ADV ANNOUNCES APRIL 11 RELEASES
HOUSTON, February 7, 2006 ?ADV Films, the number one producer-distributor of anime in North America, is pleased to announce four exciting new titles set to hit the streets on April 11 ? volume seven of Maburaho, the fourth installment of Ghost Stories, the second great thin-pack collection of Saint Seiya, and the ninth Farscape Starburst Edition!
MABURAHO: WIZARDS OF AHHHS!
?If you enjoy romantic comedy anime this one should be at the top of your list.??Japan Hero
ADV Films conjures big up laughs April 11, when the seventh and final volume of this sexy magical comedy series Maburaho: Wizard of Ahhhs! hits stores everywhere. This is the breakout hit everyone?s been talking about! ?Entering the world of Maburaho is like enrolling in a naughtier, less politically correct Hogwarts? (Zap2it.com).
Maburaho is the magical comedy series directed by Shinichiro Kimura (Cosplay Complex, Burn Up! Excess). Kazuki ranks at the bottom of his class at wizard school. Worse, he can only use his magic eight times in his entire life before turning to dust. But while Kazuki?s magic may not be top notch, his future child is destined to be the greatest magician of all time, making him the target of three hotties determined to bear his child.
Synopsis: Synopsis: Kazuki Shikimori has had to endure a lot this school year -- he became a ghost! Never fear though, some devoted hotties may have stumbled upon a cure for his predicament. Yuna, Kuriko and Rin believe they can restore Kazuki?s body by collecting all his ashes. The girls think they?ve figured out just what to do. However, Shino delivers some shocking news that may derail their plans permanently. What?s Dr. Akai?s diagnosis? Does Shino still have her own agenda? Whose side is Chihaya on? What?s with the veil, Miss Manager? And, most importantly, what will happen to Kazuki!?
Maburaho: Wizard of Ahhhs! (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release including episodes 22-24, presented in both English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 with English subtitles. On disc extras include ?Art of Maburaho,? plus clean opening animation, clean closing animation, and previews of upcoming ADV Films releases.
Collectors Edition Still Available!
Limited quantities of the Maburaho Collectors Box is still available. This special collectors edition contains the first volume of Maburaho in a custom series art box with full color artwork sized to hold the entire seven volume series (SRP $39.98).
DVD Product Details
Volume: 7 of 7
Running Time: 75 minutes
Age Rating: TV 14 (S, D)
CAT: DMB/007
UPC: 702727124020
Pre-Book Date: 3/14/2006
Street Date: 4/11/2006
Format: DVD
SRP: $29.98
Product specifications and content configuration subject to change.
GHOST STORIES: SENIOR SCREAMS
?A Pee-In-Your-Pants Laugh Riot? ?DVD Verdict
ADV Films, the number one producer-distributor of anime in North America, is proud to present the fourth volume of the internet?s most talked-about anime series! Ghost Stories: Senior Screams hits stores April 11, and it?s sure to have fans rolling in the aisles. ?Ghost Stories is one of the funniest things to come out of any anime studio in quite a while!?(Anime News Network)
The series has sparked a fair amount of debate among anime enthusiasts. Just to be clear, ADV?s English dub of Ghost Stories follows the plot of the original exactly. But in place of a written script, ADR director Steven Foster simply blocked out scenes and let the actors go. It?s the anime equivalent of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where the actors have freedom to riff of one another instead of simply following a prewritten script. The result is a fresh, lively, funny dub with a spontaneous energy that stands apart. ?I?ll readily admit that I did not like this show in its raw Japanese form. The English version however, is actually quite funny, and it?s really made me excited about Ghost Stories? (Anime Frontier).
Of course, it?s the performers that make the series sing. The voice credits read like an anime dream team! ?Ghost Stories is definitely something English dub voice actor fans will eat up. ? In other words if you're a fan of the ADV regulars (Chris Patton, Christine Auten, Greg Ayres, Hilary Haag, Illich Guardiola, Monica Rial and Rob Mungle), it becomes a run out and buy purchase? (Ain?t It Cool News).
Synopsis: Poor Satsuki. Her award-winning art project doesn?t just get her an A, it gets her a dead artist intent on trapping her inside her own painting! And when ghost-obsessed Leo finds the spirit of a corpse bride, the deliriously devout Momoko winds up getting dangerously close to meeting her beloved Lord and Savior?for good! To make matters worse, there?s a nasty little coven of witches haunting the halls of the kids? school. But this ghostly academy isn?t the only zip code going to hell in a handbasket. Because there?s a haunted housing project where the residents do more than just steal cable, they steal your soul. So sign up for a creepy class with the most hilarious elementary school hellions to you?ve ever seen!
Ghost Stories: Senior Screams (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release including episodes 13-16, presented in both English and Japanese with English subtitles. On disc extras include ?Ghost Profiles,? with pictures and background text on the Japanese ghosts and demons that populate the series, plus clean opening animation, clean closing animation, and previews of upcoming ADV Films releases.
DVD Product Details
Volume: 4 of 5
Running Time: 100 minutes
Age Rating: TV PG
CAT: DGHS/004
UPC: 702727130823
Pre-Book Date: 3/14/2006
Street Date: 4/11/2006
Format: DVD
SRP: $29.98
Product specifications and content configuration subject to change.
SAINT SEIYA COLLECTION 2
An Amazing Thin-Pack Value!
