Sentai Filmworks has set their release slate for the month of July and there’s definitely some fun stuff to like here that’s almost all new material. With some recent acquisitions, we get the debut of Hatenkou Yugi this month along with Softenni and the Strawberry Marshmallow OVA release. We also get the arrival of another new Higurashi release that we haven’t seen before with When They Cry Rei. This month also sees the second part of the second Log Horizon series arriving as well as the first Rin-ne collection, which we’re not surprised is a monolingual release. For Parasyste fans, get ready for the next collector’s combo edition as well!
On the Sentai Selects front, Children Who Chase Lost Voices is getting a priced-down release in combo form.
Title: HATENKOU YUGI COMPLETE COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 250 min.
Street Date: 7/5/2016
Format: DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98
SYNOPSIS: When most parents decide that their children need to see more of the world, they send their offspring on cruises or vacations. Rahzel Anadis’s father simply kicks her out of the house with little more than the clothes on her back, the tiny hat on her head, and her stuffed bear with a blindfold. Being as resourceful as she is quirky, however, Rahzel quickly manages to recruit two tall, dark, and dangerous gentlemen as traveling companions. Well, tall and dark describes the oversexed Baroqueheat, while the moodier Alzeid is tall and pale. Though exactly how these brooding bad boys benefit from the arrangement is a bit less clear; especially since Rahzel spends the money they make performing perilous missions as fast as they’ve earned it. Could it be her endless optimism and quest for fun that has them bedazzled? Or is the connection something literally more magical? Whatever the reason, if there’s an odd job to be done, the odds are that they’ll take it in HATENKOU YUGI!
Title: PARASYTE ~ THE MAXIM ~ COLLECTION 2
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 7/5/2016
Format: BD, DVD, COMBO
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $69.98, $59.98, $139.98
SYNOPSIS: They seem like the perfect killing machines: taking the form of their latest victim as they move on to hunt their next meal, blending invisibly into chaos of human civilization. But as the human race becomes aware of the invaders, the rules unexpectedly change. Because, while the predators may be far more deadly individually, human beings hunt in packs… and no species in the universe has spent more time perfecting new ways to kill than man. As the military secretly mobilizes and a shadow war erupts, Shinichi and Migi find themselves trapped in the escalating purge. Born from a merging of both sides and yet belonging to neither, the best they can do is merely hope to survive as the lines between friend and foe cease to exist. The war between the planet’s two apex species spills into the streets as human sheep reveal the wolves hidden inside in the apocalyptic second collection of PARASTYE- THE MAXIM!
Title: RIN-NE COLLECTION 1
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 7/12/2016
Format: BD, DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98, $49.98
SYNOPSIS: Sakura Mamiya has been seeing ghosts since she was a child. Now she’s a teenager and they’re really getting on her nerves. But when you’re usually the only person who sees the specters, who can you talk to without sounding crazy? Well, there IS that guy who sits next to her in class sometimes. Rinne Rokudo. But he seems to be absent a lot. And even when he IS there, other people don’t always see him. Because what Sakura doesn’t know (yet) is that Rinne is part Shinigami and tasked with helping ghosts move from our plane to the next. Unfortunately, Rinne’s not as powerful as a full Shinigami and could really use a little help. So… is this a supernatural hook-up made in Heaven or what? And if it isn’t, wouldn’t sending lost souls to the afterlife get deity-approval anyway? Drop your schoolbooks and gear up for an after-school exorcise program like no other as famed creator Rumiko Takahashi unleashes a spooktacular new masterpiece with RIN-NE!
Title: STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW OVA COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Selects
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 130 min.
Street Date: 7/12/2016
Format: BD, DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $34.98, $24.98
SYNOPSIS: There’s rarely a dull moment when Chika Ito and her friends get together: whether they’re telling ghost stories, playing games, or taking trips to the beach and park, every day brings a new adventure. Of course, not everyone appreciates the constant presence of a pack of 12 year olds, and Chika’s big sister Nobue might sometimes wish that Chika’s friends weren’t always underfoot. Especially troublemaking Miu, whose “help” with Nobue’s job hunt is definitely not appreciated! Then again, Miu can cause problems just about anywhere, even when she hits her head and thinks she’s in Heaven! And when the girls make a trip to the public baths, does anyone think they’ll make a clean escape and scrub away every single piece of evidence? Either way, the funs sure to continue as the whole gang reunites in the complete OVA collection of STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW!
