SciFi Japan
    The End of the World is Near in Japanese Sci-Fi Thriller Source: The Associates press release Japanese director Takahisa Zeze (FLYING RABBITS; MOON CHILD) combines the apocalyptic excitement of the disaster movie with the high tension of a medical thriller in PANDEMIC (????, Kansen Retto, 2009), which stars Satoshi Tsumabuki (DORORO; THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT), Kanningu Takeyama (MEMORIES OF MATSUKO) and celebrated veteran actor Tatsuya Fuji (IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES; EMPIRE OF PASSION) in a terrifyingly topical tale of a world threatened by a mysterious virus. When a lethal avian flu outbreak hits a small village in the Northern Philippines, the international medical team working to contain the virus hears unconfirmed reports that one of the residents has left the village to attend a relative’s wedding and has taken a chicken as a gift. Three months later, a

    Third Window Films to Release Acclaimed Psychological Thriller on April 25th Source: Third Window Films, The Associates press release Official Movie Site: kokuhaku-shimasu.jp (Japan), thirdwindowfilms.com/confessions (UK) Special Thanks to Adam Torel Following the critical acclaim of his previous features, KAMIKAZE GIRLS (Shimotsuma Monogatari, 2004) and MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (Kiraware Matsuko no Issho, 2006), genre-busting auteur Tetsuya Nakashima returns with CONFESSIONS (??, Kokuhaku, 2010), a notably darker but equally absorbing and typically idiosyncratic work, this time adapted from the award winning debut novel by Kanae Minato. Written and directed by Nakashima, CONFESSIONS was selected as Japan’s official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and was the winner of the awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Director (Tetsuya Nakashima) at the 34th Japanese Academy Awards earlier this year. Reigning in his impulse to create surreal candy-coloured

    Media Blasters Not Releasing Special Edition Disc of 1973 Godzilla Film Author: Keith Aiken Source: Media Blasters, Inc., Toho Co. Ltd, various Special Thanks to Steve Ryfle, Carl Morano, and Emiko Jade Frost Over the past few days, Godzilla fandom has been abuzz over rumors that the 1973 film GODZILLA VS MEGALON was being readied for a deluxe release on US DVD and/or Blu-ray. Well known Japanese film historian August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) broke the news, providing details in several online postings and an article which ran on his blog March 31st. Stressing that the report was "not some April Fool`s post", Ragone stated that his source was "a relative of one of the people who worked on MEGALON" who had revealed that "a licensed DVD is being prepped, replete with special features — including an audio commentary

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment Official Movie Site: funimation.com/evangelion (US), evangelion.co.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Thank you to everyone who entered FUNimation Entertainment and SciFi Japan`s EVANGELION 2.22 Blu-ray and DVD contest. We received hundreds of entries, and the ten randomly drawn winners are: Willie L. Calvert (DVD) Bret Lonsway (Blu-ray) Will Frazier (Blu-ray) Robert Haney (Blu-ray) Mike Palumbo (Blu-ray) Christopher Monk (Blu-ray) Thomas Singleton (Blu-ray) Derek Shepard (DVD) Robert Wright-Stasko (Blu-ray) Helen McNamara (Blu-ray) Congratulations to the winners! FUNimation will be shipping the prizes soon so keep an eye on your mailboxes. EVANGELION 2.22 is the upgraded home video release of the second chapter in the four part "Rebuild of Evangelion" (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban) film series by Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara, which re-imagines Anno`s blockbuster sci-fi animated series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. Now the landmark anime

    Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: angelbeats.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks has announced its acquisition of Japan’s white-hot anime series, ANGEL BEATS! (????????!, Enjeru B?tsu!, 2009). A multi-media mega-franchise with two manga volumes, a series of illustrated short stories, an OVA (original video animation) and two internet radio shows, each new volume of ANGEL BEATS! has consistently ranked in the top three nationwide bestselling Blu-ray releases in Japan. Now the series is coming to the U.S. on both DVD and Blu-ray. Both releases will include an all new English dub, with the first episodes of the dub set to premiere at Anime Boston, April 22-24 at the Hynes Convention Center. Synopsis: It sucks being dead. Sucks even more to be trapped in a surreal afterlife where you’re caught between the living and the dead— where a mysterious, violent

