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Sentai Filmworks Adds Yamishibai Horror Anime

Sentai Filmworks announced via a press release on Thursday that it will release the Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories television anime on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in a "Complete Collection" set.

The release lists the runtime at 117 minutes, and online retailer Right Stuf is listing that the release will contain 26 episodes, which is the episode count of the first and second seasons of the series combined. Both the Blu-ray Disc and the DVD are slated for release on April 19. The DVD set retails for US$24.98 and the Blu-ray Disc set retails for US$34.98.

Sentai Filmworks describes the series:

Ghosts. Curses. Demons. If you crave tales of terror and seek mysteries that defy explanation, go to the park at 5. That's when the man in the yellow mask will arrive with his kamishibai, the paper theater, to tell his sinister stories of Japan's darkest side. But be warned: this storyteller's works may do more than simply send shivers down your spine. Because the more fascinated you become with the supernatural, the more the supernatural may become fascinated with you.

Enter a world where the closest of friends can become the deadliest of enemies, where the most mundane of objects can become hair-raising nightmares, and not even one's own family can be trusted to remain human. Dare to pierce the veil of darkness and a realm of ultimate horror awaits as you discover Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories!

The shorts inspired by Shōwa-era illustrated paper theater productions premiered in July 2013, with Tomoya Takashima directing off scripts by Hiromu Kumamoto. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.

The second season premiered in July 2014, and it featured directors Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge, live-action Kiki's Delivery Service) and Noboru Iguchi (Nuigulumar Z, Karate-Robo Zaborgar), as well as scriptwriter Shōichirō Masumoto (King of the Escape) Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.

The anime will get a third season in January.

Thanks to Rukiia for the news tip.