Discotek Media thankfully rescued all of the Project A-Ko films a few years back but the original is still by the far the best of the bunch – the kind of film that you can revisit over the years and discover more about the more anime you watch. Originally released in 1986, the first film has only seen DVD releases which has been unfortunate since it comes from a time where there should be some good film masters but Japan is awful in storing or even thinking to keep such things. Discotek Media revealed back in September their plans to create a Blu-ray edition of the film (with the sequels getting upscale as well) but the original is getting some extra special treatment.
As part of their Twitch presentation last night, there was an update on this property as well. It looks like finding the film master was problematic over the years because of the dreaded clerical/filing error that kept it from being searchable, hence the plan to do an upscale style restoration. With a name like A-Ko, well, we’re not surprised. Discotek’s team revealed that it was Robert Woodhead of AnimEigo that discovered this and let them know about it, which means that the restoration project is going through a bit of a change. That change is that they no longer have to do a restoration because the original film source has been found and they’re working on creating a brand new high definition transfer. One does wonder if this discovery is also going to help a new Blu-ray edition in Japan that may come out close/alongside to whatever Discotek Media is able to produce. Regardless, high-definition A-Ko would be amazing.
The film was written and directed by Katsuhiko Nishijima based on an original story he wrote with Kazumi Shirasaka. Yuji Moriyama worked on the character designs while APPP handled the animation production.
The Japanese cast includes Emi Shinohara as Biko “B-Ko” Daitokuji, Michie Tomizawa as Shiko “C-Ko” Kotobuki, and Miki Itō as Eiko “A-Ko” Magami. The English dub was directed by Michael Bakewell and the cast includes Denica Fairman as Biko “B-Ko” Daitokuji, Julia Brahms as Shiko “C-Ko” Kotobuki, and Stacey Gregg as Eiko “A-Ko” Magami.
How I’m feeling this morning… PS: @discotekmedia, @worldofcrap begged me to post this. 😎 pic.twitter.com/d3gfL3KkqE
— AnimEigo (@AnimEigo) March 9, 2021
How did we get Project A-Ko?
Robert Woodhead realized there was a clerical error which allowed us to find it! Yes, that Robert Woodhead! pic.twitter.com/Q36pc0np6x
— 💿Discotek Media (@discotekmedia) March 9, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhUwqpxFK6
Plot Concept: It’s the not-too-distant future, and a metropolis flourishes in the crash site of an alien spacecraft. A-ko, a teenager growing up in this city, enjoys the life of an ordinary schoolgirl… along with incredible superhuman strength! But her carefree days are numbered. Her school rival, B-ko, is not content to live in the shadows any longer. A-ko’s superpowers and good fashion sense may not be a match for B-ko’s evil genius and Mega-Powered Fighting Robots of Doom!
