Merry Christmas Eve Eve! I still have a pile of hauls to sort through before jingle jangle time, so let's knock 'em out together, shall we?
This guy actually showed up a day before my Birthday. Don't really collect the Prime line much (mostly because of the larger scale compared to the game-based stuff), but I'll NEVER turn down a cool new Shadow figure for my shelf. (Especially since I was able to get him for retail. Thank you, reissue wave!)
Spent half of my Birthday cash on some new reading material. While Volume 3 of the Ominous Omnibuses officially completes the Treehouse of Horror comic collections (and my personal tradition of getting them at the start of each Halloween season), the first book of the Sugar Rush Racers series returns to the Wreck-It Ralph universe for a new adventure starring Vanellope and some of her old Sugar Rush buds.
As a MASSIVE WiR fan, when I first discovered that Sugar Rush Racers was happening, I KNEW that I HAD TO READ IT. It turned out pretty fun, too! While obviously written with younger readers in mind, it does a good job of carrying on the snarky, self-aware tone of the films and I found myself legitimately chuckling while reading more times than I expected to. I also really like that some of the more obscure Racers get defined personalities for the first time (my favorite is Minty Zaki) and there are even a couple of awesome easter eggs for huge nerds like me. (The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are directly referenced and a slew of video game icons from Sonic to Pac-Man to JOHNNY CAGE have cameos in one of the opening scenes!) I'd definitely recommend giving this series a look if you love the movies as much as I do. There are also only two books so far and they're DIRT CHEAP, so you won't be breaking the bank by checking them out.
THIS beefy boi (and bird) has been on my radar for a while, but despite my intense love for Banjo-Kazooie, I never bit because their scale didn't match up with any of my other video game figures. However, BBTS marking the set down to just over fifty bucks including shipping made it REALLY hard to resist. Now that I actually have it, I'm pretty glad that I decided to pick it up. The detail and paint are great, the accessory loadout is pretty good, you can have Banjo and Kazooie either separated OR together, and there's a decent bit of articulation for a little pose customization. Plus, they just look REAL nice standing tall on my main game shelf.
Another piece of Ralph merch for the collection. I was actually short on points to redeem this, but a dude on the Blu-ray Forums very graciously helped me out. (Thanks, Kinsella5!) As Disney Movie Insiders has recently shut down, this will be the last item that I receive from them. It's bittersweet, but I'll always fondly remember my experiences with turning codes from movies I buy (and discover at the thrift store without buying) into free 4Ks, Blu-rays, DVDs, posters, pins, POP! vinyls, and ALL THE Wreck-It Ralph swag. Godspeed, DMI.
Speaking of POP! vinyls, Funko once again decided to do something to appeal to me specifically by making a Street Shark, so of course, I had to grab him. He's a bit lonely now, but more Shark POPs have already leaked, so Streex will eventually be joined by his brothers. (However, I'm personally looking much more forward to standing him next to ANOTHER upcoming figure that may also be the greatest POP! in existence. Stay tuned.)
Never thought I'd ever buy a second figure of the worst version of Slash, but NECA putting out this upgraded "Ultimate" release made that a reality. While the original '87 Slash from NECA just used the same body as the main Turtles, THIS one uses the bulkier build from their Archie Slash and '87 Tokka figures, making him a heck of a lot more show-accurate as far as size goes. He also comes in one of those sick FHE VHS-style boxes, which is pretty much worth the price of admission by itself. While I've never been a fan of the design, he rounds out my Slash quartet quite nicely. Here's hoping that NECA has plans for a 2012 Slash so that I can eventually make it a quintet.
Don't really know much about Hello Kitty, but when I learned that McDonald's was finally bringing over the recent Happy Meal that mashed up Kitty and her friends with various monsters from Yu-Gi-Oh!, I couldn't resist grabbing a few of the toys. While I didn't end up completing the set, I still got my hands on some really cool ones, including Kitty herself as Dark Magician and my favorite, Kuromi as Slifer the Sky Dragon. (Special thanks to my sister for helping me score half of these guys.) My only regret is that I was never able to get Obelisk to round out the Egyptian God trio. Might have to hit up eBay later.
Another score courtesy of my Birthday cash, Wrath of the Mutants is a (very late) console port of the 2017 Raw Thrills arcade game based on the 2012 TMNT show. It's a fun time for fans of the show, with most of the original voice cast reprising their roles (including Pat Fraley as '87 Krang and the late Gilbert Gottfried as Kraang Subprime), but I would only really recommend it to TMNT superfans, as the whole game is only like two hours long and there's not much more to do after you beat it the first time other than replay it on different difficulties. (It also has a REALLY obnoxious sound bug affecting Donnie specifically that STILL hasn't been fixed, so you can tell that this was very much a budget affair.) If you ARE interested in it, though, I'd also recommend waiting on a price drop, as the full $30 MSRP is kinda ridiculous. Still, it's nice to have this game preserved for the future after it was confined to arcades for so long. With this and the Cowabunga Collection, if you want to play ANY of the Turtles' coin-op adventures on a modern platform, you're good, which is super cool.
