Mind Game
By Andrew Osmond.
Mind Game is a trip. Struggling to describe it in my book 100 Animated Feature Films, I called it “spectacular, spontaneous, confusing, kooky and hilarious.” It’s also dense, packed with so many dizzying visual ideas screaming for a rewatch. Its visual style is freehand, lopsided, a virtuoso exercise of virtuous sloppiness.
Its story is a crazy fantasy about one man and his thrown-together companions discovering themselves, finding the meaning of their lives. But the film starts – after a typically giddy montage of “random” scenes to be pieced together over several viewings – as a kind of romcom. Our hero is a loser, twenty-something comic artist who happens to bump into his old school sweetheart on a rainy Osaka night. He ends up in the bar she runs with his sister, fuming over “his” girl’s handsome boyfriend like the epitome of all sad losers. And from that point… Chaos reigns. Continue Reading
Anime Limited acquires “Penguin Highway”. Coming to cinemas in 2019.
Thus far, 2018 is shaping up to be another great year for anime in the cinema, and it's fair to say that we've already screened some great films this year in the form of fan favourites Attack on Titan and Code Geass, while we're looking forward to bringing you some excellent original film experiences via both Mari Okada's directorial debut Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (for which you can book tickets now) and Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai.
Such is our drive to bring the best of Japanese animation to the cinemas however, we're already making plans for our 2019 line-up, which brings us to today's announcement, as we here at Anime Limited are very proud to announce that we've acquired the UK rights to Penguin Highway.
This film marks the first feature-length film from animation Studio Colorido (Typhoon Noruda), produced in conjunction with Fuji Television. The film's story is based on a novel written by Tomihiko Morimi, who you might recognise as the author of Night is Short, Walk on Girl, The Tatami Galaxy and The Eccentric Family, while the movie is directed by an exciting young upcoming director in the form of Hiroyasu Ishida and character designs are provided by Yojiro Arai (whose animation credits include Napping Princess and Flip Flappers).
The film premieres in Japanese cinemas in August 2018, while the UK theatrical release is currently scheduled for an as-yet undetermined date in 2019 - however, don't be surprised if we provide some other opportunities to catch the film on the big screen before 2019 rolls around!
For more on the film - as if the prospect of animated penguins isn't enough in itself - read on...
ABOUT "PENGUIN HIGHWAY"
© 2018 Tomihiko Morimi, KADOKAWA / Penguin Highway Production Committee
Synopsis: "Aoyama is a serious 10 year-old boy who records all of his day-to-day experiences in his notebook. One day in May, penguins inexplicably appear in his home town, despite being located a long way from the sea. When Aoyama sees "Big Sis" - a young woman who works at a dentist's office - drop a soft drink can which inexplicably turns into a penguin, he decides to investigate and resolve the mystery behind these strange events.
Together with his classmates, Aoyama happens upon a strange phenomena which is surely the key to these goings-on. Will their investigation bear fruit, and just how is "Big Sis" linked to these occurrences?"
You can view an (unsubtitled) Japanese trailer for the film below:
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Born in 1988 in Aichi Prefecture, Hiroyasu Ishida graduated from the Animation Department of Kyoto Seika University. He has independently produced various animated shorts since his high school days.
In 2009, his short movie entitled Fumiko's Confession drew world attention as it won several awards such as the Japanese YouTube Video Award and a Special Mention at Ottawa International Animation Festival.
In 2011, his graduation work Rain Town also won numerous awards including the New Artist Prize of the Japan Media Arts Festival.
In 2013, he directed the critically acclaimed short movie Sonny Boy & Dewdrop Girl.
ABOUT STUDIO COLORIDO
Founded in 2011 by Hiroyasu Ishida and Yojiro Arai, formerly of Studio Ghibli, Studio Colorido gathers young and dynamic creators. Although using only digital animation techniques, their works are characterised by a warmth and gentle expression.
In 2013, Studio Colorido released its first theatrical short movie, Sonny Boy & Dewdrop Girl, the animation quality of which was highly praised and perceived as very promising.
Since then, the studio has worked on various projects including a short animated web sites for YKK in collaboration with the J-pop group Perfume; a TV commercial for the game PUZZLE & DRAGONS, and the theatrical short film Typhoon Noruda.
Needless to say, we'll be sharing more news as and when we have it around Penguin Highway, but it's all set to be another beautiful, engaging and entertaining addition to our theatrical line-up, so we hope you're as excited about it as we are!
Until next time, take care.
~Andy H
[UNBOXING] ERASED – Part 2. Collector's Edition available from 30th April 2018.
