Life of Pi

You should see it.

Section 23's May 2013 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

In a surprise early announcement, Section 23 has sent us their entire May 2013 release schedule! We now have it up on the store site for pre-order.

Here's a list of what coming in May:

Kids on the Slope Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-12) - May 7
Kids on the Slope Complete Collection BLURAY (Eps #1-12) - May 7
Natsuyuki Rendezvous Complete Collection DVD - May 7
Colorful: The Motion Picture DVD - May 14
Colorful: The Motion Picture BLURAY - May 14
Kämpfer ~ für die Liebe OVA Collection DVD - May 14
K-On the Movie DVD - May 21
K-On the Movie BLURAY - May 21
Love Love Complete Collection DVD - May 21
Okamikakushi ~ Masque of the Wolf Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-12) - May 28
Phi-Brain ~ The Puzzle of God Season 1 Collection 2 DVD - May 28
Phi-Brain ~ The Puzzle of God Season 1 Collection 2 BLURAY - May 28

Funimation's April 2013 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Funimation has sent over their April 2013 release schedule, and we now have it up on the store site for pre-order. Here's what's coming:

New Material:

Certain Scientific Railgun (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun) Season 1 Part 1 DVD (Limited) - Apr 16
Certain Scientific Railgun (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun) Season 1 Part 1 DVD (Standard) - Apr 16
Certain Scientific Railgun (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun) Season 1 Part 2 DVD - Apr 16
Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing- Part 1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Limited Edition) - Apr 30
Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing- Part 1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Standard Edition) - Apr 30
Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing- Part 2 DVD/BD Combo Set - Apr 30

Re-Releases / Re-Prices:

Summer Wars Movie DVD/BD Combo Set - Apr 16
Rosario+Vampire (Season 1) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) - Apr 23
Rosario+Vampire CAPU (Season 2) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26) - Apr 23
Eden of the East Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-11) (Classic) - Apr 30
Eden of the East Complete Collection BLURAY (Eps #1-11) (Classic) - Apr 30
Fairy Tail Season #1 Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-24) - Apr 30
Slayers TV Season 4 & 5 (Revolution & Evolution-R) DVD (Classic) - Apr 30
Slayers TV Season 4 & 5 (Revolution & Evolution-R) BLURAY (Classic) - Apr 30

And finally Funi has lowered the MSRP on one of their current releases:

Chrono Crusade Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set - $49.98 to $39.98 MSRP

Section 23's April 2013 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Section 23 has sent over their April 2013 release schedule and it's fantastic! We now have it up on the store site for pre-order.

Here's a list of all the new Anime goodness coming:

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Complete Collection DVD- Apr 2
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Complete CollectionBLURAY - Apr 2
Inu X Boku SS Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-12) - Apr 9
Inu X Boku SS Complete Collection BLURAY (Eps #1-12) - Apr 9
Tegami Bachi Letter Bee Reverse (Season 2) Collection 1 DVD - Apr 9
Hiiro no Kakera: The Tamayori Princess Saga Season 1 Collection DVD (Eps #1-13) - Apr 16
Hiiro no Kakera: The Tamayori Princess Saga Season 1 Collection BLURAY (Eps #1-13) - Apr 16
Place to Place (Acchi Kocchi) Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-13) - Apr 16
Hakuoki: A Memory of Snow Flowers OVA Collection DVD - Apr 23
Psychic Detective Yakumo Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-13) - Apr 23
Patlabor OVA Collection DVD - Apr 23
Patlabor OVA Collection BLURAY - Apr 23
Qwaser of Stigmata II Complete Collection DVD (Eps #25-37) - Apr 30

Lather, Rinse, Repeat...