MOAR SHARKS!!! Yes, it's another wave of the Street Sharks 30th Anniversary figures, rounding out the Bolton bros as well as unleashing their #1 archenemy. I'm especially happy to finally have Piranoid, as much like Slash, he's one that I never owned as a kid. (Which is crazy considering that he's the main villain. It's like having the Turtles but no Shredder.) Now I just need Slobster to complete the original villain trio!
On to the first of three things that I won this year! (Yes, three.) Y'see, Big Bad Toy Store and The Loyal Subjects joined forces for a giveaway on multiple platforms back in October, with a pile of sick-looking Dark Leonardo figures signed by IDW TMNT artist Mateus Santolouco up for grabs. Naturally, I decided to toss in an entry of my own and I actually ended up winning! I was really excited about the figure, but when I got it, I couldn't bear to sully the beauty of the signed packaging by opening it. Thus, I decided to hang it on my wall next to some of my other carded figures. Looks mighty purty there, and it'll serve as one of the crown jewels of my TMNT collection.
A couple of random Amazon pick-ups. First off, Transformania was the only Hotel Transylvania film that I didn't own, but I was always put off by Amazon's price for a Blu-ray copy, which never seemed to receive more than a paltry discount. That changed in October, when they had it down to 11 bucks. I couldn't say no to that kind of deal, especially during the Halloween season, so I snagged it.
As for the other item, I'm a sucker for ornaments of popular characters in Christmas garb, so adding Santa Sonic to my little tree was a no-brainer.
It's the second of my 2024 winnings! Took a chance on another giveaway (this time from SKGaleana, a random blog) and ended up one TMNT DVD set richer! I already owned Lionsgate's individual releases for the 1987 show (which feature the exact same discs as this new set), but this collection definitely saves on shelf space compared to those. Not to mention, it just looks great sitting next to Paramount's previous releases of the 2003 and 2012 TMNT shows. Only bummer is that it uses a case that requires you to stack discs to fit them all in. Bleh.
My last giveaway prize of 2024 from ANOTHER random blog! (This N That with Olivia) Like with the TMNT set, I already owned the majority of these SpongeBob discs (all but Seasons 13 and 14), but the Next 100 Episodes set that I previously owned came in a damaged case, so this was the perfect opportunity to replace it. (Unfortunately, though, the new case was like the TMNT one and requires the stacking of discs. I repeat: Bleh.) Now I'm all caught up on my SpongeBob DVDs!
BROTHERSHIP HYYYYYYYYYPE!!! Ohhhhhhh yeah, I just HAD to celebrate my favorite RPG series ever FINALLY returning by acquiring as many promo goodies as I could for the new game. This includes a set of keychains (that are now hanging from my wallet), a My Nintendo Store UK exclusive pin set based on the iconic silhouettes seen atop the different games' logos, and a sheet of magnets. Speaking briefly on the magnets specifically, when I ordered them, I honestly wasn't expecting to actually USE them (just collect them), so I was very pleasantly surprised by how nice they look on my bookshelves:
Love that I can squeeze an extra bit of Mario & Luigi love into an unexpected corner of my room.
Used the rest of my Birthday cash to pre-order this little dream come true. Over the years, a rerelease of Digimon the Movie, especially on Blu-ray, seemed like an outright impossibility. Even as all the different dubbed shows from across the franchise made their way to DVD in the early-to-mid 2010s, that one out-of-print, full frame Fox release from back in the day was all that the movie got.
Then, in August 2023, everything changed. During one of their panels, Discotek announced that NOT ONLY were they releasing Digimon the Movie on Blu-ray, but ALSO the three original uncut Japanese movies that made it up! Plus, to make this release EVEN MORE insane/amazing, those three original movies would receive BRAND NEW DUBS featuring a majority of the surviving original English cast! Following this announcement, I could only utter three syllables: HO. LEE. SHIT.
Since that panel, it's been a bit of a wait for this set to release (mostly thanks to Toei approvals), but it's finally here and it's every bit as fantastic as I thought it'd be. The new dubs are great (especially Hurricane Touchdown, which was missing so much in the combined American movie), all the films look and sound fantastic, and there's even a decent selection of extras thrown in! (Including a blooper reel for the new dubs, which is my new favorite thing ever. Mona Marshall as Terriermon is always a gem.) After years of only owning the movie on VHS, it's AMAZING to finally own such a phenomenal release for it. Discotek are legit wizards, and I hope they plan on working some of that magic on the remaining Digimon films in the future. Definitely my favorite physical media release of the year.
