NEWSWIRE: May 2025 Pre-Orders
April 23, 2025 · 11 comments
You made it! Our spring sale is over, and your wallet is safe once again… or is it?
Now that we’re entering the tail-end of April, that can mean only one thing – it’s time to start talking May pre-orders! Of course, May is also the month of MCM London Comic Con, so we’ll be sharing our plans for the event as we move through the coming month, but for now let’s talk new titles.
As always, we’re excited to share what’s coming next from ourselves, so come with us on a journey into what May has in store!
April pre-orders
Let’s start with a recap of our current batch of April pre-orders to make sure you don’t miss out!
1st April
EX-ARM – Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
EX-ARM – Standard Edition Blu-ray
3rd April
I’m Standing on a Million Lives Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
I’m Standing on a Million Lives Standard Edition Blu-ray
8th April
BLEACH – Part 5 Blu-ray
10th April
Woodpecker Detective’s Office Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Woodpecker Detective’s Office Standard Edition Blu-ray
15th April
Vlad Love Standard Edition Blu-ray
17th April
A Destructive God Sits Next to Me Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
A Destructive God Sits Next to Me Standard Edition Blu-ray
That’s where we left things last time so now, prepare yourselves for some incoming madness!
EVANGELION:3.0+1.11 THRICE UPON A TIME Standard Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray
Whenever we release one of our titles on UHD Blu-ray, we know some of you are keen to own a standard edition UHD of the film – well, the time has now come for one of our more prominent UHD releases to get the standard edition 4K treatment!
“From legendary director Hideaki Anno, EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 THRICE UPON A TIME is the fourth and final instalment of the REBUILD OF EVANGELION films, bringing an epic conclusion to the story of Shinji and his fellow Eva pilots, with the stunning visuals and thought-provoking storytelling that has made EVANGELION a global pop culture phenomenon.
Misato and her anti-NERV group Wille arrive at Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower. They only have 720 seconds to restore the city. When a horde of NERV Evas appear, Mari’s improved Eva Unit 8 must intercept. Meanwhile, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei (Provisional Name) wander about Japan.”
Pre-orders of this edition launch tomorrow, April 24th!
Product: EVANGELION:3.0+1.11 THRICE UPON A TIME Standard Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray
Release date: 12th May 2025
SRP: £34.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 24th April
NARUTO Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Set 3
We’re continuing apace with our releases of Naruto Blu-ray, and May begins with another dose of your favourite ninja friends so that you continue to fill out that beautiful shop-exclusive Collector’s Edition box.
“The mission to rescue Sasuke begins! First, Naruto’s ninja classmates face the deadly skills of the Sound Ninja Four! Choji, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru fight for their lives to save their friend. Then Naruto squares off against his rival when he clashes with Sasuke at Final Valley! This is the first of their epic fights and a turning point in the series. Watch young legends in the making in the fan-favorite battles that will shape their destinies!“
Naturally, we’re following the format you’ve seen from our first two NARUTO releases for this third collector’s edition set, which features eight discs comprising episodes 111-165, encased within two Amaray cases. Also included is a 32-page art booklet filled with characters from the series, all inside a rigid slipcase which you can see in all its finery below!
Pre-orders launch on the 1st of May, so putting in your pre-order will be a mayday priority!
Also launching on the same date are our Standard Editions of Parts 5 and 6 of the series, collectively comprising the same episodes as the Collector’s Edition Set above – you can see how they’re going to look below.
Product: NARUTO Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Set 3
Release date: Monday 26th May 2025
SRP: £99.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 1st May 2025
Product: NARUTO Standard Edition Part 5
Release date: Monday 26th May 2025
SRP: £49.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 1st May 2025
Product: NARUTO Standard Edition Part 6
Release date: Monday 30th June 2025
SRP: £49.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 1st May 2025
Iwakakeru! -Sport Climbing Girls- Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Next up is one of our boulder releases of the year so far (geddit? No, please wait, don’t close the tab!), as we enter the world of competitive wall climbing in the form of Iwakakeru!
“Sport climbing is a sport that makes use of both the body and the brain to climb walls. Kasahara Konomi, a master at puzzles, just happens to discover her school’s climbing wall, and it looks almost like a colorful sort of puzzle in her eyes. This fateful encounter brings big changes to Konomi’s life! With her teammates in the Hanamiya Girls’ High School Climbing Club, Konomi races for the top in this passionate climbing story!“
This series joins our pantheon of “titles you might want to buy two of just because you want to have both sides of the slipcase side-by side”…
Within said slipcase, you’ll find an Amaray containing the series across two discs, together with a chunk 52-page booklet exploring a wealth of key animation and key visual artwork from the series.
You won’t need to move any mountains to own the series on Blu-ray – pre-orders open on May 8th! This is another of our titles that will be available in the US, so watch out for that appearing across the pond in due course!
Product: Iwakakeru! -Sport Climbing Girls- Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Release date: Monday 19th May 2025
SRP: £69.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 8th May 2025
Product: Iwakakeru! -Sport Climbing Girls- Standard Edition Blu-ray
Release date: Monday 19th May 2025
SRP: £39.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 8th May 2025
Project A-KO Collector’s Edition
We know how much you love it when we dive into the world of classic anime, and it doesn’t get much more classic than this – that’s right, it’s time for the seminal OVA Project A-KO to make it to the UK on Blu-ray!