From time to time I like to post a customer comment, good or bad, to give everyone a glimpse of what it's like from our side of the screen. Now obviously I don't analyze every customer comment in depth like this, but sometimes one stands out for whatever reason. So on Dec 30th, Meg messaged us the following:

"Hello ANime Corner. You were at the AMKE2012 Convention last year and I wanted to tell you about the poor service on how I was treated when I bought a Shaymin at the vendor booth. I lost my shaymin by accident and the seller did not have a replacement NOR DID he give me a receipt for my payment so to give it to him AND had poor lack of storage supply on doubles. I wanted to tell you that if your attending AMKE 2013 this year please be sure your employees provide receipts for customers and have plenty of items in stock should one lose an item or replace due to being broken or rip..."

First off, I want to make sure everyone knows that no one from RACS has ever set foot within 100 miles of one of the AMKE shows, so clearly she just had us mistaken us for someone else (you know Anime this, Anime that - we all probably look alike to some customers), and later she messaged us again to apologize and let us know that she had sent the message to us by mistake, which I appreciated, so no harm done there. Also, to Megs credit, she PM'd this to us rather than stupidly posting in public on FB, Twitter, or a Forum like some people doubtlessly would have.

Frankly, I was glad to actually not be the target of some fans retailer angst this time around, but I got to thinking about her complaint and a couple of things occurred to me:

1) Anime Milwaukee is a February show, so she is sending this complaint to the vendor a full ten months after her experience at the show? What took so long? I can only assume that with the 2013 show coming up, she was sitting around on a Sunday thinking about it and decided that she needed to let the vendors from last years show know how they can do things better for her this time around - well, at least as she sees it.

OK, fair enough, but it does get me to wondering what the statute of limitations on customer angst is. For myself, no matter how bad of an experience I have with someone, I can almost guarantee that six months after the fact I have long forgotten about it.

2) If I read it correctly, she's upset because she lost the item she bought (Shaymin is a Pokemon character, so I assume she bought a plushy or some other piece of character merchandise) and when she returned to the vendors booth to get another one he either did not have one to replace it or would not replace it for free (or offer her a refund?) because she didn't have a receipt. Frankly, neither of which would have been the vendors responsibility, but the incident made Meg so upset that she's taking her precious time to post about it 10 months after it happened. I assume the guy working the booth was a  little gruff with her, failing in his duty to be the expected Anime Retailer version of Mr. Roboto at all times.

I've fielded my fair share of customer angst over the years for things that I myself thought were fairly insignificant or more often 'mis-directed', and while this incident had nothing to do with RACS directly, it still ended up costing me a couple of minutes out of my life long after the fact that I'll never be able to get back, and it makes me wonder if it's just like this in all retail, or if Anime fans can be a particularly prickly group of consumers?

What say you? :-)

NIS Announces Hanasaku Iroha ~ Blossoms for Tomorrow ~ Premium for April!

NIS has sent over the paperwork for their Hanasaku Iroha ~ Blossoms for Tomorrow ~ Collection 1 premium release, and we now have it up on the store site for pre-order:

Hanasaku Iroha: Blossoms for Tomorrow Collection #1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Premium Edition)

Each collection includes a hardcover art book (full color, 36 pages) which provides a deeper viewing experience with detailed character info, rough sketches, artist interviews and setting illustrations.

The folks at NIS have also indicated that they expect to release the second half of the series this coming July.

Synopsis: When Ohana's mother flees with her boyfriend to avoid paying his debts, Ohana is sent off to live with her grandmother, who owns the hot spring inn, Kissuiso. Upon arriving, Ohana is put to work at the inn. Thrust into a life where the customers always come first, she struggles to find her place at the inn and fit in with her fellow coworkers.

In addition to this April release, they have also announced four standard editions for the end of January:

Arakawa Under the Bridge Season 1 Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-13) (Standard Edition)
Arakawa Under the Bridge Season 1 Complete Collection BLURAY (Eps #1-13) (Standard Edition)
Bunny Drop Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Standard Edition)
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up Complete Collection BLURAY (Standard Edition)

         

Funimation Recalls / Postpones Release for Baka and Test Season 2 LE

Today our copies of the Baka and Test Season 2 Complete Collection DVD/BLURAY Combo Set (Limited Edition) arrived from Funimation. Just as we were getting ready to print out the pre-order tickets to send them out to the floor to be filled (and in what is probably the first case of impeccable timing since I started in this business 14 years ago) a message from Funimation flashed up on my computer warning us that a defect had been discovered in the set and that Funi was recalling all the sets that had already shipped out.

