Banpresto

Hi everyone!

It’s been quite some time since my last post. A lot of things have changed, rather quickly I might add. At the moment, we’re in the midst of a quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic. Most businesses had closed for the time being, though some, including my place of work, stayed open, albeit closing early. Which makes sense, given that it’s a grocery store. I probably should have mentioned that earlier. Some places are opening up again, but everyone is being careful. To put it simply, things are in a state of concern. My collecting has taken a slowdown as well, though I have plenty of hauls to write about still. Of course I say that, but because I take so long to write my entries, things seem to be looking up, at least they were. I’m not a very punctual blogger. I should probably work on that. But, let’s get to the good stuff!

What we’ve got here is a collection of the four Shrek films on DVD. Specifically, it seems to be a special anniversary edition, though I don’t think it offers anything unique. What it does offer is all four Shrek movies in one package. I liked them as a kid, so I wanted to add them to my collection of animated films. That, and it just happened to be there. I bought it at one of my nearby Walmarts, one that I consider the best one, if not because of the built-in McDonald’s. As for the Shrek films themselves, I’m very nostalgic of them I find myself thinking of my younger days whenever I happen to see one playing on TV or see a YouTube video about them. My favorite is probably Shrek 2, if not because it’s the one I watched the most. My least favorite is Shrek the Third. I remember it being oddly paced and it felt like that one extra sandwich you had to make because your friend was late, you dig me? You probably dig me, because although sandwiches are delicious, sometimes even a master chef such as yourself only wants to make so many. That being said, I was pretty excited about Shrek Forever After. I’m not sure why. I think the amount of time between “Third” and “Forever After” was longer or something. I’ll have to fact-check myself when I get done blog-smithing. I’ll also need to watch the films again and see if they hold up!

Next up are two Star Wars figures, both of them are replacements, as I had already owned them before. That being said, I believe both of these are slightly updated versions that were reissued. Anyway, these are the Star Wars “Black Series” Obi-wan Kenobi (from “Episode III”) and Darth Vader. I already had these two figures, but I wanted to replace them because I somehow lost their Lightsabers. The blades themselves I mean, not the handles. Those were safely placed in the figures’… well, hands. As far as these figures go, they are actually pretty decent. The sculpt on Obi-wan is not great, but it works for what it is. He’s a relatively simple figure, but a good one if you want a larger Star Wars figure to go with your other figures from different stories. The Darth Vader one is great, and his helmet is even detachable! Granted, it’s become loose now, but the feature is still awesome! Both figures have decent articulation and have some pieces of cloth on them, Vader more than Obi. In regards to the characters themselves, Obi-wan is my favorite Star Wars character, but Darth Vader felt like a must have. To be honest, I’m relatively indifferent to Darth Vader, or Anakin for that matter. Though like I said, I felt like I had to get him. That was for the first time I got the figure, at least. Obviously, getting this second one was to replace the Lightsaber. You’re probably thinking: why I didn’t just try to find replacements for the Lightsabers instead of the whole figure? Well… shut up.

Now THIS is the token piece of the haul! Whilst I was in the area of the McDonald’s-Walmart combo, I also took a look into the GameStop that’s just outside in a little tiny complex area. I went in and saw this gem. It’s a Banpresto made statue of the Faraam Knight from Dark Souls II. I’m one of the odd “Soulsborne” fans in that I actually liked Dark Souls II. Yeah, the combat was a bit slower and Soul Memory was stupid, but I had fun exploring everything. I’ve been told that “Scholar of the First Sin” is the better version, but I haven’t tried it yet. Anywho, I saw this guy right before I was about to leave the GameStop. He was priced at around $40-$45, which is a steal if you ask me. I’m not sure what the regular price for him was, but I knew it was a lower one and that I needed to jump on it. He’s nice a big too. I’ve got him displayed on my top shelf in the corner of my room next to my closet door. This shelf is, more or less, my Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya manga shelf, with some CDs and PC games mixed in. Unfortunately, the figure’s sword did break while we were remodeling the upstairs, but I was able to fix it with some super glue. Though, I imagine I probably shouldn’t mess around with him too much. I’m very happy to have him in my collection, as a nice token to one of my favorite game franchises.

And that’s a wrap! Have I used that closer before? I think I have, but it’s fine. With how infrequent my posts are, it doesn’t matter. Not like it should, regardless. With how many hauls I have backlogged, I’ll more than likely repeat things here and there. With that said, you can imagine that the next post will be another haul. I don’t know when I’ll write it next, but I’ll try to have it up sooner than later. I hope you’ll bare with me, especially during this difficult time.

Thanks again for reading! See you next time!