Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...ation-april-10

My Hero Academia Season 5 English Dub Premieres on Funimation April 10

Starting April 10, Episode 1 of the My Hero Academia Season 5 English dub arrives on Funimation

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train tickets are now on sale! Get yours before it opens in theaters April 23: https://fandan.co/2R9yfJx


https://www.atomtickets.com/movies/d...n-train/311216
https://www.fandango.com/demon-slaye...movie-overview
https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/d...en-train-66116

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

The Promised Neverland Season 2 English Dub Trailer

The second season of mega-hit anime series "The Promised Neverland" arrives with a brand new English dub! Catch the premiere on Toonami April 10th at 1:30​ AM!

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sentai Brings Home “Gargoyle of Yoshinaga House”

HOUSTON, TX — April 9, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired distribution rights to Gargoyle of Yoshinaga House, the zany, family friendly series based upon the light novel of the same name by Sennendou Taguchi.

Yoshinaga just won the local lottery! Instead of a fabulous getaway or a lifetime supply of her favorite food, she is awarded a stone gargoyle. But things get interesting when she discovers the ‘Gargoyle’ lives! Not only that, he can speak, fly and fire potentially lethal energy beams. Naturally, like any good gargoyle, he is bound to protect the Yoshinaga home from any and all threats. The once mundane, ordinary Yoshinaga household just became a place of magic, excitement and plenty of laughs!

Gargoyle of Yoshinaga House is directed by Iku Suzuki (Yumeiro Patissiere, Happy Lesson, DearS), with scripting and series composition from Takao Yoshioka (The Familiar of Zero, Elfen Lied, Your Lie in April). The series stars Chiwa Saito (Gugure! Kokkuri-san, Bakemonogatari, Puella Magi Madoka Magica) as Futaba Yoshinaga, Kouki Miyata (Trigun, Amnesia, Gravitation) as Kazumi Yoshinaga and Norio Wakamoto (Azumanga Daioh, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Hellsing Ultimate) as Gargoyle.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Surpass your limits, surpass rivals! Toonami is proud to announce the fifth season of My Hero Academia, premiering May 8th at 12:30a! Plus, relive the glory of Attack on Titan season four at 3:30a. Catch the full line-up below and prepare yourself for Toonami, Saturdays from midnight to 4:00a!

Toonami May 8th Lineup:
12:00AM – Dragon Ball Super
12:30AM – My Hero Academia
1:00AM – Food Wars!
1:30AM – The Promised Neverland
2:00AM – Fire Force
2:30AM – Black Clover
3:00AM – Naruto: Shippuden
3:30AM – Attack on Titan

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sentai Adds “Seitokai Yakuindomo Movie 2” to Lineup

HOUSTON, TX — April 15, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired distribution rights to Seitokai Yakuindomo 2 The Movie, the second side-splitting film in the Seitokai Yakuindomo anime universe, for audiences in USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and Portugal. Sentai adds the latest film to the franchise lineup that includes the first two seasons and first movie in the Seitokai Yakuindomo series.

The cast of Seitokai Yakuindomo is back and ready to quip! In this companion film that follows season 2 of the zany, irreverent Seitokai Yakuindomo anime series, the Ousai Private Academy student council must again grapple with a mix of double-entendres and doubly potent teen hormones as they integrate boys into a previously all-girls school.

Animated by Studio GoHands (Seitokai Yakuindomo, Hand Shakers, Princess Lover), the film was directed by Hiromitsu Kanazawa (W’z, K, Coppelion), who also penned the screenplay. Makoto Furuta (Azumanga Daioh) provides the film’s character design. The movie stars Yoko Hikasa (No Game, No Life, Domestic Girlfriend, 7SEEDS) as Shino Amakusa, Sayuri Yahagi (To LOVE Ru, Senryu Girl, Karin) as Suzu Hagimura, Shintaro Asanuma (Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Tsurune, Cutie Honey Universe) as Tsuda Takatoshi and Satomi Sato (Is the Order a Rabbit?, K-ON!, Hyouka) as Aria Shichijo.

