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This Week in Anime
Physical Media Is Cool Again!
by Christopher Farris & Steve Jones,
Steve and Chris find a whole underwear drawer's worth of special extras that make collecting physical media cool.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network. Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
Chris
My very first Otakon is in the books! It was honestly an incredible time down in DC. The panels were delightful, the company was good, and I even got some shopping in! I escaped the Discotek booth relatively unscathed, only grabbing their Blu-ray set of IGPX I'd been procrastinating on. It's nice, and I appreciate having the show in this hi-def, complete form.
Though I will say, the smooth, slim BD box of the new release does miss something of that chonky form factor of the previous DVD release. That was a weird package, but it was a charming weird, as some releases are wont to be.
Steve
Glad to hear you had a fun and productive Otakon! Now, you may have missed this news, considering you were busy over the weekend, but according to Rolling Stone, physical media is finally cool again.
I'm sure you, like me, have been singing physical media's praises throughout the streaming age. However, I also think it's important to teach these big media publications not to deal in absolutes. And if they're suddenly going to hop on this anti-digital train, I think we need to inform them, and the whole world, of just what they're getting into.
Anime packaging can get weird. Sometimes that's an oddly shaped case for an old Toonami co-pro, and sometimes it's...panties to put on top of Teekyū character heads. Incredibly, this isn't even the first time an anime-adjacent release has included underwear as bonus material.
The only flaw I can see in this release strategy is that they didn't refer to the panties-less regular version as the "Commando" edition.
This is why they need you working in marketing. We need a Mad Men about the people who decide that anime-branded underwear should be a premium collectible. I know there are stories, and I want to hear them.
One of the joys of collecting is the vaunted "collector's edition." Or limited edition. Or super special ultimate early bird 24-karat gold Labubu edition. Whatever the publisher wants to call it. And occasionally, those do indeed get a bit too creative for their britches. Some fade into obscurity. Some become legends. And we're going to talk about a handful of them.
Talk about a handful. I was at AnimEigo's panel over Otakon when they revealed their release of Big Boobs Buster, and the idea was floated for a double-disc edition with 'em labeled "Left Boob" and "Right Boob".
Big Boobs Buster!
The positive, campy, and fun movie with the titillating title is back!
The movie is being remastered & will include both the Japanese audio & the vintage punched-up English dub.
Go big (boobs) or go home. It should surprise no one that rank perversion is the culprit behind many of the more notable add-ons. Speaking further of britches, the underwear fascination doesn't end with Teekyū or with AIKa lest we forget Shuffle! and its sixth DVD volume from Funimation, replete with a lovely artbox and a pair of panties with "GOD" printed on them.
I can't remember if our Shuffle!-lovin' boss-lady owns that set yet, but if not, I might have some anniversary gift ideas. (Editor's note: Please please please please!)
Panties are a recurring theme in the realm of bodacious bonus materials, for obvious reasons, I guess. But I can appreciate when a company goes further. Your and Lucas's extremely effective discussion of SHIMONETA a few weeks back reminded me of just how depressingly relevant that series has become, sure. But it also reminded me of the bold collector's edition that Funimation produced for it here, which included...a tube sock. Just one.
Outstandingly in line with the messaging of the series, as well as one hell of a way to make people more hesitant to buy this one used on the aftermarket.
I regret not splooging for the collector's edition on that one. I mean splurging. Splurging.
I did obtain Funimation's Prison School set from around the same time. While it's not as fun as a dubious sock, it did come with a big fabric poster of Meiko.
That's in line with any number of discs that have included body pillow covers among their special editions. The most recent example I can find is in Volume 2 of this year's Please Put Them On, Takamine-san. Volume 1 came with a whole sexy statue. I know body pillow covers made it into several of the special editions that came stateside during Funimation's heyday.
It makes sense with series that are at least on some level wank material, to include actual, physical wank material. And lord knows I'm not going to judge or get precious about that. As we've discussed, pervy material needs all the support it can get these days.
Agreed. And since we're still on the subject of undergarments, I can't tell you how excited I was to find a scan of this ad for ADV's release of the timeless classic Najica Blitz Tactics. This belongs in a museum for the phrase "special limited edition panties" alone.
I wonder if there's anybody whose entire underwear drawer consists of panties they picked up in collector's edition anime releases...
