What better way to get started on Blu-ray than with Akira?

Some of my arrivals this week are Blu-ray related as this is first opportunity I've had to actually watch anything on that format thanks to my new PC (it might not be the fanciest method around, but it's all I've got for now).


Tuesday (last week), Amazon.co.uk, I received Summer Wars / The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

I had no intention of getting these movies on Blu-ray as I already own the DVD releases of both, but if you saw Amazon selling this double pack for as little as £7.47 you'd be forgiven for succumbing to the urge of purchasing it there and then without thinking twice about it.


Wednesday, Amazon.co.uk, I received...

• Gurren Lagann Complete Collection
• Akira The Collector's Edition
  

I've wanted to own Gurren Lagann on DVD for a long time, but I was not prepared to splash out roughly £75 for the three box sets that were originally available. Hence why I bided my time for the inevitable Anime Legends release that was more agreeable to the wallet.

Akira is a film I first came across when I was still at school and was able to see roughly half of it when some of the older kids happened to watch it one evening. But when it came to seeing the of it I was told no cos it was a 15 which annoyed me as I was really getting into it.

As the years went on I was finally able to get it on DVD for myself (the version I had was the one with both the original and rerecorded English dubs). However, I seem to have misplaced it somewhere since then and that's where this version comes in. I knew they were doing an HD remaster of Akira, but I had little interest in it until the new PC came and thought "why not test it out with that?" and proceeded to order the Collector's Edition (it was the same price as the standard Blu-ray release and included a booklet, DVD and steelbook case to sweeten the deal).

Time travel at its bittersweet best

I've been buying a lot of DVDs lately haven't I?

I guess it's because I finally found a way to make my PC multi-region that's given me enough reason to be on the lookout for DVDs (especially if I'm able to find stuff I like at bargain prices).


Anyway, the DVD I got today from fayity was The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Limited Collector's Edition (this one is the HMV exclusive release rather than the recent 2-disc release).

Oh, and it case you were wondering, I didn't pay £20 for this like the label says.

Also, that English title is a tad long for my liking, so I'll be referring to it as TokiKake (the abbreviation of its Japanese title Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo).

I only decided to get this film on a whim cos I learned it was directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who also directed another film I saw fansubbed fairly recently called Summer Wars (which was a damn good film that took me by surprise that's for sure).

I've already watched the film and I can say with ease that TokiKake was a nice change from the usual anime I tend to watch, and this fact alone made it a very worthwhile purchase.