Source: Lionsgate, Bender/Helper Impact Official Site: powerrangers.com Special Thanks to Geovani Rocha With POWER RANGERS SAMURAI: THE SIXTH RANGER Volume 4 arriving on DVD and Digital Download on May 14, Lionsgate Home Entertainment has provided a trailer for all of their POWER RANGERS SAMURAI DVD releases. About Saban Brands Formed in 2010 as a subsidiary of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize on the company’s experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing consumer brands. SB applies a strategic transmedia management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets worldwide and to consumers of all ages. The company provides full-service management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand, trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail development,
PLANZET, the computer animated alien invasion film from NEGADON director Jun Awazu, will be released on Australian Blu-ray and DVD this June. Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment. © 2010 Jun Awazu/Media Factory/CoMix Wave Films
The Final Plan To Retake Planet Earth Source: Madman Entertainment Special Thanks to Ben Pollock On June 19th, the Australian label Madman Entertainment will release the computer animated sci-fi film PLANZET (??????, Puranzetto, 2010) on DVD and in a Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo. Directed by Jun Awazu (NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS) and produced by CoMix Wave (CHILDREN WHO CHASE LOST VOICES, 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND), PLANZET features an All-Star Japanese voice cast including Mamoru MIYANO (DEATH NOTE) and Junko TAKEUCHI (NARUTO). In 2047, an unknown, alien lifeform descends upon the Earth, destroying all the major cities in one fell swoop. The survivors unite and build a Diffusor to stop the Februus, the invaders the military would later codename the FOS, and a temporary peace is achieved. Jump forward to 2053, the present. A last, desperate counterattack is being mounted against the enemy.
Siblings Daigo (Takeru Shibuya) and Kiriko Imazato (Hikari Mitsushima) enter a living nightmare in TORMENTED, the horror-thriller from THE GRUDGE director Takashi Shimizu. © The Rabit Horror Film Committee 2011
Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Special Thanks to Leif Helland A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Our thanks to everyone who entered Well Go USA and SciFi Japan`s contest for a free 3D Blu-ray of TORMENTED. The randomly chosen winners are: Cameron Archer Marty Day Carlos Alonso Vince Holden John Stanowski Congratulations to the winners! Your prizes will ship soon. Directed by Takashi Shimizu (JU-ON, THE GRUDGE), and filled with his trademark atmospherics and spine-chilling, brain-bending sequences, TORMENTED (????????3D, Rabito Hora 3D, 2011) ventures into the terrifying corners of the mind where the lines between fact and fiction are blurred in this terrifying tale of a young boy whose family seems to be unraveling around him. The situation gets worse when he manifests a growing and dangerous friendship and reliance on a stuffed toy rabbit that comes to life... TORMENTED is now available
Key art for HENNEKO - THE HENTAI PRINCE & THE STONY CAT. © 2013 Sou Sagara ? MEDIA FACTORY/ HENNEKO Project
Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: henneko.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams When you ask a magical stone cat for help, don’t be surprised if the results are a little rocky in Sentai Filmworks’ newest acquisition: HENNEKO - THE HENTAI PRINCE & THE STONY CAT (???????????, Hentai Ooji to Warawanai Neko., 2013). This 12 episode series is directed by Youhei Suzuki and features character designs by Haruko Izuka (LITTLE BUSTERS!, INU X BOKU SS) with series composition by Michiko Itou (BODACIOUS SPACE PIRATES, SPECIAL A) and sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (KILL ME BABY, CANAAN). Koto is a complete and total pervert, but he doesn’t think that’s a problem. What bothers him is that every time he tries to bluff his way through one of his indiscretions, his inability to drop his façade inevitably digs him in even deeper. Tsukiko also has an issue
Key art for PHOTO KANO. © ENTERBRAIN, INC. Developed by DINGO Inc./Photo Kano Production Committee
Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: tbs.co.jp/photokano/ (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Is it true that girls like a guy with a really big lens? Find out in Sentai Filmworks’ newest acquisition: PHOTO KANO (?????, Foto Kano, 2013)! This 12 episode series features direction and series composition by Akitoshi Yokoyama with character designs by Mae Shimada, sound direction by Kengo Kawazoe and music by Mina Kubota. During Kazuya Maeda’s first year of high school he felt like a nobody, just another forgotten face shuffling through the crowded hallways. Even his best friend from childhood, Nimi, seemed somehow more difficult to approach, since she had matured a little quicker in the unsettling way that girls have a habit of doing. However, this year, things will be different for Kazuya, and part of that change may just be because of the big new girl magnet hanging
Toshiro Mifune (SEVEN SAMURAI) stars as the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto in THE SAMURAI TRILOGY. Photo courtesy of Madman Entertainment. © Toho Co., Ltd.