I didn't think that could be possible before researching for this column, but now I believe we need to seriously consider it. I'm dead certain there's a trove of licensed underwear out there that I just wouldn't even know to look for. Tangentially, I think it's interesting (and more than a little sad) how many of these collector's editions exist on the internet, foremost as eBay listings now. If you Google "Najica Blitz Tactics limited edition," it takes you to an auction. It makes sense, considering companies like Funimation and ADV no longer exist, and many of these sets are out of print, so there's no "official" resource to fall back on. Maybe a news site like ANN will have the press release archived, or a review handy. If you don't already own the discs, it can be difficult to find legitimate info on them. Which, again, is why I was so genuinely excited to see that ad.
Considering all the resources out there for other anime merch like figures, it's a little disappointing that I don't know of any centralized option for special editions, their packaging, and pack-ins. Even resources like Blu-ray.com are mainly dedicated to the basic discs themselves. Thankfully, we've got archived press releases like ANN's, or I'd never be able to prove things like my memory of Funimation switching the lighter originally solicited with the Black Lagoon complete box with a different, significantly less cool lighter!
A small thing, I know, but I continue to be just a bit salty over it. At least, on the subject of creative packaging itself, that bullet-tin-shaped box is a pretty clever way to house the series.
And further credit to Blu-ray.com, it gave me the best photo I could find of the back of Geneon's old Trigun collector's set, featuring the bullet necklace. I wonder how many of those are floating around in the back of a drawer right now.
It's also worth noting that ANN's encyclopedia backs up further information on many of these releases which lists their materials and physical contents, though again, photographic documentation continues to be sparse and haphazard. Someone's gonna have to dig out that bullet necklace and contribute some wiki-quality pictures.
This leads to the subject of more general things that get packed in with anime releases. I joked about the panties, but you absolutely could fill your whole closet with bonus T-shirts included with these releases! Some of them, like the Lucky Star ones, even camouflage as different kinds of clothes!
I have seen the sailor uniform T-shirt in the wild, but not the school swimsuit one. Take that anecdote as you will.
I feel like there was also a time when every box set came with a collectible coin if you ordered it online. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was more than one. I remember the Spice & Wolf ones the best, though, since those were at least thematically relevant (and because I still know where mine are lol).
I wonder how much Holos are worth on Forex now, due to inflation.
I couldn't say, but we should all definitely Google "holo inflation" to find out for sure.
By the way, here's another cool research find: one of the people who worked on those Spice & Wolf sets, Cate Ferman, has a website that talks about these and other anime she worked on. It's a nice reminder that the disciplines of art and design go into all of these examples, even/especially the most ridiculous ones.
Given how often bonus material can be brushed off as just another gimmick, it's cool to read about examples that were successful and popular, and the thought that went into them.
And it's neat to see how those kinds of extras can hold staying power for a series beyond the discs themselves up on our shelves. I don't have any spare Holos in my change jar, but I do still have, and still occasionally wear, the shirt that came with my old original IGPX Volume One collector's edition!
Faded but not forgotten. What other IGPX merch am I ever gonna get?
This was one of a couple of reasons I brought up T-shirt sets like this and the Lucky Star releases. The other was to spotlight how they were a regular recurrence in those often-odd "Limited Edition" first-volume DVD boxes of old. The IGPX one was...weirdly puffy.
I'm glad you brought that up, because there's a whole category of weird anime packaging we'd be remiss not to mention. Maybe you have a different term for it, but I like to call it, "How the heck do I fit this on my shelf next to all the normal discs?"
The unwieldy edition.
The heckin chonkmeister.
The way-too-friggin'-big-box.
It can go by many names, and it's always a headache. I didn't get the Lucky Star one we mentioned a bit ago, but I do have the Haruhi Suzumiya set that seems based on the same model.
It looks kinda impressive splayed out for photos, sure. But getting both the DVD cases and the jewel-case soundtrack CDs out is a pain, and its dimensions are so out of sorts that the best place I've had for it for decades has just been slotting it into one of my open-top sets of shelving, then using it as standing room for a Dinobot.
It's a real conundrum! I still haven't found a good place for my ultimate edition Evangelion collection from GKIDS. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond elated to own all of the series, and it's a very nice-looking set, but this thing is the size of several double LPs stacked on top of each other. Do I just slot it in with my record collection then? That feels too weird to do.
