SciFi Japan
    Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: soniani.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Christian Lopez Worlds collide as an iconic Nitroplus mascot gets her day in the sun in Sentai Filmworks` latest acquisition, SONI-ANI: SUPER SONICO THE ANIMATION (???? Super Sonico the Animation, 2014). This 12 episode romp in girl band wonderland is directed by Kenichi Kawamura (ROZEN MAIDEN, NINJA SCROLL), with scripts by Yousuke Kuroda (S-CRY-ed, BTOOOM!), art direction by Yoshito Takamine (GURREN LAGANN, BROKEN BLADE) and animation production by WHITE FOX (PERSONA 4, THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS). When Sonico wakes up every morning she sees big things on the horizon, but when she gets up gravity takes hold and she can focus on what’s directly ahead of her for the day. And that’s a good thing, because Sonico is more than just an attractive girl with a really huge set of... er... headphones. She’s

    Source: Section23 Films press release Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff 1967 may have been the Summer of Love, but 2014 will be the Summer of Godzilla, and Kraken Releasing is spreading the kaiju goodness with the first U.S. Blu-ray release of three classic films featuring the world’s most famous giant reptile. Also available on DVD, and including both the English dubbed and original Japanese versions with English subtitles, these are three of the big G’s wildest adventures ever and showcase why, sixty years after his atomic birth at Japan’s Toho Studios, Godzilla is still one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry! The fun begins as 1971’s GODZILLA VS HEDORAH (???????, Gojira Tai Hedora), released theatrically in the U.S in 1972 as GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER, pits Godzilla against the forces of pollution in the form of a constantly mutating, acid-spewing behemoth from outer space.

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment Official Movie Site: elevenarts.net/space-battleship-yamato (US) Special Thanks to Tim Baxter and Scott Lonski The feature-length, live-action sci-fi epic SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (???????, Supeesu Batorushippu Yamato, 2010) finally comes to home video in North America in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack from FUNimation Entertainment. Based on the incredibly popular 1970`s anime series of the same name -- shown in the US as STAR BLAZERS -- SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO stars Takuya Kimura (REDLINE, HOWL`S MOVING CASTLE). The movie earned $6.2 million on its opening box office week in Japan, and grossed $50 million throughout its entire theatrical run. The year is 2199. Mankind teeters on the brink of extinction as the Gamilas, a heinous race of alien invaders, wage an endless war for the right to inhabit the Earth. The last hope for humanity lies on the distant planet of Iskander, and the

    Critically-Acclaimed, International Box Office Smash from Director Tsui Hark Available February 11th Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications press release Official Site: e.weibo.com (HK), wellgousa.com/young-detective-dee-rise-of-the-sea-dragon (US) Special Thanks to Leif Helland From legendary action director Tsui Hark (FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE) comes the international blockbuster YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON (????????, Di Ren Jie Zhi Shen Du Long Wang, 2013), debuting on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital February 11th from Well Go USA Entertainment. The action-packed, martial arts extravaganza follows Dee Renjie`s beginnings in the Imperial police force. His very first case, investigating reports of a sea monster terrorizing the town, reveals a sinister conspiracy of treachery and betrayal, leading to the highest reaches of the Imperial family. The prequel to Hark`s 2010 DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (????????, Di Ren Jie Tong Tian Di Guo) stars Angelababy (TAI CHI

    Source: Madman Entertainment Official Site: warnerbros.co.jp/outrage2 (Japan), magnetreleasing.com/beyondoutrage (US) Special Thanks to Ben Pollock He`s part of a dying breed and they don`t go out quietly... On March 19th, the Australian label Madman Entertainment will release BEYOND OUTRAGE (?????? ????, Autoreiji Biyondo, 2012) on Region 4 DVD. Writer/director Takeshi Kitano has long been the master of Japanese gangster films with works like VIOLENT COP (????????? Sono Otoko, Kyooboo ni Tsuki, 1989) and HANA-BI (???, 1997). Now first-ever sequel tells the continuing story from OUTRAGE (?????? Autoreiji, 2010) but can be watched as a standalone movie. A manipulative police crackdown on organized crime ignites a tricky power struggle involving the two biggest yakuza families. The new young executives of the Sanno family are boiling the blood of the old yakuza gangs. The police prepare for a full-scale crackdown with cop Kataoka (Fumiyo Kohinata) wanting