Apparently the sets shipped with the wrong art printed on the DVD disks. We will be returning our copies to FUni as requested, and they have pushed back the street date by two weeks to January 29th to facilitate the repressing and shipment of corrected sets.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Funimation Adds Heaven's Lost Property: Angeloid of Clockwork Movie

Funimation sent over a note yesterday (and I can't believe anyone is actually working down there this week) that they have decided to add the Angeloid of Clockwork movie to the February schedule.

Heaven's Lost Property (Sora no Otoshimono) Movie: Angeloid of Clockwork DVD/BD Set

Now they have 4 releases scheduled for February - woohoo! MSRP will be $34.98 and we'll be offering it for $10 less. And don't be surprised if it gets delayed folks - these surprise late December announcements for Feb releases from Funi usually do. But until we hear different, it's setup for Feb 26th.

We still have a few HLP magnetic clings laying around here somewhere, and if you've been a regular RACS customer we'd be happy to toss one in with your pre-order - but only if you ask nicely. -_^

Post Holiday Order Shipping and Bad Weather Notice

We're back folks! After the 4 day weekend we've got a huge stack of accumulated orders to work through - thanks!

The Snow Storm west of the DC area is going to hamper our operations today. The crew has been trickling in all morning getting here as best they can over the really bad roads, and as the conditions deteriorate throughout the day I'm not sure how long we will be able to stay before things get bad enough that I have to start letting folks go to head home. I'm sure outbound shipments will be impacted as well.

Anyway we're doing our best, so just try to be patient with us regarding getting your orders shipped and your e-mails answered over the next couple of days. Remember, asking us more than once about the status of your order won't help us to get it processed any faster.

We shouldn't have any problem getting all caught up by Friday before we break for the new years holiday, so keep those orders coming!

What They Said...

Let Me Brush It [Nisemonogatari]

For those of you who thought you were already familiar enough with Karen's mouth:



Brushing your teeth will never feel the same again...  From Nisemonogatari, the sequel to Bakemonogatari.

Just in case the world does end tomorrow...

...I’ll miss you guys. After all, I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. -_^

Great Last Minute Gift Ideas from RACS!

We'll, we're down to the wire for Christmas shipping, but it's still not too late to get something for that special Otaku!

RACS store orders (shipping within the US) can still be there by Dec 24th if you use our flat rate 2nd day air shipping option as long as your order is placed before 4pm EST on Thursday afternoon.

Don't forget, RACS e-newsletter subscribers can get FREE 2nd Day Air shipping thru 4pm tomorrow on any order over $200 by using our SHIPFAST coupon at checkout.

After that, Dec 24th delivery is still possible if you select our FedEx Next Day Air option and place your order no later than 3PM EST on Friday afternoon.

If you are still pondering that last minute gift, and just can't figure out what the right thing would be, here are some RACS staff recommendations you really can't go wrong with:

Bunny Drop Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Premium Edition)
Natsume's Book of Friends Seasons 1&2 DVD Collection (Premium Edition)
Serial Experiments Lain Complete Series DVD/BD Combo Set
Children Who Chase Lost Voices DVD
Haibane Renmei Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
The Book of Bantorra Collection DVD
A Certain Magical Index (Toaru Majutsu no Index) DVD
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere DVD
Hakuoki: Dream of the Fleeting Blossom Season 1 Collection DVD
Ai Yori Aoshi / Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi, Complete Collection DVD

