Waiting on my own package from Japan with some more manga but I mostly grabbed art cards (will make more sense when I show them off) but man shipping manga is not cheap 
I salute you because no way I could stomach the shipping cost on all of that lol
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Banger !!! Congrats !!!
first print retail copies of the best switch games ever made 
dont be fooled by the nintendo switch both of these have a pop of only 3 in da first print 9.8 A++ 
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Pretty clean 60gb backwards compatible PS3 (has 188 days play time which is average) but still had the warranty sticker so had never been messed with.
And the Last Of Us, playing just before season 2 comes out!
I had another launch model that couldn’t play demanding titles even after a service, so returned it and they sent this as a replacement (5 year warranty) 
Replaced thermal paste, upgraded HDD to a 1TB SSD and installed custom firmware with a fan controller. Nothing crazy, just a bit of fun.
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Is this about finding the perfect shrink wrap at this point? I can’t imagine what else would be all that hard to find in perfect condition for games that are so new.
Are those Azaleas outside?
the first print copies in particular were only available for a short time in 2017 when the games were released (guessing it was just preorder), also pretty much everyone opened their copies
but yes it would mostly be the wrap for switch games, there is also the box grade but for switch it is harder to get say a 9.6 A++ vs. 9.8 A+. it doesnt seem like case packs of these games were hoarded and graded like the later prints prolly coz no one was grading switch games back then
i should note that nintendo used to do box revisions when they updated the games, but for the past 5 years or so theyve only done cart revisions keeping the box the same. which is why all the prints of releases since like covid are considered “1st print” copies sealed.
Probably, loads of plants around our house from my wife 
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Lol, I just bought these to replace my 990v5s that I’ve had for a few years. Also Canadian
The new balance store by me didn’t have the v5 in stock, but they look nearly the same
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I absolutely love the 990v4! Honestly, I think it’s the best out of all of them. I read somewhere NB has sold over 100M pairs of them and it’s the most sought after by enthusiasts/collectors. The v5’s are great and probably underrated these days, but I personally prefer the aesthetics of the v4 the most if I had to choose. It’s like they got everything right with it in terms of design. You can pretty much wear them with any outfit you want, I always wear mine to the office these days mainly and they’ve held up so well over the years.
The v6 is soo different though. I love them, but I find the sizing was unforgiving when I tried them on. It feels longer than previous 990s, but then if I sized down it would clamp on the top of my foot and be too uncomfortable, so I had to stick to my normal size (11, D width). It’s way softer on foot and lighter weight too, so I find it more versatile for active use and long walks. The sporty looks really grew on me though, especially in spring or summer time.
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A more detailed breakdown of last week’s manga haul:
※『20th Century Boys』Volumes 1-22 (1999, Completed)
&『21st Century Boys』Volumes 1 & 2 (2006, Completed):
My favorite manga by master mangaka Urasawa Naoki of Billy Bat, Monster and Pluto fame. A beautifully told epic and grandiose adventure spanning multiple decades in the hunt for a mystical cult-leader with the ominous name of “Friend”. I won’t expand any further as this story needs to be experienced by oneself.
I’m a sucker for connected artworks so I included a close-up of the last 3 Volumes (released from right-to-left, but the art connects from left-to-right).
※『Blue Period』Volumes 1-16 (2017, Ongoing):
This manga follows Yatora Yaguchi, considered somewhat of a delinquent honor student. One day he is attracted to a painting he sees in the art room and joins the art club, aiming to take the entrance exam for an art university. Having attended art academy for multiple years myself, this manga connects to me on an extra level. Very wholesome, very insightful. Loved every arc so far!
※『Deadman Wonderland』Volumes 1-13 (2007, Completed):
I was swept away by the dystopian story while watching the anime; but seeing how it only covers 21 out of the 57 Chapters, I had simply had to dive in and find out how the story ends. Really glad I did! We follow middle-schooler Ganta in his search for the “Red Man”, a mysterious entity who caused him to end up in a very special prison named Deadman Wonderland.
※『The Flowers of Evil』Volumes 1-11 (2005, Completed):
This manga is named after Charles Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” and this very book is also the focal point in the early chapters as it sets up the initial premise for our protagonist Kasuga Takao. It’s a suspenseful coming-of-age story that features a lot of heavy topics, with a major emphasis on the psychological side of teenage life. Mangaka Oshimi Shūzō really delivers one hell of a story here. If you’re not a reader, I can also really recommend the 2019 live-action movie by the same name.