We know it's been a while in coming, but at last it's nearly here, as the second half of the thrilling series ERASED is just days away from arriving on retail shelves here in the UK on April 30th 2018! Before a copy lands in your own hands however, we wanted to take a little time out of our day to give you a quick tour over our subtly beautiful Limited Collector's Edition release of ERASED Part 2, so join us as we join hands and wander through this sleek edition of the series.
Before we start though, be warned that some of the contents of this unboxing - and in particular our look at the included book - may contain spoilers, so if you're completely new to the series then beware!
Also, if you're impressed by what you see below, allow us to remind you that you can currently purchase our ERASED Part 2 Limited Collector's Edition from the AllTheAnime.com web shop at a great Early Bird price of just £19.99. This offer is only available until Thursday 26th April, so time is running out to grab a copy of this release at our discounted price - you can even pick up ERASED Part 1 on a discounted cost too if you want to buy the full series!
View our ERASED deals at the AllTheAnime.com web shop
ABOUT "ERASED" PART 2
Includes episodes 7-12 [end] of the series.
Synopsis: "Erased is a sci-fi thriller series based on the award winning manga series (2014 Manga Taisho Award) by Kei Sanbe. The dream production team includes director Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online), character designer Keigo Sasaki (Blue Exorcist), composer Yuki Kajiura (Sword Art Online), Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica), and animation studio A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, Your Lie in April, Blue Exorcist).
The series finale that ends with a shocking yet emotional twist..."
You can watch the trailer for this release below:
ADDITIONAL NOTES
--- Want to know more about the series? Have a read of the piece at our blog HERE
--- For some insight into the music of ERASED, check out the blog article HERE
--- Finally, you can read a comparison of the animated and live-action iterations of ERASED at THIS blog article
WHAT'S INSIDE? WHAT's ON THE DISCS?
While the theme of our Collector's Edition released of Part 1 of ERASED was as white and pure as the snow, so Part 2 Collector's Edition matches the darkness which envelops its story as we switch to a striking black colour scheme for all of the elements of this package.
In keeping with our release of Part 1 of the series, our Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray+DVD set of ERASED Part 2 comes in a rigid case with a soft touch finish, giving it a unique texture and feel. Inside that you will find a digipak to store both the Blu-ray and DVD discs, along with a comprehensive 40-page booklet that is filled with fascinating and revealing information about the series and its production.
On the discs themselves you’ll find:
Episodes 7-12 of ERASED in both English and original Japanese with English subtitles.
On-disc extras include Audio Commentaries for episodes 7, 8, 11 and 12, as well as textless opening and ending title sequences.
In the 40-page booklet you will find –
- Character Files
- Revival Chronology
- Key Animation Selection
- An Interview with series director Tomohiko Ito
WHERE CAN I BUY THIS?
Aside from the Early Bird offer outlined earlier in this post, you can also order both the Limited Collector's Edition DVD+Blu-ray version that we're showing you today, as well as the standard DVD version, ahead of its release now from retailers including the following -
ORDER AT AMAZON UK
Order at Zavvi
Order at BASE
Order at HMV Online
Order at Anime-On-Line
Order at All The Anime
WHAT DOES THE FINISHED PRODUCT LOOK LIKE
Now, on to the part you've been waiting for - the unboxing of the product itself! Again, we remind you that there may be some spoilers on view here, so beware - click on images to enlarge them for a better, full-sized look. Continue Reading
Books: Kurosawa’s Rashomon
By Jasper Sharp.
The first thought that immediately sprang to my mind when I picked up Kurosawa’s Rashomon: A Vanished City, a Lost Brother, and the Voice Inside His Iconic Films by Paul Anderer was: “Does the world really need another book on Kurosawa?” Since Donald Richie gave the West the first systematic study with The Films of Akira Kurosawa in 1973, we’ve had Stuart Galbraith IV’s The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, charting the rocky relationship between the director and his lead actor of choice; Stephen Prince’s The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa; Kurosawa: Perceptions on Life: An Anthology of Essays, edited by Kevin Chang; James Goodwin’s Perspectives on Akira Kurosawa; Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto’s Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema and Lola Martinez’s Kurosawa: Translations and Permutations in Global Cinema, to name but a few. There have been English translations of Kurosawa’s own Something Like an Autobiography; the memoirs of his production assistant Teruyo Nogami, Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa; and his scriptwriter Shinobu Hashumoto’s recollections of working together, Compound Cinematics: Akira Kurosawa and I. And this is before we get into the numerous published screenplays and studies of his individual films, and the vast number of anthology chapters and academic journal and popular magazine articles that have appeared over the years.
