or did) get some great bonuses. I still wear my .hack//Roots T-shirt to ever con I go to, it always gets a comment as it should, it's a nice shirt. The CDs make for nice collections as well, I'm listening to the first Roots OST right now. Another favorite is the copy of Bastard!! that comes with the Dark Schneider - D. S. Jugulator Ver. figure. It's a great figure from 2001 even by today's standards (but then Japan has always been ahead in sculpting). As far as revisiting titles go there's always DBZ, I just re-watched the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya last week, I want to re-watch Nadesico, but I need to update those old VHS tapes some time. Been meaning to re-watch Ranma 1/2 at some point, too. At some point I plan on marathoning the entire .hack franchise (or at least what's been released here). Start with re-reading AI Buster, watching Sign, then playing the first 4 games, re-reading Another Birth, and so on through to Quantum (or The Movie if it's been released here by that point). I wonder how many months all of that would take? Emerje |
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