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 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.
Product details follow, in order of release...
January
PETITE PRINCESS YUCIE COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: AEsir Holdings Run Time: 650 min. Language: English, Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/5/2010 SRP: $49.98 Seventeen-year-old Yucie can never be taken seriously. How can she, when she`s been cursed to be trapped in a ten-year-old`s body? Bright, cheerful and optimistic, Yucie has never let her curse get in the way of living a happy life with her doting adopted father (a retired knight). However, Yucie`s life is about to change forever when she becomes a candidate to become the Platina Princess, an honor which will allow her ultimate wish to be granted - and she can wish her curse away! Everything`s turning up roses until she finds out that she is one of many candidates, and the competition is intense!
AKIBALLION: BATTLEMAIDS OF AKIHABARA COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Switchblade Pictures Run Time: 187 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/5/2010 SRP: $19.98 We all know who protects Metropolis and Gotham, but when Akihabara, the geek nexus of Tokyo, is threatened by alien Cyber Fairies, it will take more than just an average superhero to defend the world’s single largest concentration of anime fans, model kits and maid cafes… Wait, there’s the answer! Enter Akiballion: maid café hostesses by day who don super-powered electro-brain battlesuits to combat the ultra-grotesque monsters sent forth by the villainous Fairie Queen! Can these three lovely young ladies handle the stress, the fighting and the responsibility of being Japan’s last line of defense against alien invasion? Hey, if they can handle the lecherous customers who frequent their own restaurant, giant troll monsters should be easy (shouldn’t it?) Maid café hostesses by day, super powered protectors by night, these battlemaids are dealing out all the action and fan service any otaku could ask for. They DON`T Do Windows...But they DO do Monsters! Get ready for the strangest team of superheroes to ever serve both light refreshments and just desserts, as the Electro-Battlemaids clean up the streets and tabletops of Tokyo in the live-action super slugfest AKIBALLION!
YOU`RE UNDER ARREST: FAST & FURIOUS COLLECTION 2 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Running Time: 325 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/5/2010 SRP: $39.98 High Octane, Turbo-Charged, And Chock Full of ... Estrogen? The girls in blue are back, and if you`re a bad guy the safest place to be is in a nice warm cell! Autophile Miyuki and her overly endowed (muscularly, that is) partner in anti-crime Natsumi lead the charge as the Bokuto Police Station`s roster of lady (and lady-ish) officers take to the streets in an all out assault on Tokyo`s underworld AND the senses! Buckle your safety belts, hold onto the roll bars and keep an eye out for street toughs, handcuffs, panties and vigilantes as the wildest high-speed hi-jinks yet unfold in YOU`RE UNDER ARREST: FAST & FURIOUS COLLECTION 2!
FEMALE COMBATANTS BATTLE SCHOOL / DEMONIC HEROINE IN PERIL DOUBLE FEATURE Published by: Switchblade Pictures Running Time: 154 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/12/2010 SRP: $19.98 Superheroes Get All The Glory... But Supervillains Have More Fun! In a switch on the usual, the Bad Girls get their chance to shine in a very special Switchblade Double Feature! First up, we`ve all seen hundreds of stories about the origins of both Superheros and Supervillains, but what about the origins of the Supervillain`s minions? At long last, the time has come to learn the secret story behind all those faceless, anonymous battle casualties! When a beautiful agent attempts to infiltrate the evil Dark Mist organization, she discovers just how hard (and frequently fatal) learning to be cannon fodder really is in FEMALE COMBATANTS BATTLE SCHOOL! Then, when a female assassin is sent out on her ultimate assignment: take out Trionger, a trio of semi-retired super-rangers in power armor (who may or may not have their own line of toys!) Unfortunately, she doesn`t count on becoming friends with Trionger`s unbelievably weird kid sidekick, thereby setting up a confrontation with her own malevolent masters in DEMONIC HEROINE IN PERIL!
HIDAMARI SKETCH SEASON 1 COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Running Time: 350 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/12/2010 SRP: $39.98 Art was her Life... Now her Life is Art! For years, Yunos dreamed of attending Yamabuki Arts High School; but now that she`s been accepted, it means the scary prospect of moving away from her home and family for the first time! Fortunately, Yuno quickly learns that if her new neighbors at the eclectic Hidamari (Sunshine) Apartments aren`t technically family, at least the majority share the bond of being fellow art students. From second year students like Hiro and Sae, who try to behave like helpful older sisters (mostly successfully,) to her hyperactive new neighbor, classmate and best friend Miyako (who has the scariest apartment ever,) Yuno begins to build the support network she`ll need for dealing with strange characters like her oddly masculine Landlady, her cosplay obsessed home room teacher, her tooth-chattering Principal and all of the other odd denizens who inhabit her chosen world of art. It won`t be easy, and it won`t always be pretty, but with her friends at her back, Yuno`s going to reach for the stars in HIDAMARI SKETCH!