    Death Goes Viral Source: CJ Entertainment America, MPRM Communications press release Official Site: theflu2013.interest.me (Korea) Special Thanks to Leif Helland Writer/Director Kim Sung-soo (BEAT, SCREAM CITY) delivers the vicious viral outbreak thriller FLU (??, Gamgi, 2013), debuting on DVD March 18th from CJ Entertainment. The all-star cast includes Jang Hyuk (THE CLIENT), Su Ae (SUNNY, A FAMILY), Yoo Hae-jin (MUSA-THE WARRIOR, KING AND THE CLOWN) and newcomer Park Min-ha. The worst epidemic ever seen is sweeping through the Seoul suburb of Bundang. Within hours after a patient dies in the hospital covered in an oozing red rash and regurgitating blood, the deadly virus sweeps the city and the body count rapidly rises. Medical professionals are in a panic over the mysteriously murderous infection that has no known cure, fatalities rise and soon the government orders the military to quarantine the entire area --

    Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, FilmDistrict Official Movie Site: OldboyFilm.com FilmDistrict`s remake of the acclaimed Korean film OLDBOY died at the box office last November. But those who missed the film during its theatrical run -- apparently, most of you -- will have a second chance when when OLDBOY comes to Blu-ray and DVD on March 4th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. From director Spike Lee comes this chillingly dark tale of vengeance bursting with unforgettable twists and turns. Kidnapped and kept in solitary confinement for 20 years, Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) has suddenly been set free without a word of explanation. Obsessed with finding those who imprisoned him, Doucett wreaks havoc upon his captors, unaware his freedom is part of a plan and his true punishment`s about to begin. Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery Year: 2013 Releasing Entity: FilmDistrict Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Street

    Source: Madman Entertainment Official Site: warnerbros.co.jp/outrage2 (Japan), magnetreleasing.com/beyondoutrage (US) Special Thanks to Ben Pollock "Beat" Takeshi Kitano`s action cinema thriller BEYOND OUTRAGE (?????? ????, Autoreiji Biyondo, 2012) is now in limited theatrical release from Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of US film distributor Magnolia Pictures. The film will also be released on Region 4 DVD in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment on March 19th. For more information on the OUTRAGE films please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: Takeshi Kitano`s OUTRAGE Gets US Release OUTRAGE BEYOND Production Notes Takeshi Kitano`s BEYOND OUTRAGE Gets US Theatrical Run in January

    Win Free Second Volume of New POWER RANGERS Series Source: Lionsgate, Bender/Helper Official Site: powerrangers.com Special Thanks to Geovani Rocha Lionsgate Home Entertainment is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win POWER RANGERS MEGAFORCE: THE MYSTERIOUS ROBO KNIGHT - Volume 2 on DVD. The collection includes Episodes 5-8 plus a bonus collectible Mega Blok Series 2 Micro Figure and has a suggested retail price of $14.98. The action-packed series continues as Troy, Noah, Emma, Gia and Jake POWER UP to defend Earth from evil insectoid monsters! The Rangers must use friendship, teamwork and their Megazords to overcome evil villains Beezara, Dizchord, Bluefur, Bigs, Hisser and Creepox! Then, when all seems lost, a mysterious new ally emerges -- ROBO KNIGHT! With the help of this transforming robot, Earth`s mightiest defenders will never surrender! POWER RANGERS MEGAFORCE: THE MYSTERIOUS ROBO KNIGHT - Volume 2

    Streets April 15th Source: Warner Home Video Official Site: berserkfilm.com (Japan), facebook.com/BerserkFilm (US) The BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC (????? ?????) anime film trilogy concludes with BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC III - THE ADVENT (????? ?????? ??, Berserk Oogon Jidai-Hen III: Koorin), coming to Blu-ray and DVD on April 15th from VIZ Media. It’s been a year since Griffith’s imprisonment by the Kingdom of Midland. Once praised as the saviors of Midland, the Band of the Hawk has been on the run and is on the brink of breaking apart. Much to everyone’s surprise, Guts returns to the Hawks, and the search for Griffith begins! Both editions come with all-new extras, while the Blu-ray has exclusive content including Outtakes and event features. Product Details Rating: M (MATURE) Blu-ray Cat#: 1000349128 UPC: 782009242604 Street Date: 4/15/14 MSRP: $24.98 Region: A Discs: 1 Disc