Seitokai Yakuindomo 2 The Movie will be released on home video and streamed on select digital outlets.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...crew-revealed/

Episodes 1 and 2 of the BACK ARROW English dub will arrive April 23 on Funimation.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

This is going to do very well for Aniplex of America and Funimation...


https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3648226049/

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train

Apr 23, 2021 (Friday): $9,500,000 (estimate)

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train domestic estimate: $19,542,227

- Fri, April 23: $9,536,257 (1598 theaters)
- Sat, April 24: $6,445,970 (1600 theaters)
- Sun, April 25: $3,560,000 (1600 theaters)

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3648226049/

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...-to-funimation

Tokyo Ghoul “Pinto” and “Jack” OVAs Come Exclusively to Funimation

Starting April 28, you can watch the special “Pinto” and “Jack” OVAs subbed and in English dub, right here on Funimation.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...-on-funimation

Along with our amazing partners at Bang Zoom! Entertainment and Aniplex of America, we’re excited to announce that the Cells at Work!! Season 2 English dub is coming to Funimation.

Starting April 29, Cells at Work!!, the second season of the fan-favorite Cells at Work! series, will begin streaming in English dub on Funimation with Episode 1. It will be available on Funimation in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland; and on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...-crew-revealed

Starting April 30, you’ll be able to stream all 13 episodes of the Bungo and Alchemist -Gears of Judgement- English dub right here on Funimation.

***

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...-crew-revealed

Starting April 30, Episode 1 of the Strike Witches: Road to Berlin English dub will arrive on Funimation!

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...to-funimation

Sonny Boy From One Punch Man Director and MADHOUSE Comes to Funimation

The team behind One-Punch Man Season 1 is returning for something truly special. Sonny Boy, an original anime from studio MADHOUSE and director Shingo Natsume, is officially coming to Funimation later this year!

This new series reunites the studio and director from the aforementioned shounen series and teams them with Hisashi Eguchi, character designer for the legendary Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue.

In addition to directing the series, Natsume is writing it as well—he came up with the story for Sonny Boy.

And while we all know MADHOUSE and Natsume make a great pairing, the art team is stacked as well. According to a tweet from Eguchi, who designed the characters for Perfect Blue, this is his comeback to anime after 18 years! He last worked on Uninhabited Planet Survive.

The theme song for Sonny Boy was written by Kazunobu Mineta of the band 銀杏 BOYZ. It’s called “Shōnen Shōjo.”

Sonny Boy is a sci-fi survival series with a stacked 36-student cast of characters. Uprooted from their middle school lives, these students end up in another dimension and have to fight to survive.

No word yet on an exact premiere date, but we’re incredibly excited to be welcoming Sonny Boy to the Funimation family. In the meantime, you can catch all of One-Punch Man Season 1, right here on Funimation.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Metal Skin Panic: MADOX-01 Unobtanium Edition (Kickstarter) via AnimEigo

The definitive Blu-ray release of the Metal Skin Panic: MADOX-01 anime OVA, finally available in HD!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...tanium-edition

OVA (up to 576p) is still streaming on RetroCrush: https://www.retrocrush.tv/video/0161...panic-madox-01.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

http://funimation.com/blog/2021/05/0...-crew-revealed

Starting May 2, Episode 1 of the Combatants Will Be Dispatched! English dub will arrive on Funimation

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-fe...lost-and-found

FEATURE: The Fantastic True Story of How Project A-ko Was Lost and Found

Was it a twist of fate that led to the rediscovery of the original 35mm print of an anime classic?

Thirty-five years ago, when Project A-ko debuted in Japanese movie theaters, no one thought they were witnessing the birth of an anime classic. Director Katsuhiko Nishijima jokingly claimed in the behind-the-scenes documentary Project A-ko Secret File that he helped create the film because he needed some cash to buy new teeth.

The film, which is named after an unrelated Jackie Chan movie and which began production as an adults-only entry in the Cream Lemon series before transforming into a general audience science fiction action-comedy film we know now, would prove popular enough to spawn three sequels and a spin-off series.