GLASS MASK COLLECTION 1 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Running Time: 650 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/19/2010 SRP: $49.98 Two Girls. One Dream. And the Entire World for a Stage. At 13 years old, Maya Kitajima seems destined to spend the rest of her life toiling in a crowded restaurant alongside her bitter and unstable mother; but when her incredible acting talent is discovered by the legendary diva Chigusa Tsukikage, Maya finds a new future filled with both golden opportunities and terrifying risks. For Ayumi Himekawa, success has always been assured, yet she longs to be recognized for her own talents and skills, not the family connections of her famous parents. For both, the ultimate prize is the role of The Crimson Goddess in the play of the same name, a part created by Chigusa and now portrayed by Ayumi`s mother. To achieve this goal, each must seek out and conquer every acting challenge, pushing the limits of their talent and endurance to the utmost, until they are worthy of the part.... But for one to win, the other must fail! The dramatic rivalry of a lifetime begins in the acclaimed first collection of GLASS MASK!
SPECIAL A COLLECTION 2 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Running Time: 300 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/19/2010 SRP: $39.98 Spring Flings, Split Personalities, And Social (dys)Functions The members of the S.A. may be exceptional, but that doesn`t keep some of them from being exceptionally dense! While Kei`s thoughts about Hikari may be leaning in one direction, Hikari still sees him as the obstacle that has to be removed. Meanwhile, Akira`s attempts to protect her friend Yui from Yahiro are having unanticipated effects, Jun is forced to reveal a secret he`s been keeping from the others, and every other person in the group seems to be in love with someone else, but never the right ones. Finally, to cap it all off, an outside force threatens to intervene in a way that will destroy the S.A. forever! Will Hikari finally figure it all out before it`s too late? If you thought the tangled web of relationships in the first half of SPECIAL A was complex, be forewarned that everything`s going to get even crazier before the spectacular climax of SPECIAL A COLLECTION 2!
BIRTHDAY MAIL / KOKURRI-SAN DOUBLE FEATURE Published by: Switchblade Pictures Running Time: 126 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/26/2010 SRP: $19.98 Ghosts, Ghouls, And Grisly Consequences Galore... get ready for in a horror filled Switchblade Double feature that proves that communicating with the spirit world in something best left to trained professionals, (preferably on a different continent!) First, a nasty new e-mail is making the rounds. It`s not just a virus: open this message and you`ve got 10 days left to live! How does this all connect to a girl who committed suicide 10 years ago and is there any way to break the deadly e-mail chain? The latest recipients of the lethal love note have 10 days to unravel the answer before their time is up in BIRTHDAY MAIL! Next, a group of Japanese girls forget the number one rule for avoiding demonic possessions and foolishly use an Ouija board in a house where a murder was committed. Now they`ve got the spirit and the spirit is definitely out to get them in KOKURRI-SAN!
NEO ANGELIQUE ABYSS SEASON 1 COLLECTION Running Time: 325 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Published by: Sentai Filmworks Street Date: 1/26/2010 SRP: $39.98 On A Planet Of Mystery, Her Fate Was Written In The Stars... Once, Arcadia was a beautiful world. Now it is a land under siege, and against the horrifying creatures known as Thanatos, there is only one known defense: Purifiers, rare humans gifted with the ability to exterminate the life draining monsters. But Purifiers are few and the Thanatos are multiplying, so when the mysterious Nyx discovers 16 year old Angelique, he becomes doubly committed to recruiting her for the team of Purifiers he is organizing. For not only is Angelique a Purifier, she is the first female Purifier in recorded history; moreover, there is an ancient prophecy Nyx is aware of: one of a woman with special powers, the "Queen`s Egg," whose future will be inextricably tied to the fate of Arcadia! Science fiction, fantasy and romance intertwine in an epic story of fate and destiny: NEO ANGELIQUE ABYSS SEASON 1!
TEARS TO TIARA COLLECTION 2 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Running Time: 325 min. Language: Japanese with English Subtitles Street Date: 1/26/2010 SRP: $59.98 Revelations, Retribution and Revenge... As Dragons Stalk The Earth! Although the Demon Lord Arawn has thus far lead the Gaels well in the battle for Avalon, their tiny force has been battered by the near constant combat. As Gaius is called to the High Court, Arawn attempts to lead Arthur and the Gaels to his own tomb, seeking treasure with which to continue funding their assault. However, the imperial forces` continuing advance instead prompts a desperate change of plans, forcing Arawn to use a divine spell with grave and unexpected consequences. As an act of treachery again changes the course of the war, leaving the untested Riannon alone in command, Ogam makes a stunning revelation! Ally turns on ally and the most ancient legends of lost Britain are reborn in the epic final half of TEARS TO TIARA!
