S23/Sentai Filmworks/Switchblade Pictures/Maiden Japan , etc PR, News, And Announcements - 2012/2014

AN Shows
212

I’m really curious as to what we will see announced. If the initial reports were correct and it’s a license that includes bluray, it could very well be Haruhi. Of course, some of the reports from that con were not correct, so it’s hard to say.

I’ve also been wondering if they may have picked up Azumanga Daioh. I think they might consider that a “big” rescue. It seems that ADV’s license has been expired for a little while now. Of course, it hasn’t come out on bluray in Japan yet, but Sentai has released a few properties on BD that didn’t have bluray releases in Japan yet. So who knows. I guess we will have to wait and see.

213

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[size=16]SENTAI FILMWORKS LICENSES “NADIA, SECRET OF BLUE WATER”[/size]

HOUSTON, [DATE], 2013 — Sentai Filmworks is proud to announce its newest acquisition: Nadia, Secret of Blue Water. This 39 episode adventure classic from GAINAX (Neon Genesis Evangelion) will be available for the first time in high definition. The series is directed by Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances) and features character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Royal Space Force ~ The Wings of Honnêamise) with sound direction by Katsunori Shimizu (Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee) and music by Shiro Sagisu (Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi).

The World’s Fair, Paris, 1889: a young inventor crosses paths with an enigmatic girl and her pet lion. Suddenly they find themselves pursued by a villainous trio intent upon stealing the magical Blue Water. Thus begins an epic adventure inspired by Jules Verne’s masterpiece 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Join Nadia and Jean as they travel the high seas in search of Nadia’s homeland and her past, their only clue the mysterious jewel Nadia wears. Can they unravel the Secret of the Blue Water before it is too late? Discover Nadia, Secret of Blue Water, the animated series beloved by millions, and find out for yourself!

Nadia, Secret of Blue Water will be available soon through select digital outlets with a home video release on bilingual DVD & BD to follow.

About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks celebrates its 5th Anniversary as one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.

214

More March releases.

ANIMAINE

Maria Holic Alive (Dubbed – DVD & BD)
Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water TV (DVD & BD)
UPOTTE! (Dubbed – DVD & BD)

215

So…what was the much-hyped mega announcement?

216

[quote=“celestial_being”]
So…what was the much-hyped mega announcement?[/quote]

Guessing Nadia on Blu-ray. :silly:

217

That would be my guess, since it’s the only rescue announced.

218

I don’t know about y’all but I’m not particularly excited by this one. I don’t know much about this besides that it is by Gainax, and Gainax and I don’t often see eye to eye.

219

Nadia is a good show for a good chunk of it and the dub for its time was great. The movie must be avoided at all cost so hopefully they did not rescue it to, The only issue with the show is the “island” episodes 23 to 34.

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[quote=“TheCoffeeGod”]
More March releases.

ANIMAINE

Maria Holic Alive (Dubbed – DVD & BD)
Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water TV (DVD & BD)
UPOTTE! (Dubbed – DVD & BD)[/quote]

Yes to all three. Can’t wait to hear all the delicious accents in UPOTTE!.

221

[quote=“tonka”]
Yes to all three. Can’t wait to hear all the delicious accents in UPOTTE!.[/quote]

I’m hoping for that as well!

222

[quote=psychopuppet]
Nadia is a good show for a good chunk of it and the dub for its time was great.[/quote]

I see that it is a Monster Island dub. I am scared now as I found that Dai-Guard was the exception, not the rule, for those dubs.

That’s a huge swath of suck.

I’m surprised to hear something about Upotte. I’d almost forgotten about it. I was starting to take their silence on the show as a sign that they were going to sub-only it. Glad that bullet was dodged.

223

Also, concering Nadia.

@ ANIMAINE

https://twitter.com/rootsofjustice/status/399212453537796097

224

[quote=“celestial_being”]
I’m surprised to hear something about Upotte. I’d almost forgotten about it. I was starting to take their silence on the show as a sign that they were going to sub-only it. Glad that bullet was dodged.[/quote]

Upotte!! is Kadokowa show. Long periods of silence are to be expected, especially when bluray is in the cards. They demand longer than normal delays between the US and Japanese releases and have forced companies like Funimation to delay or cancel several bluray releases.

