Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

DVD cover art for TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2, now on
sale. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films.

Section23 Films, America’s fastest-growing anime distributor, is pleased to announce the TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2 DVD set from Sentai Filmworks, which goes on sale today at finer retailers everywhere.

TO LOVE RU is the story of the alien princess Lala who runs away from home and ends up on Earth, where she ends up with a high school boy named Yuuki Rito. Lala falls for the hapless Rito, even while he tries to hook up with his long time crush. It’s a cosmic love triangle with lots of laughs and plenty of fan service.

As if being accidentally engaged to a demon-like alien princess while attending high school and still making points with the girl he REALLY likes wasn’t enough to keep Rito on the edge of insanity, he’s now stuck with an more dangerous challenge: living up to the expectations of Lala’s devil-like father, King Deviluke! And if that’s not bad enough, the girl Run (aka, sometimes, the guy Ren) decides to make her move on Rito, the school is overflowing with even more not-so-well disguised ghosts and aliens (some of whom need an education on how to emphasize their feminine side,) SOMEBODY lets word slip that Lala is actually an alien princess, and to cap it all off there’s a trip to the waterpark PLUS the obligatory Hot Springs episode! Love isn’t a battlefield… it’s the War of the Worlds in TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2!!!
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Harumi Kiritachi, Eiji Funakoshi, and Yoshiro Uchida run for their lives in the original GAMERA. The movie will finally get an official DVD release in America as
GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER. Photo courtesy of Shout! Factory. © 1965 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Shout’s Cliff Macmillan Discusses the First Official Region 1 Release of the Early Gamera Movies
Author: Keith Aiken
Official Site: Shout! Factory
Special Thanks to Bob Johnson

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

An early look at the cover art for Shout! Factory’s
GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER DVD. Photo courtesy of
Shout! Factory. © 1965 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

The original series of Gamera movies is finally getting a licensed and authorized Region 1 DVD release, courtesy of the Los Angeles-based entertainment company Shout! Factory.

On May 18, 2010, Shout! will unleash GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER – SPECIAL EDITION on DVD for the first time in its unedited original version, with English subtitles — in anamorphic widescreen from an all-new HD master. The DVD includes a 12-page booklet with an essay by director Noriaki Yuasa, a photo gallery, trailers and more. The collectible GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER – SPECIAL EDITION DVD is priced to own at $19.93.

SciFi Japan is pleased to present an early look at the DVD cover art for GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER, a look back at Gamera’s release history in the United States, and an interview with Cliff Macmillan, Vice President of DVD Production and Acquisitions for Shout! Factory. Enjoy!
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Get the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD and More for Free, Courtesy of VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan
Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

VIZ Pictures is offering SciFi Japan readers the chance to
win a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE Gift Pack
containing the DVD, poster, and button. Photo courtesy
of VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan © 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

The popular 20TH CENTURY BOYS (20-Seki Shonen) live-action movie trilogy is now being released on Region 1 DVD by VIZ Pictures and VIZ Media. The films are based on the critically acclaimed 20th Century Boys manga series created by Naoki Urasawa, which is a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies to date. The 20TH CENTURY BOYS movies were released in Japan by Toho and quickly shot to the top of the domestic box office. The three films made their US premieres at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco in August of 2009.

VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan now follow up December’s 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END Gift Pack Giveaway with a new contest for the second film in the series, 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE. SciFi Japan readers in the United States and Canada have a chance to win one of three Gift Packs, each with the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD, the US theatrical poster, and a 20TH CENTURY BOYS button.

The 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD will be available for purchase on February 16th. The suggested retail price is $24.92.
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Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Cover art for BLEACH Volume 26. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, dentsu,
Pierrot

VIZ Media, LLC has announced their list of DVD titles scheduled for release in March 2010. This includes the final box set release of HONEY AND CLOVER, the next installments of the POKÉMON ELEMENTS series, as well as the latest episodic releases of the popular BLEACH and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN series.