    Source: The Associates, Madman Entertainment press releases Official Movie Site: monstersfilm.com (US), monstersthemovie.com (UK) Following a US home video release in February, the critically acclaimed MONSTERS comes to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on April 11th courtesy of Vertigo Films, and in Australia on April 13th from Madman Entertainment. MONSTERS recently completed a hugely successful theatrical release in Britain that saw it earning Five Star reviews in Empire (“a sci-fi picture which never loses sight of the human factor… an amazing achievement”), Total Film (“the most audacious debut since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”), the Financial Times (“a lollapalooza… so edgy it hardly needs monsters… a masterpiece of high-amp anxiety”), the Daily Express (“an intelligent, inventive film… highly recommended”) and the Sunday Mirror (“a road trip blending romance with sci-fi thrills”). It was also an Official Selection at the 2010 Melbourne International Film

    CLANNAD: AFTER STORY COMPLETE COLLECTION Available on April 19th Source: Section23 Films press release Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff Home video distributor Section23 Films has provided details on its April 2011 slate of releases, including one of the most beloved anime series ever, CLANNAD: AFTER STORY. The complete collection will be released April 19th with a new English dub, by Section23 client Sentai Filmworks. Product details follow, in order of release... SPECIAL A COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 600 min. Street Date: 4/5/2011 Format: DVD Language: Japanese with English Subtitles SRP: $59.98 Until she was six, Hikari was always the best at everything she did. Right up until the moment she challenged Kei to a wrestling match and HE won. Ever since that wretched day, Hikari`s entire life has been structured around beating Kei at SOMETHING, but try as

    Cult Favorite Rankin/Bass-Tsuburaya Co-production Available March 22nd Author: Keith Aiken Source: Warner Archive Collection Special Thanks to Gabriel Vicuna and Ed Godziszewski “It eats meat! Us!!” It is a Tyrannosaurus, ruler of a lost world hidden within a dormant polar volcano. Us are members of expedition led by a big game hunter and überzillionaire (Richard Boone). And eats – well, you get the idea, tyrant lizard fans! Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, who charmed families with THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS and more animated and stop-motion holiday heartwarmers, relied on dinomight for THE LAST DINOSAUR, the sort of thrill-a-minute popcorn-seller that gives bad movies a good name. Join the adventurers as they encounter a perilous array of prehistoric beasts, a tribe of savage cavemen and a T. rex who, despite its less-than-special effect appearance, can kick some serious Triceratops butt. -synopsis courtesy

    Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced their new DVD releases for this month. These include the first episodic volume of VAMPIRE KNIGHT GUILTY (the second season of the hit gothic melodrama VAMPIRE KNIGHT), the latest Box Set for BLEACH, and 3 new releases from the latest installment of POKÉMON, POKÉMON DP GALACTIC BATTLES. VAMPIRE KNIGHT GUILTY Volume 1 Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens MSRP: $19.97 U.S. / $28.99 CAN Available Now! In the opening of the second season, Zero is accused of Shizuka Hio`s murder and becomes the target of the Senate. When Kaname refuses to attest to Zero`s innocence, Yuki`s loyalties are torn between the two. Then Yuki meets a mysterious little boy whose seemingly

    Japanese Academy Award-Winner Coming March 28th Source: The Associates press release Official Site: s-wars.jp (Japan), funimation.com/summer-wars (US) From Mamoru Hosoda, the visionary director of THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME, comes a brand new, award winning animated feature, SUMMER WARS (Samaa Woozu, 2009), the story of an ordinary family forced to go to extraordinary lengths to avert an impending cyber-apocalypse. Described by Jonathan Clements (author of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures In The Anime And Manga Trade) as “GHOST IN THE SHELL for the Facebook generation”, as a “contemporary romance for the Facebook generation... [that] rivals the work of Ghibli” (Tom Smith, Neo) and by Anime News Network as “a triumph… incredibly entertaining and intriguingly intelligent… pretty much perfect”, SUMMER WARS was the winner of the 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival’s Animation Division Grand

