The FMV Note A77-K3 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7735U and comes stuffed with plenty of modern kit, except for that optical time capsule wedged into the side.

The machine features a 16-inch WUXGA display, 16GB of RAM (upgradeable to 64GB), and a 512GB SSD. Graphics grunt is provided by integrated Radeon 680M, which won’t thrill gamers but will do the job for most tasks. It even includes Wi-Fi 7, USB4, a Windows Hello webcam, and a Copilot key, presumably for those who actually want Microsoft’s AI on tap.

But the real eyebrow-raiser is the BDXL-compatible Blu-ray drive, complete with Super Multi-Drive support. At 1.9kg, it’s not a featherweight and it's clearly aimed at punters in Japan who still seem to be mad about shiny spinning discs.

According to the Korean Economic Daily, the Japanese market is still buying optical drives like it’s 2009. Good luck finding one of these laptops outside the country unless you fancy a shopping spree in Akihabara or know someone with a reliable forwarding service.

Fujitsu’s FMV brand hasn’t just stopped at Blu-ray. It’s also offering two Intel-based variants, the A75-K3 and A55-K3, which ditch the Blu-ray drive for a DVD Super Multi burner instead. It seems Japan’s love affair with optical media hasn’t cooled at all.

Retailers in Tokyo have apparently seen a spike in Windows 11 demand and a surprising rush on Blu-ray optical drives, with queues forming for standalone units. Local reports say consumer competition was “particularly fierce” for anything that could read a Blu-ray.

Other Japanese vendors haven’t given up on discs either. Toshiba’s Dynabook T series and NEC’s Lavie N16 also offer built-in Blu-ray or DVD drives.