I had the same problem with my Eva set for ages! Fortunately, I recently came into a sofa table in my home, the lower shelf of which has turned into a solid storage/display space for the absolute units in my collection.
I don't mind big, impressive pieces. I got a full set of Gunbuster on LaserDisc over the weekend, after all. But there's a limit even in this space, and I'd be screwed all over again had I gone in for something like, say, the infamous Legend of the Galactic Heroes coffin.
You know, maybe the answer is that I need to buy more LaserDiscs so the Eva set blends in better. Food for thought. But anyway, it seems like once you surpass a certain number of discs, you kinda have to get creative with the packaging. For example, while not explicitly anime, I just bought a full Twin Peaks set contained within a single very thick clamshell. But when you open it up, it's kind of a mess with discs stacked on top of each other and two double-sided flaps flopping about in the middle. Maybe a giant coffin is the more elegant solution.
Once you've got that much space to work with and you're selling something specifically to the die-hard fans, you might as well get ostentatiously creative with it. I'd be remiss if I didn't once again bring up the absurd Code Geass Complete Series Collector's Edition. The one with the entire chess set.
Admittedly, this one kind of solves its own space conundrum, in that you could use that package as a whole shelf unto itself to stack more normal-sized disc sets on top of.
And if you're feeling especially sepulchral after seeing the LotGH coffin, why not get the Fullmetal Alchemistmausoleum?
I guess FMA is a magnet for weird outside packaging, considering Funimation stuffed theirs into a suitcase-styled box.
See, that's appreciably classy looking, compared to the shelf-challenging dimensions of the Ultimate Edition's mausoleum. That represents the ultimate bastion of too-close-to-the-sun anime packaging design: the themed, shaped display case.
I feel like for years I heard that Giant Robo's Eye of Vogler was the gold standard of this concept, but many define the weird world of things that discs come in.
I mean, if we're going down that road, then I can think of one set that easily takes the lead.
He grows even more beautiful every time I look at him.
Don't look so surprised, Speed. Plenty of people knew where we were going with this as soon as we started on the subject of famously bizarre anime packaging.
He's a masterpiece. And if you don't see it in person, I think it's easy to overlook that this is what the back of his head looks like. You are essentially lobotomizing Speed every time you want to watch a disc. You monster.
This three-car-pile-up of packaging choices came from, who else, Funimation, and I have so many questions every time I see it. Why does he look Like That? Why did they decide that Speed's head was the shape the discs should come in? The Mach 5 was right there as an option for big cool collectible packaging! Why does it talk?!
God bless Mike Toole for messing with this thing to give the full experience to anyone who wouldn't want it in their own house. On account of the curses it would likely bring.
Mike also recently noted that these were each hand-painted! Every Speed is unique, like a snowflake with a mouth agape as it breaks the sound barrier. Makes you think about the grandiosity of the universe.
I love seeing these up close because you can tell they are hand painted. The helmet lines on mine are very slightly different!
For all my sassing of Speed, I can genuinely appreciate the value seen in something as absurd as a release like this. It's the apex of the value of physical media overall, and that kind of cosmic contemplation represents a key thesis alongside the point of that article you shared at the opening. That is, you look at these boxes and realize how, for a long time, anime companies used to think they had to use gimmicks to sell us on physical media. Nowadays, getting any release on physical at all feels like a gimmick!
It's legitimately sad! Maybe some of these sped too close to the sun, but at least they went for it and tried to stand out. I know, as I've gotten older, I've gravitated to more barebones sets with fewer doodads because I feel like I own enough stuff as it is. But I think we need more whimsy right now, especially in the US anime market. And, of course, just more disc releases in general.
Sentai, to their credit, can still bring the heat. They may have dragged their feet on that Call of the Night season 1 collector's set (long enough for season 2 to have arrived), but they won me back with the glow-in-the-dark bits.
Exactly! They don't have to be $500+ behemoths filled with their souvenir stores. Something as classy as a glowing box or, indeed, attachable panty packaging can make for fun, thematically appropriate ways to make a series release stand out.
Failing that, maybe someone can put out a release with a spare sock to go along with the one I got with SHIMONETA.
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Steve and Chris find a whole underwear drawer's worth of special extras that make collecting physical media cool.―
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