Been meaning to upgrade my copies of these stories for a while (since the original collected release of Spider-Verse was so oddly laid out reading order wise and I never got all the tie-ins for Spider-Geddon) and the impending release of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man put me in the mood to read something Spidey-related, so I decided to sniff around eBay to see if I could find a good deal on the recent Omnibus. Luckily, I was able to find an auction for a like new copy that started at a mere 20 bucks. Wasn't able to get it for THAT cheap, but I still ended up winning it for a little over $50 including shipping. Not too shabby considering it's 125 bucks at full price and close to 75 at places like InstockTrades. Now giving Spider-Verse a reread will be a heck of a lot easier and I'll be able to get the full experience out of Spider-Geddon!
I LOOOOOVE Veemon's different Armor forms from Digimon Adventure 02, so I've had my eye on this guy for a while. After waffling back and forth on purchasing him for a few years, I decided to finally pull the trigger once Discotek's Digimon Movies set started shipping. (Since one of Magnamon's two Adventure 02 appearances is in Hurricane Touchdown and I thought it'd be cool to build this kit while that movie was fresh in my mind.)
As for how the whole "building" thing went, it was honestly a pretty smooth experience overall, minus one little incident towards the end. Y'see, as I was building Magnamon, one of two tiny pieces that affix to his crotch went flying as I was attempting to attach it. Despite spending like an hour searching the different corners of my room for said piece, I just couldn't find it, making me disheartened and thinking that I'd just have to live with an incomplete Magnamon. However, hours later, I decided to give the search another go and was able to find the piece pretty quickly. Words can't express how relieved and euphoric I was in that moment. I thought that I had another MegaMan.EXE-level building disaster on my hands, but I didn't. Magnamon could finally be completed. Now he stands tall on my shelf, the symbol of a job (eventually) well done.
I've been admiring this particular Super Mario Advent Calendar from afar for a while (mostly for the exclusive holiday-themed figures), but the $50 price tag always kept me from picking it up. Thankfully, Amazon recently had it down to a mere 15 bucks, which I COULD NOT pass up. (24 different 2.5 inch Mario toys and accessories, including 3 exclusive ones, for only a little more than a single 5-inch figure goes for? Yes, please!) Curious to see what's in it? Then check out my Twitter page, where I've been counting down to Christmas by unearthing a new Mario toy every day!
Mewtwo is my favorite Pokémon, but I hadn't gotten around to picking up his POP! vinyl until recently, when Amazon marked it down to like six bucks. After getting him in, I was really surprised by his sheer SIZE. It makes sense given how big Mewtwo is supposed to be in the games, but I was not expecting him to be such a UNIT! I was a bit worried that he'd be one of those POPs that'd have trouble standing, but fortunately, Funko gave him a nice big clear stand to keep him stable. Now he can join his fellow super-powered experiment, Shadow, in keeping watch over my closet.
Some Black Friday deals that I scored from Amazon. I don't usually buy that much on BF, but once I saw that they had the Teen Titans Complete Series Blu-ray down to TEN BUCKS, I knew that I HAD to take advantage of the situation and comb the whole site for similar home media bargains. Aside from the Titans, I finally scored the complete Pinky and the Brain collection for twenty bucks, upgraded my old-as-dirt Advent Children DVD for thirteen bucks, and added a late 2000s DC cartoon that I've seen very little of to my watch list for twelve bucks. All in all, not a bad little score.
SONIC 3 HYYYYYYYYYPE!!!! Yep, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 released a few days ago and it's been running circles around the box office and killing it in the reviews. I saw it myself on Saturday, and believe me, if you're a Sonic fan, especially one with ANY degree of nostalgia or appreciation for Sonic Adventure 2, SEE. THIS. MOVIE. It's the best Sonic movie yet and made the little kid inside me that got Sonic Adventure 2 for his 10th Birthday back in 2001 so, SO happy.
Anyway, I have a few pieces of Sonic 3 merch to share. First off, I got that Shadow Happy Meal toy (the one that I was hoping for) from McDonald's on Thursday. Then, when we saw the movie, my sister and I split one of Regal's Sonic 3 Combos, which included that awesome tin, two really neat lenticular cups, and two adorable little cup toppers of either Sonic or Shadow in a theater seat. (Being who we are, we both asked for Shadow.) The cup topper is probably my favorite part of the deal. Where else are you gonna score a little figure of Shadow the Hedgehog enjoying popcorn?
Wrapping things up, Walmart's app had a promotion going where Walmart+ members could see an overview of their activity for the year and receive 15 bucks of free promotional credit immediately afterward. I did it, got the credit, and used it to make my Pinky and the Brain collection TRULY complete by snagging the DVD set for the much-maligned spin-off, Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain. I've actually never seen any of it before, so I'm excited to see what this infamous follow-up has to offer.
That's the last of it! I hope you guys have a fantastic holiday week, and I'll see you before the year ends for the annual Fallout post!
