Third Window Films Schedules Ujicha’s Gekimation Anime Film Collection for UK Blu-ray Release in January 2021
Earlier in the year, UK distributor for Asian Cinema films Third Window Films acquired the license to release two Gekimation anime style films from director Ujicha. Now the distributor has officially revealed the launch window for the UK home video release.
The Weird and Wonderful World of Ujicha will be available to own on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 25th January 2021 for SRP £29.99. The collection covers 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) across two Blu-ray discs (Region B) in Japanese audio with English subtitles and a couple of on-disc bonus features.
Bonus features include three short films; Tempura, The Retnepac2, and Space Yokai War, as well as a 20 minute interview with director Ujicha, Audio commentary from director Ujicha and producer Reo Anzai for Violence Voyager and storyboards and trailers. Like some of their previous titles including the Animerama collection, this release will also include a slipcover and reversible artwork.
Violence Voyager is written 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.
The voice cast includes 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) and Tomorowo Taguchi (Tetsuo: The Iron Man).
“Bobby and his friend Akkun set out for the mountains to build a secret hideout. On their way, they stumble upon a mysterious amusement park called Violence Voyager. It doesn’t take long for things to get weird as the boys discover a group of scared children who can’t seem to escape and soon find themselves under attack by robot-like humanoids.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films
Burning Buddha Man is written by both Ujicha and Ken Nakazawa and is 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.
The voice cast includes Chisako Hara (Dark Water), Minori Terada (Laputa: Castle in the Sky), Mitsuko Hoshi (Ultraman franchise), Ryuki Kitaoka (Ultraman franchise) and Yuka Iguchi (Symphogear).
“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. She needs to know what caused the death of a parents and dreams of revenge. She goes on a fantastical journey to ultimately face the demon.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films
Third Window Films have distributed numerous Asian Cinema titles including 2018’s cult hit award-winning Japanese film One Cut of the Dead and brought back Macoto Tezka’s The Legend of the Stardust Brothers. Other recent titles they have released include Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hanagatami, Katsuhito Ishii’s The Taste of Tea, Seiji Tanaka’s Melancholic, Shinya Tsukamoto’s Gemini & Killing, and a number of films from directors Eiji Uchida, Sion Sono, Takeshi Kitano, Toshiaki Toyoda and more. The distributor also has the rights to Macoto Tezka’s latest film Tezuka’s Babara.
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
