#those LEGOLGEL tunes still slap

[hotwaterandmilk]

Following up on this post about bargain shoujo/josei (and sapphic magical hijinks) titles from Sentai, the items I ordered have arrived and aside from the damage to the Princess Tutu blu-ray spine (seen above) I'm pretty happy.

As with all standard Sentai releases these are barebones blu-rays with little more to offer than the series and some clean OPs/EDs. Princess Tutu is the exception as it has had several previous quality releases and features more on-disc goodies like commentaries, outtakes, and some ballet-focused features.

(Though full disclosure, I only got the standard version of Tutu. Sentai does have a far more elaborate steelbook release for the title that die-hard fans may prefer over this normie set. I like the series but I'm not that keen so I settled for this version.)

Petshop of Horrors is an old title and thus only SD, so what we have in this release is about what I was expecting. Flip Flappers! is pretty disappointing though as the individual Japanese blu-rays featured gorgeous illustrations for the packaging (by tanu and Kojima Takashi both), commentaries on disc, and deluxe settei booklets. I understand not being able to bring over some of this more elaborate content for what is obviously a minimalist release, but the use of one of the promo anime images for the cover over some of the lovely OG art is a shame.

Similarly Anonymous Noise had really plush individual disc releases for its anime adaptation featuring Fukuyama's distinctive art on each cover. US releases don't tend to worry about goodies for all but the biggest anime titles these days, so a stripped back release was about all anyone could expect for a niche Hana to Yume title adaptation. But I feel it's a tad disappointing that, like with Flip Flappers!, the generic promo image for the series on a thin wisp of paper is all you really get in terms of packaging.

In saying that though, the actual episode content for all releases is solid. The actual transfer of newer titles like Flip Flappers! and Anonymous Noise = good and the Princess Tutu remaster looks lovely. Petshop of Horrors is the lowest quality video of the bunch but for $4 USD I've been more than satisfied watching Count D fuck with dumbasses in SD.

Ultimately none of these releases feels as considered as the titles I've purchased from Discotek Media recently, they just don't have that boutique, fan-focused touch. However, I do still think they are worth owning if you are interested in the series mentioned.

Physical media is something I feel very strongly about so I'm obviously biased about buying things when you're in a position to do so, but given the way streaming has stripped back our ability to possess modern titles, rewatch them, and even preserve them, I'm always thankful when I can grab a physical bargain for my collection.