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Discotek Licenses Dear Brother, Sgt. Frog, Kashimashi, Nyanbo! Anime
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Discotek Media announced on Monday that it has licensed the anime Dear Brother, Sgt. Frog, Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~, Nyanbo!, Magical Girl Ore, Kekkaishi, and Mitchiri Neko.
Discotek will release Dear Brother on Blu-ray Disc this summer with English subtitles only. Discotek noted that the license period for Dear Brother is "unusually short," and the company cannot assure that the license will be renewed after the first release.
Based on Riyoko Ikeda's (The Rose of Versailles) original manga, the Dear Brother anime follows Nanako Misono after she enters an all-girls private school. Nanako writes letters about her day-to-day life to her "oniisama," a previous teacher from her cram school. A middle-class girl, Nanako encounters hardships and drama at the prestigious school of female elites.
The series ran for 39 episodes, and was most recently added to the RetroCrush streaming service last year.
Discotek's release of Sgt. Frog will include all 358 episodes in successive SD Blu-ray Disc volume releases by season, beginning later this year, with more information to be revealed later.
The anime series ran from 2004 to 2011, and it spawned five feature films. Funimation released two "seasons" of the anime on DVD, after ADV Films had licensed but not released the anime.
American manga publisher Tokyopop released twenty volumes of the original manga in North America before shutting its doors in 2011.
Discotek will release Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ with English subtitles and the English dub by Media Blasters on May 25. The release will include both the television anime and OVA, and will include all the bonus features from the prior Media Blasters release. The anime will be a new upscale, and will have a revised subtitle track that will be "more careful" with regard to gender and pronouns.
The anime premiered in 2006, and Media Blasters previously released the anime on DVD.
The Discotek release of Nyanbo! will ship this summer as a subtitle-only release.
Nyanbo! premiered in 2016, and Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
The anime centers on the cat version of the "Danbo" cardboard robot character within Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba&! manga. In the story, Nyanbo! are beings that come from outer space and live in the attic of a certain house. The protagonist Tora searches for pieces of their UFO.
Discotek's release of Magical Girl Ore will be subtitle-only, and will ship on May 25.
The series premiered in 2018, and Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
Crunchyroll describes the story:
"Love makes a girl stronger." Saki Uno is working hard as part of the new idol unit, Magical Twin. The one she admires most is Mohiro Mikage, who's the older brother of her idol unit partner Sakuyo, and he's also a member of the top idol unit STAR☆PRINCE. She would be willing to do anything for him, and one day, those feelings brought on a miracle. Saki ended up turning into a magical girl when she strongly wished to protect someone... But what she turned into wasn't exactly what she was expecting...
Discotek will release Kekkaishi on Crunchyroll with both English subtitles and a dub. Discotek will announce details for the anime's home video release at a later date.
The story follows Yoshimori Sumimura, a 14-year-old junior high school boy who is the 22nd Kekkaishi — barrier master — of the Sumimura clan. As Kekkaishi, Sumimura and his rival Tokine Yukimura protect the land from supernatural beasts.
The 52-episode anime premiered in 2006. The anime previously aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block.
Discotek's release of Mitchiri Neko will be subtitle-only and will ship this summer.
The anime premiered in 2018, and Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
The franchise centers on the cats known as "Mitchiri Neko," who seem to multiply greatly when left alone. (As the official YouTube channel for the franchise explains, "'Mitchiri' means sticking together or packed, and 'neko' means a cat in Japanese.") The cats are able to speak and mimic human behavior. The franchise has a variety of cat characters who have distinct personalities.
Discotek Media also provided updates on its previously announced and upcoming releases. The company's release of Project A-ko will no longer be a restored upscale, as the company has been able to procure an original 35mm film with the assistance of AnimEigo's Robert Woodhead. The film will now be used for a new transfer. The company will announce more details on the release at a later date, but provided a sample video for the new remaster.
Discotek's release of the Memories film anthology will ship in June.
The release of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics will have a complete restoration for the included English dub, after the discovery of new elements. The dub will have improved audio, and will include alternate versions of two episodes. The season one release will ship on May 25, with season two coming this summer.
The company is continuing its search for dubbed materials for both Mon Colle Knights and Ninja Robots.
Discotek's SD Blu-ray Discrelease of Medabots season three (the final 39 episodes of the series) will ship on May 25.
Update: Corrected some release details.
Sources: Email correspondence, Discotek live stream
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history