If you've seen the film, it's no mystery why Project A-ko earned its reputation as a milestone of modern anime with adoring fans both in Japan and overseas. And yet, the film itself was shrouded in mystery, because sometime after its video masters were struck from the original 35mm film elements, the reels containing Project A-ko vanished without a trace.

This is the story of that discovery.

School Girls Head West

In the United States, Project A-ko was originally licensed by the now-defunct Central Park Media, a New York-based film company run by John O'Donnell. CPM first published the film on VHS in 1991, and Project A-ko proved to be an evergreen title all the way up until its final CPM release on DVD in 2002. After CPM went out of business in 2009, Discotek Media announced the rescue of the license of Project A-ko in 2010, releasing the film and its sequels on DVD later in 2011.

Project A-ko still has a huge fan following overseas, but for all its success as an anime classic, it has never received a high-definition Blu-ray release in the United States. Even Central Park Media’s final “Special Edition” DVD release was recorded off the laserdisc because the original film elements were presumed to be lost. When it came time to create an HD remastered release, the original 35mm prints of Project A-ko were nowhere to be found.

As a result, when Discotek Media announced that they were bringing Project A-ko to Blu-ray in September 2020, they also revealed that they were using technologies called the Domesday Duplicator and AstroRes to try to capture the best video possible from the available sources.

According to Justin Sevakis, CEO of MediaOCD, Discotek’s Production Contractor, the Domesday Duplicator captures and digitizes RF signals from multiple laserdisc sources, which results in a cleaner image overall.

“[Domesday] is a cool concept and very intriguing, but I think people got the wrong idea that this was some sort of game-changer in terms of restoring A-ko,” said Sevakis. “It definitely would’ve helped, but it only got us part of the way back to the condition of the original master tape it came from. Even if we had THAT tape, it was a video master from 1986, and still would’ve required a lot more restoration work from that point onward.”


The initial plan was to take the Domesday Duplicator transfer to an engineer who then used AstroRes, a process that uses machine learning to estimate the original linework to create an HD signal of the original. “When it comes off the disc, it’s still a video transfer,” said Sevakis. “Even for an SD master, it’s blurry because it was made in 1986. If anything was the miracle process, it was AstroRes.”

When it comes to older anime, Sevakis says that missing film elements are the biggest challenges when it comes to preserving and archiving. “If we’re stuck with decades-old video masters, often they’re made in such a way that makes restoring them very difficult or impossible ... Sometimes there are also old analog video problems that make the image completely unacceptable on a modern 4K display. At that point, the best you can really do is release it in standard definition.”

The Domesday Duplicator and AstroRes processes certainly made the most sense for the Project A-ko restoration Discotek was producing at the time. But soon enough, a simple investigation into an unrelated Shinji Aramaki title would prove otherwise.

The MADOX-01 Connection

While Discotek Media began the Herculean task of reconstructing Project A-ko, a plucky little North Carolina-based distributor known as AnimEigo was breaking ground on their next Kickstarter-financed release: a Blu-ray version of Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01, an original animation video from 1987 directed by Shinji Aramaki.

A one-shot story about a young man who dons a highly advanced prototype suit of mechanical powered armor in a quest to say goodbye to his girlfriend, MADOX-01 is a goofy story with a lot of humor and some exquisite technical animation.

In fact, Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 was the first anime title licensed and distributed by AnimEigo. In an interview included as a special feature on the DVD release, Robert Woodhead, the founder and CEO of the AnimEigo, recalled that originally he was given the option to license Project A-ko or MADOX-01, but he decided to go with MADOX-01 because he felt it had more “mainstream appeal,” a choice which he jokingly referred to as “the first of many terrible business decisions.”

Flash forward to December of 2020, when Robert Woodhead of AnimEigo and Ollie Barder of Sola Digital Arts discussed securing the materials for a high definition Blu-ray release of Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01. This plan hit a snag: Woodhead had previously inquired about obtaining the film elements needed to make a MADOX-01 Blu-ray but was informed at the time that the original materials were not available.