One would think that within this carnival of vantage points there’s little room for a fresh perspective on the man and his movies, but Paul Anderer’s compelling account of Kurosawa’s formative years proves otherwise. Kurosawa’s Rashomon is less concerned with in-depth analyses of the films themselves than how they were informed by the family members Kurosawa grew up amongst, the books he read, the silent movies he saw, the paintings he painted and the landscapes he witnessed. Following the director’s own memoirs, the period covered is prior to Rashomon’s Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival in 1951, which introduced not only the name Kurosawa to the West, but gave rise to a new wave of international appreciation for Japanese cinema. However, the main emphasis is on the 1920s, long before Kurosawa directed his first feature, Sanshiro Sugata in 1943, and at during a period of his life when he was dreaming of other creative endeavours outside of the film industry. Continue Reading
Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- Home Video Release Details. Coming to Ltd Collector's Ed. and standard Blu-ray/DVD on 25th June 2018.
It's a title we announced we'd be bringing to home video quite a while ago now, but after some bumps along the way today we're delighted to be able to tell you about our plans for the upcoming release of the series Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers-, which will be available from 25th June 2018! It'll be coming to standard DVD and Ltd Collector's Ed. Blu-ray. Today we're excited to show you what you'll find within our Ltd Collector's Ed. Blu-ray release.
Not familiar with the series? Don't worry, we'll give you a quick introduction before we tell you about what to expect!
ABOUT ROKKA -BRAVES OF THE SIX FLOWERS-
Synopsis: "Legend says when the Demon God awakens from the deepest of darkness, the Goddess of Fate will summon Six Braves and grant them the power to save the world. Adlet, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, is chosen as one of the "Braves of the Six Flowers" and sets out on a battle to prevent the resurrection of the Demon God. However, it turns out that there are Seven Braves who gathered at the promised land…
The Seven Braves realize there must be one enemy among them, and feelings of suspicion spread through the group - with Adlet being suspected first and foremost.
Thus begins an overwhelming fantasy adventure that brings mystery upon mystery in Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers-!"
You can watch a subtitled preview for the series below:
WHAT'S PLANNED FOR THE RELEASE?
We're going to be releasing the entire series (12 episodes) in one, single complete series collection; something that's not occurred in any English speaking territory before. It will be available as a Ltd Collector's Ed. Blu-ray set as well as a standard edition DVD.
Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- Ltd Collector's Ed. Blu-ray
The release will come packed in a rigid case with a digipak to hold the two Blu-ray discs. Also inside the rigid case will be a 48-page art book that features art of the characters, the fiends, props, storyboards from the opening and ending sequences, and a gallery section.
On the discs themselves, you'll get all 12 episodes of the series in Japanese with English subtitles, and also with English audio. That's right, there's an English dub for the series! This English dub localisation never been released before so our Blu-ray release will be the very first opportunity to experience the entire series dubbed! (You can read more about the English dub further below in this post.)
WHERE CAN I ORDER THIS?
You can pre-order this now from the following retailers:
Order Amazon UK
Order at Zavvi
Order at HMV Online
We'll be taking pre-orders for this soon at our web shop. In the interim you find the listings there in the link below
View at the AllTheAnime.com web shop
THERE'S AN ENGLISH DUB!
Yes it's true, there's an English dub for the the series. It's never been released before so our release will be the first opportunity to watch the series dubbed! We know there are a lot of fans out there who much prefer to watch anime dubbed or who simply aren't able to watch subtitled anime, so being able to include this dub is something we're very happy about.
As it's never been talked about in public before, allow us to reveal to you who is in the English cast for the series:
ADLET
Robbie Daymond
NACHETANYA
Abby Trott
FLAMIE
Brianna Knickerbocker
GOLDOV
Ray Chase
CHAMOT
Kira Buckland
MAURA
Wendee Lee
HANS
Ben Diskin
We hope you're excited at the prospect of being able to see the series dubbed! And we're aiming to have some previews of the cast in action for you over the coming weeks so stay tuned for those.
Now you've seen what we have in mind, are you looking forward to adding Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- to your collection? As we mentioned, we should have some previews of the English cast in action coming your way soon, and stay tuned for pre-orders opening at our web shop and other retailers!
Signing out~!
Jeremy
EDIT (25/04/2018): Release date updated to Monday 25th June 2018 - the originally date was mistakenly published due to an internal scheduling error. Apologies for any confusion!
EDIT (31/05/2018): First English cast preview clip added!
EDIT (06/06/2018): Second English cast preview clip added!
EDIT (09/06/2018): Third English cast preview clip added!
EDIT: Fourth and fifth clips now added.