February
THE SKULL MAN COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 325 min. Street Date: 2/2/2010 SRP: $39.98 Otomo City: where freedom and justice have atrophied to the bone; where conspiracy rules the day and death stalks the night… Death in the form of the Skull Man, a literal Grim Reaper whose skeletal grin presages grisly mayhem and murder, even to the monstrous mutants that haunt the city’s underworlds! Now, to investigate a bizarre slaying, journalist Minagami Hayato and photographer Kiriko Mamiya must stalk this ultimate predator, through a festering cadaver of a city where the corruption flows in rivers as deep and foul as the sins of the reigning elite, and unearth a secret so shocking that an entire city has been turned into a tomb to contain! In a nightmarish necropolis where nothing is as it seems, vengeance comes in the form of a living Death’s-Head in THE SKULL MAN COMPLETE COLLECTION!
KIRENJI GIRLS’ COMBAT SCHOOL Published by: Switchblade Pictures Run Time: 125 min. Street Date: 2/9/2010 SRP: $19.98 Kirenji is so definitely NOT your typical Japanese girls’ school. For example, while the word “hot” might describe an attractive girl at other places of higher education, at Kirenji it’s more likely to mean “hot blooded,” “hot tempered” and “ready for red hot action” (as in physical combat, that is)! So when 17 year old Maki enrolls, thinking she’s the baddest bad girl of them all, she quickly learns the hard way that at Kirenji she’ll have to punch her way to the top of the pulchritudinous power pyramid… and it’s just too bad that the equally intimidating Natsumu is standing in her path! Epic battles, beauties bashing and girl on girl action abound, especially when new girl Kirei joins the fray, in the non-stop cat fight that is KIRENJI GIRLS’ COMBAT SCHOOL – the Complete Collection!
TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 325 min. Street Date: 2/16/2010 SRP: $39.98 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!!!
MARIA HOLIC COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Switchblade Pictures Run Time: 300 min. Street Date: 2/23/2010 SRP: $39.98 It’s not easy to find the perfect girl, even when you’re the same sex! Kanako thought attending an all girls school would be the perfect way to meet the girl of her dreams, but after her hot new roommate turns out to be a guy in drag, and catching the eye of the most popular girl in school only brings down the wrath of all the OTHER similarly obsessed girls, she’s not so sure! Complicate things with a cat-eared dorm leader, her roommate’s rude-mannered maid and identical twin sister (who attends an all boys school, of course,) and WAY too many attractive girls of questionable persuasions and the question becomes whether Kanako can die from frustrated nosebleeds! (Life would be SO much easier if guys didn’t literally give her the hives!) Will Kanako ever find a non-polar opposite of a compatible non-opposing polarity? Let’s just say that the quest for true love will not run straight in MARIA HOLIC COMPLETE COLLECTION!
RYUJI THE YAKUZA Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 139 min. Street Date: 2/23/2010 SRP: $19.98 Behind a bloody veil of mystery, the puppetmasters of the Yakuza secretly control Japan… Yet for all their power, the Yakuza are governed by their own codes of loyalty and honor, and there are those who are seen not as criminals, but heroes. Ryuji Ogami, of the Goda-gumi, is one such enigma: torn between the worlds of Bullets and Bushido, his hidden compassion perfectly balances the brutal force of his lethal iron hand. If your cause is just, it is said, seek out Ryuji. But endanger those he cherishes, like young club hostess Megumi and his junior Kazuki, and he will find you. And when the code of the Yakuza is violated by his own gang, Ryuji’s own code will leave him no choice. The city will burn as the deadliest man in Yokohama takes on his own in RYUJI THE YAKUZA- The Complete Collection!
March
YOZAKURA QUARTET COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 300 minutes Street Date: 3/2/2010 SRP: $39.98 When demons walk the streets, the cops need to recruit more demons! In a town where humans and demons co-exist, it takes more than a normal police force to maintain the peace. Enter the Hiizumi Life Counseling Office, a fantastic foursome of unique teenagers, each gifted with an amazing super power! Since it sometimes takes real demon-fire to fight demon fire, the first three quarters of the team aren`t exactly human: Ao, a cat-eared telepath; Kotoha, a half-human conjuror and Hime, descended from a dragon (and the town`s acting mayor,) all of whom also happen to be delightfully female. Rounding out the group is the token male and human, Akina, the office director and "Oyakume," capable of banishing spirits permanently (and from their point of view quite fatally) via a process called tuning. They may not look as impressive as some other superhero teams, and they certainly don`t have the most dynamic name ever, but come hell hounds or high water, but they WILL defend their city in YOZAKURA QUARTET COMPLETE COLLECTION! BUYUSENKI BATTLE CHRONICLE Published by: Switchblade Pictures Run Time: 112 minutes Street Date: 3/9/2010 SRP: $19.98 Mix motorcycles, drugs and yakuza under pressure and the result is bosozoku, the brutal motorized street gangs that terrorize Japan armed with swords and baseball bats. Kyosuke Jinnai was the leader of the "Buyusenki," the largest group of its kind in the Kanto region, but sick of the violence, he had planned to give it all up to make a family with his pregnant girlfriend. Instead, all of that was stolen from him in a moment of savage betrayal, and the man who dreamed of a life of peace has instead been transformed into an angel of death! The streets of Japan will be paved with blood in BUYUSENKI BATTLE CHRONICLE!
