I've got a little of everything to talk about, so lets get to it!
Housekeeping & Tab Clearing
Funimation confirmed for me this week that the Oniai Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (FN-09221) is now officially sold out at wholesale and they do not plan to make anymore. They are considering a replacement SKU (probably a 'Classic' edition) sometime next year, but they don't have a date or any other info for it yet.
I also wanted to note, because a few people have asked, that Funimation's new release of Ghost in the Shell: Arise 1&2 does not come in one of the nice chip board art boxes like their Limited Edition releases usually include. It's packaged in a regular double amaray BD slip cover - same type that AniPlex uses for their releases like SAO. Just FYI.
New Licenses
Sentai announced this week that they have licensed the 2009 Anime series Student Council's Discretion (Seitokai no Ichizon). I imagine they probably optioned the 2013 sequel as well, but are going to wait to see how season 1 does before they pull the trigger. Home video release will be coming next year, details TBA.
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For Seitokai no Ichizon, a picture is worth a thousand words... |
And the folks in Iowa, under their "Lucky Penny" label, announced that they picked up the Looking Up at the Half-Moon OVA. This was the Pony Canyon license that the sex offender tried to publish last year, but couldn't get it out because he ended up in the slam for a parole violation - for attending a con to promote the release when he wasn't supposed to go anywhere near a place were minors might congregate. The Japanese must have been reeling over that one, so I imagine Lucky Penny got the title for a good price. Heck, after all that, the Japanese probably ended up having to pay them to publish it. And I gotta give them credit for having the sac to pickup a title with PR such that no one else was willing to attach their name to. It's not the OVA's fault after all.
Upcoming Releases
It's been a quiet week for new release announcements, but we did add the following Feb releases announced by Nozomi:
Rose of Versailles Complete Collection 1 DVD Boxed Set (Lite Box) - Feb 3
You're Being Summoned , Azazel Complete Collection DVD - Feb 3
As always, RACS has most Nozomi and Lucky Penny releases at 40% off MSRP every day. :-)
Weekly Cos-Play - Yeah, That's a Real Bear!
Yes, I know - if she was Merida she'd more likely have a bow, but who cares! That's a friggin bear! Talk about extreme cos-play...
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Warning: Don't try this at a con... |
More here. The photographer is Dasha Kond - he's got some pretty cool material here.
Passing Off Standard Shipping as Expedited? - Not at RACS!
One of our competitors is making a big deal this holiday season about offering an 'expedited' same day shipping option. The theory is that this will allow you to choose to have your in stock items shipped the same day as long as you order before 11am - and you pay them a little extra to worry over it. What a deal!
We looked at this amazing offer, and after analyzing it from 4 or 5 different directions we realized that we could never make such a claim - because we do it already as our standard shipping option. Long time RACS customers know that, as long as we have the stuff you want in stock at the time, we get your orders placed before NOON out the door the same day if at all possible. This even includes super saver and free shipping orders. And for those of you who use our REAL expedited shipping options, you know that we will try to get your FedEx 2nd Day and Overnight orders shipped out same day even up to 4pm in the afternoon if we can. As long as the truck hasn't come, we'll try to get your order on it no matter how late it is in the day. So we were just a little surprised to see someone trying to offer something as a bonus that we've been doing all along as a feature. But hey, I guess even a blind squirrel finds and acorn from time to time...
Sailor Moon Limited w/ Exclusive Memo PadJust when you thought the new
Sailor Moon Vol #1 Limited Edition came with enough extra's, I thought I should let you know that we are now shipping every new copy with an exclusive Sailor Moon Memo Pad:
We've got about 145 of these awesome memo pads left to give out, so if you haven't pulled the trigger on this great
Sailor Moon set, grab one from us and get a little exclusive RACS swag to boot!
State of the Industry - Voyager UpdateLast week I talked a little bit about my concerns regarding Voyager finishing their
Starblazers (Yamato) 2199 release here in the US. They have managed to get four out of the scheduled six DVD and BD volumes published, but then late this past summer something seemed to go off the rails with the release, so we've been trying to contact them to find out what the deal is.
