[US] Pandora Hearts Vol.1 Premium Edition
Wohoo~ my copy of Pandora Hearts dvd part 1 arrived this morning! I was worried it'd get caught up in all that parcel bomb fiasco going on. Being my first time purchasing from NIS America and also my first US import, I was more than pleased with the effort they put into the release. I mean to read about the extras is one thing but to have it in my hands and seeing it is another.Damn this is a neat release, though not without a minor gripe, which would be the way it was packaged.
For some reason the poster was rolled right to left and because of that the poster was taller than the dvd box, so they resorted to a larger box to ship it and had to stuff papers inside to keep the items from shuffling. That was such a waste of space. Not to mention the poster was shrink wrapped, much to my horror. Speaking of the poster, it was gorgeous but not in perfect condition, with a few minor creases around the middle at some parts but ah well, it wasn't my main objective so I can let it slide. Now, pictures and comments! Click the images for larger previews.
The dvd box, using the same Jun Mochizuki artwork as the first Japanese DVD box. Wonderful <3
The contents of the box + poster. 2 dvds containing 7 & 6 episodes respectively and the specials. Unfortunately watching the actual dvds will have to wait till I get me a multi-region player or decide to waste one region change on my laptop (but hey that's what fansubs are for =P). As you can see the box itself is the size of two dvd cases put side by side, which is how the two thin cases are fitted in the box, with the artbook on top. I was surprised that they were slotted from the top of the box, but it was a wise choice considering it's height.
I was wishing they'd use Oz's cover for the dvd cases instead of the artbook, but after seeing it, I'm satisfied even if Oz won't be used in the next volume as well.
Poster is the same artwork as the box. I can't be bothered trying to unroll it until I move into a place where I can put up posters wherever I want.
The two dvds up close. I'm loving how the logo isn't obstructing the artwork. My first time seeing/owning such thin dvd cases, but they seem sturdy enough (perhaps more than some normal cases for that matter lol >.>)
How it looks inside the case.
The hardcover artbook. Can't really complain about that great cover of Oz they used.
The first part containing a relationship chart, character bio, info tidbits and short comments by the staff. These are basically taken from the leaflets from the Japanese dvds (Retrace I-V), which is a really neat move imo.
Examples of the illustration gallery. Virtually all them can be found in the Pandora hearts Official Guide, save for this Alice in Wonderland one:
Needless to say I'm very happy about this. Here's to hoping Part II will have even more images not found on the Official Guide.
Third and last part of the book is the Gilbert in Wonderland comic drawn by Jun Mochizuki that came in 2 pages per volume in the dvd releases. First 10 pages are on this. They're fun to read and translated/edited fine, save for one page where it's apparent they did not bother covering the part where they erased the text and left white patches on one panel (not on the sample photo here).
This was yet another pleasant surprise, seeing them use Echo's Retrace VIII cover on the credits page of the artbook. Considering that the book's height is roughly the same as a dvd cover's, I'm happy :3. This means that once Part II is released, 8/9 of the Japanese covers would be used in total, that's great but I'm gonna feel sad for the poor odd one out lol. Wonder who it'll be?
Oz's Retrace IV is confirmed as the cover for the artbook, which leave Break, Sharon, Vincent and Jack. I suspect Break and Sharon will be the dvd covers and Vincent has a good chance of being in the same spot as Echo. Of course Jack is also an important (and popular) character so it could go any way...
Last but not least my current level of Pandora mania lol. Manga volumes 1-3 and 8.5 Character Guide, Mine of Mine artbook, Official Animation Guide and of course, Nis America dvd premium edition w/ poster. I'm gonna take my time increasing my Pandora mania. Chances are I'll purchase the soundtracks and drama cds sometime next year and maybe the Postcard & Seal book. Not sure when I'll get around to buying more of the manga volumes, seeing how I also have Yozakura and Regios Secret Side volumes on my to-get list as well. At this rate I'll be getting the Japanese volumes as fast as YenPress' slow as hell releases lol...
Ah, that took a lot more time to write up than I thought but I can see why blogging about merchandise can be fun. You may have noticed me constantly referring to the Japanese releases in my commentary, but it can't be helped since I keep track of stuff like that for series I like. Quite a double edged sword when you know releases outside Japan are always virtually inferior but that's just how it is. However I do feel NIS' did a great job on this and hope they continue to thrive in the market (and also pray Australia's anime releases would reach such a level in the near future). As always I continue walking down the collectors path of doom X3. Hmm, maybe I should make a post about my current artbook/guidebook collection? Maybe some other time.