Hey, everyone. It’s that time of year when we celebrate the Earth rotating and slinging around a galactic fireball. So we like to look back at the best of things, stuff that stands out and made us feel good to see and experience.
As a long time anime fan, I can’t stop being happy when I see stuff over 10 years old being released in the U.S. on premium formats. We love these shows and movies, but there’s not always a guarantee any of the licensors will pick up works we’ve held dear over the years and give them good treatment. So I like to give acknowledgment of the better efforts older fans can throw their money toward. There were a good many this year from various companies realizing this is a good subsection of the anime market to cater to, so I’m expanding the list back to my favorite number of 17 this time, with 8 honorable mentions for a nice 25 titles to round things out.
Seven of the honorable mentions include Angelic Layer (Sentai Filmworks), Samurai Troopers (Discotek Media), She, The Ultimate Weapon (Sentai Filmworks), Ceres Celestial Legend (Discotek Media), Tannuki War Pom Poko (Disney), The Cat Returns (Disney), and Go Nagai World (Discotek Media).
The last honorable mention isn’t for a specific release but how a franchise has been handled. I want to note Viz Media did rather well with Sailor Moon on two fronts. In 2015, they released a batch of Sailor Moon R DVDs and Blu-rays with a synch issue. I’ve seen studios release defective discs and refer to problems as an issue with the players, insisting nothing was wrong with their releases. Viz Media did a replacement disc program where customers could send their discs for replacement copies with little trouble. Good customer service isn’t always present in this world so when it happens, I like to pay some respects to it.
Also, they’ve reached the “Sailor Stars” segment, giving American fans the chance to legally watch a pivotal segment that was cut from the 90s U.S. broadcasts. It’s great to see an uncut release for a show that got many of the female fans into the anime hobby decades back. There’s no actual physical release for these so I couldn’t justify a Sailor Moon spot on the main list but an Honorable Mention was definitely warranted.
Best Classic Anime Releases of 2015:
17. Patlabor The Movie – Maiden Japan finished off their remaining works of the Patlabor franchise with the three theatrical releases. This movie is my personal favorite, though all did look good. I just wish it had the original audio effects and cues included, along with the trailers. You can read G.B. Smith’s review of the DVD here: Patlabor the Movie.
16. Violence Jack – Discotek Media gave us the over-the-top post-apocalyptic adventures of Go Nagai’s gigantic warrior. For those who were not satisfied with the carnage already there, additional side scenes were provided as well. It was a decent release though not for the squeamish. Is he really Devilman? You be the judge.
15. Turn A Gundam – Right Stuf has had an interesting time presenting the Gundam franchise to the U.S. with international releases of Origin and Unicorn. They continued to do so by making good on their plan to release Gundam titles that hadn’t come here yet. With Turn A, you get one of the more unusual presentations of the Alternative Universe (A.U.) continuity which seemingly might have odd ties to the U.C. as well as a Gundam designed by Syd Mead of Blade Runner fame. It was good to finally see this in America. You can see the review by Chris Beveridge right here: Turn A Gundam Collection 1.
14. Spirited Away – 2015 was great for me personally as three of my favorite films by Hayao Miyazaki came to Blu-ray in America. Like the other Studio Ghibli movies that Disney has released, we get both the Blu-ray and DVD releases in this package and a decent set of extras. I remember watching this movie in the theater when it was released for its eventual Oscar run and knew in one scene when Chihiro broke down due to everything she was facing, this movie had me big time.
13. Night On The Galactic Railroad – Discotek Media was cool enough to remaster this exercise in surrealism based on the writings of acclaimed author Kenji Miyazawa (Spring and Chaos). The picture quality is better than the CPM release of the 2000s. All the English and Japanese trailers were included and the commentary by Mike Toole and Justin Sevakis is quite educational in regards to the movie itself and other aspects of the anime industry. I’ll be looking forward to the Blu-ray that’s coming out later as well. Oh, and for those not familiar, no, this is not related to Galaxy Express 999, but Miyazawa’s works definitely inspired Leiji Matsumoto’s series. Check out Galactic Railroad if you get the chance.
12. Robot Carnival – Speaking of surrealism, many long-time fans were happy to see this collection of artistic vision finally released on R1 DVD format after so many years of only existing on VHS and in the memories of fans who watched it on the Sci-Fi Channel. If you’re not familiar with the film, it’s a great collection of mecha themed shorts similar to (and likely inspiration for) The Animatrix. I wrote a review of it right here: http://www.fandompost.com/2015/12/15/robot-carnival-anime-dvd-review/
11. Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid – Those of you who’ve only seen the Walt Disney film may want to give this 1975 anime adaptation a try. It’s a decidedly darker story about a woman of the sea attempting to find true love with the land-based Prince, before facing a fatal end. I used to see this in video and discount DVD bins but Discotek Media took the movie and released a dual language version with the theatrical trailer included. Good work here.
10. Yakitate!! Japan – Anyone who knows me knows I don’t care for most Japanese comedies, but this release cracked me up big time. Seeing the reactions from everyone who tries breads baked by this special little boy is funny as hell each time. Kudos to Right Stuf for bringing this one over. Chris Beveridge’s review has a good look at it: Yakitate!! Japan Part 1.
