Right Stuf "12 days of Anime" sale

[Zap]

Right Stuf "12 days of Anime" sale

No coupon codes are needed, prices good through 12/18, free shipping if order totals over $50.

I'm definately getting the Emma bundle, and maybe Licensed by Royalty to bump my order over $50.

 

[Terzo]

Wow, anime is kinda expensive. Tempting, but I don't necessarily want to throw down that much money on something I haven't watched. I wouldn't mind picking up trigun and you're under arrest (hope they add more box sets for that) though.

I remember hearing good things about ghost in the shell, but it seems there are several different versions. Which would you recommend? Also, any other relatively low price series that are a good gamble?

 

[Zap]

Holy crap! I bought too much stuff! Didn't get Licensed by Royalty, but got Emma bundle (both box sets) for $45, Mospeada box set for $13, Mushi-shi box set for $27, Peach Girl box set for $18, Suzuka box set for $17, all of My-HiME for $3/disc and a couple other things.

I disagree that anime is expensive. It can be downright cheap if you find a deal on it, just like any other DVD you can buy.

I do understand that buying is tricky if you don't quite know what you're getting.

Ghost in the Shell has two seasons ("SAC" or "Stand Alone Complex" and "2nd Gig"), plus "summary" movies of the two seasons ("Individual 11" and "Laughing Man") and maybe three "real" movies (self titled, "Innocence" and "Stand Alone Complex"). I've never seen any of it, but one of my friends highly recommends it. Seems to be a futuristic cyberpunk action type of story. The two seasons are currently priced at $25 each, which is pretty good for over 10 hours of entertainment per set. Not sure what I would recommend because as I said I've never watched any (but hope to some day).

For low priced series recommendations that I've actually watched, basically what I just purchased, plus a few others I remember (rightstuf site is down for me right now so I'm doing everything from memory):

Mospeada $13
25 episodes
This is what the third generation of Robotech was based on. Released in 1985 so it looks dated, but I found it entertaining enough.

Peach Girl $18
26 episodes
High school romance anime, on the more mature side (by this I mean geared for older audience, not Hentai).

Suzuka $17
26 episodes
High school sports and romance anime.

Emma $44
24 episodes (two box sets)
Set in Victorian era England, a maid falls for a gentry but they are kept apart by class divides. This anime is pretty awesome because it tries to portray a bygone era fairly accurately. Let's put it this way - my wife told me to buy it!

Armitage III Dual Matrix (special edition) $7
movie
This is not a series, but it is really cheap for a decent cyberpunk action movie plus the special edition comes with an action figure and is packed in a metal lunch box.

Love Hina $20
25 episodes
Classic harem anime (1 guy, many girls) with lots of comedy and wackyness.

Here's some more that I recall being low priced, but can't remember exact price:

Elfen Lied
Mutant girl who was abused as a child goes on murderous rampages. Very violent.

Full Metal Panic, The Second Raid
Third season of a great and entertaining series with lots of action and humor.

Noir
First of the "girls with guns" trilogy from Bee Train. It has, er, girls with, ahem, guns. Yeah, they kill people and stuff. The back story is that they don't remember their past and there is an ancient secret society that pulls strings in the background. "Noir" is a mystical duo of maidens who are assassins and these modern two girls with guns assume that moniker and hire themselves out for hits. Unfortunately they become targets of the secret society. Great action and a wonderful soundtrack.

 

[konakona]

Not a big fan of RC1 DVDs, but they do have some shows I liked (Haruhi, konomini, abenobashi, gurren lagann). As for myself, I wish they had some sale on blu-rays like this one: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=VPXY-15931

 

[DaveSimmons]

Netflix has streaming of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series, if you don't mind dubbed instead of subtitled.

I normally just rent from Netflix but I'm tempted to pick up Trigun and Chrono Crusade. Burst Angel was dumb fun and getting 24 episodes + the extra OVA epsiode on blu-ray for $33 is a good deal.