    Get the Second "Rebuild of Evangelion" Film For Free, Courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment and SciFi Japan! Source: FUNimation Entertainment Official Movie Site: funimation.com/evangelion (US), evangelion.co.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Our friends at FUNimation Entertainment are offering SciFi Japan readers the opportunity to win DVD or Blu-ray editions of EVANGELION: 2.22 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE, the digitally mastered and upgraded version of the anime theatrical feature EVANGELION: 2.0 (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha, 2009). FUNimation will be releasing EVANGELION: 2.22 on Blu-ray (SRP $29.98) and 2-disc DVD ($24.98) to retailers across North America on Tuesday, March 29th. The movie is the second chapter in the four part "Rebuild of Evangelion" (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban) film series by Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara, re-imagining the sci-fi animated series blockbuster NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion)— also written and directed by Anno— which first

    Who will Receive the Complete Gamera Set DVD for Free from Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan? Source: Shout! Factory Special Thanks to Tom Chen, Roy McAree and Richard Noboru Kekahuna A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Our thanks to everyone who entered Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan`s contest for the complete Shout! Factory Gamera DVD Collection. We`ve received hundreds of entries, and the randomly chosen winners are: Jared P. Foust Mike Powell Rob Walicki Kevin Blackwell Abelardo D. Flores Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a DVD set of the original series of Gamera movies, including GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER, GAMERA VS BARUGON, GAMERA VS. GYAOS /GAMERA VS. VIRAS Double Feature, GAMERA VS. GUIRON /GAMERA VS. JIGER Double Feature, and GAMERA VS. ZIGRA/GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double Feature. Shout! will be shipping the prizes soon so keep an eye on your

    Second "Rebuild of Evangelion" Film Streets March 29th Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release Official Movie Site: funimation.com/evangelion (US), evangelion.co.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith Brutal mechanized action explodes on a grand scale as towering cyborg gladiators— the Eva Units— fight for the fate of the world in the new feature film EVANGELION: 2.22 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE, coming to Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD in North America on Tuesday, March 29th. The home video editions from FUNimation Entertainment present the theatrical anime movie EVANGELION: 2.0 (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha, 2009), digitally mastered and with upgraded scenes. In the earliest battles against the monstrous Angels, young Eva pilots Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami were forced to carry humanity’s hopes on their shoulders. Now, with the deadly onslaught of the Angels escalating and the apocalyptic Third Impact looming, Shinji and Rei find their burden shared

    Source: The Associates press release Official Movie Site: 5cm.yahoo.co.jp (Japan) Hailed by many fans and critics as Japanese animation’s successor to Hayao Miyazaki (PONYO; HOWL`S MOVING CASTLE; SPIRITED AWAY), director Makoto Shinkai (THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS) presents his most mature and complicated work yet, 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND (Byoosoku Go Senchimeetoru: a Chein Obu Shooto Sutoriizu Abauto Zea Disutansu, 2007), coming to DVD on 14th March 2011 and featuring a brand new and superior audio dub produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. Taking its title from the speed at which cherry blossoms fall, 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND comprises three interconnected short stories, each centered on the hopes and dreams of a boy named Takaki Tono, beginning in the 1990s and end in the present day. The story begins when a new girl, Akari Shinohara, transfers to Takaki’s elementary school, the two

    Source: Shout! Factory Special Thanks to Tom Chen A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Thank you to everyone who entered Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan`s contest for free DVDs of REBOOT Seasons 1 and 2. The winning entries are: Andrew Stengele Jeffrey Richardet Richard Shirley Mark Martucci Lucas Micromatis Congratulations to the winners! Shout! will be shipping the prizes soon so keep an eye on your mailboxes. And be sure to enter our new contest for free copies of Shout! Factory`s upcoming GAMERA VS ZIGRA/GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double feature DVD. The REBOOT Seasons 1 and 2 DVD is now on sale. The four disc set includes all 23 episodes from the first two seasons plus new audio commentary by producer Christopher Brough, designer and storyboard artist Blair Peters and animator Zeke Norton. The set`s total running time is approximately 570 minutes. The SRP is $29.93.

