Manga News at Anime Central

Date: 2006 May 16 11:29

Posted by Jeremy

Manga Entertainment announces a bunch of new titles for release at Anime Central.

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At this year’s Chicago-based Anime Central, Manga Entertainment representative Keith Burgess announced several releases Manga has planned at the company's panel. This includes new licenses and follow-ups and re-releases of previous titles.

New licenses include Noein, about a pair of runaways caught up in a future battle for time and space; "okko, a supernatural police drama which was described as "a combination of Bleach and Vampire Hunter D"; and Tactics, about a young man who uses his power to see demons to fight them with help from a tengu and a kitsune. According to Burgess, Tactics is being scheduled for a "really quick release". Also acquired was the live-action movie Tokyo Zombie, which is set for a 2007 release and will be the first live-action title Manga has brought out in some time.

Burgess also announced plans for re-releases for Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and the Street Fighter 2 animated movie. Cagliostro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Spirited Away fame, is set for a July 25 release, and will feature a new digital transfer, interviews with Lupin III creator Monkey Punch and animation director Yasuo Otsuka, and possibly a storyboard gallery. The new Street Fighter 2 release will be completely uncut. Meaning, of course, that Chun Li’s infamous shower scene will be seen in its entirety, as opposed to the so-called uncut version of the original American release of the film on video which still had some editing. Not only will there be a new transfer, but the original Japanese track and music will be included, in addition to the heavy metal and grunge used in the American release. There may also be a limited edition collector’s box, complete with an action figure from either McFarlane Toys or Four Horsemen, released along with the standard version.

Karas: The Revelation, the follow-up to the hit Karas: The Prophecy and second volume of the OAV series, is set for a September 26 release. Manga also plans to release a second box set for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, but unlike the first box set, it will most likely not be tin, as previous tin box sets have been reportedly damaged during shipping.

Manga also announced plans for a re-release of the two Neon Genesis Evangelion movies, Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, should the company still hold the rights to them at the time of the tenth anniversary of their Japanese release and if any new material becomes available. These plans are currently tentative, as the company no longer holds the rights to previous titles Angel Cop, Devilman, Orguss 02, Guyver, Red Hawk, Gunbuster, Wings of Honneamise, and the first two Patlabor movies. The licenses for these titles, some of which were the first Manga Entertainment released, have since expired.