Some other good stuff from their weekly sale items (12/10 - 12/16)
Black Heaven, Legend of DVD Box Set $99.98 => $19.99 -- ("Hard Rock saves the space!" -- fighting aliens with the power of heavy metal)
Cowboy Bebop Movie: Knocking On Heaven's Door DVD $19.99 => $12.99
Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD Collection $49.98 => $29.99
Jubei-Chan Special Edition DVD Set $39.98 => $19.99 (high school girl possessed by the spirit of the ninja Jubei Yagyu)
Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars DVD Thinpak Collection $59.99 => $19.99
Zone of the Enders DVD Collection $49.98 => $24.99

 

[MisterE]

"Gatchaman", more commonly known in the USA as "Battle of the Planets", is only $12.99 per boxed set (the complete series is 9 boxed sets)! I would be placing my order if I didn't already own the series.

 

[fantolay]

Wow, I'm definitely feeling good about getting Cowboy Bebop Remix complete collection for $18 from Buy.com a few weeks ago.

But still thanks for the deals, I definitely am tempted to pick up something. The thing about anime with me is that usually you can watch it online, but the quality really isn't that great, and when I find a truly beautiful series that I fall in love with I really want to pick it up on DVD.

 

[Tiamat]

Full Metal Panic, The Second Raid
Third season of a great and entertaining series with lots of action and humor.

Noir
First of the "girls with guns" trilogy from Bee Train. It has, er, girls with, ahem, guns. Yeah, they kill people and stuff. The back story is that they don't remember their past and there is an ancient secret society that pulls strings in the background. "Noir" is a mystical duo of maidens who are assassins and these modern two girls with guns assume that moniker and hire themselves out for hits. Unfortunately they become targets of the secret society. Great action and a wonderful soundtrack.

FMP agreed.

Noir - very nice soundtrack. What were the other 2 parts of the trilogy? I enjoyed Noir, but never saw any of the related series?

Edit: nm, El Cazador de la Bruja and Madlax. I watched the former, but not the latter.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Madlax was good. Comments on El Cazador de la Bruja I've read are more mixed so I'll definitely rent it first.

 

[Terzo]

Thanks for the input Zap. I think I've heard good things about suzuka before and it seems worth the roughly $20. I think the hardest thing for me is that with many series you're buying blindly. For example, I can catch some episodes of many US shows online, either through hulu or the respective company's website, but with these lesser known Japanese shows the only chance I'll ever get to watch them is through purchasing the dvd sets. Unfortunately that is a gamble as I only have the opinions of others to go off.
The Emma series does sound intriguing, especially since it comes by not only approval, but request of your wife. However, at 44 bones the risk of not liking it seems too great.

Pardon my incoherent thoughts. This deal is just so sweet I can't figure out how to budget myself.

 

[Roland00Address]

Like Zap said there are 2 seasons. Season 1 is Stand Alone Complex and Season 2 is 2nd Gig. The third movie Solid State Society takes place after the second season. In this story Section 9 (the main unit) is located in Tokyo Japan. This is the main universe.

Stand Alone Compex and 2nd Gig has a main overarching story episodes and then stand alone episodes. With Stand Alone Complex if the episode is related to the Laughing Man it is considered a "complex" episode (C) but if it is a "stand alone" story it is marked (SA). In the 2nd season they have a similar structure but it is a little more complex, there are two main story lines one dealing with the Individual 11 (IN) the other dealing with the cabinet intelligence agency and the person Gouda (DU), and finally stand alone episodes which are marked (DI). Now the story line of Indivdual 11 (IN) and cabinet intelligence (DU) originally started with the same trigger, they diverge, and then reemerge near the end of the season.
------------------------------------------------------
There is also another side universe where the 1st movie and 2nd movie take place. This universe is much more abstract in feel in comparison to the more down to earth universe of Stand Alone Complex. This universe of Ghost in the Shell takes place in Hong Kong not Tokyo Japan.
------------------------------------------------------
Since the universes are not linked you can start with the first two movies or with the 1st season without missing a beat.

