How to collect Wolf's Rain

Wolf's Rain is a kind shelf to complete and a tricky one to perfect. The whole story exists in every format, but the desirable versions are specific, and two of the best pieces never crossed the Pacific. Start from the picture: the Japanese DVD release carries Kawamoto cover art volume by volume, the first of them the Darcia and Cheza composition shown in this shelf's gallery, and the thirteen Japanese volumes are the art-forward way to own the series.

The American centerpiece is Bandai's limited edition of volume 1: an art box sized for the whole series, the first soundtrack CD, and a Kiba plush, the series' one famous piece of merchandise. The trap in the American run is the recap volume, the disc holding episodes 15 to 18, which reviewers advised skipping even in 2004; a complete-looking set missing only that disc is missing nothing of the story.

The music is where the shelf gets serious. The first soundtrack is easy in both its Victor and Bandai editions. The second soundtrack is Japan-only, never licensed abroad, and it holds the OVA score and "Tell Me What the Rain Knows": budget for an import or accept the hole. For the modern viewing copy, Funimation's 2017 Blu-ray and DVD combo is the clean single purchase. On paper, hunt the Borders exclusive manga volume 1, the edition with the box for both volumes and the 3D lenticular card, over the standard Viz printings.