Source: Madman Entertainment Special Thanks to Ben Pollock On May 8th, THE SAMURAI TRILOGY will be released on DVD by the Australian label, Madman Entertainment. Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune (SEVEN SAMURAI, YOJIMBO, RASHOMON), THE SAMURAI TRILOGY was one of Japan`s most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that`s often called Japan`s Gone with the Wind, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. With these three films -- 1954`s Oscar-winning MUSASHI MIYAMOTO, 1955`s DUEL AT ICHIJOJI TEMPLE, and 1956`s DUEL AT GANRYU ISLAND -- Inagaki created a passionate epic that`s equal parts tender love story and bloody action. THE SAMURAI TRILOGY includes... · SAMURAI I:
Johnny Sokko (Mitsunobu Kaneko) uses his wristwatch communicator to announce the winners of Shout! Factory`s JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT: The Complete Series contest. Photo courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment. © 1967 Toei Co., Ltd.
Who Won the 4-Disc Collector`s Edition from Shout! Factory? Source: Shout! Factory Special Thanks to Tom Chen Our thanks to everyone who entered Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan`s contest for a free DVD of JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT: The Complete Series. The randomly chosen winners are: Edwin Cordero Terri Schneider Olivier-Felix Dupuis Matt Sanchez Geoffrey Hybel Congratulations to the winners! Your prizes will ship soon. JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT, the Americanized version of the classic Toei tokusatsu television series GIANT ROBOT (????????, Jaianto Robo, 1967), is now available from retailers. The 4-Disc set includes all 26 episodes of the show; the first time the entire series will be officially available on home video in North America. About Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and
The acclaimed South Korean animated film THE KING OF PIGS is coming to DVD in the United Kingdom. Image courtesy of Terracotta Distribution. © 2011 King of Pigs Production Committee
Source: Terracotta Distribution Special Thanks to Claire Marty On May 13th, Terracotta Distribution will release the acclaimed South Korean animated film THE KING OF PIGS (??? ?; RR: Dae gi eui wang, 2011) on DVD in the United Kingdom. THE KING OF PIGS is an ultra-violent Korean animation set in a high-school world in which rich "dogs" rule over the "pigs". The film is directed by Yeun Sang-ho and stars the voices of familiar Korean actors, Yang Ik-june and Kim Kkobbi from the internationally acclaimed BREATHLESS. A festival favorite, this feature animation (aka Manwha) premiered at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival and has since played in various international festivals including the Director’s Fortnight 2012 making it the first animated Korean film to screen at the Festival de Cannes. THE KING OF PIGS was released theatrically in UK on January 2013. After murdering
APPLESEED XIII: THE COMPLETE SERIES © 2011 Shirow Masamune / Seishinsha – APPLESEED XIII Project. SENGOKU BASARA: THE COMPLETE SERIES © Capcom/Team Basara
Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release Special Thanks to Tim Baxter FUNimation Entertainment has provided information for their Blu-ray and DVD releases for June 2013. Product details follow, in order of release... APPLESEED XIII: THE COMPLETE SERIES Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack -LE Release Date: 6/4/2013 SRP: $69.98 Running Time: 390 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Discs: 4 Rating: TV14 Languages: English, Japanese Subtitles: English APPLESEED XIII: THE COMPLETE SERIES Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: 6/4/2013 SRP: $64.98 Running Time: 390 Minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Discs: 4 Rating: TV14 Languages: English, Japanese Subtitles: English From the creator of GHOST IN THE SHELL, one of the most well received and highest selling anime movies of all time, comes the thirteen episode series APPLESEED XIII. In the wake of destruction from a worldwide non-nuclear war, the city of Olympus has become the control center of the world. As humanity