It seems the black hole of “lost films” Project A-ko fell into claimed another victim, but Woodhead was undaunted. In January of 2021, Woodhead made new inquiries with AMG, the company that acquired the rights to MADOX-01 from Pony Canyon. An AMG representative acquired a list of films being stored at the Tokyo Genzōsho film archives — “information that the previous contact person at Pony Canyon apparently didn’t have,” according to Woodhead — and the missing MADOX-01 materials were located.

Tokyo Genzōsho, also known as Tokyo Laboratory and usually shortened to Togen, hosts a wide range of original materials from Japanese film producers in climate-controlled environments. As one of Japan’s major labs, they offer a wide range of professional media services to the film industry.

Found Footage

During a meeting with the AMG licensors, Woodhead was shown the list of films stored at Togen. Much to his surprise, not only was Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 listed but right next to it on the list was another title: Project A-ko.

The long-missing film 35mm print of Project A-ko wasn't actually lost. The film had simply been misfiled and couldn't be located for decades as a result of a clerical error. “It wasn’t hard to find,” said Woodhead. “The problem was that there was a break in the chain of knowledge about the film’s location.”

“We’ve been looking for Project A-ko for 20 years,” Sevakis explained. “Most professional film, anime included, is locked away in a giant climate-controlled warehouse, in this case, run by the film lab that developed it. According to their records, it wasn’t there."

Due to Woodhead’s discovery, Discotek Media was able to request the archivists to make a physical search of the vault. When they did, they learned that Project A-ko “was there the whole time,” in Woodhead’s words.

Happy Endings

After Woodhead got permission to inform Discotek of his discovery and the missing film reels were found, Discotek announced on a Twitch stream in March 2021 that they were canceling their initial plans for the AstroRes remastered Project A-ko release and instead were producing a remastered Blu-ray using the newly rediscovered original 35mm print.

And that's the story of how Project A-ko was lost and found: lost by accident due to a simple filing error, found through happenstance and serendipity, an anime classic rescued from obscurity for future generations of fans to enjoy.

At the time of this writing, the restoration process for the Blu-ray release is well underway, with Discotek eliminating anomalies “ranging from dust and small scratches to flickering and jitter caused by the photography of the era,” according to Sevakis. While there is no release date currently set, if the sample footage above is anything to go by, Project A-ko is going to look and sound better than ever.

As for AnimeEigo's efforts on MADOX-01, the company's Kickstarter for the OVA reached its $50,000 goal in 42 minutes after it launched on April 30, now sitting at over $130,000 as of May 4, 2021.

“The film lab vaults are out-of-sight, out-of-mind for most of the companies in Japan, especially because at this point not many people deal with film on a regular basis,” said Sevakis. “The people dealing with the rights often don’t even have a clear idea of what’s in there, even if the records are correct! Who knows what else might be found?”

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Awesome.

Now do Doctor Who ;)


Seriously, that’s an awesome story.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sentai Snares “Princess Principal: Crown Handler” Six Part Miniseries

HOUSTON, TX — May 6, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired distribution rights to the Princess Principal: Crown Handler, a new film series based on the hit franchise of the same name. Sentai will distribute the films to audiences in the Unites States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Nordics, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Following the attempted assassination of the Queen, manhunts for spies become a frequent occurrence within the Kingdom. In response, Control — the Commonwealth’s covert operations group — begins to suspect the presence of a double agent within the Kingdom’s royal family. In order to reveal the truth, Control dispatches spy ring “Team White Pigeon.” But danger lurks around every corner, and when you don’t know who you can trust, being a spy has never been more perilous for Ange and the rest of Team White Pigeon.

Princess Principal: Crown Handler is a production of studio Actas (Girls und Panzer) and is directed by Masaki Tachibana (Barakamon). Yuki Kajiura (Demon Slayer) composed the film’s score. The series stars Aoi Koga (Kaguya-sama: Love is War), who has taken up the role of Ange, alongside returning seiyuus Akira Sekine (Tanaka-kun is Always Listless) as Princess, You Taichi (Akame ga Kill!) as Dorothy, Akari Kageyama (Himouto! Umaru-chan) as Beatrice and Nozomi Furuki (Kids on the Slope) as Chise.

