In today’s age of media, hard copies have seemingly ceased to exist. Most of us find our movies, shows, and even games by streaming them from services instead of purchasing a real, tangible copy. But to those of us who love to collect, this is a tragedy - what are you supposed to do with your VHS collection if there’s no more VHS?
If you’re an anime fan looking for Blu-Ray and DVD copies to add to your collection, we’re here to give you a good starting point. Here are our choices for our favorite anime Blu-Ray and DVD box sets in 2024.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Blu Ray Box Set
Follow the manga as closely as possible
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood worked to more faithfully adapt the then-finished manga of Fullmetal Alchemist. you’re able to wonder at how fantastically the team accomplished this with this box set of the first thirty episodes!
Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most titanic animes of its time, but it gained a bit of controversy toward the end. That’s because the show was being released alongside the anime and found itself struggling to write new episodes once they ran out of source material (sound familiar, Game of Thrones fans?) After the manga ended, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood came in to give it another shot, re-adapting the manga and bringing its canon ending to bear.
With this box set, you’ll have the first thirty episodes of the anime to fawn over. The box set also includes a wide variety of extra content, counting textless opening and closings, OVAs, and a few more bonuses you’ll love to see. This is a pricy option, especially considering it doesn’t include the entire show - but it’s more than worth it as a collector’s item, especially for the exclusive rigid box covered in unique art.
Sword Art Online 2 Blu-Ray Box Set
Die in the game, die in real life
A full year has passed since the clearing of the original Sword Art Online. In Sword Art Online 2 - often stylized as II - our cast is plummeted into a world of mystery with this Blu-Ray Box Set.
Sword Art Online is a fan-favorite anime of recent years, with the first 14 episodes of the first season being exceptionally well-received. Afterward, the second half of the season earned some mixed reviews. But when it came time to move to the next arc, the team knocked it out of the park, bringing more love back to thefamous gaming anime.
Sword Art Online 2 - often stylized as Sword Art Online II - takes place a year after the original clearing of Sword Art Online. Here, our beloved cast is thrown into a world of mystery, full of danger, intrigue, and a riveting pace that’s reminiscent of the original SAO arc. This box set includes episodes 1-24, as well as a suite of extras that fans will be excited to get their hands on.
Yu Yu Hakusho 30th Anniversary Blu-Ray Box Set
The Occult Classic Comes Back
There aren’t many shows that have had the incredible impact on popular culture that Yu Yu Hakusho has had. You can celebrate the show in style with this Blu-Ray Box Set, released for the shows 30th anniversary.
Not many pieces of media have had an impact on popular culture as thoroughly as Yu Yu Hakusho has. As the 30th anniversary came to pass, the creators saw fit to release this incredible Blu-Ray Box Set to capture the show again, but with a few amazing extras. The total run time of this box set is almost 45 hours, spread out over 17 disks!
The jump to Blu-Ray has helped the team squeeze a bit more content into those disks, and with as many episodes as are packed on here, there isn’t a byte of disk space that’s gone to waste. This is the occult classic the way it was meant to be viewed, bringing action, drama, and more than a bit of comedy to your screen three decades later.
Dragon Ball: Complete Series Seasons 1-5 DVD Box Set
Easier to find than the Dragon Balls
Thankfully, you won’t have to find all the Dragon Balls to see all of Dragon Ball. This complete series collection includes seasons 1 through 5.
Dragon Ball is arguably the most recognizable anime IP in the world, spreading across the world in all languages, formats, and more. If you’ve wanted to jump back to the earlier days, you can grab this box collection of season one through five in DVD. These five episodes come with 25 discs, with a total run time of nearly 62 hours! Maybe a bit of that is filler, but still, more than 60 hours of Dragon Ball goodness is hard to beat.
Dragon Ball follows the story of our beloved characters, starting with the peculiar Son Goku. You’ll watch along with these classic characters as they gather all seven Dragon Balls to summon Shenron, a wish-granting Eternal Dragon who grants one wish to whoever gathers the Dragon Balls and summons him. If you’ve never gotten to jump into the IP before, this is a great place to start!