225

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[size=16]MAIDEN JAPAN ANNOUNCES LICENSE OF “MYSELF; YOURSELF”[/size]

HOUSTON, November 14, 2013 — You can never go home again. Or can you? Find out in Maiden Japan’s latest acquisition: Myself; Yourself. This 13 episode series about the long journey home is directed by QZo (A Bridge to the Starry Skies) and features character designs by Tomoya Hiratsuka (Shin Koihime Muso) and series composition by Go Zappa (NAKAIMO ~ My Little Sister is Among Them!).

Before his family left the town of Sakuranomori, Sana Hidaka said farewell to his best friends, thinking that he would never see them again. Five years later, however, he finds himself returning to Sakuranomori to finish high school while living alone in an apartment owned by his parents. Can the threads of friendship severed by time be mended? Will his friends even recognize him? Or have the changes in their lives as they’ve grown from children to teenagers made them into different people, pushing them even further apart? For Sana and his best bud Syusuke, it will be strange enough. But with Nanaka, Aoi and Syusuke’s twin Syuri all being girls, things are going to get even more complex. That’s to say nothing of the sometimes shocking secrets that his four friends know through having lived them, and that Sana will only discover in crossing the minefield of lost years. What once was can never be exactly as it was in treasured memories, but what could be may become even more precious as life moves inexorably forward. The past becomes the future as the flames of friendship rekindle in MYSELF; YOURSELF.

Maiden Japan will be distributing Myself; Yourself in conjunction with home video distributor Section 23 (Clannad, High School of the Dead, Appleseed,) on subtitled DVD and in digital formats.

About Maiden Japan
Maiden Japan is a new and upcoming distributor of Japanese animation in North America, with a rapidly growing roster of new and classic titles that includes such hot releases as TOKYO MAGNITUDE 8.0, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU TV, BLACK MAGIC M-66 and PATLABOR. A sister company to live action Shock film specialist Switchblade Pictures (ATTACK GIRLS SWIM TEAM VS. THE UNDEAD, ZOMBIE HUNTER RIKA, SULTRY ASSASSIN: NINJA BRAINWASH), Maiden Japan’s programs can be found on home video distributed by Ingram Entertainment, Baker & Taylor, Section23Films, The Right Stuf and other good and fine distributors. Digital product offerings may be found at iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Zune Marketplace, Anime Network, Playstation Network and YouTube.

About Section23 Films
Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, Maiden Japan 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.

226

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[size=16]SWITCHBLADE PICTURES SAYS “BANG! BANG! YOU’RE UNDEAD!” WITH GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES![/size]

HOUSTON, November 15, 2013 — It would have been the perfect crime except for those darn meddling zombies! That’s the plot in a nutshell as Switchblade Pictures delves once again into Japan’s unique take on the walking dead phenomenon and unleashes GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES! Proving that there are no genres that can’t be combined by determined filmmakers, GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES leads off with an already solid exploitation mix of cops, robbers and pushing the “R” sex barrier before literally stopping dead in its tracks and mutating into horror with a lethal case of corpse-us interruptus. Written and directed by Masahiro Assou, the gruesome zombie buffet stars popular adult video actress and model Laura Aoyama as the prime morsel, providing ample flesh, in every sense of the word, for a toothsome supporting cast that features Ichiro Nishikoshi, Yu Minami, Ryuhei Kawana and Ken-ichi Takada.

Being a gangster is a dangerous profession, and even when you’ve escaped the scene of your crime, you need a place to hide out. Someplace out in the middle of nowhere where can hide with your loot without worrying about running into another living soul. Unfortunately, living souls aren’t the problem gorgeous mob girl Maki runs into when she and her boyfriend Akio double cross his bosses. Oh, their triple crossing partners don’t make things easy, but the Maki’s real dilemma begins when their hideout turns out to be infested with the walking undead! And while cops and other gangsters die when you shoot them, zombies just look at handguns and laugh. Well, they would laugh if they had any vocal chords left in their rotted throats and any brains in their heads. But while they can’t fix the vocal chords, they certainly know where brains (and other yummy body parts) are on the menu! A getaway for the weekend becomes a flesh feast of bloody horror and the dish of the day is gangsters on the run with a side of mob moll ala mode in GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES!

GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES will be released on DVD, in Japanese with English subtitles on March 25, 2014.

