I just got my credit card bill for last month and it was a big one as expected, thanks to all the Christmas shopping I did. My next bill probably won't be as costly, but it would likely be a good sum as well, thanks to the anime shopping trip I took today.
As mentioned before, I was hesitant about getting the Aquarion DVD set because of its price and the lack of Part 1. Well, I checked online and found that said missing item was available at the Burnaby Best Buy. After some struggle, I succumbed to my inner collector's thirst and got Part 2 not long after the post. But it's not until today, roughly one month later, that I finally went and got Part 1.
Aquarion Part 1 was what I set out to get today, but I ended up buying over $200 (after tax) worth of stuff. I will have to tighten my belt for the next month or so to make up for this...
Anyhow, after an interesting drive through the sea of fog, I arrived at my first stop, Crystal Mall. It's probably no secret that most of the DVDs there are bootlegs, so my main objective there was plamo rather than media. The ones I'm looking for are not out yet so I was really just browsing. I was also planning to ambush friend L at her work but I missed their closing hour...
There's quite a few Three Kingdoms themed SD Gundam plamo at the stores, including the clear colour versions. I was tempted to get the peach orchard oath 3-in-1 set, but I already have the Ryubi Gundam, so I settled for the Koumei & Chouun set. There were three stores selling the set, all with different prices. Luckily, I got it from the cheapest one. :)
Next stop was Best Buy, the original destination for the trip. I had asked friend L's colleague, who lives just a block away from there, to get the Aquarion Part 1 for me, but she couldn't find it even with the help of the store associate. I already checked last night to make sure it's still showing as in stock and went straight to the anime section and snatched it off the shelf today. Took me less than 10 minutes to retreat out of there. XD
My last stop was the infamous maze that has never failed to trap me every time I went there, Metropolis/Metrotown Centre. Friend D once mentioned to me that Sakura Media had moved from Crystal Mall to Metropolis, so I decided to take a look, thinking that they should have legit media since they're now selling in Metro. Little did I know that the place would be a black hole for my hard earned cash...
Less than five minutes after I walked in, I almost coughed out a Sir Borden for three volumes of Mobile Suit Gundam Illustration World. I held off on those and decided to browse the whole store first. I almost grabbed Guren Type-2 but stopped myself as I am waiting for Guren SEITEN (and Lancelot Albion). The Royal coating version of Vincent was very tempting as well, but the price was enough to pull me back out. The store was playing O2 while I was contemplating the plamo purchase. What coincidence. XD
Then I noticed the wall of anime DVDs... One of the store clerks approached me and led me to Code Geass as requested. They only had Part 2 and are waiting for more shipment of Part 1. I was ecstatic at first as I was going to order Code Geass from Amazon, then I saw their price tag and put it back. The first digit was double that of Amazon's. I'll just order them as planned...
My best find for the day was the Argento Soma DVD set that I've been looking forever for and was planning to order online along with Code Geass! Again, their price tag was higher than that of Amazon's, but this time the difference was within acceptable range so I still bought it there. I also got the Infinite Ryvius DVD set and almost grabbed the Kenran Butousai DVD set and the Gundam 0080 set.
They have a fairly sizeable selection of manga, but they're all in English. The girl tipped me off of a Japanese book store in Downtown, but I don't think I'll be able to make it due to the distance. Today was, as far as I can recall, my second trip to the other side of the bridge after I left Mepos last summer. Downtown? I go there maybe once every two years or so. I think I'll stick with Iwase for my Japanese reading needs.
They don't have membership currently but they give out coupons for the following month, $2 for every $25 spend. I guess I'm going back there next month. Should I go for the art book or the DVD? Ah, the decisions...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 05, 2009
Hello 2009!
First of all, let's have a moment of silence for the melting and shrinking snow that's been with us for the past month or so... There.
I'll miss those pinkish night sky until they loom over us again in the 2009/2010 winter. As long as the snow doesn't compromise the road condition when I need to go out, that is.
Too bad it was ridiculously cold when the snow accumulation reached its highest so I didn't take a picture. Now that it's starting to melt, I have no interest in recording its slow and painful death.
We broke the record for snow fall in December for Surrey, btw.
Because of the snow, we cancelled our different agenda and stayed home. Mum wanted to rent a movie but didn't have anything in mind. I voted for Wall-E, but bro pushed hard for Transformer, so we ended up with Transformer.
Bro and I had some hearty good laughs throughout the movie, though I had to keep explaining to Mum 'cause she was lost from the beginning and was still confused at the end. I especially love the scene when the main guy (sorry, forgot his name already) was demanded whether he was user so and so, and where item number so and so was. I also burst out laughing not five minutes into the film when the narration, with a low grave voice, mentioned the Cube. Nice name for such a supposedly powerful object. XD
Other than the eBay and robotic jokes, I found Transformer to be all right. The CG rendering and action is pretty awesome, though the fighting scenes between the robots can be a bit too fast paced to follow. And to untrained eyes such as Mum's, she had difficulty distinguishing the individual units unless they're in the vehicle mode.