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind , Graphic Novel Box Set (Vol #1-7) (Hardcover)
Ouran High School Host Club Graphic Novel Box Set (Vol #1-18)
Legend of Zelda Graphic Novel Boxed Set (Vol #1-10)
Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure, Graphic Novel Box Set (Vol #1-8)
Vampire Knight Graphic Novel Collectors Boxed Set (Vol #1-10)

xxxHolic 16" Mokona Back Pillow
Sonic The Hedgehog: 20" Plush Bag / Bakpack - Sonic

I Don't Have Many Friends: Yozora Mikaduki ~ Monster Hunter Version ~ 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Tekken TT2: Asuka Kazama Bishoujo Statue
DC Bishoujo Wonder Woman Statue
Cowboy Bebop Spike Spiegel Play Arts Kai Action Figure
Guilty Crown: Inori Yuzuriha 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Last Exile: Alvis & Lavie 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Mayo Chiki! Nakuru Narumi 1/4.5 Polyresin Figure
Linkin Park Nendoroid Petite Action Figure Set
Working!! Aoi Yamada Nendoroid Action Figure
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Sakura Kyoko Nendoroid Action Figure
One Piece: Jewelry Bonney Portrait of Pirates NEO-DX 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Queens Blade Rebellion Annelotte Blue Knight Princess ExModel Core PVC Figure

All of the above items are currently in stock at our Winchester, VA fulfillment center. Don't forget, our big figurine sale ends Dec 21st, so there are only two days left to save big on hundreds of different Anime figures and toys. Don't miss out!

We also have some great exclusive deals going on at our Amazon store, and if you are a prime member you can get free 2nd day shipping there. Checkout some of these great deals, all under $25:



Our inventory for all of the above items are already in stock at Amazon's warehouse and ready to ship directly to you!

We'll be breaking for the long holiday weekend at the close of business on Friday, so 3pm EST on Dec 21st is going to be our drop dead for any orders to ship out prior to Christmas. After that, consider giving an RACS e-Gift certificate. They come in domination's as little as $25 and will be available for delivery via e-mail including your personal gift message right up through Christmas eve on the 24th.

Time for me to get back to work. Happy holidays everyone! :-)

Funimation's March 2013 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Funimation has sent over their March 2013 release schedule, and we now have it up on the store site for pre-order. Here's what's coming:

Dragonball Z Kai Season 4 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #78-98) - Mar 12
Dragonball Z Kai Season 4 BLURAY Boxed Set (Eps #78-98) - Mar 12
Trigun Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26) (Classic Edition) - Mar 12
One Piece Season 4 Part 4 DVD Boxed Set (Uncut) - Mar 19
Toriko Collection Part #3 DVD (Eps #27-39) - Mar 19
Corpse Princess Complete Collection DVD Set (Eps #1-26) (S.A.V.E. Edition) - Mar 26
Shana Season 3 Part 1 Complete DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set (Limited Edition) - Mar 26
Shana Season 3 Part 2 Complete DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set - Mar 26

Also, they have bumped the dates on a couple of January releases:

Blood C Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Limited Edition) - Jan 8 to Jan 22
Blood C Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Standard Edition) - Jan 8 to Jan 22
Toriko Collection Part #1 DVD (Eps #1-13) - Jan 8 to Jan 22

Section 23's March 2013 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Section 23 has sent over their March 2013 release schedule, and we now have it up on the store site for pre-order. Here's what's coming:

Bodacious Space Pirates Collection 2 DVD - Mar 5
Bodacious Space Pirates Collection 2 BLURAY - Mar 5
Rurouni Kenshin the New Kyoto Arc DVD - Mar 5
Rurouni Kenshin the New Kyoto Arc BLURAY - Mar 5
Penguin Drum Collection 2 DVD - Mar 12
Penguin Drum Collection 2 BLURAY - Mar 12
Vampire Princess Miyu TV Series Complete Collection DVD - Mar 12
Fate/Stay Night Collection 2 BLURAY - Mar 19
Fate/Stay Night Complete Collection DVD Set (Eps #1-24) - Mar 19
Amagami SS Plus Complete Collection DVD - Mar 26
Phi-Brain ~ The Puzzle of God Season 1 Collection 1 DVD - Mar 26
Phi-Brain ~ The Puzzle of God Season 1 Collection 1 BLURAY - Mar 26