About Switchblade Pictures
With a growing roster of international exploitation films, Switchblade Pictures is dedicated to bringing the wildest and most unique entertainment programming to North America. Titles currently in release include the zombie cult phenomenons ATTACK GIRLS SWIM TEAM VS. THE UNDEAD and ZOMBIE HUNTER RIKA, the SULTRY ASSASSIN period epics APHRODISIAC KILL and NINJA BRAINWASH, and the outrageous DEKOTORA series of Japanese lady trucker films that launches in December 2013 with the high-balling saga of BIG BAD MAMA-SAN.

About Section23 Films
Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, Maiden Japan 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.

227

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[size=16]SENTAI FILMWORKS LICENSES “FAMILIAR OF ZERO SEASON 1”[/size]

HOUSTON, December 19, 2013 — What do you get when you add a mage who’s a zero to the unlikeliest of heroes? Trouble with a capital “T” in Sentai Filmworks’ newest acquisition: Familiar of Zero Season 1. This 13 episode fantasy is directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Best Student Council) and features character designs by Masahiro Fujii (Dream Eater Merry) with scripts and series composition by Takao Yoshioka (Demon King Daimao) and music by Shinkichi Mitsumune (Rozen Maiden).

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière’s name is so long and her spell-casting skills are so poor that everyone at the Tristain Academy of Magic just calls her “Louise the Zero”. Louise’s humiliation only increases during an important second year test, where the other students summon up dragons and other mythological creatures as their familiars, and she inexplicably summons Hiraga Saito, a totally normal teenager from Tokyo. Now she’s stuck with him and Saito’s stuck with the lousy life of being a familiar. Except, maybe there’s more going on than meets the eye, because Saito’s not prepared to accept the social inequities that Louise and other aristocrats consider the status quo, and he may not be quite as normal as everyone thinks. And the reason Louise is so bad at magic might just be that she hasn’t figured out what she’s good at yet. In fact, they might even have the makings of a great team. If they can learn to stand each other first, that is! Will familiarity breed contempt? Will combining two negatives result in a positive? The answer will be spelled out, enchantment by enchantment, in FAMILIAR OF ZERO!

Familiar of Zero Season 1 will be available soon through select digital outlets and on bilingual DVD & BD.

About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks celebrates its 5th Anniversary as one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.

229

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-12-30/section23-films-offers-english-dub-upgrades-for-select-titles
[size=20]Section23 Films Offers English Dub Upgrades For Select Titles[/size]
posted on 2013-12-30 18:15 EST

Upgrades for Maria Holic, Maria Holic Alive, Mayo Chiki!, Nyan Koi!, Special A, MM!

Section 23 Films announced Monday that owners of the Maria Holic Complete Collection, Maria Holic Alive Complete Collection, Mayo Chiki! Complete Collection, Nyan Koi! Complete Collection, MM! Complete Collection, and Special A Complete Collection can upgrade to a version with an English dub. Right Stuf noted that Section 23 Films will also accept Special A collections 1 and 2 instead of the Complete Collection.

To complete these offers, download and print the appropriate forms from the Right Stuf website and send in the required materials: DVDs, cases, and payment. Complete instructions can be found on the form itself.

This program is only available through Right Stuf and to those with shipping addresses in the United States and Canada.

Those wishing to upgrade should expect a processing time of three to four weeks.

The expiration dates for the offers are as follows:
• Maria Holic Complete Collection (Offer Expires 9/30/2014)
• Maria Holic Alive Complete Collection (Offer Expires 7/31/2014)
• Mayo Chiki! Complete Collection (Offer Expires 2/28/2015) - NOTE, the dub upgrade isn’t expected until August 2014.
• Nyan Koi! Complete Collection (Offer Expires 7/31/2014)
• Special A Complete Collection (Offer Expires 7/31/2014)
• MM! Complete Collection (Offer Expires 8/31/2014)[/size]

Sentai Filmworks had not previously announced that Mayo Chiki! would be getting an English dub.

230

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[size=16]SENTAI FILMWORKS LICENSES “HOZUKI NO REITETSU”.[/size]

HOUSTON, January 2, 2014 - It’s a hell of a dirty job, but some demon’s got to do it in Sentai Filmworks’ latest acquisition, Hozuki no Reitetsu. This 13 episode underworld comedy is directed by Hiro Kaburaki (Kimi ni Todoke, My Little Monster), with character design by Hirotaka Kato (Eyeshield 21, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s), series composition by Midori Goto (Loups-Garous) and Animation Production by WIT Studio (Attack on Titan).

