アニメ Republic

This is the third and for the most part final entry in the VHS flashbacks I have presented. I have managed to acquire most of the old and hard to find titles that were only released on VHS that I have been questing for. There are of course a rare few, including this impossible to find title, that are still out there but none are ones I am truly questing to find.

Up first is a bit of a repeat of sorts from the first round. This lot features Sol Bianca 1 (English dubbed version) and Sol Bianca 2 (subtitled version), both of which I had listed in one form or another already. Also in this lot are Gude Crest from ADV (subtitled version) and Dragon Century from the late US Renditions (subtitled version).

Next up are a number of “also-rans” in terms of general quality and fan opinion. Such titles as Armageddon and especially the English dubbed (and butchered) version of the original Dangaioh OVA add to the list of forgettable titles that also include Dragon Slayer and Psycho Diver. Nothing much better is on hand in the following round of ADV releases with such unmemorable titles as Fire Emblem and Panzer Dragoon.  There are a couple of titles that bring things up a notch however with the addition of Rail of the Star and Dragon Knight – Another Knight on the Town (the only Dragon Knight title not released on DVD).  More filling in the gaps this time with the subtitled version of Compiler vol. 1 and the clam-shell release of Dangaio (just to be a completist) adding to a couple of titles from AnimEigo and TRSI.

The next round brings things home in a big way as far as hard-to-find titles go. We have both volumes 1 & 2 of Homeroom Affairs (by Star Anime) and volumes 1 & 2 of First Loves (by ADV’s long lost adult label SoftCel Pictures). All four tapes are Japanese with English subtitles and at the time were considered “adult” titles but by today’s standards would hardly be considered anything more than “R” rated material. First Loves was the last of the SoftCel Pictures VHS titles (that had never been released on DVD) that I had been hunting for.

Finishing things off we have a few rounds of miscellaneous titles that either finish off series I had started or were alternative versions of titles that had been released in other forms such as Windaria (by Streamline), Outlanders (original English dub) and Mermaid Forest (English dub version to add to the subtitled version I have on LD already).  Some more forgettable titles by Viz and ADV such as Ogre Slayer and Hanappe Bazooka make you realize why some titles were never brought to DVD. Let’s not forget about Mad Bull either. After all it’s important to have that complete series. And lastly adding to the completion of another series is the second volume of End of Summer by SoftCel Pictures (the first volume had been released under the ADV logo as SoftCel had not yet been created).

That brings the majority of the VHS hunting to a close. There are only a few titles left on the list of “anime that DVD forgot” that I am even remotely interested in so I doubt I will do another major update. If anything notable comes in I will more than likely post it separately.

Enjoy!!