YOU`RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE COLLECTION 1 Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 300 minutes Street Date: 3/9/2010 SRP: $39.98 Welcome to YOU`RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE, the follow up to FAST & FURIOUS! The ladies of Bokuto Police Station are back, but there have been some BIG changes! Miyuki`s been in the U.S., studying American police techniques while Natsumi`s actually been serving in the military! So have these world-changing experiences had any effect on how everyone`s favorite girls in blue carry out their duties protecting the Japanese public? Have they gained a more "mature" perspective? Well.. let`s just say that, if anything, they may be even wilder and less cautious than before! (Except for that blossoming "relationship" between Miyuki and Nakajima, where things are getting decidedly delicate.) Whether rescuing young orphans from yakuza types to confronting rogue wrestlers and even giant snakes, the plots have and action has never been more extreme than in the outrageous first collection of YOU`RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE!
TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 300 minutes Street Date: 3/16/2010 SRP: $39.98 Yuuri Mito is a typical, normal Japanese teenager. He goes to school, works on people`s motorcycles and performs exorcisms. Okay, that last part`s a little bit unusual, but his family lives in a shrine and they do that sort of thing. Still, you would think he`d know enough to be careful with an ancient relic he finds in the woods, especially when a mysterious goddess appears and tells him to leave it alone. Unfortunately, despite Mito`s best efforts, the seal gets broken anyway and a number of dangerous "tayuti" that it held in stasis get loose. This is bad. Mito also ends up with a beautiful goddess girl who decides that she`s going to marry him. This might not be so bad, if he wasn`t already caught up in the middle of a war between the entities he`s released. The flesh may be weak but the spirit`s more than willing to compensate in TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY COMPLETE COLLECTION! CAT GIRL / SUPER DIMENSION ODYSSEY TRITIA DOUBLE FEATURE Published by: Switchblade Pictures Run Time: 147 minutes Street Date: 3/23/2010 SRP: $19.98 Which is more important to an exploitation movie: half naked girls or a logical plot? The eternal question is answered firmly in favor of the former in an all new and extra sexploitational Switchblade Double Feature! First, when a secret illegal fighting syndicate needs to recruit new wrestlers, the best and most logical way to do this is to kidnap unsuspecting women who visit an elite Beauty institute and dose them up with an experimental Cat DNA serum, right? Unfortunately for the bad guys, their latest feline enhanced femme fatale is actually an undercover reporter named Natasha, and they`re in for a real pussy whipping from their latest CAT GIRL! Next, the scantily clad Princess Tritia of Blue Land comes to Earth in search of the long lost Treasure Sword, a mission so urgent that she apparently didn`t have time to pack any pants. That`s okay though, because while Tritia may be one of the ditzy-est super-heroines of all time, her well exposed assets are more than sufficient to counter the sinister conspiracies spun by Prince Gananga of Red Land! There`s sleaze, cheese and loads of color coded chaos galore in SUPER DIMENSION ODYSSEY TRITIA!
NEO ANGELIQUE ABYSS SEASON 2 COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Run Time: 325 minutes Street Date: 3/30/2010 SRP: $39.98 In a land with no sun, the light of the soul must show the way. Six months have passed since the shocking climactic events of season one. As the monstrous Thanatos run rampant, and the world of Arcadia is enveloped in a shroud of smoke and darkness, the mysterious disappearance of the Orb Hunters has lead many to believe that their former protectors are responsible for the disaster. But the truth is even more shocking, for Angelique has actually been unconscious the entire time. Now, waking for the first time, she realizes that she must embrace her destiny, but to do so will mean placing her trust in those who could destroy her! The ancient prophecy must be fulfilled or Arcadia will perish in the complete collection of NEO ANGELIQUE ABYSS ~ Second Age!
About Section23 Films
Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, and AEsir Holdings. With its special focus on genre entertainment, Section23 Films distributes some of the very best anime, martial arts, and horror titles on the market today.