Title: CHILDREN WHO CHASE LOST VOICES
Published by: Sentai Selects
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 116 min.
Street Date: 7/19/2016
Format: COMBO
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $19.98
SYNOPSIS: Life hasn’t been easy for Asuna since the death of her father. With her mother forced to work long hours to make ends meet, Asuna spends most of her time alone, listening to the crystal radio her father left behind. It’s a curious thing, requiring neither electricity nor an amplifier, but the strange music that plays over it is an even greater mystery. Where does it come from? And what does it mean? The answers will lead Asuna into a hidden world filled with incredible dangers, where monsters roam and even the dead can be brought back to life. But there’s a price that comes with unlocking the secrets, and it may be more than Asuna can afford to pay! Join the journey to Agartha as the adventure of a lifetime begins when acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai unleashes CHILDREN WHO CHASE LOST VOICES!
Title: SOFTENNI COMPLETE COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 7/19/2016
Format: BD, DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98, $49.98
SYNOPSIS: Playing Soft Tennis (like regular tennis but with softer balls and lighter racquets) is supposed to be the focus of the Shiratama Soft Tennis Team. And for some of the girls, like farm girl/would-be champion Asuna, it mostly is. But when the team’s worst player, Chitose, is also the team captain, could it be that the club is really more about hanging out and having a good time? To be sure, aces Kurusu and exchange student Elizabeth, are great players. But they also seem more interested in cosplay and the team’s dreamy adviser, while violence-prone Kotone might be more at home in a martial arts dojo. And it would certainly explain why they get into so many odd adventures involving things like giant bears, whales, and ghosts rather than playing! Either way, whether they’re going for the championship or simply socializing, the one thing that’s certain is that they’ll be forging bonds of friendship that will last forever, off court and on, in SOFTENNI!
Title: LOG HORIZON 2 COLLECTION 2
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 7/26/2016
Format: BD, DVD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $69.98, $59.98
SYNOPSIS: Having cleared the Abyssal Shaft, the members of the raiding party have returned to Akihabara to consider their next options. First, though, there’s an unexpected lesson in history as the founder of the Debauchery Tea Party, the legendary Kanami, resurfaces with an extremely peculiar entourage and some even more stunning revelations about connections to the outside. But the ramifications of this will have to wait. With new political situations brewing between the Guilds, Shiroe sets Isaac to the task of training Maihama’s knights while the younger members of Log Horizon are sent out on what should be a simple quest. Collecting the materials required to make a magic bag, however, becomes much more difficult when ogres and nightshades get involved! Fortunately, the junior team is about to get a jolt of fresh blood… in the form of a Vampire! The action escalates and the world gets even wilder in the second thundering collection of LOG HORIZON – SEASON 2!
Title: WHEN THEY CRY REI
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 150 min.
Street Date: 7/26/2016
Format: BD, DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $39.98, $29.98
SYNOPSIS: Having finally escaped the brutal cycle of madness and murder that transformed the town of Hinamizawa into a hell on Earth, Keiichi, Rika, and their friends are looking forward to simply being teenagers and living a normal life. But as strange things keep happening, it soon becomes apparent that fate hasn’t finished toying with them yet. Especially when the incidents escalate dramatically, transitioning from relatively benign and even humorous… to lethal. Struck by a truck, Rika awakens to find herself in another reality, one where most of her friends are gone, yet other elements of her life that she’d previously lost are back. And in order to find her way back to the life she knows, she’ll have to destroy something from this new life forever. No matter what… or who… she has to sacrifice. It’s an all-new ordeal where every solution comes with a horrific price in WHEN THEY CRY – REI!
