The latest film by anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa, director of THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL Source: Shout! Factory press release Official Site: Official Site: kimi-nami.com (Japan), RideYourWaveMovie.com (US) Special Thanks to Shannon Meehan The deeply emotional new film RIDE YOUR WAVE (??????????, Kimi to Nami ni Noretara, 2019) will be released on digital download, On Demand, on Blu-ray + DVD combo pack and as a standalone DVD on August 4, 2020 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. Winner of the 2019 Best Animated Feature award at Fantasia, Sitges and Shanghai International Film Festivals, the film makes its way to home entertainment following a nationwide theatrical release earlier this year. Visionary director Masaaki Yuasa (DEVILMAN Crybaby, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN!) brings his trademark visual ingenuity to a tale of romance, grief and self-discovery. Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love. Just as they become inseparable, Minato loses his life in an accident at sea. Hinako is so distraught that she can no longer even look at the ocean, but one day she sings a song that reminds her of their time together, and Minato appears in the water. From then on, she can summon him in any watery surface as soon as she sings their song. But can the two really remain together forever? Featuring an all-star Japanese voice cast made up of J-Pop royalty including Ryôta Katayose (GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE) and Rina Kawaei (AKB48), RIDE YOUR WAVE also has a hit theme song in “Brand New Story,” performed by GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE. The home entertainment release also includes an all new English language version of the film, featuring the voices of Joey Richter (A VERY POTTER MUSICAL) as Minato, Merit Leighton (SHE-RA AND THE {PRINCESS OF POWER) as Hinako, Sarah Williams (KILL la KILL, PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA) as Yoko, and Michael Johnston (TEEN WOLF) as Wasabi. RIDE YOUR WAVE is the latest offering in a collection of visual masterpieces directed by Yuasa available for home entertainment from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. All of Yuasa’s other feature films LU OVER THE WALL (???????????, Yoake Tsugeru Ruu no Uta, 2017), MIND GAME (????????, Maindo Geemu, 2004) and THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL (?????????, Yoru wa Mijikashi Aruke yo Otome, 2017), as well as the anthology GENIUS PARTY (??????????, J?niasu P?ti, 2007) are also available for purchase.

Blu-ray + DVD Combo SKU: 826663208719 Release Date: August 4, 2020 Rating: Not Rated Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Region: A/1 Discs: 2 Run Time: 96 Minutes Language: English, Japanese Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SRP: $26.99 Bonus Features • Interview with Producer Eunyoung Choi • Animated Storyboards • Character Still Gallery • Trailers and TV Spots • Exclusive 12-page booklet with director’s statement and art DVD SKU: 826663208702 Release Date: August 4, 2020 Rating: Not Rated Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Region: 1 Discs: 1 Run Time: 99 Minutes Language: English, Japanese Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SRP: $16.97 Bonus Features • Interview with Director Hiroyuki Imaishi • Studio TRIGGER Round Table • SIDE: GALO and SIDE: LIO Short Films with English Dub • Trailers

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About GKIDS

GKIDS is a producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an astounding eleven Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with THE SECRET OF KELLS in 2010, A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO & RITA in 2012, ERNEST & CELESTINE in 2014, THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA and SONG OF THE SEA in 2015, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE in 2016, MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI in 2017, THE BREADWINNER in 2018, and MIRAI in 2019. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles SPIRITED AWAY, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PRINCESS MONONOKE and others. GKIDS also produces the annual LA-based film festival, ANIMATION IS FILM, which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of.

About Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.

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For more information on RIDE YOUR WAVE, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan:

• RIDE YOUR WAVE Press Notes and High-Res Images From Toho
• GKIDS and Fathom Events Bring Masaaki Yuasa’s RIDE YOUR WAVE to Select Movie Theaters Nationwide