“Earth. The not too distant future. A city is miraculously reborn just sixteen years after being completely destroyed by a giant meteor. At the prestigious Graviton High School for Girls, two new students are introduced. A-ko and her ditzy sidekick C-ko.
A-ko is a normal seventeen year old… except for the superhuman strength that lies within her. B-ko, a spoiled, brilliant daughter of a rich business tycoon, wants C-ko for herself. And what B-ko wants, she usually gets. Except this time A-ko is standing in the way. The action explodes across this unsuspecting city as the invincible A-ko battles B-ko and her army of giant mechs and powered bikini supersuit. At the same time, a mysterious alien spacecraft with an unknown mission makes its way towards the city.”
If all of the above sounds very serious and important… well, it’s not.
We’ve blended old and new with our slipcase artwork for this 1986 classic, inside of which lives an Amaray containing the OVA on Blu-ray. Also included is a 12-page booklet with a comprehensive article from Dr. Jonathan Clements, exploring the birth and creation of the piece and how it ended up leading to a row with Hayao Miyazaki, amongst other things…
Our pre-orders open on Thursday, May 15th, so prepare yourselves!
Product: Project A-KO Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Release date: 19th May 2025
SRP: £39.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 15th May 2025
Product: Project A-KO Standard Edition Blu-ray
Release date: 19th May 2025
SRP: £19.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 15th May 2025
Sing “Yesterday” For Me Blu-ray
There are some people you should never invite to sing The Beatles‘ classic “Yesterday” for you; a list including such luminaries as myself and Daffy Duck, thankfully neither of whom feature in this fascinating anime which joins our growing legion of releases available in both the UK and US!
“Kei Toume’s eighteen-year youth ensemble classic gets its long-awaited animated adaptation.
A story of love and humanity, following four boys and girls trying to live their best lives through hardship and turmoil, in a small town on a private rail line just outside of Shinjuku. Minor misunderstandings lead to big complications, and their various feelings become entangled.
A story of daily life lived 49% looking back, 51% looking forward.”
We’ll be releasing this full series on Standard Edition Blu-ray across two discs, and our early bird pre-orders begin on 22nd May.
US pre-orders are also open and available for our North American friends right now!
Product: Sing “Yesterday” For Me Blu-ray
Release date: Monday 16th June 2025
SRP: £39.99
Pre-orders open: Thursday 22nd May 2025
We’ll return to talk about that final Thursday in May in due course, and we’re also cooking up some other announcements and news that we should have soon, so as always, watch this space.
For now though, what are you looking forward to from our May line-up? As always, we’d love to hear what catches your eye!
Until next time, take care!
Oliver
April 23, 2025 6:21 pm
Good to see sing yesterday for me getting a physical release. Hope this means you can release other crunchyroll licenses in the future. Such as In the Land of Leadale, Didn't I say to make my abilities average in the next life, The 8th son? Are you kidding me?, The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat, If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord, Raven of the Inner Palace, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! season two, In/Spectre season two
cherri
April 24, 2025 9:43 am
i remember when the eizouken blu ray was announced for early this year and we're past the 'early' point.
Andy Hanley
April 24, 2025 9:52 am
Our Eizouken release is taking a little longer than planned as we work through the various cool things we're trying to do, but it's getting there so we'll hopefully have news soon!
Cassius
April 24, 2025 10:22 am
Just to confirm: You have the license for the Project A-Ko sequels, yes? Not just the first movie? Happy to shell out on the LE but want some kind of assurance that it won't end up an incomplete set.
Andy Hanley
April 24, 2025 10:28 am
At this time we only hold the rights to the first OVA.
Strike105
April 24, 2025 10:40 am
Glad to see Project A-Ko finally getting a UK release! Been waiting a while for this one.
Andy Hanley
April 24, 2025 10:44 am
We're really excited for it too, it's a classic for a reason!
Trevor W Gratton
April 24, 2025 2:21 pm
Seeing Project A-Ko in your release schedule really made me perk up. I'm old enough to remember the VHS release from Manga Video in the early 90s — even have a poster of the cover art I got from a 'con at the time kicking around somewhere — so I think it's that I'm really looking forward to. I'd also be grateful if there's any news forthcoming about a more affordable version of your Macross Plus release; that's another release from the 90s heyday I was greatly anticipating, yet I was so disappointed that there were neither a Collectors' or Standard Edition for the UK at the same time as the UE. I really hope to hear that's going to be rectified sometime soon.
Andy Hanley
April 24, 2025 2:31 pm
A Macross Plus standard edition is certainly in the offing before this year is out, so watch this space!
Trevor W Gratton
April 26, 2025 2:20 am
That's great to hear, Andy. Looking forward to that one. Thanks for getting back to me.
Maddox
April 28, 2025 11:50 pm
Any news you can share on Inuyasha Sets 3 and 4?