9. Super Dimension Century Orguss –This 80s mech show had a rough time getting to the U.S. intact, so it was good to see Discotek Media help complete Orguss’s journey. For some interesting concepts of time displacement, goofy relationships and good real robot action, definitely give this one a try. You’ll find more info in my review: Dimension Century Orguss Complete Collection.
8. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman The Movie – Many of you reading this have likely seen the original Gatchaman series on TV in some form or another. But this particular compilation movie had never been brought over to the U.S. before. Thanks to Sentai Filmworks, the Blu-ray is now on many folks’ shelves. Chris wrote a great review of it here: Gatchaman the Movie. Also, I wrote a history of the franchise here (including Gatchaman Crowds), if you’ve not checked it out: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman – A Complex International History.
7. Porco Rosso – The next Hayao Miyazaki movie on this list is one I rarely see discussed much anymore. In the tradition of Hemingway-style male romance, Porco is a WWI-era hero (who happens to have been turned into a pig) depicting Miyazaki’s true passion for flight. The aerial sequences are excellent in HD and this release has the one thing the DVD lacked: a French dub starring Jean “The Professional” Reno as Porco himself, which is rumored to be Miyazaki’s favorite dub of the film. Considering the additional other extras present, this Disney Blu-ray is very much worth getting.
6. Vampire Hunter D – Sentai Filmworks brought to us the classic ’85 OAV showing the half-vampire’s battle to save young Doris from Count Magnus Lee. Fans who got hooked on anime in the 90s were dismayed to learn the movie’s original English dub by Streamline Pictures isn’t present on here. However, the picture looks nice, the original trailer is present and the new dub is solid at least. Josh Begley talks more about the revamped DVD in his review: Vampire Hunter D.
5. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust – This has been a controversial release from Discotek Media. Since the materials necessary for straight HD conversion weren’t available to the company, they had to go with what they had and the visual results are actually quite nice, though very different from the initial DVD by Urban Vision. These guys did well with what they had and we still get an effective theatrical horror piece where D tries to save a young woman from vampire count Meier Link, while competing with other bounty hunters. Discotek also retained many of the extra features of the original DVD in the process. You can read more in my review here: Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust.
4. Fullmetal Alchemist Collector’s Edition – It honestly hadn’t struck me until recently that Fullmetal Alchemist is 12 years old now, making it eligible for this article. I didn’t pick this one up because… Well, it’s just too darned pricey for me right now. But the materials Funimation put in this set are quite nice. Between the cards, the box and a few other items, there’s some good stuff here. My only experience with it is seeing the Blu-ray version of the show which depicts 2 little boys having crazy adventures with the powers of alchemy while trying to restore themselves to normal. If you’ve not seen what I consider one of the best anime ever, the show itself has a lot of heart, some of which comes across in this trailer from Funimation.
3. Mobile Suit Gundam – Besides getting previously unreleased titles into the U.S., the other benefit of Right Stuf’s licensing of Gundam is seeing the original shows which started the mega franchise released here on Blu-ray. This remastering of 1979 series included some great trailers in addition to one of the best anime stories being released in a premium format. Having access to the very first “real robot” series again after having no real way to access the previous Bandai Entertainment releases (short of shelling out a lot of money) is a definite cause for celebration, if you like seeing teenager Amuro Ray being forced to become a soldier by taking a new robot and fighting off Zeon ace Char Aznable. Chris gives a pretty good account here: Mobile Suit Gundam Collection 1.
2. The Last Unicorn Enchanted Edition – Yeah, I know some of you reading this are wondering why the heck an American movie is on an anime list, but I promise it deserves its place here. Older fans might remember this beautiful 1982 movie from the late Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass about a unicorn’s quest to find the rest of her people, alongside a bumbling wizard and female traveler. Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin and Sir Christopher Lee perform alongside a great voice cast. The thing is, the actual animation was done by talents such as Toru Hara (Nausicaa), Masahiro Yoshida (Madoka Magica), Yoshiko Sasaki (Votoms), Kazusuke Yoshihara (Perfect Blue) and many other Japanese animators. In light of this, it qualifies big time. Besides, if you’ve ever watched Thundercats, you can tell that Rankin / Bass worked with anime makers rather often. The reason I put this particular release of The Last Unicorn on here though was because of the incredible remastered video quality Shout! Factory put in this release. We also get more extras than the 25th-anniversary edition and hear some good insights into creator Peter S. Beagle’s work. This version isn’t available in stores but has been a damned entertaining one to take in. So I would be very remiss if it wasn’t mentioned.
1. Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro – Our final entry for the year is one you may have seen me write about before. I’ve honestly not seen a single anime movie release with this much content in a good while. The picture was exquisite, the dubs were fun to hear, the information plentiful and it was truly wonderful to see Hayao Miyazaki’s first theatrical film get such a release. Discotek Media deserves major respect for this Blu-ray and for a while, it was priced at approximately $15, so it was damned economical, especially compared to what this amount of content would’ve likely cost on a Japanese release. So I had to place first the second movie about the world’s greatest thief and his crew as they attempt to solve the mystery of counterfeit funds and a princess in peril. Truly excellent work here. My review here: Lupin III – The Castle of Cagliostro Collector’s Edition.
That’s it for this year guys. I’m expecting some good things from the anime industry and they seem to realize a good bit that older fans have money to spend now. ‘Til next time.
