More Anime joins the Anime Limited Q1 2018 Release Slate
Distributor Anime Limited have had a busy Q4 2017 season but in return a fair amount of titles were pushed back as a result. Nevertheless a delay is often a benefit as it can lead to potential fixes or even a better product in general. We know that titles such as Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Part 2 and Gangsta’s DVD version are among the first to be released in January, but the rest are completely unknown for the time being until further notice.
Just like how the Q4 2017 release slate was unveiled, Amazon continues to add new submissions for the distributors. The listings are not final as the release dates are all a bunch of placeholders for the time being so we won’t list them here. But in any case, here are the new additions to the quiet-ish Q1 2018 release slate (note: Q1 covers January to March) for now.
Kino’s Journey (2003 Version)
The 2003 version of the series returns to the UK since the old ADV Films era. This is quite the surprise given the license in North America is technically still with ADV/Sentai Filmworks but it’s nice to see the series come back given the 2017 version currently airing. The series has been rated PG by the BBFC and offers both English & Japanese audio with English subtitles on DVD. The studio whom animated this adaptation was A.C.G.T. (Dies Irae, Freezing, Initial D) and they offered 13 episodes for the anime. Kino’s Journey is based on the 2000 light novel of the same name written by Keiichi Sigsawa.
If you are interested in checking out the 2003 version it’s available to stream on HIDIVE in both English & Japanese with English subtitles.
Mind Game
Earlier this year a kickstarter was released for the cult classic movie by director Masaaki Yuasa (Lu Over the Wall) and animation studio Studio 4C (Berserk Golden Age, Genius Party, Princess Arete). After its completion and released among the backers, both Anime Limited and North American distributor GKIDS will be bringing the film over to English territories on Blu-ray. Currently there is only a standard edition Blu-ray listed for the time being. The film will be Japanese audio with English subtitles only. Mind Game is based on the 1994 manga of the same name written by Robin Nishi.
Napping Princess
Back in March 2017 the UK license for the film was announced by the distributor. With the French @Anime release and the GKIDS North American release both arriving fairly soon it was expected that the UK release would follow suit. Napping Princess is an original anime film by director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and studio Signal. MD (Recovery of an MMO Junkie) which did receive a UK theatrical release back in August in both English & Japanese audio with English subtitles. The film is rated 12 by the BBFC during its theatrical release. Much like the French release, the Amazon listings shown include standard Blu-ray & DVD formats and also a collector’s edition Blu-ray.
UPDATE: Anime Limited have notified us that the collector’s edition is in fact a Blu-ray + Bonus DVD pack (similarly to Manga Animatsu’s In This Corner of the World release). They also told us that the bonus features won’t match the GKIDS release.
That’s all shown off at the time of this article. Stay tuned if we receive any more information about the titles mentioned and we will update this post if more titles get added later down the line.
The titles below are currently set for 2018 through existing pre-orders:
- Assassination Classroom Season 2 Part 2 | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Chrono Crusade | DVD
- Dimension W | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Durarara!!X2 Ketsu | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- ERASED Part 2 | Combo Pack (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Fairy Tail Part 22 | DVD
- Gangsta | DVD
- Grimgar: Ashes & Illusions | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Hyouka Part 2 | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Love Live! Sunshine!! Season 1 | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Lupin the Third Part IV | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.)
- Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Part 2 | Blu-ray (1000 Print Ed.)
- Momotaro, Sacred Sailors | Combo Pack (Collector’s Ed.)
- Peacemaker | DVD
- Pigtails & Other Shorts | Combo Pack (Shop Exc. Collector’s Ed.) – Combo Pack
- Princess Arete | Combo Pack (Shop Exc. Collector’s Ed.) – Blu-ray – DVD
- The Testament of Sister New Devil Season 1 | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
- Wolf’s Rain | Blu-ray (Collector’s Ed.) – DVD
If you had pre-ordered Ninja Slayer From Animation or Riddle Story of Devil from Amazon, you would have noticed that those titles are no longer available for pre-order and we currently do not have any idea on why this has been the case. It could be a simple ‘it hasn’t been released so the listing expired’ or Anime Limited have different plans for those titles altogether.
