US-based anime distributor Sentai Filmworks has a reputation for special limited editions which are pricey yet properly pimped. However, the "pricey" part can often been dodged somewhat by waiting a couple of months. This is always tricky of course with Limited Editions, as when they're gone, they're...well, gone. Meaning good luck trying to buy one for a decent price.
Guess lucky though, and if the sets are still available you can often get them for half the original price. And this is exactly what happened with Sentai Filmworks' release of the first season of
Knights of Sidonia, the science fiction anime based on Nihei Tsutomu's manga, in which humans survive in space on chunks of rock after the Earth has been blown up by giant aliens.
The anime by Shizuno Kobun is famous for being available on Netflix, having a decent budget, and looking great. Its US-release on Blu-ray happened in June, in a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD set which is (now) no longer much more expensive than a regular edition.
Therefore, here is a gallery of shots. Click on the edge of the pictures to scroll through them, or at the center of each to see a bigger version.
And here it is: a big box made of tough cardboard.
Inside the box: two multi-disc amarays, and a smaller box which holds the physical extras.
All inner packages displayed. There is the series on Blu-ray (2 discs), the series on DVD (3 discs), and the inner box of physical extras.
Opening the inner box, revealing the physical extras: a fold-up poster, a metallic art card, a translucent car-window sticker and a map of 15 art cards.
All contents opened and displayed.
Yep, there are a LOT of them.
Guess what: bar the sticker (duh) and the discs (duh), every single item in this set is reversible, doubling the amount of artwork! Especially the art-cards are actually pretty awesome.
A closer look at one of the reversible art-cards. Normally I'm not too fond of them (I prefer design and art booklets), but I cannot deny these are very cool, and a great testimony to the series' great artwork .
The (back)end.
It's a great-looking set, and I hope Section 23 Films is preparing a similarly pimped companion piece for season two!