 

[Zap]

Thanks for the input Zap. I think I've heard good things about suzuka before and it seems worth the roughly $20.
...
The Emma series does sound intriguing, especially since it comes by not only approval, but request of your wife.

My wife also likes Suzuka. Generally speaking, if she likes a series then it is pretty good since she's pretty picky. After that, it comes down to whether you like the genre.

As for me, I'm pretty easily entertained so I'll watch just about anything. :awe:

 

[DaveSimmons]

Netflix carries a lot of the obscure stuff so it's one option to try before you buy for those in the US. Then if you only like it instead of really like it you can just rent the rest of the discs.

 

[Zap]

A couple more box set deals:

Mezzo DSA $16
This is a "chicks with guns" style action series. It is a continuation of Mezzo Forte, but while Forte is Hentai, DSA was made for TV. The story and action are good enough that it doesn't need the sex scenes.

Initial D First Stage $15
If you can get over the quirky (and some say crappy) animation style, this is an awesome series. Heck I paid a LOT more than $15 for it BITD. It is basically a story about street racing (a certain type, downhill with a lot of "drifting"). Anyone see "The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift?" That ending race which was a downhill with all the curves and sliding around? That's Initial D, only Initial D was a lot better than Tokyo Drift.

 

[Zap]

AMezzo DSA $16
This is a "chicks with guns" style action series. It is a continuation of Mezzo Forte, but while Forte is Hentai, DSA was made for TV. The story and action are good enough that it doesn't need the sex scenes.

Alright, for those who WANT the sex scenes...

Mezzo Forte (and Kite) for $19. This is the prequel to Mezzo DSA.

Other decent deals:
(ZWA = Zap's Wife Approves)

Midori Days $19 ZWA
Complete season of this anime about a guy and his, ahem, right hand. Basically a girl in his class becomes literally his right hand, and comedy ensues.

Golden Boy $15
This is pure comedy gold. A guy drops out of college to bike around the world doing odd jobs and studying... people.

Gantz season 1 $18
Gantz season 2 $18
This is another ultra gore fest like Elfen Lied (in the gore, not story). If you like a lot of blood and killing, and some badass fighting and shooting, this is the anime for you.

Gokusen $15 ZWA
This series is about a teacher in high school. Except... she is the daughter of a mobster (Yakuza). She always dreamed of being a teacher and this is her chance... except she's put in charge of the worst class of misfits. She's got to keep them in line while protecting her identity.

Last Exile $30
One of my favorite series - I paid $120 for mine! Sci-fi series set in an alternate universe where airships battle for supremacy. Good storytelling, great soundtrack and gorgeous animation!

Last Exile DVD 1 & Soundtrack 1 $4
If you just want to check it out without getting the whole series or you need a couple more bucks to hit $50 for free shipping, check this out. First DVD of Last Exile and the first soundtrack disc for less than the cost of a Venti Frappacino at Starbucks.

Ai Yori Aoshi DVD 1 & Soundtrack 1$4
Another combo DVD/CD to whet your appetite. Ai Yori Aoshi is a light hearted series that's half slice-of-life and half harem anime.

City Hunter TV Season 2 $20
63 episodes spanning 13 hours for $20 makes it the most number of minutes per dollar. Still, I wouldn't recommend it if it were crap. It isn't the finest anime in the world, but is still pretty good. Consider that this spanned multiple seasons and hundreds of episodes and a half dozen feature length films. This is an older series from the late 80's so the animation is dated but it is still reasonably enjoyable to watch. Story is about a guy (and his partner) who takes on odd jobs. Kind of like a cross between Magnum PI and A-Team... or not. The series continued in the past few years with Angel Heart featuring updated animation and a continuation of the story.

 

[booi]

If you're looking for newer anime, Crunchyroll has a $20 Paypal cashback for a $20 3-month subscription. This is streaming not DVD though.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/promo