    Region 4 DVD Arrives February 26th Source: Madman Entertainment Official Movie Site: real-kubinagaryu.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Ben Pollock The Australian label Madman Entertainment has changed the cover art for their upcoming Region 4 DVD of REAL (?????????????, Riaru Kanzen Naru Kubinagaryu no Hi, 2013). Based on Rokuro Inui`s award-winning novel A Perfect Day for Plesiosaur, the film is directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the internationally renowned filmmaker best-known for his ground-breaking horror films PULSE (??, Kairo, 2001) and CURE (???, Kyua, 1997). The movie stars Takeru Sato, who played the title role in last year`s domestic blockbuster RUROUNI KENSHIN (??????, 2012), and Haruka Ayase, whose many credits include the blind swordswoman in ICHI (?, 2008). After an apparent suicide attempt, Atsumi Kazu (Haruka Ayase) has been left in a coma for year. Now through a radical new treatment called "Sensing", her fiance Koichi

    Source: Mill Creek Entertainment Special Thanks to Chris Smith and Barrett Evans In 2012 and 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment signed home video distribution deals with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment covering the US and Canadian territories. Under the long-term licensing agreement, Mill Creek will distribute more than 900 classic and contemporary films and 52 television series from the vast SPHE catalog on DVD and Blu-ray. Many of these films will be made available in the Blu-ray high definition format for the first time ever, while other titles will be released in multi-feature standard definition DVD collections. On February 25th, Mill Creek will release the DVD collection SCI-FI CREATURE CLASSICS - 4-MOVIE SET with the Ray Harryhausen favorites 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, the notorious THE GIANT CLAW and Toho`s classic MOTHRA (US Version). This budget release gives

    Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Series Site: moribito.com (Japan) Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media, LLC, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, opens 2014 with the announcement of the mid-season Neon Alley debut of MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT (??????, Seirei no Moribito, 2007) on Friday, January 17th at 10:30PM (PST). The 26-episode fantasy/action anime series is rated ‘TV-14’ and new installments will debut every Friday. VIZ Media has also acquired the North American home video and web streaming rights for MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT and plans to release the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014. MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT is based on a bestselling collection of Japanese fantasy novels by author Nahoko Uehashi. The anime series tells the story of Balsa, a nomadic warrior who has vowed to atone

    Source: Discotek Media On February 25th, the OVA film LILY C.A.T. (????????, Ririi Kyatto, 1987) will be released on Region 1 DVD by Discotek Media. 2264 A.D.: The Starship Saldes is sent into deep space to explore a newly discovered planet. The journey will take twenty years. The Saldes` crew of thirteen, mixing experienced space jockeys with eager but naive scientists, are prepared for anything -- except an unseen alien invader with an insatiable appetite, along with the ominous force that takes over the ship`s controls. The voyage becomes a grim struggle for survival in a vessel which has become a coffin orbiting the paradise world which was to be its destination. Originally released on VHS from Streamline Pictures, LILY C.A.T. is finally available on DVD with the English language dub, and the never before released Japanese language version with English subtitles. Produced by: Victor Music

    FROM THE NEW WORLD Available on April 15th Source: Section23 Films press release Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its April slate of releases including the epic tale FROM THE NEW WORLD, which will be available on both DVD and Blu-ray. Product details follow, in order of release... EBITEN COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 275 min. Street Date: 4/1/2014 Format: DVD Language: Japanese with English Subtitles SRP: $49.98 EBITEN COMPLETE COLLECTION BLU-RAY Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 275 min. Street Date: 4/1/2014 Format: BD Language: Japanese with English Subtitles SRP: $59.98 Take one group of rabid fan girls with tenuous grips on reality, toss out all rules of proper social behavior, mix them together in a basement with more twisted anime parodies and allusions than you can shake

