Crunchyroll and Kadokawa Pictures USA Bring Nights of Fright with Japanese Horror Anthologies and Tomie Trilogy to Online Fans

Update: Crunchyroll updated the following press release.

San Francisco, CA (April 16, 2009) —Crunchyroll and Kadokawa partner to bring hours of endless horror and fright to online fans with the highly popular TOMIE Trilogy and the Japanese Horror Anthology which include titles: HEARTBROKEN TRIP, NURARIHYON, PEONY LAMP, SHADOWS OF THE WRAITH, SHE-BEAR and YAMABA beginning April 16, 2009. More information can be found at: http://www.crunchyroll.com/publisher/kadokawapicturesusa

“We are extremely excited and proud to have Kadokawa Pictures USA partner with Crunchyroll”, states Crunchyroll CEO Kun Gao. “Kadokawa titles are well known to be of high quality and have a huge existing following. This partnership marks a meaningful addition to the Asian live action content available on Crunchyroll.”

Title Synopsis:
TOMIE
Based on a manga by Junji Ito.

Following some trauma in her past that has since been repressed, a young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "TOMIE" but is unable to recall where she knows it from. Meanwhile, a police detective is investigating a string of brutal murders, where he also runs across the name "TOMIE." How are two connected?

TOMIE: REPLAY
A young girl looking through her father's notes finds something written about the last experiment he worked on before he went insane. Everything in his notebook looks ordinary until near the last page, at which point his handwriting deteriorates and the name "TOMIE" is mentioned several times. From that point forward his notes are written in what looks like blood. At the same time, another young girl escapes from a hospital. Who is she, and what does she have planned?

TOMIE: ANOTHER FACE
Another movie about TOMIE, the girl who just won't stay dead. This film is split into three separate stories in which TOMIE is at different times in her life, first as a high school student, then as a young woman who falls for a photographer, and finally as a woman engaged to be married to her true love. In each story, she is murdered after her unusual secret is discovered, but she somehow manages to come back from beyond to take her revenge.

JAPANESE HORROR ANTHOLOGY

Summary
HEARTBROKEN TRIP
Chiharu's boyfriend walked out on her so Yoshiko plans to take her on a trip to a hot springs resort in order to cheer her up. Chiharu arrives at the inn before Yoshiko and couldn't have possibly imagined what awaits her there.

LOST SOULS
LOST SOULS - After a long day's drive, a couple is enjoying late night snacks at a lake-side restaurant. As they are enjoying themselves, a family of four enters the restaurant but the cook tells the couple to never look at the family.

NURARIHYON
A boy happens to see a specter known as "Nurarihyon" sneaking into his house to cause mischief. The boy tries to be good to the specter, but only gets the cold shoulder. But, at one night, when he is almost attacked by burglars, he learns good intentions are to pay off.

PEONY LAMP
A Japanese maverick samurai, Shinzaburo, receives a surprise night-time visit of his former lover, Otsuyu, who is supposed to have died of a disease. She says the story about her death is a ploy made up by her father to break the couple. They spend the night together, but Shinzaburo's colleague cannot believe his eyes when he sees Shinzaburo is holding in his arms.

SHADOWS OF THE WRAITH
Ryoji and Kazuhiko are two brothers embroiled in a mystery of paranormal implications, tormenting them while drawing them towards a horror that will not be denied. At first, Ryoji thinks that the obsessive Asaji is just a little over the top in her pursuit of him. Professing her love, she begins to stalk Ryoji, as well as his girlfriend Mariko; they feel her presence wherever they turn. When people close to Ryoji begin to die mysteriously, he has reason to suspect Asaji, but he has nowhere to turn for help or escape. Ryoji's brother, meanwhile, has become involved with a young girl, Naoko, whose new condominium has a history of horrible accidents. As Naoko begins to experience ever-stranger phenomena, she must come to terms with what lurks in the closet.

SHE-BEAR
Schoolgirls Mima and Rika saw a poster in a tunnel that warns, "If you see a woman with a teddy-bear doll you should run for your life." Mami feels something disturbing, but Rika dismisses it as just another hoax.

YAMABA
Magazine writers are sent out to an outback village to report on anecdote of old mountain hag. They get suspicious as every villager appears to be trying to hide something. They get the answer as a local bonze tells an age-old story.

About Kadokawa Pictures USA
Kadokawa Pictures USA (KPUSA) is the Los Angeles based arm of entertainment giant KADOKAWA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC (KGH) in Japan. KGH includes KADOKAWA GROUP PUBLISHING and KADOKAWA PICTURES. KADOKAWA GROUP PUBLISHING is one of the oldest and largest publishing groups in Japan and the largest publishers of Japanese Manga. KADOKAWA PICTURES with its library of over 2,000 titles, develops, finances, produces and distributes live action and anime films theatrically and for TV throughout Japan and Asia and boasts a state-of-the art production facility in Tokyo. Films that have garnered worldwide attention from these libraries include: THE RING, DARK WATER, PULSE and SHALL WE DANCE? KGH also includes a major exhibitor in Japan,Kadokawa Cineplex.

KPUSA distributes, licenses, remakes and adapts library films and books for an international audience in the English language, such as; “One Missed Call,””Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.”

About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an online video service and community that offers full-length episodes and movies of the very best in Japanese anime and Asian entertainment. Crunchyroll's content is provided by Asian media leaders including TV TOKYO, Shueisha, d-rights, Fuji Creative Corporation, Pony Canyon, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, Toei Animation, Gonzo, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation America and many others.

Crunchyroll was founded in June 2006 and has offices in both San Francisco and Tokyo. Crunchyroll is a pioneer and innovator within the Japanese anime industry and the only video service in the world to offer hit programs like NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, GINTAMA and many others online to its subscribers within one hour of their Japanese broadcast. Crunchyroll is a member of the Association of Japanese Animation (AJA) and the Licensing International Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) and is funded by leading venture capital firm, Venrock. More information can be found at its website <http://www.crunchyroll.com> .

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