Key art for MAJESTIC PRINCE. © FIELDS/MJP-PROJECT 2012
Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: mjp-anime.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks is proud to announce its newest acquisition: MAJESTIC PRINCE (????? ????????????, Ginga Kikootai Majesutikku Purinsu, 2012). This 24 episode sci-fi action series is directed by Keitaro Motonaga (Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, Getbackers) and features series composition by Reiko Yoshida (K-ON!, Girls und Panzer) with character designs by Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed series, S-CRY-ed), and mecha designs by Yuji Tani, Koji Watanabe (Blue Gender) and Yasuhiro Moriki (Martian Successor Nadesico). It’s GC 88 in the New Space calendar. Mankind has settled the solar system as far as Jupiter, when an unknown force suddenly attacks and humanity is plunged into war on an epic scale never before seen. Forced to retreat in the face of the enemy’s overwhelming onslaught, humanity finds itself push to the brink of destruction. Mankind’s
Packaging for the Blu-ray edition of BANGKOK REVENGE. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA. © 2012 China Lion Film Distribution
Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Special Thanks to Leif Helland A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Our thanks to everyone who entered Well Go USA and SciFi Japan`s contest for a free Blu-ray of BANGKOK REVENGE. The randomly chosen winners are: Gabe Lucas Ryan Chen David Moore Sarah Wright Dana Kraft Congratulations to the winners! Your prizes will ship soon. Directed by Jean-Marc Mineo, BANGKOK REVENGE stars Jon Foo (TEKKEN, STREET FIGHTER LEGACY), Caroline Ducey (ROMANCE, THE SOUL KEEPER) and Michael Cohen (THEM, LITTLE JERUSALEM). A young boy left for dead by the assassins who killed his parents is taken under the wing of a martial-arts master and shaped into a lethal killing machine with an insatiable appetite for revenge. As a ten-year-old child, Manit (Jon Foo) saw his parents murdered in cold blood. When the killers were finished, they put a gun to his head,
Well Go USA will release 3D/2D Blu-ray and standard DVD editions of the computer animated Korean dinosaur movie, DINO KING 3D. Photos courtesy of Well Go USA. © 2012 Dream Search C&C, Inc., EBS and Olive Studio, Inc.
Debuts on 3D/2D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital June 18th from Well Go USA Entertainment Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Official Movie Site: blog.naver.com/jumbagi2012 (South Korea) Special Thanks to Leif Helland Experience what it was like to walk with nature’s greatest prehistoric predators when DINO KING 3D (???: ???? ?? 3D, Jumbagi: Hanbandoui gongryong 3D, 2012) debuts on 3D/2D Blu-ray, DVD and digital June 18th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Painstakingly recreated in breathtaking CGI animation, the film takes viewers to a time before man, when dinosaurs ruled the earth. The Korean production by Dream Search C&C, EBS and Olive Studio has been marketed internationally as SPECKLES THE TARBOSAURUS. Meet Speckles. He’s a Tarbosaurus, and lives a happy life in his forest home with his mom and siblings. One day, as he’s just learning to hunt, he encounters One-Eye, a Tyrannosaur looking for
Meiko Kaji stars as Yuki Kashima in LADY SNOWBLOOD. Photo courtesy of Madman Entertainment. © 1973 Toho Co., Ltd.