Also releasing is the live action feature film – HISASHI TENMYOUYA: SAMURAI NOUVEAU from VIZ Pictures.

VIZ Media DVD titles are distributed (in English) in the U.S and Mexico by Warner Home Video and in Canada by Allegro.
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Special Theatrical Screening Planned for February 9th; DVD Arrives on February 16th
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

DVD cover art for the North American release of 20TH
CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan © 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, will release the science fiction feature 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE (20-Seiki Shonen: Dai 2 Sho- Saigo no Kibo, 2009) on DVD on February 16th in North America through its distributor, VIZ Media. 20TH CENTURY BOYS will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN.

The 20TH CENTURY BOYS saga is based on Naoki Urasawa’s manga series, 20th Century Boys (published in the US by VIZ Media), which has become a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies of the 24 volumes. Urasawa is the creator of many famous works such as the hit manga series, Monster and Pluto also published in the US by VIZ Media.

In 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE it is 2015, and “Friend” rules a disturbing new world. Kenji has been missing since the Bloody New Year’s Eve of 2000, and his niece Kanna is now in high school. Her history textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji and his friends being the terrorists behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child by her teacher and sent to the Friend Land program because of her anti-Friend behavior.
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Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith

© 2007 Ryohgo Narita, Media Works/Project Baccano!

FUNimation Entertainment moves into 2010 with several new Region 1 DVDs of popular anime series and movies for fans in North America. Read on for plot descriptions, DVD specs, and a look at the cover art for:

CASE CLOSED MOVIE: THE LAST WIZARD OF THE CENTURY
CASE CLOSED MOVIE: CAPTURED IN HER EYES
CASE CLOSED MOVIE: COUNTDOWN TO HEAVEN
BLASSREITER THE COMPLETE SERIES: PART 2 Box Set
BACCANO! THE COMPLETE SERIES Box Set
DRAGONAUT: THE RESONANCE PART 2 Box Set
D GRAY-MAN: SEASON 2, PART 2 Box Set
BAMBOO BLADE: PART 2
LINEBARRELS OF IRON Box Set
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Three SciFi Japan readers have each won a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1:
BEGINNING OF THE END Gift Pack containing the DVD, poster, and button.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan. © 2008 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Thank you to everyone who entered VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan’s contest for a free “20TH CENTURY BOYS DVD Otoshi-dama Gift Packs”. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered all contest questions:

Stephanie Chaplin
Robert Sroka
Abel Castro Montero

Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a Gift Pack containing the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END DVD, button, and theatrical poster. VIZ Pictures will be shipping the Gift Packs shortly so keep an eye on your mailbox.
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Details on New Region 1 Anime and Live-Action Titles Coming from January to March
Source: Section23 Films press releases
Special Thanks to Chris Oarr

THE SKULL MAN COMPLETE COLLECTION comes out the
first week of February. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films.

Houston TX-based Section23 Films, America’s fastest-growing anime distributor, has provided details for its January-March 2010 slate of new DVD releases. Section23 client Sentai Filmworks is coming out with thirteen new home video releases, including the first DVD sets of the anime series HIDAMARI SKETCH, GLASS MASK, and NEO ANGELIQUE ABYSS; complete sets of THE SKULL MAN, MARIA HOLIC, YOZAKURA QUARTET, and TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY; and the second and final volumes of YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FAST & FURIOUS, SPECIAL A, and TEARS TO TIARA. Also coming from Sentai Filmworks is the first collection of YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE and the second collection of TO LOVE RU.

Switchblade Pictures, another Section23 client, has seven live-action DVD releases straight from Japan, including KIRENJI GIRLS’ COMBAT SCHOOL, AKIBALLION: BATTLEMAIDS OF AKIHABARA, RYUJI THE YAKUZA, BAYSENKI BATTLE CHRONICLE, and the double features FEMALE COMBATANTS BATTLE SCHOOL/ DEMONIC HEROINE IN PERIL, CAT GIRL/ SUPER DIMENSION ODYSSEY TRITIA, and BIRTHDAY MAIL/ KOKURRI-SAN.