I specifically layed out the Volumes in a 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 pattern as each row has a distinctly different style, title placement and cover finish.
Row 1 is matte; featuring black and white depictions of the MCs and a splash of colored text
Row 2 is glossy with embossed text and ink blots; featuring full-color depictions of the MCs
Row 3 is glossy with a slightly rougher feel; featuring water paintings of the MCs
Row 4 is glossy with a smoother feel; featuring oil painting / pastel drawing of the MCs
※『Gantz』Volumes 1-37 (2000, Completed):
It’s Gantz, what can I say? Oku Hiroya’s magnum opus. Action? Yes. Suspense? Yes. Psychological dread? Tons! One of the best pieces of science fiction I’ve ever come across. It has an anime, multiple live-action movies and multiple spin-off series within the same universe.
※『Gantz: E』Volumes 1-8 (2020, Ongoing):
One of the previously mentioned Gantz spin-off series. If you liked Gantz, you’ll most likely enjoy Gantz: E as well. Oku could put any letter (or symbol for all I care) after “Gantz:” and it would probably become an enjoyable spin-off.
※『Liar Game』Volumes 1-19 (2005, Completed):
We follow Kanzaki Nao, a naive and honest to a tee college student as she is thrown into the “Liar Game Tournament”. In this tournament, contestants are encouraged to cheat and lie to obtain other contestants’ money, with the losers forced to bear a debt proportional to their losses. Nao connects with Akiyama Shinichi and together they advance through different rounds of the Liar Game Tournament, all the while encountering merciless contestants, while at the same time attempting to free them from debt and defeat the Liar Game organization from within. The growth we see Nao experience is really wholesome and some of the games are really mindblowingly awesome to see unfold. There’s also 2 live-action dramas (2 seasons in Japanese and 1 season in Korean), 3 Japanese TV Specials and 2 follow-up movies, also in Japanese.
※『Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story - Hokkaido Arc』Volumes 1-9 (2017, Ongoing):
A direct continuation of the best-selling Meiji era masterwork『Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story』. We again follow Himura Kenshin on an adventure but this time we swap Tokyo and Kyoto for Hokkaido. RuroKen is without a doubt a full package IP with multiple anime series, multiple live-action movies and several manga spin-offs, of which this “Hokkaido Arc” story is currently the largest.
※ Missing Volumes for Series in my library:
- 『Dandadan』Volumes 17 & 19 (2021, Ongoing)
- 『Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler』Volume 19 (2014, Ongoing)
- 『Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead』Volume 19 (2018, Ongoing)
Definitely a cool coincidence how all three of these series happen to be on Volume 19 as of now!
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All great series. Im going to have to binge 20th century boys and blue period. Great haul of books!
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Just love seeing JP manga, especially with obi. All nice pick ups, congrats!
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Banger !!!
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Yes! I think they came back some time ago
They have the past few years 
, I was a fan prior to the hype. A lot of it has cooled off though it seems. I honestly can’t really get into many of the 80s and 90s designs, which it seems like a lot of other brands have brought back or re-introduced as well. I’m more into mid/late 00s or early 2010s designs.
Most other NB shoes I don’t always get into, I just love the 990s for the durability & comfort and mainly, and the v6 is a great modernization to me. Interestingly some people don’t care for them for this reason as well from what I’ve read (not ‘dad shoe’ enough, apparently 
).
Thanks! You’re going to love both of those series for sure. Enjoy reading!
Thanks! What I love most about the obi is how they show the progress a manga makes throughout the years. An obi for live-action drama adaptation, an obi for live-action movie adaptation, the typical xx million copies sold milestones, game title announcements and so on.
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Yes I really do love seeing the little announcements on the obi! Most of the obi on one of my series are advertising the anime or a spinoff manga volume but the ones that aren’t an ad have a line from a character as if you’re reading a thought related to the volume. I never recognized it until I noticed わたくし on an obi and actually started paying closer attention. I really enjoyed that pleasant surprise lol I really do like it when the obi aren’t ads but instead pieces of the story or an aid for the reader to understand whats going on. I do know for Pink by Kyoko Okazaki the obi for the manga says “Love & Capitalism.” It explains the theme of the story, which without it I don’t think I would have really understood what Okazaki was trying to say in her manga. I love obi, wish we had them but at the same time they’re such a pain in the ass lol
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