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A late/early shopping blog this week, and it covers what I should put up for last weeks entry and the second half of #4 of anime and manga's worth of stuff, especially a certain movie I finally got in.
Also, there will be no shopping blog for this week, next week maybe, a guy's gotta eat, unless dvds are edible...

ANIME:This week, two titles, a continuation from Funimation, and the movie I've been dying to get from Bandai.

First up, the great shonen pirate epic, One Piece, Collection Two, released by Funimation.


For the second week in a row, I decided to grab more one piece, I mean it's one piece? How can you go wrong? However, don't expect the third collection to be on the next shopping, because it's not out yet.
Everything I said about the first collection, immediately applies to this one as well, but, either my eye sight is going bad or the picture quality is a bit rough on this dvd set. It isn't unwatchable by any means though.
Do I Recommend It? One Piece. Buy it. It's only $19.99 on online stores.
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Next up is the movie I've been waiting for, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Blu-Ray DVD Combo pack, released by Bandai Entertainment.


Finally, I got it, and I even splurged for the Blu-Ray copy in order to watch it in 1080p, and I should be happy, right? Well... I was expecting all the bells and whistles for this release, I mean come on! It's Haruhi! Anyone would've thought that Bandai would pull all the stops for this one as one of their most anticipated titles this year. Yet, just like everything else, this is a bare bones release.
By that I mean, it's a simple dvd case, with generic haruhi designs on it (Though, to be fair, all of the haruhi releases look a tad bit generic), not even a slip on cover to fit on it either, just a single dvd case with the Blu-Ray, DVD copies plus an extra dvd stuffed with a butt load of extras.
Okay, that extra dvd is pretty nice, but for a title as big as haruhi, Bandai should have really gone an extra step. And the prices are gasp inducing, almost as much as $40 online, but, this website has it for $24.99: http://www.animecornerstore.com/meofhasubdio.html
Do I Recommend It? I still do, as long as the actual package isn't a big deal to you, then this is worth every penny to every haruhi fan out there.
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MANGA:I got four titles this time, from Del Rey, Yen Press, and Dark Horse.

First up, is best of the bunch for this week, yeah the saying is, save the best for last, but this is best up front, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service volume 2, released by Dark Horse.


As the first manga on this blog from Dark Horse, I couldn't be happier to showcase this hidden gem. Along with one of the most unique cover designs I've ever seen on a manga, it is a thick, over 200 page manga volume with better quality paper than most manga would have, plus, it's only $8.98 and cheap on online stores, $10.99 retail.
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Next, the first of conclusions of the long running psycho moe series, Higurashi: When They Cry: Eye Opening Arc volume 4, series volume 14, released by Yen Press.


As the first of the Higurashi Kai endings, the volume itself is a bit small, but more average size than anything else. It includes a color page right after the front cover (Most Yen Press manga have color pages in them however), and a nice bit of extras in the back, and for $11.99, it's all around average.
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At third, I got the series with everybody's favorite suicidal teacher, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei volume 6, released by Del Rey.


One of my favorite current manga, and I will only read in the US manga volumes, why? Because Del Rey put a lot of effort into the manga volumes, it looks great, the pages are good quality, and the back has an amazing reference guide to everything that may seem obscure to unfamiliar readers with a lack of knowledge concerning japanese culture.
Yes, even despite the fact that the translation did mess up Zetsubou sensei's famous quote, it's more than forgivable for the excellent manga volume.
It's a little on the thin side, but with over 10 chapters, it'll last a while.
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And finally, I think it would be more appropriate to end it with another haruhi related item, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya volume 9, released by Yen Press.


You know what? I don't know which one I'll start with, the movie version or manga version of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, because both cover that story, and volume 9 ends it where volume 7 started it.
The manga volume is average quality, and even has a several more color pages than what other Yen Press titles normally come with.
And for $11.99, it's an average release too.

Overall: I got what I wanted, but not how it should have been, but everything else helps to ease the disappointment.

A good solid B for this entry.

Reminder: No shopping blog for this week, next week it'll be back for next week.