There are hard jobs and jobs that seem outright impossible, but in the end, the most difficult job in all creation probably belongs to Hozuki, Deputy Chief to the Great King Enma. Because the Great King spends all his time sitting in judgment on the recently deceased, it’s up Hozuki to keep the dark half of the afterlife running smoothly, which would be hellishly complicated even if Hell wasn’t constantly short on good help. Fortunately, Hozuki’s not the typical bureaucratic hothead you’d expect to find heading a department of infernal affairs. Fiendishly clever and determined enough to dedicate multiple lifetimes to a task (though not necessarily his OWN lifetimes), he’ll get the job done even if it means breaking a few unbreakable rules and running rings around Hell’s normal operating procedures. As for patience… well, Hell hasn’t frozen over quite yet, so the verdict’s still out on that, but he doesn’t suffer fools lightly, let alone damned fools. After all, that Highway to Hell isn’t going to get paved with just good intentions, so if someone has to suffer for all eternity, Hozuki’s damned sure that it’s not going to be himself in HOZUKI NO REITETSU!

Hozuki no Reitetsu will be available soon through select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.

About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks is one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.

231

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[size=16]SENTAI FILMWORKS LICENSES “ENGAGED TO THE UNIDENTIFIED”[/size]

HOUSTON, January 3, 2014 — Sentai Filmworks is proud to announce its newest acquisition: Engaged to the Unidentified. This 12 episode series about the suddenly atypical life of a very typical teenager is directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara (GJ Club) and features character designs by Ai Kikuchi (Rainbow – Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin) with series composition by Fumihiko Shimo (Clannad), music by Jun Ichikawa (C3) and sound direction by Kazuzou Hamano (Shin Koihime Muso: Otome Tairan).

Meet Kobeni, your typical, completely normal high school girl. She’s good at cooking, poor at sports and lives with her freewheeling mother and her older, eccentric sister, Benio. The only thing unusual about Kobeni is that she can’t remember her childhood due to an accident when she was small. But everything changes on her 16th birthday with the arrival of a fiancé she didn’t even know she had! Hakuya, a quiet, pokerfaced boy, and his little sister Mashiro are moving in and Kobeni’s normal life is over. Mashiro’s intent on making her the perfect wife for Hakuya; Benio, is intent on Mashiro; and Kobeni? Well, she’s more than a little confused, but struggling to build a good relationship with Hakuya. But since he’s moved in, Kobeni’s memory is beginning to return, and she’s becoming increasingly convinced that Hakuya isn’t even human, but a dog that saved her life the day of the accident. Is Hakuya really a dog? Or is he something else? Will Kobeni ever discover the truth about her fiancé? Or her sister’s proclivities? Find out in Engaged to the Unidentified!

Engaged to the Unidentified will be available soon through select digital outlets with a home video release to follow in 2014.

About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks is one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.

232

Per PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[size=16]SENTAI FILMWORKS LICENSES “MAGICAL WARFARE”[/size]

HOUSTON, January 20, 2014 – Powerful magicians run rampant in the streets, and one more is about to enter the fray in Sentai Filmworks’ latest acquisition, Magical Warfare. This 12 episode magical action series is directed by Yuzo Sato (Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge, Kaiji)) with series composition by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Miss Monochrome, Princess Resurrection), art direction by Jirou Kouno (Phi Brain, Amnesia) and animation production by the iconic Madhouse Studios (High School of the Dead, Ninja Scroll).

The last few years haven’t been easy for Takeshi Nanase. His parents are remote and distant, his little brother seems to despise him and even his relationship with Kurumi, his so-called girlfriend, isn’t exactly romantic in nature. In fact, for two years the only real high point in Takeshi’s existence has been studying the Japanese sword-fighting technique of Kendo, and that’s unlikely to be something that will have any practical application in the real world. Or so he thinks until he discovers an unconscious girl in an unknown uniform in the school hallway. Rushing the damsel in distress to the infirmary, he suddenly finds himself being held first at gunpoint and then in the middle of a battle as he attempts to defend the girl, Mui Aiba, from a group of teenagers using what appears to be magic! But as shocking as learning that magic is real may be, what’s even more stunning is the revelation that Takeshi’s been changed into a magician himself! Okay, so maybe those sword lessons are going to be relevant after all! When the worlds of the mystical and the mundane collide, anything can happen in MAGICAL WARFARE!

Magical Warfare will be available soon through select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.

About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks is one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.