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AnimEigo to Release Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope, Alien Nine Anime
posted on by Adriana Hazra
AnimEigo announced at its panel at Otakon on Saturday that it will release the following anime titles on Blu-ray Disc.
All 29 episodes of the anime will ship in HD in a three-disc Blu-ray Disc set. The release will mark the first release in North America. The release will include newly produced subtitles and a previously unreleased English dub.
AnimEigo describes the anime:
In the 17th century, Lord Tokugawa wages a ruthless war of domination. Among his targets are the mighty Sarutobi clan, whose most formidable warrior is Daisuke Ozaru. When Ozaru's wife is assassinated, his young son Sasuke--traumatized and believing his father dead--considers himself an orphan. Unbeknownst to him, the mysterious traveler who takes him in is actually Ozaru in disguise. And now, father and son walk a hidden path, as Daisuke secretly trains Sasuke to become a master ninja--so that one day, he can avenge his mother and strike back at the empire that destroyed their family.
The anime debuted in September 1968. Kiyoshi Ōnishi (Ox Tales) directed the anime.
12-year-old Mitsuki wants to be a singer. Unfortunately, she has cancer, and can't sing above a whisper. One day, two “death gods” appear and inform her she only has one year left to live. So, in order to make her dream come true, they'll transform her… into a real idol singer.
AnimEigo planned to release the first volume on August 12. However, the company revealed on August 1 that copies of the first volume that shipped early from MediaOCD's website had a glitch "in episode 19 that caused a majority of the episode to be unwatchably out of sync." The company is halting shipments for a few weeks to get the fixed disc 2 in the set shipped. Those who already received their copy of volume 1 will get a replacement copy for disc 2 automatically shipped to them once the new disc is ready.
Previously, Viz Media only released part of the anime on DVD in 2005 and 2006. The English dub for episodes 29-52 has not been released before.
Toshiyuki Kato directed the anime at Studio DEEN.
U.S. Manga Corps previously released the 10-episode OVA on DVD in 1993, and describes its story:
In a world where the grim reaper can strike at any time, a brilliant renegade surgeon known only as Black Jack operates outside the law. For the rich and dying, he performs miracles of a macabre medical nature. Unafraid of mysteries that verge on the paranormal, Black Jack is the one man with the power to cheat death…for a terrible price!
Osamu Dezaki directed the 10-episode OVA, and Satoshi Kuwabara and Masayoshi Nishida directed Black Jack Final. The 2011 two-episode Black Jack Final OAV was produced in honor of Dezaki.
AnimEigo's release of the 10-episode OVA will include an English dub.
Takashi Anno directed the television special at Sunrise. The anime originally aired in August 2005 and won a 2005 Animax Award.
AnimEigo describes the story:
It follows three elementary school girls – Yuri Otani, Kumi Kawamura, and Kasumi Tomine – who are forced to fight off invading aliens as part of the school's "Anti-Alien Team.”
Yasuhiro Irie (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) directed episodes 2-4 of the four-episode OVA series (Jiro Fujimoto directed episode 1). The anime debuted in May 2001. Central Park Media previously released the series in North America.
AnimEigo is releasing the Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope and Alien Nine anime under its "Ruined Childhood" imprint.
AnimEigo also releases the YouTube documentary series "The Anime Business" on YouTube.
Source: Press release