As a side note, this marks my 1,000th post to the RACS side blog. Only took 6 years. Hurrahhhhh! :-)

Amazing Odaiba Gundam HDR Time Lapse Video

Amazing HDR time lapse video of the full size Gundam on Tokyo's Odaiba island:


I'm sorry, but this is totally badass! More info here.

NIS Announces Natsume's Book of Friends Season 3 Premium for March!

NIS has sent over the paperwork for their Natsume's Book of Friends Season 3 premium release, and we now have it up on the store site for pre-order:

Natsume's Book of Friends Season 3 DVD/BD Combo Collection (Premium Edition)

Each collection includes a hardcover art book, “Natsume’s Book of Friends,” (full color, 32 pages) which provides a deeper viewing experience with detailed character info, an episode guide, rough sketches, and Japanese DVD package illustrations. The set will street on March 5th and carry an MSRP of $69.98, but of course you can pre-order it from RACS for 30% off that price.

And yes, we are aware this the S3 set will be getting BD treatment as a BD/DVD combo set where the first set was DVD only. I've asked NISA to comment on that.

Synopsis: Takashi Natsume has always been shunned by those around him because of his mysterious ability to see yokai. Eventually, he came into possession of his grandmother Reiko’s “Book of Friends,” and together with his bodyguard Nyanko-sensei he set out to return the names of the yokai contained within it. Since then, he’s found a home with the Fujiwaras and surrounded himself with friends at school. Little does he know he's about to be dragged unwittingly into further trouble...

UPDATE: NISA gives us the official word on why the 1st Natsume set (S1-2) was DVD only:

"We originally planned to put seasons 1 and 2 together in the same Premium Edition because both seasons were released in Japan quite a while ago, and we felt that in order to be able to release seasons 3 and 4 in a timely manner, placing the first two seasons together was the best route for us. We are aware that seasons 1 and 2 became available in Blu-ray format earlier this year in Japan; however, in order to make the Season 1 & 2 Premium Edition affordable for our customers, we opted to release it on DVD instead of a Blu-ray combo. Timing was also a key factor; had we opted to go with Blu-ray, the original release of Season 1 & 2 Premium Edition would have been delayed as well."

Otaku's Room - Cool!

Here's how one Otaku lives the life:


As a side note, I love his collection, but I can't help to notice that his figures are suffocating in their original boxes - probably because he read on a forum somewhere that 'true collectors' never take their figures out of the window boxes. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I have felt for a long time that there is this really fine line in some circles between hoarders and collectors. If your figure collection is sitting in the original boxes stacked up in the back of a closet somewhere, you might want to rethink your reasons for collecting in the first place. I mean, this good man doesn't keep his posters in the original mailing tubes, does he? He puts them out for display so he and all around him can enjoy them in all their glory. So I would just like to debunk this 'window box' myth by saying that REAL collectors aren't afraid to touch the shiny parts, and shouldn't care about the potential 'resale' value of their figurines because we will NEVER want to sell them anyway. I have over 800 figurines in my personal collection (they occupy a whole room in my house), and don't have a single window box cluttering up my space. We should collect them to enjoy them. If you prefer to keep them in their boxes, that's fine, but don't be afraid to get rid of them and display your figures openly either - you'll be glad you did. :-)

Holiday Stocking List - Top 50 Manga Releases of 2012 at RACS

In the spirit of our best selling Anime releases of 2012, here is our list of our top 50 selling Manga volumes so far for this year - again sorted simply by the number of units that RACS has shipped to customers.

