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4K Akira, Dr. Stone, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection Released Monday

On Monday December 7, Manga Entertainment will release a 4K UHD edition of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's 1988 film Akira. The set will also include a Blu-ray copy of the film, an extra Blu-ray disc with special features, and a 40-page booklet. The film is summarised as follows:

"Neo-Tokyo, 2019. The city is being rebuilt post World War III when two high school drop outs, Kaneda and Tetsuo stumble across a secret government project to develop a new weapon - telekinetic humans. After Tetsuo is captured by the military and experimented on, he gains psychic abilities and learns about the existence of the project's most powerful subject, Akira."

Manga will also release Season 1 Part 1 of Dr. Stone on Blu-ray and DVD. It carries the first 12 episodes. Manga summarises the series:

"Armed with the power of science, high school genius Senku has awoken himself and his friends from their petrified state. While they've escaped the stone-cold eye of Tsukasa, Senku must leave his friends to find new allies and grow the Kingdom of Science."

Shinya Iino (storyboards, episode director on Hanebad!, Revue Starlight, Made in Abyss) directed the anime at TMS Entertainment. Yuichiro Kido (episode scripts for Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, After the Rain, 91 Days) was in charge of series composition and wrote the scripts. Yuko Iwasa (Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Yowamushi Pedal) designed the characters. Tatsuya Katō (WorldEnd, Revue Starlight), Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Children of the Whales, Anima Yell!), and Yuki Kanesaka (Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond insert songs) composed the music.

Anime Limited will also release the film Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection as a Collectors Blu-ray/DVD and a standard Blu-ray. The Collectors Edition will also include the CD soundtrack and a 36-page booklet.

The sequel to the Code Geass TV series, the film opened in February 2019 in Japan. Anime Limited summarises the story (spoilers for the Code Geass series):

"The day Lelouch vi Britannia fell was the day his war-torn world found peace. Now, as his friends work to keep the peace, a terrorist attack could risk everything. Can he outwit death and save them all? Or will Lelouch's legacy end here?"

Director Goro Taniguchi and many of the key staff members returned for the movie. The film's story begins in the world two years after Zero Requiem. Leo Ieiri performed the opening theme song "Kono Sekai de" (In This World), and Unione performed the ending theme song "Revive."

Manga will also release the first season of Hunter x Hunter, the 2011 series animated by Madhouse, based on the Shonen Jump manga by Yoshihiro Togashi. It will be released on Blu-ray and DVD, carrying the opening 26 episodes.

Manga describes the series: "Gon is a young boy who dreams of following in his father's footsteps to become a Hunter. But first he must pass the notoriously difficult and dangerous Hunter Qualification Exam. Throughout his journey, Gon overcomes many obstacles, while making new friends along the way."

Anime Limited will release standard Blu-ray and DVD editions of Masaaki Yuasa's film Ride Your Wave. (A Collectors Blu-ray edition will be released next week.) Anime Limited describes the story:

"Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love. Just as they become inseparable..."

Masaaki Yuasa directed the film at his Science SARU studio. Reiko Yoshida (Lu over the wall, A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird) wrote the film's script, and Michiru Oshima (Patema Inverted, The Night is Short Walk On, Girl) composed the music. The film won the Best Animation Film award at the Shanghai International Film Festival's Golden Goblet Awards on June 23, and it also won the "Axis: The Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation" award for Best Animated Feature in Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2019.

Manga Entertainment will release a film double-bill including two horror films directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri - Wicked City and Demon City Shinjuku. It will be released as a Limited Edition Blu-ray (pictured), including four art cards and an art booklet, and also as a standard Blu-ray and DVD.

Wicked City is described by Manga Entertainment as follows: "It's not unusual for lady-killer Renzaburo Taki to share a night with a woman. When that woman can turn into a demonic spider, however, it's just a little worrying. As a member of the Black Guard, Taki's job is to protect the human world from the demon world. Taki's assigned a partner for the mission: the unnaturally beautiful Makie, a fellow Black Guard member... and herself a demon."

Demon City Shinjuku is described as follows: "The glittering skyline of Tokyo now lies broken and crumbling under the weight of an oppressive evil: the tyrannical Rebi Rah. Rah has transformed Shinjuku, the heart of Tokyo, into a city of demons. The beautiful Sayaka Rama enlists the help of Kyoya, a streetwise Tokyo teenager. The two must bravely venture into the Demon City."

MVM will release Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs on Blu-ray. MVM summarises the story:

"Kogarashi Fuyuzora is a hands on psychic. Ever since the day he got possessed by an evil ghost, he has been burdened with debt. Needing a cheap room to rent, he winds up at a haunted hot springs inn, Yuragi Inn, where only incredibly beautiful girls reside. Amongst the residents is a ghost, Yuuna, who cannot move on to the spirit world."

Tsuyoshi Nagasawa (Clockwork Planet, Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, MM!) directed the series at XEBEC. Kyoko Taketani (key animator for Negima!, To Love Ru: Darkness) was the character designer, and Hideaki Koyasu (Lance N' Masques, Three Leaves, Three Colors, GJ Club) handled the series composition. The series is based on Tadahiro Miura's manga launched in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2016.

Manga will release Fairy Tail: The Final Season Part 23 on Blu-ray and DVD.

MVM will release Z/X Code reunion on Blu-ray. MVM summarises the story:

"Years ago, interdimensional gates opened across our world, allowing beings from five warring dimensions to expand their battles to the Earth. Now amidst an uneasy peace, some humans are entering into pacts with the Z/X. For one young woman this is a simple choice: Azumi Kakamigahara can sign a pact with the beautiful Z/X known as Rigel, or succumb to the disease that has left her comatose for much of her life. What Azumi doesn't expect is that it means moving to a new Academy where teams of young women and their Z/X partners are being secretly trained to face the next wave of hostile attackers…"

Yoshifumi Sueda (Rail Wars!, High School DxD Hero) directed the anime at Passione, while Tatsuhiko Urahata (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Tsuredure Children, Saki) was in charge of the series scripts. Seres designed the characters based on Takuya Fujima's original designs.The Z/X Zillions of enemy X game already inspired a television anime in 2014. (Z/X is pronounced as Zex.)

Anime Limited will release a standard Blu-ray edition of Sword Art Online: Alicization Part 1 on Blu-ray. The series adapts the "Alicization Arc" of Reki Kawahara's original novels. Manabu Ono (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Saki, The Asterisk War) directed the anime at A-1 Pictures. Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale animation directors Gou Suzuki and Tomoya Nishiguchi joined Shingo Adachi for the character designs. Yuki Kajiura returned to compose the music.

Anime Limited describes the series:

"Before he knows it, Kirito has made a full-dive into an epic, fantasy-like virtual world. With only a murky recollection of what happened right before he logged in, he starts to wander around, searching for clues. He comes upon an enormous, pitch-dark tree called the Gigas Cedar, where he encounters a boy. “My name is Eugeo. Nice to meet you, Kirito.”