Source: Madman Entertainment Special Thanks to Ben Pollock On May 8th, the Australian label Madman Entertainment will release a two DVD set of LADY SNOWBLOOD (????, Shurayukihime, 1973) and LADY SNOWBLOOD: LOVE SONG OF VENGEANCE (???? ????, Shurayukihime - Urami Renga, 1974). The two films are highly influential classics of the Asian cinema genre, widely recognized as major inspirations for Quentin Tarantino`s KILL BILL. LADY SNOWBLOOD`s theme song, "Flower of Carnage", is sung by star Meiko Kaji and was also featured in KILL BILL. A woman is abused and killed by a gang in prison, leaving her newborn daughter to carry out her revenge. The young girl grows into a beautiful woman who`s only goal is to find and terminate her mother`s attackers with extreme prejudice. Madman`s LADY SNOWBLOOD Movies 1 & 2 set includes a rare interview with Meiko Kaji. Release Date:
Cover art for INUYASHA THE MOVIE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION. Image courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2001 Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise • Sho-Pro • NTV • Toho • Yomiuri-TV Enterprise. © 2002-04 Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan • YTV • Sunrise • Sho-Pro • NTV • Toho • Yomiuri-TV Enterprise.
4 Feature Films Based on Classic Fantasy Adventure Series, Now in High Definition for the First Time Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: sunrise-inc.co.jp/yasya (Japan), viz.com/inuyasha (US) Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media brings the classic anime feature film action of INUYASHA home to fans across North America with the brand new release of the INUYASHA THE MOVIE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION. The new 2-disc set is available now on Blu-ray, and contains 4 complete feature films from the venerable fantasy action adventure franchise, each rated TV-14, including INUYASHA THE MOVIE 1: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME (????? ????????, Eiga Inuyasha: Toki o Koeru Omoi, 2001), INUYASHA THE MOVIE 2: THE CASTLE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS (????? ???????, Eiga Inuyasha: Kagami no Naka no Mugenjoo, 2002), INUYASHA THE MOVIE 3: SWORDS OF AN HONORABLE RULER (????? ??????, Eiga Inuyasha: Tenka Hadoo no
Well Go USA will release 3D/2D Blu-ray and standard DVD editions of SADAKO 3D, the latest chapter in THE RING series. Photos courtesy of Well Go USA. © 2012
From the Writer of The Ring Comes the Latest Terrifying Installment to the Haunting Franchise Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Official Movie Site: sadako3d.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Leif Helland The most iconic figure in Asian horror returns for the latest installment in the frightening RING franchise with SADAKO 3D (????, 2012), debuting on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital June 4th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Director Tsutomu Hanabusa (HIGH SCHOOL REVIEW) brings back the long haired girl in the white nightgown and her reign of terror has extended from television screens to all forms of technology: PC screens, mobile phones, jumbotrons and more. The cast includes Satomi Ishihara (MOONLIGHT MASK), Koji Seto (RUNWAY BEAT), Tsutomu Takahashi (ARAGURE) and Shota Sometani (THE INTERMISSION). Akane Aikawa (Ishihara) works as a teacher in a high school where students are mysteriously committing suicide after viewing a video hosted on the
Two Lupins?! Discotek Media will release the OVA LUPIN THE 3RD: GREEN VS RED on May 21st. © Monkey Punch • TMS
Source: Discotek Media Official Site: biglobe.ne.jp/greenvsred (Japan) On May 21st, the OVA LUPIN THE 3RD: GREEN VS RED (????? Green vs Red, Rupan Sansei: Guriin tai Reddo, 2008) will be released on Region 1 DVD by Discotek Media. Just when you thought the man was one of a kind, Lupin the Third lookalikes start appearing all over the world, each with their own style and flair! Even the expert Inspector Zenigata can`t seem to track down his rival. From among the rabble rises one ambitious, green-jacketed Lupin imitator named Yasuo. He challenges the man himself to swipe the mysterious treasure Ice Cube and earn the title of "the real Lupin the Third!" Produced for the 40th Anniversary of the original manga, GREEN VS RED is a celebration of what makes the Lupin franchise so enduring. Complete with double-crosses, disguises, crazy car action, and
Key art for SHINING HEARTS. © SEGA/SHINING-HEARTS- PROJECT 2012
Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: shining-world.jp/heartsTV (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks’ is proud to announce its newest acquisition: SHINING HEARTS (?????????? ???????, Shainingu Haatsu Shiawase no Pan, 2012). Based on the best selling Sega game, this 12 episode series is directed and written by Itsuro Kawasaki (LISTEN TO ME, GIRLS. I AM YOUR FATHER!, ARC THE LAD) and features character designs by Keita Matsumoto (BUNGAKU SHOJO, SANDS OF DESTRUCTION), sound direction by Yukio Nagasaki (TSURITAMA, DRAGON BALL Z KAI) and music by Hiroki Kikuta. Over the years, many strange things have washed up on the shores of Windaria, a mysterious island where humans, elves and other beings all live in harmony. Rick, a former swordsman who runs the Le Couer Bakery with his three beautiful coworkers Neris, Amil and Airy, knows this all too well, having been found on the beach
Pang Ho-Cheung’s hit VULGARIA is coming to DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom. Photos courtesy of Third Window Films. © 2012 Making Film Productions.