Sentai brought the original Princess Principal anime series to audiences in Summer 2017. The first part of the six-part series is scheduled to launch on select streaming outlets in Spring 2021.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...ie-coming-2022

Toei Animation Officially Announces New Dragon Ball Super Movie Coming 2022

It’s the news that Dragon Ball fans have been waiting for! The all-new Dragon Ball Super movie will be hitting Japanese theaters in 2022!

The fact that a new movie is in production isn’t new information – that was a detail shared by Shueisha’s Dragon Ball department head Akio Iyoku in an interview included with the Japanese Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly back in 2019. But now with the addition of the release year, fans are excited to start counting down the months.

Dragon Ball series creator Akira Toriyama even shared a special message with fans to celebrate the news, confirming his involvement with the new film as well!

***

https://en.dragon-ball-official.com/news/01_42.html

Huge Announcement! New "Dragon Ball Super" Movie Planned for 2022! Check Out Creator Akira Toriyama's Comment!

A new Dragon Ball Super movie is set to be released in 2022!
We've even received a comment from Akira Toriyama himself just for you on the official site!

https://en.dragon-ball-official.com/...3%82%93_en.png

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021...ook-new-season

Announcements, Sneak Peeks and Much More Coming During The Funimation Summer Season Preview Event!

Ready to kick off another incredible season of anime favorites and some of the most anticipated shows of the year? Good news! The Funimation Summer Season Preview is bringing you a glance into what the Summer 2021 anime season has in store!

Ready for a new slate of anime? How about some movies? Oh, and how do you feel about some sweet anime merch? Those and more are coming to Funimation over the next few months, and this preview is just the beginning.

Hosted by Funimation Content Producer and anime expert Lauren Moore, you can expect hype announcements, surprise guests, never-before-seen clips and exclusive first looks. It all kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, June 18 on Funimation’s official YouTube channel.

In partnership with Xbox, the Funimation Summer Season Preview Event is also bringing lucky fans a chance to win free prizes—essential for your anime marathon viewing.

The event will stream live on June 18 in the United States and Canada, and recorded on June 19 for fans in other global territories, including United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

Scarlet Nexus | Official Anime PV

Re: Unreleased Licensed U.S. Anime Properties
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sentai Acquires “Alice in Borderland” OVA Series

HOUSTON, TX — May 13, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired the psycho-suspense thriller Alice in Borderland OVA series, based upon the manga series by Haro Aso, Imawa no Kuni no Alice. Sentai will distribute the three-episode Alice in Borderland OVA series to audiences in the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa as well as Latin America.

Be careful what you wish for. Antisocial misfit Ryohei Arisu wanted nothing more than to leave his mundane life behind, but a careless wish on a firework transports him to the post-apocalyptic Borderland, a sinister parallel reality where danger lurks around every corner and survival is not guaranteed. To live to fight another day, Ryohei and other unwilling contestants must win a series of deadly games, each more dangerous than the last — but returning home means putting not only his skills, but also Ryohei’s humanity to the ultimate test.

The OVA series stars Yoshimasa Hosoya (Akame ga Kill!, Chihayafuru, ID: INVADED) as Ryohei Arisu, Takahiro Sakurai (7SEEDS, Babylon, Mob Psycho 100) as Shuntaro Chishiya, Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Beyond the Boundary, Diabolik Lovers More,Blood, My Little Monster) as Daikichi Karube, Tsubasa Yonaga (Free!, Demon King Daimao, D.Gray-man HALLOW) as Chota Segawa, Maya Sakamoto (Cutie Honey Universe, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion, Black Butler) as Saori Shibuki and Minako Kotobuki (Punch Line, K-On!, Bloom Into You) as Yuzuha Usagi.

A production of studios SILVER LINK. (Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Armed Girl's Machiavellism, Strike the Blood), the Alice in Borderland OVA is directed by Hideki Tachibana (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III, Armed Girl's Machiavellism, Dragon Crisis!) with series composition from Ryosuke Nakamura (director Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions, episode scriptwriter Monster, Aiura).

Sentai will stream the Alice in Borderland OVA in association with select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.