Last week, I went to Collector’s Corner in Parkville only
to find the store closed and flowers at the front door. After a week of understandable silence, it
was confirmed that the owner, Randy had passed away. I didn’t know Randy as well as other friends
in our shared circles but everytime I came into Collector’s Corner and he was
there, he was a huge help with just about everything you needed from purchase
suggestions to a nice friendly nerd chat.
Being the big Anime fan and Gunpla Builder I am, we shared one or two
conversations and really, some of the items I have in my own collection wouldn’t
be here without his help. Randy’s a guy
I wish I got to know better outside of the store and it is with that in mind
that I dedicate todays Top 5 Wednesday to him and Collector’s Corner as they
continue the legacy he created that is in the best of hands of his amazing
staff of friends. Both of their
locations in Parkville and Bel Air should be open once again so please take the
time to pay them a visit and support however you can. With all that said, let’s get into the Top 5
Anime Items I’ve Gotten from Collector’s Corner.
#5-Gurren Lagann-The Complete Series In late spring, Collectors Corner got a huuuuge influx of
preowned Anime DVDs and Blu Rays.
Normally
what’s kept in their display cases is the high end stuff, the rarest of the
rare that are understandably higher in price than everything else.
Given that pretty much all of Bandai’s Anime
Legends line is well out of print, you’d better believe that the complete
Gurren Lagann is a helluva find and it was at a pretty good price too
considering how much its going for online.
#4-Numerous Gunpla
When I feel impatient about waiting for Gunpla I order
online, Collector’s Corner is one of the few one stop locations for them.
I actually think it was the main reason I
looked into them in the first place (scratch that, it was another reason, the
Gunpla were a bonus).
Most of the staff
that knows me there know that maybe 50% of the time it’s for Gunpla and I’m not
leaving without at least one.
I’ve lost
track of which ones I’ve specifically purchased from Collector’s Corner but you
better believe the reason why my collection is almost 180 strong is because of
them.
#3-Little Shenron
If my Dad is the reason I got into Scifi, my Mom is the
reason I love Fantasy, especially when it comes to Dragons.
Mom’s got a crazy assortment of Dragons and
for a Christmas gift a couple of years back, I wanted to get her something that
was both a Dragon and from Collector’s Corner.
Sure enough I went in and, guided by the staff, I found a little plushie
of Shenron from Dragon Ball.
Nowhere
near as lengthy as his actual form, this little guy is just the right size Mom
would find cute regardless of his larger, mystical origins.
Also, getting Anime stuff for Mom that she
likes is always a fun challenge.
#2-The Original Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum
Collection
When I saw the new influx of Anime DVD and Blu Rays that
came out right before Otakon after the Gurren Lagann set, I went right to that
display case to see what the rarer items were and my jaw dropped.
The Evangelion Platinum Collection was ADVs
last big Evangelion release with touched up visual quality, the Directors Cuts
of Episodes 21-24 and Audio Commentary tracks for various episodes from the
amazing staff and voice cast that gave us one of the best English Dubs of all
time.
Randy helped me with this one in
particular as I juggled saving up for Otakon purchases while also hoping no one
was going to just buy one of these super rare DVDs (or the whole set).
NGL I haven’t had a smile on my face
purchasing a complete series Anime set like this since the Gundam Wing Ultimate
Blu Ray Box Set at Katsucon 2020.
#1-The Slayers Movies & OVAs
Talk about treasure.
The Slayers Movies and OVAs were also handled by ADV and were weirdly
never picked up by Funimation when they at one point had the rights to the
Slayers TV Series.
Still, the 4 Movies
and 2 OVAs are incredibly rare and worth a few body organs if you find
them.
To my immense shock, I found both
Slayers OVAs (Slayers Special aka Book of Spells & Slayers Excellent) and 2
of the four movies (Slayers Return and Slayers Premium) as soon as I got back
from Otakon.
It was like being rewarded
with good luck for not spending all of my money that weekend.
And now that I think about it…I did actually
talk to Randy about how crazy it was to find any of these titles given how
impossible they are to find…and that might’ve been the last chat I had with him…man.
Guess I have more reason than ever to watch
these features at last and maybe, just maybe, add them to the review queue for
later this year.
Thanks Randy, you
helped make one Anime nerds dreams come true with this one (and I’m keeping my
fingers crossed Slayers Great and Slayers Gorgeous somehow find their way onto
your stores shelves one day).
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