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Madman Announcements from AVCon 2014

posted on by Jon Hayward
Madman Entertainment have acquired Senran Kagura, confirmed a release date for Hellsing Ultimate IX & X and will re-release Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell on Blu-ray.

The announcements were made at AVCon during the Madman Showcase Panel and posted to facebook, they are as follows;

  • Senran Kagura: New acquisition, release date TBC.
  • Hellsing Ultimate IX & X: November release to home video.
  • Ninja Scroll: DVD and Blu-ray release this November.
  • Ghost in the Shell: 25th Anniversary: This Blu-ray will be the HD restoration and come with a 22-page booklet for the anniversary. To be released in November.

Senran Kagura

Based on Marvelous AQL's side-scrolling action game of the same name, Asuka and her friends attend the secret Hanzo Academy where they are trained in the martial-art of Ninjutsu. But when the group are forced to face their rivals from Hibi Girls Academy they find their skills lacking.

Takashi Watanabe (Shakugan no Shana, Slayers) directed the series at the anime studio Artland. Takao Yoshioka (Sekirei, Elfen Lied) wrote the series scripts while Takashi Torii designed the characters. The character designs for the franchise were originally created by Nan Yaegashi while Yukinori Kitajima (Okamiden) assisted in creating its original story. Senran Kagura premiered in Japan in January 2013, ran for 12 episodes and has since been licensed and streamed in North America by Funimation.

The series was started as the Nintendo 3DS game Senran Kagura: Shōjo-tachi no Shinei which was released in September 2011. This was followed by Senran Kagura Burst which contained the original game and a new story and that was released in Japan in August 2012. Senran Kagura Burst has since been released in North America and Europe as a physical and digital release and has been released in Australia on the Nintendo e-shop for 3DS. The third game in the series, Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Shōjo-tachi no Shōmei was released on PSVita in February 2013.

Further details on Madman's release will be released in the near future.

Hellsing Ultimate - Episodes IX to X

Hellsing Ultimate is a OVA series based on the Hellsing manga by Kouta Hirano. Hellsing is a secret organisation sponsored by the British government that deals with threats that go bump in the night, specifically Vampires. The organisation is controlled by Integra Hellsing (a decendent of Van Helsing) who has a secret weapon, the vampire Alucard. And while Alucard and his fledgling vampire Seras Victoria are extremely effective as vampire exterminators, it will be an extremely bloody fight against a army that has been plotting for over fifty years to descend the world into war.

The series has had a interesting production life with Satelight producing episodes I to IV from 2006 to 2008, Madhouse Studios handling episodes V to VII from 2008 to 2009 and a co-production between Graphinica and Kelmadick for the final two episodes (VIII to X) from 2009 to 2012.

Hellsing Ultimate episodes I to IV were re-released in February 2013 and followed by episodes V to VIII in March on DVD and Blu-Ray. Now episodes IX and X will be released in November 2014.

Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll follows the adventures of wandering sword-for-hire Jubei as he's forced to investigate a group of demonic humans in order to save his own life and uncover the reason behind the death of an entire village. In the process uncovering a conspiracy that threatens to overthrow the government and links back to Jubei's own past.

Ninja Scroll is written, designed and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) with art direction from Hiromasa Ogura (FLCL, xxxHOLiC) and character design / animation direction from Yutaka Minowa (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust). The music was composed by Kaoru Wada.

Ninja Scroll was originally released in Japanese theaters in 1993 and has a interesting history in the Australia. Ninja Scroll was originally released by Manga UK in 1995 as a uncut release with MA15+ classification, but after a screening on tv station SBS, former Attorney-General Philip Ruddock appealed against the rating and had it upgraded to R18+. Madman has since released the DVD in 2000, accidentally using the UK cut version instead of the original uncut. This was rectified with 2004's 10th anniversary release being uncut and remastered.

Madman's release will be the remastered edition on DVD and Blu-ray in November. It is currently unknown if the release will be similar to Manga Entertainment's steelbook release with booklet and commentary.

Ghost in the Shell: 25th Anniversary

In the year 2029 the barriers of our world have been blurred by the net and cybernetic technologies, but this advancement comes at a cost with humans now able to be brain-hacked by outside sources. When a specialised group of cops called Section 9 are called into capture a hacker known as the Puppetmaster, the investigation uncovers brain-hacking, government tampering and a conspiracy that will blur the lines between human and machine.

Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell science-fiction manga series debuted in 1989. Oshii directed the anime film adaptation that premiered in 1995. The original manga and film inspired the 2002 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex television anime series, 2004 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence sequel film, and many other anime and manga projects. The third installment of the Ghost in the Shell Arise prequel anime project opened in Japan on June 28 2014.

Manga UK released Ghost in the Shell in Australia on VHS, Madman released the Special Edition on DVD in June 2005 and Ghost in the Shell:2.0 in December 2009 on Blu-ray and DVD. Madman have also released the sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, the tv series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and are in the process of releasing the prequel, Ghost in the Shell Arise in Australia.

Manga Entertainment will release the 25th anniversary re-master on Blu-ray in North America in September this year.

Madman will release Ghost in the Shell: 25th Anniversary in November 2014. This Blu-ray will be the HD restoration that previously was not available outside of Japan and will come with a 22-page booklet for the anniversary.


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