Well, this week I actually got an answer, though I admit it doesn't really instill me with confidence. Here it is word for word:
"RACS,Thank you for your contact regarding our release of Starblazers 2199. Any further information are not clear. I'm sorry. But we are trying to continue distributing our animation. Sorry we have stopped selling Discs and postponed selling vol.5 and 6. The day of start selling is not clear. So sorry. If we start, we will announce on our Facebook and web site.
Thanks, Star Blazers Customers Service"
So, what did we find out?
1) we know there is still at least one person over there talking and breathing
2) they are still TRYING to distribute the series
3) the day of start selling is not clear
4) they are really very sorry
I read this as either a contract issue or a funding issue. If it's a funding issue because the initial four releases weren't selling well, they need to get the other two out and give it a chance.
Call us up, we'll help you fund the final two volumes. Seriously.
If it's a contract issue, as in someone in Japan noticed that something wasn't right on the paperwork half way through the release - please get that squared away ASAP - you know, before the radiation makes earth entirely uninhabitable!
Customer CornerThis week RACS fan Ryan posted the following question to our Facebook page:
"Hey I just wanted to know are all orders regardless of how many Items sent out in 1 size shipping boxes or do you send out single order DVD's/box sets in smaller boxes?"
Folks that have enjoyed our service for awhile know we're pretty fastidious about the way we package your orders, so Ryan's questions gives me yet another chance to highlight what makes us different from 'those other guys'. We always send out orders packaged appropriately to the
specific order and shipping method. We do not use any sort of 'one size fits all' packaging method. We go all the way from fold over mailers to oversize 275 test cardboard crates. We DON'T use padded mailers or one size fits all DVD shippers. That why we have to stock over 60 different sizes of shipping cartons at our fulfillment center.
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Boxes! So exciting! |
Another thing we don't do is mail out large super saver orders out via standard mail. I know one company, who will remain nameless, that has no compunction about putting a $2,000 Anime order out via uninsured media mail. No way we would ever do that, in fact, we will typically upgrade (at our option) most super saver orders over $300-$400 in value to fully insured FedEx or UPS ground shipping - even if you select our free shipping option. That's just the way we roll, and if you really want to cut through the rhetoric and see what a company REALLY thinks of the product it sells sells - and of YOU - just look at how they ship your stuff. Nuff said.
Last OnesThe following figurines have been ordered almost to the stock out level this week:
V.I.P Rare Selection: Minori Aiba 1/7 Scale FigureSister Brother II: Teacher NANA 1/6 Scale FigureGin Tama: Shinsuke Takasugi GEM Series 1/8 Scale PVC FigureFirst come first served, so get em while they last!
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He's not just another pipe smoking pretty boy.... |
Count on RACS for Delicious Extra'sThis holiday season St. Noemi might have a little something extra packaged in with your order. For the next few weeks, whenever practical, we're going to include a delicious Belgian Chocolate RACS coin with each order:
We had these made from real gourmet Belgian chocolate that we had imported from Europe, not the typical hard chocolate like the ones you can buy at the store, and they taste REALLY good! So while supplies last, you don't have to order anything special to get a great delicious extra from RACS, and you can actually do something with OUR coins - you can eat them! Yuuummmmm!
So please - place your orders as soon as you can before we end up eating them all ourselves!
45 Days of RACS Holiday Deals Continues!And finally, in case you've missed it, we're offering 45 days of great RACS holiday deals, which will run from now until the end of December. Just about each day for the next six weeks we will post a deep discounted daily deal on some great Anime items, so make sure you don't miss out. Check the
blog, our
FB or
Twitter feed, or make sure you're signed up for our
daily e-mail blast thru the holidays.
If you think the ones that have come and gone were great, you ain't seen nothing yet! :-)
Robert's Random Thoughts
"If Internet Explorer is brave enough to ask to be your default browser, you're brave enough to go over there and ask that girl out...."
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