Without a doubt Rosario + Vampire has been our most shipped Manga series, and pretty much has been since it debuted in 2008. While Sailor Moon has been one of the shining stars of Manga in the book trades this year, none of the recent volumes makes our top 50 list. This is purely a reflection of our niche audience vs. book store shoppers.

Note that three 'H' titles made the list - unlike traditional manga releases, those tend to be long tail items for us that we ship fairly consistently for long periods of time.

Rosario+Vampire Series II , Vol #8, Graphic Novel	9781421540504
Rosario+Vampire Series II , Vol #7, Graphic Novel	9781421540269
Rosario+Vampire Series II , Vol #9, Graphic Novel	9781421542096
Omamori Himari , Vol #6, Graphic Novel	9780316195737
Dance in the Vampire Bund , Vol #11, Graphic Novel	9781935934042
High School of the Dead , Vol #5, Graphic Novel	9780316132466
Omamori Himari , Vol #8, Graphic Novel	9780316209427
High School of the Dead , Vol #6, Graphic Novel	9780316209434
Negima, Vol #33, Graphic Novel	9781612621159
High School of the Dead , Vol #7, Graphic Novel	9780316209441
Omamori Himari , Vol #7, Graphic Novel	9780316195744
Negima, Vol #34, Graphic Novel	9781612621166
A Strange Kind of Woman Graphic Novel (Adult)	9781606995143
Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol #19, Graphic Novel	9781421533483
Negima, Vol #35, Graphic Novel	9781612621203
Rosario+Vampire Series II , Vol #10, Graphic Novel	9781421548791
Neon Genesis Evanglion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project , Vol #10, Graphic Novel	9781595828798
Oh My Goddess!, Vol #41, Graphic Novel	9781595828910
Dance in the Vampire Bund , Vol #12, Graphic Novel	9781935934721
Oh My Goddess!, Vol #40, Graphic Novel	9781595828705
Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) , Vol #13, Graphic Novel	9781421541204
Negima, Vol #36, Graphic Novel	9781612622392
Toradora! , Vol #4, Graphic Novel	9781935934172
Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol #20, Graphic Novel	9781421533490
Oreimo , Vol #1, Graphic Novel	9781595829566
A Certain Scientific Railgun , Vol #3, Graphic Novel	9781935934127
Dance in the Vampire Bund , Vol #13, Graphic Novel	9781937867027
Yotsuba&!, Vol #11, Graphic Novel	9780316225397
Neon Genesis Evanglion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project , Vol #11, Graphic Novel	9781595829320
Berserk, Vol #36, Graphic Novel	9781595829429
Shocking Pink! Graphic Novel (Adult)	9781934129500
Embrace and Bloom Graphic Novel (Adult)	9781934129524
A Certain Scientific Railgun , Vol #5, Graphic Novel	9781935934783
Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) , Vol #12, Graphic Novel	9781421540238
A Certain Scientific Railgun , Vol #4, Graphic Novel	9781935934189
High School of the Dead , Color Omnibus Edition (Vol #1-4), Graphic Novel	9780316201049
Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vol #13, Graphic Novel (2nd Edition)	9781421552910
Sumomomo Momomo , Vol #11, Graphic Novel	9780316204699
Omamori Himari , Vol #0, Graphic Novel	9780316209410
Spice and Wolf , Vol #6, Graphic Novel	9780316210324
Omamori Himari , Vol #9, Graphic Novel	9780316229159
Excel Saga, Vol #23, Graphic Novel	9781421536415
Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) , Vol #14, Graphic Novel	9781421542669
Ninja Girls , Vol #9, Graphic Novel	9781612620701
Toradora! , Vol #5, Graphic Novel	9781935934790
Bamboo Blade , Vol #12, Graphic Novel	9780316189439
Bunny Drop , Vol #5, Graphic Novel	9780316210331
Is This A Zombie? , Vol #1, Graphic Novel	9780316210362
Claymore, Vol #20, Graphic Novel	9781421542119
Bamboo Blade , Vol #14, Graphic Novel	9780316189583