Source: Third Window Films Official Movie Site: thirdwindowfilms.com/vulgaria (UK) Special Thanks to Adam Torel and Claire Marty On April 15th, 2013, Pang Ho-Cheung’s Hong Kong #1 box office hit VULGARIA (????, 2012) comes to DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom from distributor Third Window Films. The outrageous comedy was the highest grossing Hong Kong film of 2012. To (Chapman To Man-chak), a long-time film producer, has yet to produce anything resembling a hit. Beset by financial troubles, he has become desperate for money -- so much so that he is unable to pay the alimony to his ex-wife (Kristal Tin). Despite his former spouse`s bitterness, their daughter still clings onto her faith in him -- and wishes to see him on TV once his new movie premieres. To is soon introduced to a potential Mainland Chinese investor, Tyrannosaurus (Ronald Cheng), by his buddy Lui Wing-shing (Simon
Win Sushi Tyohoon`s sports splatter comedy DEADBALL on Blu-ray from Well Go USA. Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2011 Sushi Typhoon/Nikkatsu
Source: Well Go USA, MPRM Communications Official Movie Site: sushi-typhoon.com/jp/deadball (Japan), sushi-typhoon.com/deadball-movie (US) Special Thanks to Leif Helland A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Well Go USA Entertainment is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win Sushi Typhoon`s hilariously offensive, politically incorrect sports splatter comedy DEADBALL (??????, Dedoboru, 2011) on Blu-ray. A follow-up to director Yudai Yamaguchi`s earlier zombie baseball classic BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL (?????, Jigoku Kooshien, 2003), DEADBALL stars Tak Sakaguchi (VERSUS, YAKUZA WEAPON, TOKYO GORE POLICE) as Jubeh Yakyu, a seventeen-year-old juvenile delinquent sent to reform school after killing over 50 people within a week. To escape the school, Jubeh agrees to join the facility’s baseball team in a battle to the death against the sexy “psycho butcher girls” of St. Black Dahlia High School. This riotous, over-the-top epic of excess is the movie for the psycho sports fan in everybody and
Left to Right: Sora Takenouchi, Yolei Inoue, Biyomon, Kari Kamiya, Gatomon,
THE OFFICIAL DIGIMON ADVENTURE SET: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON and DIGIMON ADVENTURE: VOLUME 2 Source: Flatiron Film Company, Foundry Communications Special Thanks to Michael Krause A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Our thanks to everyone who entered Flatiron Film Company and SciFi Japan`s contest for free DIGIMON DVD Sets. The randomly chosen winners are: Grand Prize - THE OFFICIAL DIGIMON ADVENTURE SET: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON Shane Young First Prize - DIGIMON ADVENTURE: VOLUME 2 Ryan Clark Timothy D. Harris Jason Tang Congratulations to the winners! Flatiron Film will ship your prizes soon. THE OFFICIAL DIGIMON ADVENTURE SET: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON ($79.95 srp) is an 8-disc collection featuring all 50 complete, unedited episodes. DIGIMON ADVENTURE: VOLUME 2 ($19.95 srp) is a 3-disc set including 18 full-length episodes from Season 1. Both sets are the English versions from the U.S. broadcast and are now available from retailers.