    Get the Entire Series of Classic Gamera Movies for Free, Courtesy of Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan! Source: Shout! Factory Special Thanks to Tom Chen, Roy McAree and Richard Noboru Kekahuna A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE This month, Shout! Factory completes their DVD releases of the early Gamera movies (1965-1980) with the GAMERA VS. ZIGRA/GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double Feature. In celebration, Shout! is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win their complete Gamera collection before the final DVD arrives on store shelves! The GAMERA Collection from Shout! Factory includes all eight movies on five DVDs... GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER GAMERA VS BARUGON GAMERA VS. GYAOS /GAMERA VS. VIRAS Double Feature GAMERA VS. GUIRON /GAMERA VS. JIGER Double Feature GAMERA VS. ZIGRA/GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double Feature The first four Gamera DVDs are now available in stores and from online retailers with

    Source: Madman Entertainment Special Thanks to Ben Pollock and Philippa Lamb The "Asian Eye" line from Australian distributor Madman Entertainment will be releasing the following anime and live action titles on Blu-ray and Region 4 DVD in March, 2011... IP MAN: THE LEGEND IS BORN Featuring some of the most spectacular, innovative and explosive martial arts ever staged, The Legend is Born is the remarkable true story of the early life of Ip Man, the formidable kung fu genius who would become Bruce Lee’s mentor. Beginning at the start of his journey from his initial training through to the ultimate battle to become the supreme master of the art of Wing Chun, The Legend is Born has already been hailed as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time and features an all-star cast, including Sammo Hung (Enter The Dragon), Yuen Biao and Ip

    GUIN SAGA COLLECTION 1 BLU-RAY EDITION Available on March 29th Source: Section23 Films press release Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff Home video distributor Section23 Films has provided details on its March 2011 slate of releases, including the sweeping anime epic for the ages, GUIN SAGA! The first collection will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Section23 client Sentai Filmworks. Product details follow, in order of release... SHIN KOHIME†MUSO - COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 325 min. Street Date: 3/1/2011 Format: DVD Language: Japanese with English Subtitles SRP: $49.98 What do you do once you’ve made your epic journey and accomplished the legendary quest you set out for yourself. Well, you could hang around the village looking important, but when Kan`u and Chouhi`s rescue a mysterious girl, they find that a more enjoyable option may be a brand new

    Get the 4 Disc DVD Set for Free, Courtesy of Shout! Factory and SciFi Japan Source: Shout! Factory Special Thanks to Tom Chen A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE SciFi Japan is pleased to present out first contest with Shout! Factory, who have offered our readers a chance to win the new 4 disc DVD set of REBOOT Seasons 1 and 2. Since early 1990s, Dot Matrix, Enzo, Guardian Bob and thousands of Binomes from REBOOT have thrust into battles with corrupt forces of Megabyte and Hexadecimal to stop their relentless pursuit of chaos and destruction of the high-tech city Mainframe. REBOOT made history for being the first fully computer-generated animated TV series when it debuted on U.S and Canadian television in 1994. The series ran four successful seasons and was seen in over 70 countries around the world, boasting a large fan base of loyal followers

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release Official Site: funimation.com/avn, Sushi Typhoon Special Thanks to Jackie Smith and Manny Alcala On February 22nd, ALIEN VS NINJA will be released on North American DVD and Blu-ray from FUNimation Entertainment. The filmmakers behind TOKYO GORE POLICE and THE MACHINE GIRL joined studio Sushi Typhoon for this side-splitting horror-comedy... a new hybrid of science fiction and period action film brought to fans by legendary action directors and fight choregraphers Yuji Shimomura (VERSUS, SHINOBI, DEATH TRANCE) and Kensuke Sonomura (MACHINE GIRL, HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE), and directed by Seiji Chiba (DEATH TRANCE, EVIL NINJA)! In ancient Japan, the fiercest ninjas of the Iga clan face their toughest enemies - and they aren`t from this planet! A fiery mass crashes in the forest and soon horrifyingly savage creatures reduce the warriors to tasty snacks. But these jerks from outer

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