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Discotek Licenses Symphogear, Dokuro-chan, Medabots, Cleopatra, Battery, Great Passage, More Anime

Discotek Media announced at its panel at Otakon on Sunday that it has licensed the following anime: Senki Zesshō Symphogear, Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan, Medabots, NG Knight Lamune & 40, Kyo kara Maoh! R, Kyo kara Maoh! 3rd Series, Cleopatra, Battery the Animation, and The Great Passage.

The company also announced it will release the Thermae Romae anime and the Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy anime film (artwork at right not final) on Blu-ray Disc, both with all-new English dubs next year. Discotek Media previously released Thermae Romae on DVD in 2013; the new dub will star David Wald as Lucius Modestus, Christopher Guerrero as Marcus Pietoras, and Jim Foronda as Emperor Hadrian. Howard Wang directed and engineered the dub at Sound Cadence, and co-wrote the ADR scrpts with Kyle Igneczi and ADR co-director Emily Fajardo. The new Thermae Romae release will include all six episodes of the anime plus a bonus episode. The company previously released Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy on DVD in 2012; the new release will feature 1080p high definition.

Additionally, Discotek announced it will release the City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes film on Blu-ray Disc in the second quarter of 2020 with a new dub. The company had announced in April that it had licensed the entire City Hunter anime franchise, including the film. The film opened in Japan on February 8. Discotek will also screen the film in U.S. theaters. The television series is planned for a Blu-ray Disc release with English subtitles.

Discotek will also release Sanrio Films and animator Takeo Nakamura's stop-motion Nutcracker Fantasy film on Blu-ray Disc. The release will be 1080p native with a new transfer and an all-new restoration of the English version. The company licensed and released the film in 2017.

Discotek will release the first Senki Zesshō Symphogear anime on Blu-ray Disc in Japanese with subtitles next year.

The Senki Zesshō Symphogear franchise premiered with the 13-episode first season in January 2012. The second television anime, Senki Zesshō Symphogear G, followed from July to September 2013, and the third television anime, Senki Zesshō Symphogear GX, aired from July to September of 2015. Senki Zesshō Symphogear AXZ, the fourth season, ran from July to September 2017. The fifth season, Senki Zesshō Symphogear XV, premiered on July 6. Crunchyroll is streaming the series as it airs.

Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan is based on Masaki Okayu's novel series. An eight-episode series of shorts aired in 2005, and then the Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan Second OAV with four episodes launched in 2007. Discotek Media's release will feature both series on Blu-ray Disc with both English and Japanese audio. The release will feature a 1080i upscale and clean opening/ending animation sequences, and will launch in the first quarter of 2020.

Discotek Media will release the first season (26 episodes) of Medabots on SD Blu-ray Disc in the fourth quarter of this year (artwork at right is not final), with the second season in the pipeline and Discotek looking into the third season. The release will feature English audio only with closed captions. Discotek told ANN it plans to release the Japanese version of the show (titled Medarot) "at some point in the future."

The anime originally aired in 1999 to 2000. ADV Films and then Shout! Factory previously released the anime on home video.

Discotek will release the 38-episode NG Knight Lamune & 40 on SD Blu-ray Disc in Japanese with English subtitles in early 2020. Crunchyroll began streaming the series last month from Discotek.

The anime is the first installment in the Ramune anime franchise, which also spawned the Knights of Ramune & 40 Fire TV anime sequel, as well as the Knights of Ramune & EX, Knights of Ramune & 40 DX, and Knights of Ramune OAVs.

Discotek will release Kyo kara Maoh! R (artwork at right not final) and Kyo kara Maoh! 3rd Series on Bu-ray Disc in Japanese with English subtitles. Discotek will be the first company to release Kyo kara Maoh! R on Blu-ray Disc in any region. Kyo kara Maoh! R will ship in December 2019, and Kyo kara Maoh! 3rd Series will ship in 2020.

The five-episode Kyo kara Maoh! R anime shipped in 2007 to 2008. The 39-episode Kyo kara Maoh! 3rd Series aired in 2008 to 2009. Neither anime have been licensed in North America before. Crunchyroll began streaming the first and second "seasons" (episodes 1-78) of the Kyo kara Maoh! anime in May. Discotek licensed the anime in February.

Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto directed the 1970 Cleopatra film (artwork at right not final) at Mushi Production. Discotek will release the film on Blu-ray Disc in 1080p high definition with English subtitles. Third Window Films previously released the film in the United Kingdom.

The 11-episode Battery the Animation series premiered in July 2016 in Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block, and streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The anime is based on Atsuko Asano's novels of the same name. Discotek will release the series on Blu-ray Disc in Japanese with English subtitles.

Tomomi Mochizuki (House of Five Leaves, Pupa) directed and scripted the series at Zero-G (Hyper Speed GranDoll, Shadow Skill, MD Geist II - Death Force). Takako Shimura (Wandering Son, Sweet Blue Flowers original creator) was in charge of the original character designs, Hideoki Kusama (Sket Dance, Mononoke animation director) adapted those designs for animation and also served as chief animation director, and Akira Senju (Valvrave the Liberator, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) composed the music.

The 11-episode The Great Passage anime premiered in October 2016 in Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block, and streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The anime is based on Shion Miura's Fune wo Amu novel. Discotek will release the series on Blu-ray Disc in Japanese with English subtitles.

Haruko Kumota (Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū original manga creator) was in charge of the original character designs for the series. Toshimasa Kuroyanagi (Say, "I Love You". series director, Shōnen Hollywood - Holly Stage for 49, Shōnen Hollywood - Holly Stage for 50 director) directed the series at ZEXCS. Takuya Satō (Say, "I Love You"., Strawberry Marshmallow, Fate/stay night) handled the series composition, and Hiroyuki Aoyama (key animator for Summer Wars, Sword of the Stranger) adapted Kumota's character designs for animation.

Source: Email correspondence, Discotek's Otakon panel (Bamboo Dong)