Finally, from AEsir Holdings, Section23 presents a new edition of the classic anime series, PETITE PRINCESS YUCIE COMPLETE COLLECTION.
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Get the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END DVD and More for Free, Courtesy of VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan
Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

VIZ Pictures is offering SciFi Japan readers the chance to win
a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END Gift Pack
containing the DVD, poster, and button. Photo courtesy of
VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan © 2008 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

The popular 20TH CENTURY BOYS (20-Seki Shonen) live-action movie trilogy is coming to Region 1 DVD from VIZ Pictures and VIZ Media, starting this month with 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END. The films are based on the critically acclaimed 20th Century Boys manga series created by Naoki Urasawa, which is a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies to date. The first 20TH CENTURY BOYS movie was released in Japan by Toho on August 30, 2008 and quickly shot to the top of the box office. The film premiered at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco on August 15, 2009.

To celebrate this release, VIZ Pictures is giving SciFi Japan readers in the United States and Canada a chance to win one of three “20TH CENTURY BOYS DVD Otoshi-dama Gift Packs” ['Otoshi-dama' refers to a Japanese gift of good fortune for a new year]. Each Gift Pack includes the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END DVD, the US theatrical poster, and a 20TH CENTURY BOYS button.

The 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END DVD will be available for purchase on December 15.
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Animated Crime Drama from the Creator of 20TH CENTURY BOYS
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: Monster.viz.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Slipcase art for NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER Box Set 1.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2004 Naoki Urasawa,
Studio Nuts/ Shogakukan, VAP, NTV

VIZ Media, LLC brings Naoki Urasawa’s MONSTER to DVD in a Box Set scheduled for release on December 8th. Based on the acclaimed manga creator’s tense psychological masterpiece, MONSTER Box Set 1 features 3 DVDs/15 episodes (episodes 1-15), is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences, and carries a suggested MSRP of $59.90 U.S. / $85.99 CAN. The DVD box set will also include an exclusive digital booklet, which is a digitized version of the original Japanese booklet.

“Naoki Urasawa’s MONSTER is a real must-see for any true fan of anime, suspense or crime dramas,” says Brian Ige, VIZ Media Director of Sales, Home Entertainment “The animated series follows in a fine tradition of psychological crime noir ranging from Hitchcock and Mickey Spillane to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and CSI. All the tension and drama that made Urasawa’s manga such a masterpiece comes to life, and audiences will be glued to the screen when Dr. Tenma matches wits with a monstrous serial killer!”
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Volume 1 of the new YAMATO 2050. ©Tohokushinsha Film Corp.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 10
Author: Tim Eldred, Starblazers.com and Greasemonkeybook.com

As the nineties began, Yamato’s time in the wilderness appeared to be over. Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki stopped dabbling in projects that didn’t repeat his past successes. Two non-Yamato movies (the anime space opera ODIN and a live-action teen romance called A PASSENGER) came and went with little fanfare. His video distribution company, JAVN, ended in bankruptcy and one of his business partners, Bandai, walked away with control of SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO on home video.

With the start of a new decade, the slate was wiped clean. From here on, it would be all Yamato all the time. A long and frustrating development phase had finally yielded up a story Nishizaki liked. It was suggested by writer Soji Yoshikawa (a veteran of the “real robot” craze of the early 80s with credits on DOUGRAM, VOTOMS, GALIENT, and more) that a jump to the future would provide the mojo to restart the franchise. Rather than resurrect the original Yamato, he thought it would be interesting to create a new ship 300 years later. The title was made immediately obvious: YAMATO 2520.
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The antics of traveling salesman Tora-san (Kiyoshi Atsumi) often frustrated his family, including loving sister Sakura (Chieko Baisho). Scene from IT’S TOUGH
BEING A MAN, the first Tora-san movie and one of four films in AnimEigo’s new DVD box set. Photo courtesy of AnimEigo, Inc. © 1969 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

An Interview with Stuart Galbraith IV
Author: Keith Aiken
Official Site: tora-san.jp (Japan)

On November 10, AnimEigo will release the TORA-SAN COLLECTOR’S SET: VOL. 1, a Region 1 DVD collection of the first four films in Shochiku’s beloved Tora-san series. With 48 movies produced from 1969 to 1995, Tora-san (Otoko wa Tsuraiyo, lit. “It’s Tough Being a Man”) is Japan’s longest running motion picture series and holds the Guinness Book World Record as the longest film series starring the same actor.