Bro loved the movie and lauded it as the best movie of the year (2007?) I still think Wall-E would be better. I'm too used to robots fighting for peace/domination/destruction to get excited about Transformer, which is one of the reasons why I voted for Wall-E. I don't usually feel the attraction very often when watching commercials, but I did for Wall-E. It might not beat Fireball in the 3D robot-themed category in my mind, but I have high expectation for it.
Maybe I should just go buy the DVD?
After my last post in December, I went and bought Puzzle Quest the next day for my Guren. I also managed to get a copy of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III after numerous searches around town. The World Ends With You, unfortunately, is still out of sight.
Bought New Super Mario Bros yesterday 'cause I haven't got any platformer game yet. Bro didn't seem too interested in it and wanted a Naruto fighting game instead. Not a chance, man. Buy it yourself.
Anyhow, I started Puzzle Quest right away and also got bro into it. I chose a knight and named him Fenir to go with the background setting, while bro went with a wizard and named him Naruto. He beat the game two days ago and complained about the difficulty of the last boss. At the end, he had to adjust the game level to easy because he just couldn't win under the normal level. I beat the last boss yesterday in my first try right in his room, causing an appalled cry from him. Then I used his character and fought the last boss using the Choose An Opponent feature, and I beat him in one try as well under the normal level setting. This earned an indignant grunt and a weak excuse from bro. 甘いな、おとうとよ。XD
Since I plan to finish the NES version of DQ IV first, I had Chrono Trigger and FF III to choose from for my next game. I finally went with Chrono Trigger. Listening to its soundtrack has that effect on people.
So I'm now reliving a precious part of my gaming history. Knowing the story development didn't take away the fun of playing, and it's priceless to be able to see those memorable character and monster sprites moving about on the screen. The OP movie (from the PS version?) is very nice, too. I'm having a blast with Chrono Trigger! :D
First of all, let's have a moment of silence for the melting and shrinking snow that's been with us for the past month or so... There.
I'll miss those pinkish night sky until they loom over us again in the 2009/2010 winter. As long as the snow doesn't compromise the road condition when I need to go out, that is.
Too bad it was ridiculously cold when the snow accumulation reached its highest so I didn't take a picture. Now that it's starting to melt, I have no interest in recording its slow and painful death.
We broke the record for snow fall in December for Surrey, btw.
Because of the snow, we cancelled our different agenda and stayed home. Mum wanted to rent a movie but didn't have anything in mind. I voted for Wall-E, but bro pushed hard for Transformer, so we ended up with Transformer.
Bro and I had some hearty good laughs throughout the movie, though I had to keep explaining to Mum 'cause she was lost from the beginning and was still confused at the end. I especially love the scene when the main guy (sorry, forgot his name already) was demanded whether he was user so and so, and where item number so and so was. I also burst out laughing not five minutes into the film when the narration, with a low grave voice, mentioned the Cube. Nice name for such a supposedly powerful object. XD
Other than the eBay and robotic jokes, I found Transformer to be all right. The CG rendering and action is pretty awesome, though the fighting scenes between the robots can be a bit too fast paced to follow. And to untrained eyes such as Mum's, she had difficulty distinguishing the individual units unless they're in the vehicle mode.
Bro loved the movie and lauded it as the best movie of the year (2007?) I still think Wall-E would be better. I'm too used to robots fighting for peace/domination/destruction to get excited about Transformer, which is one of the reasons why I voted for Wall-E. I don't usually feel the attraction very often when watching commercials, but I did for Wall-E. It might not beat Fireball in the 3D robot-themed category in my mind, but I have high expectation for it.
Maybe I should just go buy the DVD?
After my last post in December, I went and bought Puzzle Quest the next day for my Guren. I also managed to get a copy of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III after numerous searches around town. The World Ends With You, unfortunately, is still out of sight.
Bought New Super Mario Bros yesterday 'cause I haven't got any platformer game yet. Bro didn't seem too interested in it and wanted a Naruto fighting game instead. Not a chance, man. Buy it yourself.
Anyhow, I started Puzzle Quest right away and also got bro into it. I chose a knight and named him Fenir to go with the background setting, while bro went with a wizard and named him Naruto. He beat the game two days ago and complained about the difficulty of the last boss. At the end, he had to adjust the game level to easy because he just couldn't win under the normal level. I beat the last boss yesterday in my first try right in his room, causing an appalled cry from him. Then I used his character and fought the last boss using the Choose An Opponent feature, and I beat him in one try as well under the normal level setting. This earned an indignant grunt and a weak excuse from bro. 甘いな、おとうとよ。XD
Since I plan to finish the NES version of DQ IV first, I had Chrono Trigger and FF III to choose from for my next game. I finally went with Chrono Trigger. Listening to its soundtrack has that effect on people.
So I'm now reliving a precious part of my gaming history. Knowing the story development didn't take away the fun of playing, and it's priceless to be able to see those memorable character and monster sprites moving about on the screen. The OP movie (from the PS version?) is very nice, too. I'm having a blast with Chrono Trigger! :D
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