Third Window Films to Release Ujicha’s Gekimation Anime films Violence Voyager and Burning Buddha Man
UK distributor Third Window Films announced on their social media platform acquisitions for two uniquely styled anime films from director Ujicha.
The two films, in particular, are the 2013 film Burning Buddha Man (Moeru Butsuzou Ningen / 燃える仏像人間) and the 2018 film Violence Voyager (バイオレンス・ボイジャー). What’s notable about both of these films is that they are presented in a Gekimation style than the traditional anime layout.
Third Window Films have currently scheduled these two films to be released sometime this Summer 2020 as a double bill set in Japanese audio with English subtitles.
You can view more information about the two films below:
Burning Buddha Man is directed by Ujicha, written by Ujicha and Ken Nakazawa, based on an original story written by Reo Anzai. Also credited are Yoshitaka Nishimura, Kazunori Shibasaki and Kunihiko Ito for production, Jean-Paul Takahashi for music composition, and the film’s theme song by Sakura-Saki Inagaki.
Burning Buddha Man features an all-star cast including:
- Chisako Hara (Dark Water)
- Minori Terada (Laputa: Castle in the Sky)
- Mitsuko Hoshi (Ultraman franchise)
- Ryuki Kitaoka (Ultraman franchise)
- Yuka Iguchi (Symphogear)
Plot Synopsis (via IMDB):
“There is a series of Buddha statue thefts in Kyoto. Beniko, a high school girl, gets the Buddha statue at her family’s temple stolen and has her parents killed at the same time. Beniko hears from Enzyu, her parents’ friend, that a robbery group called ‘Seaddatha’ is the one who killed her parents, and feels the strong urge for vengeance. Enzyu offers Beniko to live with him since she has no place to go. She wanders into Enzyu’s secret room and meets an ugly creature that looks like a fusion of her parents and Buddha statue…”
You can view the trailer below:
Violence Voyager is written and directed by Ujicha, produced A-toys/KATSU-do and production done by Yoshimoto Kogyo. Also credited are Reo Anzai and Koji Ueno as producers, Jean-Paul Takahashi as music composer and the film’s theme song by Aoi Yuuki.
Violence Voyager features an all-star cast including:
- Aoi Yuuki (Saga of Tanya the Evil)
- Daisuko Ono (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
- Naoki Tanaka (Summer Days with Coo)
- Saki Fujita (Hatsume Miku)
- Shigeo Takahashi (Doraemon)
- Tomorowo Taguchi (Tetsuo: The Iron Man)
Plot Synopsis (via Fantastic Fest):
“En route to visit a friend in another village, two kids go looking for a fabled shortcut through the mountain. Instead, they stumble upon an amusement park called Violence Voyager, and that’s when everything goes to ****.”
You can view the trailer below:
Third Window Films is known for distributing many Asian cinema films including 2018’s cult hit award-winning Japanese film One Cut of the Dead, Osamu Tezuka & Eiichi Yamamoto’s Animerama collection, Macoto Tezka’s The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, and a number of films from directors Eiji Uchida, Shinya Tsukamoto, Sion Sono, Takeshi Kitano, Toshiaki Toyoda and more.
In 2018 they were rescued by Arrow Films for UK distribution after issues that were affecting the future of the business. As such, Third Window Films titles are available to order through Arrow Video’s store.
Source: Third Window Films
