RightStuf Annual Christmas Blowout
Not sure this is the kind of thing anybody cares about, but since I manage to bankrupt myself on RightStuf’s big 12 Days of Savings Christmas sale every year, and this year is no different, I thought I’d point out a few of the best deals they’ve got running. Â As usual, they’ve extended the sale through December 23, so you’ve got over a week to either buy yourself or your loved ones Christmas gifts without getting out of your chair, or just stock up on a number of great series at great prices. Also, if you buy through the links here, you help support AAW without it costing you anything, which is good for one of us. As always, if you spend at least $50 and aren’t in a hurry, USPS economy shipping is free.
My personal favorites, many of which I bought (or already own):
Eden of the East complete set on blu ray or DVD.
Toradora season 1 box set (our review) for $35.
All things Slayers TV: best bet is a set of the first three seasons for a paltry $28, plus seasons 4 and 5 together on Blu-ray for $60 (they also have a set of all five seasons on DVD for $80, or seasons 4 and 5 individually for about $30). Â I took advantage of this to replace my old Software Sculptors box sets with Funimation’s newer edition.
The entire 4-season box set of the yuri classic Maria Watches Over Us for $85, which I bought myself.
Armitage III, either both movies together for the ridiculously low price of $7 or just Dual Matrix for $3.50. If you haven’t seen Dual Matrix, add this to your order—it’s one of my all-time favorite action movies. Need to write a review of that, come to think of it.
EVA fans can pick up the complete platinum edition box set (that’s the remastered director’s cut version of the TV series) for $35, which is a very good price even if I’m not the biggest fan personally.
Battle Angel is yours for only $8, which you should buy if you don’t have it already—it’s one of the best OVA series there is.
Mahoromatic seasons 1 and 2 are only $13 each, which is a pretty good price (reader review).
The complete Azumanga Daioh thinpak set for only $25 (review) is hard to beat.
You can grab the OVA My Dear Marie and Cosplay Complex 2-pack for only $8; My Dear Marie is somewhat obscure, out of print, and quite entertaining (review). It’s ironic, because I bought this exact collection not two weeks ago off Amazon for $11 plus shipping through RightStuf’s Amazon Marketplace clearance outlet.
Castle of Cagliostro DVD for $8—if you don’t have it, get it (review).
The entire remastered Irresponsible Captain Tylor TV series (review) for a paltry $25—I very nearly replaced my 1st edition set with this just because.
The very snazzy special edition box set of the first Silent Mobius movie for $15 (review), which includes it and the soundtrack CD in a cool metal box. I paid nearly that much for the same thing used earlier this month, and am kicking myself for it.
The whole Kujibiki unbalance TV series for $15, which is crap but comes with the Genshiken OVAs, and therefore is worth it.
And, finally, the weird but entertaining Maria Watches Over Us meets Alien Invasion show Blue Drop for only $15, which I’ve been enjoying recently.
Also, if you’re a Blu-ray fan, they have very good deals on a bunch of different sets: Samurai Champloo, Xam’d collection 1, Basilisk, Claymore, Afro Samurai complete series, The Conqueror of Shambala, Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE 2-season pack for $35, Gunslinger Girl season 1, Trinity Blood, Guyver, Ouran High School Host Club, Black Blood Brothers, Origin, Shigurui (this is a great deal at $15), D.Gray Man season 1, and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
RightStuf also has a Geneon sale currently going, though I didn’t see anything wildly exciting in it.
December 15th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Wow those are some great deals. I may have to go for that Armitage double pack. Normally I do all my anime shopping on Amazon, but that deal looks too good to pass up.
December 15th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Yeah, surprisingly enough, RightStuf’s sales are almost always better than Amazon prices, and in some cases stuff is actually cheaper brand new from RightStuf on sale than you can get it used through Amazon, plus you get free shipping if you spend at least $50 (which is all too easy once you get tempted).
That 4-season Maria Watches Over Us set, for example, would cost $167 new from Amazon itself, or $90 used with $12 shipping. The Tylor remastered set is $36 from Amazon, and $20 + $3 shipping used, which is pretty hard to beat. Heck, the Legend of the Mystical Ninja complete set Rightstuf has on sale for $15 is $45 at Amazon proper, $22 shipped through Amazon Marketplace.
The only regular exception is big-label stuff like Disney (the upcoming Nausicaa Blu-ray, for example), which Amazon appears to get big cuts on and RightStuf never has on sale.
December 15th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
That’s really interesting. I never thought anyone could beat Amazon’s prices. Guess I’ll have to compare both before making a purchase from now on.
December 16th, 2010 at 2:04 am
That’s the evil trick Amazon has pulled off–they’ve gotten people to assume that they have the lowest prices on everything. In reality, while they’re often a solid bet and occasionally have VERY good sales (the Gunbuster OVAs were on a dirt cheap sale a while back), on most specialty products there are more-focused retailers with better deals.
Newegg, for example, will usually beat Amazon for computer hardware even when stuff isn’t on sale, and isn’t even close when it is. RightStuf almost always has the upper hand when stuff is on sale (particularly if you have a Got Anime membership for the bonus 10% discount), and their clearance sales are sometimes preposterous. B&H usually matches, occasionally beats, their prices on photo gear.
Not saying I don’t shop at Amazon a lot–their super-easy, reasonably cheap used Marketplace is far more appealing than eBay–but it’s a big mistake to assume they’ll always have the best deal.
Plus, in terms of anime, RightStuf’s service just rocks. They also have the best hold music of pretty much any company, period–quality anime soundtracks. Apple, being the world’s largest music retailer, is second, but their selections aren’t as much to my taste.
December 16th, 2010 at 8:34 am
I’ve found Amazon has rightstuff beat on a few occations. For example I’m considering getting the Blue Submarine No 6 series and film. Rightstuff only has the OVA’s (and it took a lot of time to find them, I had to manually scroll to it through the alphabetical directory for some reason), while Amazon offers the whole set and the movie for only a few dollars more. Furthermore I just got both seasons of Orphen for a total about 30 bucks from Amazon, while Rightstuff’s price for both of them is about 38 bucks before shipping.
Also it’s interesting you brought up making a review of the Armitage films. Until now I didn’t realize there was not any on AAW. I guess I always assumed they were here, since the films are so popular and have been around for so long. Odd that no one here as seen fit to review them. Of course I’m as guilty as any reviewer here. The first movie was one of my early anime experiences on the Sci-Fi channal, and I saw the second one the year it came out (2002). If you don’t remedy that problem I just might have too…
December 17th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
I maybe wasn’t clear; Amazon certainly has good prices on a lot of videos, and if neither is running any particular sale Amazon is often a little cheaper than RightStuf, particularly if you don’t have a GotAnime membership for the extra 10% off. If you use the Marketplace new/used offers, Amazon almost always comes out ahead on non-sale products.
When RightStuf runs a sale, though, they mean business, and their prices are almost impossible to beat, even used. And since it’s only the rarest occasion I buy something that isn’t on sale, my shopping is almost exclusively restricted to either Amazon Marketplace or RightStuf sales.
Funny thing on Armitage III; Poly Matrix was one of the first reviews at AAW, period. It was, however, brief and uninteresting, so got ditched years ago with me intending to write a proper review of it, the OAVs, and Dual Matrix… which I’ve still failed to get to, although a partial review is still sitting in my “in progress” queue.
January 19th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Kujibiki Unbalance certainly was “crap” — and how! I have to say the idea of being forced to buy it to get the Genshiken OVAs sticks in my craw,
Though the idea of buying Genshiken Season 1 all over again when it comes out packaged with the OVAs also seems like a waste of my few dollars! Hmmm.