Inuyasha Seasons 1-7 DVD Box Set
Sit, boy!
Kagome’s life changes for the weirder when she finds herself plummeting down a well through time, dimensions, and realities. Paired off with the half-demon Inuyasha, this box set shows all seven seasons of their adventures.
Inuyasha has enjoyed a sudden resurgence in popular culture over the last few months. Given that this easily ranks among one of the best anime series ever to hit the screen, it’s easy to understand why it’s stayed on everyone’s mind. What child of the 90s doesn’t have hazy dreams of waking up to Toonami playing a promo of the show featuring Kagome and Inuyasha shouting each other’s names repeatedly?
Inuyasha follows the life of a young girl named Kagome who’s pulled down a well in (then) modern-day Japan, awakening in a time-and-reality shifted version of 16th-century Japan. There, Kagome meets the half-demon Inuyasha, teaming up with him in a journey to find the Shikon Jewel shards. This box set comes with a staggering32discs, dubbed in Japanese with subtitles in English, and includes all seven seasons of this hilarious, violent, heart-breaking show. It’s a can’t-miss for any fan offantasy anime!
Trigun: Complete Series Box Set
Outlaws, donuts, and DVDs
Vash the Stampede has a habit of having bounty hunters sicced on him, despite his somewhat-pacifistic nature. While there’s no proof he’s taken a life, there’s certainly proof of his love for donuts.
Trigun is an anime classic that’s hard for anyone to ignore, fitting well among the ranks of other classic IPs like Akira, Berserk, and more - albeit significantly more lighthearted than those. This is also a relatively shorter option, including four DVDs for almost 11 hours of content. This’ll make up the whole series, so you don’t have to worry about missing much!
Trigun follows Vash the Stampede, an outlaw commonly finding himself hunted down for his crimes, including murder. But despite this reputation, no one seems to have any proof of him performing any of the horrible crimes. In fact, the only thing you can say for certain is that he’s a donut-obsessed dork who prefers jokes over violence. It’s a muchmore lighthearted approachfrom an anime classic that’s maintained its stellar reputation over the years.
Bleach Uncut: Box Set 2
Join the Soul Society
If you’re looking for the stellar second season of Bleach on DVD, you’re in luck! This box set brings the second season to bear in a box set of five discs packed to the brim with extras, formats, and more.
If you’ve been looking for your chance to join the Soul Society, this is the best shot you’ll get. Bleach Uncut: Box Set 2 includes the entire second season of Bleach on DVD, bringing you five full DVDs. These DVDs are chock full of extras for fans to get the most out of their fill with the series.
Why are we only including the season 2 box set? Because all the others tend to sell out! They’re tough to find, but there are plenty of other Bleach box sets you can grab if you get there before the rest of the Bleach fans. Good luck!
FAQ
Why Should I Use Physical Media?
Streaming options often have limited quality choices. When streaming, some platforms may max out at 1080p. While others may go to 4K resolutions, these may have considerable loading times or other issues. Additionally, the professional release of a Blu-Ray or DVD often has extras that you won’t get from streaming. And, finally, sometimes it’s just nice to have something to add to a physical collection instead of renting something to temporarily stream it!
What’s The Difference Between A DVD And A Blu-Ray Disk?
Generally, a Blu-Ray Disk has larger storage and can provide better audio and video quality. DVDs are an older format that has widely been replaced by the Blu-Ray. However, both are still available - just make sure your machine can play the one you’re buying!
See the term “disc” and wonder what the difference is between “disk” and “disc”? Disk is the American English spelling, while Disc is the British English spelling!
Where Can I Find Physical Media?
Blu-Rays are still popular enough that they’re frequently being manufactured, while DVD has mostly been phased out. We suggest using third-party markets, or vendors like Amazon and Walmart. Otherwise, Best Buy is a good place to look!