A key contributor to the new DVD set is film historian Stuart Galbraith IV, the author of several books including Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! (1998), The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune(2002), The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography (2008), and Japanese Cinema (2009). He recently chatted with SciFi Japan about the background and long-lasting appeal of Tora-san and also provided some insider details regarding the TORA-SAN COLLECTOR’S SET.
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Warner Bros. is releasing a selection of TERMINATOR SALVATION DVD and Blu-ray editions in November and December.
Photo courtesy of Warner Home Video. © 2009 T Asset Acquisition Company, LLC.

Source: Warner Home Video press materials
Special Thanks to My-lan Beauford

The long-running Terminator franchise returns to home video with new DVD and Blu-ray titles in November and December. First up is TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE MACHINIMA SERIES, a collection of the computer animated series focusing on the resistance fighter Blair Williams, on November 3rd. And on December 1st, the feature film TERMINATOR SALVATION will be released on DVD in both widescreen and full screen versions plus a Blu-ray Special Edition featuring both the theatrical and director’s cuts as well as numerous bonus features.
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Source: The Associates press release
Special Thanks to Farhana Shaikh

Cover art for the UK Blu-ray of BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE. Photo
courtesy of The Associates. © 2000 Production I.G/ANX · SCEI · IPA

The first fully digitally animated anime feature to come out of Japan, BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE (2000) is considered a landmark in the history of digital animation. Now this seminal anime feature comes to Blu-ray in the UK, presented in a brand new high definition version that brings fresh life to this must-see work.

Produced by Production I.G. (GHOST IN THE SHELL, KILL BILL VOl. 1, THE SKY CRAWLERS), written by Kenji Kamiyama (GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX) and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (who oversaw the movie sequences in the GHOST IN THE SHELL video game) BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE is a mature, supernatural action-thriller, and one that has recently served as the inspiration for a live-action adaptation directed by Chris Nahon (KISS OF THE DRAGON).

BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE (cert. 15) will be released on Blu-ray (£24.99) by Manga Entertainment UK on 2nd November 2009. Special Features include: the original standard definition version of the feature; The Making of Blood: The Last Vampire featurette; trailer; DTS HD and 2.0 stereo audio options. Running time is 48 minutes.
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Source: Warner Home Video
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)

DVD cover art for the North American release of 20TH
CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END. Photo courtesy
of Warner Home Video. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa,
Studio Nuts /Shogakukan © 2008 “20th Century Boys”
Film Partners

The popular 20TH CENTURY BOYS (20-Seki Shonen) live-action movies trilogy will be coming to Region 1 DVD from VIZ Pictures and VIZ Media starting this December. The films are based on the critically acclaimed 20th Century Boys manga series created by Naoki Urasawa, which is a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies to date.

The three pictures were filmed together by a partnership of the Nippon Television Network, Shogakukan, Toho Co., VAP, Yomiuri Television, Dentsu, Yomiuri Shimbun, Cine Bazaar, Office Crescendo, and d-rights. Produced at a combined budget of 6 billion yen (approximately $60 million US), 20th CENTURY BOYS is the most expensive film project in Japanese history. The first 20th CENTURY BOYS was released in Japan by Toho on August 30, 2008 and quickly shot to the top of the box office. NTV handles world sales for the trilogy and have sold distribution rights in more than two dozen countries.

VIZ Media DVD titles are distributed (in English) in the U.S and Mexico by Warner Home Video and in Canada by Allegro.
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