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...