Rare Studio Ghibli film Ocean Waves set for UK release

Anime News Network has noticed that two new anime films are set to be released in the UK.

Of interest to many will be that 1993’s slice of life drama Umi ga Kikoeru (Ocean Waves), one of the few remaining Studio Ghibli films not yet released in the UK, has been picked up by Optimum Releasing for their popular Studio Ghibli collection, though no release date has been specified. It will join Little Norse Prince, Only Yesterday and Tales of Earthsea in being one of the few anime movies not yet available in the US, but released in the UK regardless.

The same event also brings news of a new (computer animated) anime movie called Yona Yona Penguin that’s already being lined up for a UK release by Metropolitan. This will be a French/Japanese co-production (much like Oban star racers), but it has yet to premiere in Japan, let alone the rest of the world. It will be directed by Rintaro (UK fans might remember his work on Metropolis) while animation duties are being shared by a number of worldwide animation houses, including the famous anime production company Studio Madhouse and the France-based Def2Shoot. Yona Yona Penguin should be released in Japan around late 2008.

Paul

Washed up on the good shores of Anime UK News after many a year at sea, Paul has been writing about anime for a long time here at AUKN and at his anime blog.

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