    Source: Discotek Media HIGH ADVENTURE ON THE HIGHEST FRONTIER On February 25th, the complete 2-part OVA MIGHTY SPACE MINERS (?????????, Oira Uchu no Tankofu, 1994) will be released on Region 1 DVD by Discotek Media. When disaster strikes an asteroid mining colony, who can the trapped miners call? No one! That`s why only the bravest and most resourceful of individuals can ever become space miners, the hardworking pilots, scientists, and technicians who keep Earth supplied with priceless metals and isotopes from deep-space asteroid mines in the year 2060. MIGHTY SPACE MINERS is a stunning animated OVA that depicts what happens when a military satellite triggers a catastrophic disaster on a remote asteroid colony! It`s an adventure on an epic scale, as the colonists must cope with world turned literally inside out with a runaway nuclear reactor that threatens toturn the entire asteroid into a miniature sun

    Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Special Thanks to Leif Helland A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Well Go USA is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win the action-comedy BADGES OF FURY (????, Bu er shentan, 2013) on Blu-ray. International action superstar Jet Li (HERO, FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE, THE EXPENDABLES franchise) teams up for a third time with Zhang Wen (THE GUILLOTINES, THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE) as bickering cops out to catch a prolific serial killer in this tongue-in-cheek spoof on kung fu cops from first-time director Tsz Ming Wong. When a series of eerie murders erupt across Hong Kong, two troublemaking cops are assigned to the case. Young maverick Wang (Zhang Wen) is a reckless risk-taker, and grizzled vet Huang (Jet Li) is fed up with cleaning up his rookie’s messes. After discovering all the victims were

    Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: mikakunin.jp Special Thanks to Christian Lopez Sentai Filmworks is proud to announce its newest acquisition: ENGAGED TO THE UNIDENTIFIED (???????, Mikakunin de Shinkookei, 2014). This 12 episode series about the suddenly atypical life of a very typical teenager is directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara (GJ CLUB) and features character designs by Ai Kikuchi (RAINBOW – NISHA ROKUBO NO SHINCHIN) with series composition by Fumihiko Shimo (CLANNAD), music by Jun Ichikawa (C3) and sound direction by Kazuzou Hamano (SHIN KOHIME MUSO: OTOME TAIRAN). Meet Kobeni, your typical, completely normal high school girl. She’s good at cooking, poor at sports and lives with her freewheeling mother and her older, eccentric sister, Benio. The only thing unusual about Kobeni is that she can’t remember her childhood due to an accident when she was small. But everything changes on her 16th birthday with the

    Source: Madman Entertainment, FUNimation Entertainment Official Movie Site: evangelion.co.jp (Japan), elevenarts.net/evangelion3 (US), madman.com.au/nge (Aus) Special Thanks to Ben Pollock Eleven Arts and FUNimation Entertainment will release the highly anticipated third installment of the "Rebuild of Evangelion" series, EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO (?????????????Q, Evangerion Shin Gekijooban: Kyuu, 2012), in theaters across the U.S. on January 10th and Canada on January 11, 2014. The upgraded edition, EVANGELION: 3.33 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO, will follow on Blu-ray and DVD in North America from FUNimation Entertainment later this year. Fans in Australia and New Zealand can purchase the film on Blu-ray (Region B) and DVD (Region 4, PAL) on March 19th, courtesy of Madman Entertainment. For more information on "Rebuild of Evangelion" please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: Japanese Movies at American Film Market 2008 Japan Film Festival- Los

    Source: Discotek Media THERE’S A REBELLION BREWING ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON! On February 25th, the complete anime series DALLOS (???, Darosu, 1983) will be released on Region 1 DVD by Discotek Media. Shun Nonomura is a young man out of Monopolis, a sprawling miner’s colony on the lunar surface. His people mine helium-3 and other essentials for the Earth -- but in the late 21st century, Earth’s resources are depleted and the planetary government has resorted to authoritarian rule to get what they want. As the put-upon miners, including Shun’s own family and friends, start to organize a revolt, they come under attack from Earth’s new lunar commander: Alex Leiger, a military man unafraid to use force to put down the uprising! As Shun’s idealism and Alex’s chilly pragmatism clash, Monopolis is thrown into chaos. The last, best hope for victory lies within

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