ADV Films is pleased to announce an April 11 street date for the Saint Seiya Collection 2, an attractive new thin-pack collecting 30 episodes of the fan-favorite series for just $49.98.
Produced by TOEI (DragonBall Z, Fist of the Northstar), Saint Seiya is a tournament saga with cosmic scope. ?Without a doubt one of the best...? (Japan Hero.com).
Synopsis: The cosmos is bound together by an incomprehensible web of strength, power and some would even say magic. And only by a select few may these forces be harnessed! Seiya is a mortal from Japan who has been trained and has excelled. The time has now come for him to test his skills in battle and to claim the sacred cloth: cloth that will change the order of the universe; armor that will earn Seiya a place in the cosmos; cloth that will establish his rank among the Saints. Through a series of tournaments and trials, Seiya must not only defeat some of the most powerful fighters ever to set foot in the ring, but he must also defeat the demons within himself.
Long live the Saints! Long live Saint Seiya!
Saint Seiya Complete Collection 2 (SRP $49.98 DVD) is a DVD-only thin-packed release including episodes 31-60, presented in both English and Japanese with English subtitles.
DVD Product Details
Running Time: 750 minutes
Age Rating: TV PG (V)
CAT: DSE/BX200
UPC: 702727147227
Pre-Book Date: 3/14/2006
Street Date: 4/11/2006
Format: DVD
SRP: $49.98
Product specifications and content configuration subject to change.
FARSCAPE STARBURST EDITION 3.3
Ninth Volume in the Popular Starburst Series
ADV Films is pleased to announce the ninth installment of its wildly successful Farscape: Starburst Edition series, with an expanded and updated volume that takes us through to the season finale of the third season in the classic sci-fi series. Farscape: Starburst Edition 3.3 will be available everywhere DVDs are sold on April 11.
Farscape is an adventure as broad and weird as the universe ? full of strange creatures, bizarre twists, irreverent humor, raucous action, passion, and romance! Produced in Australia by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscape has been called ?The Best Sci-Fi on TV,? by TV Guide, and hailed as ?TV?s Best Space Series? by USA Today. Farscape also received the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated/Cable Series three years in a row (2001, 2002, 2003).
Synopsis: Who is John Crichton? An astronaut. Good-looking, all-American, nice guy? lost somewhere in a crazy universe. A hero? who?s been probed, prodded, framed, frozen, and frelled by alien life forms more bizarre than anything in Captain Kirk?s wildest dreams. Who is John Crichton (Ben Browder)? Did we mention he?s in love with a beautiful ex-commando named Aeryn (Claudia Black)? Did we mention he?s been cloned? Two Crichtons? so identical even he can?t tell who?s the original. One Crichton gets the girl of his? er? their dreams. The other gets left behind. One Crichton dies. The other goes toe-to-toe against death itself, in the form of a sadistic military leader searching for a secret that will forever alter the balance of power in the universe. It?s hidden deep in Crichton?s impenetrable human subconscious, where even he can?t find it. Toss in a dysfunctional crew of quarreling alien ex-cons onboard a bio-mechanoid ship with a neurotic Pilot and you?ve got a hint of the incredible Farscape universe. But only a hint.
Praised by TV Guide as one of the ?25 Top Cult Shows Ever,? Farscape is an adventure as broad and weird as the universe ? full of strange creatures, bizarre twists, irreverent humor, raucous action, passion, and romance! Produced in Australia with the incredible talents of Jim Henson?s Creature Shop, Farscape is the fantasy-scifi-drama-romance-comedy-adventure you will always remember!
The dream series of every sci-fi fan continues with the release of Farscape: The Starburst Edition 3.3. (SRP $24.98 DVD). Farscape: The Starburst Edition 3.3. is a DVD-only release including the final seven episodes of Farscapes exciting third season, complemented by extensive special features on four DVDs. Episodes in this collection: ?Revenging Angel,? ?The Choice,? ?Fractures,? ?I-Yensch, You-Yensch,? ?Into The Lion?s Den, Part I: Lambs To The Slaughter,? ?Into The Lion?s Den, Part II: Wolf In Sheep?s Clothing? and ?Dog With Two Bones.? Audio is presented in English 5.1 and stereo. Each episode is subtitled for the hearing impaired.
With almost six hours of the three-time Saturn Award-winning Farscape, this collection is one of the hottest entertainment bargains anywhere!
Farscape: The Starburst Edition 3.3 is loaded with all the extensive, behind-the-scenes special features sci-fi fans want. In fact, the fourth disc is exclusively devoted to extras! Join Executive Producer David Kemper for ?Season 3: A Look Back.? There are two cast interviews ? Claudia Black (Aeryn), Anthony Simcoe (D?Argo). Four full-length audio commentaries enhance this edition. Two Commentaries for ?The Choice? with actress: Claudia Black (Aeryn) and the filmmakers: Director Rowan Woods and Writer Justin Monjo. The episode ?Into The Lion?s Den, Part II: Wolf In Sheep?s Clothing? has a new commentary with Writer/Series Creator Rockne S. O?Bannon and Executive Producer David Kemper. The season finale ?Dog With Two Bones? also has a new commentary featuring Ben Browder (Crichton) and Claudia Black (Aeryn). Rounding out this packed collection are deleted scenes, the original Farscape TV promos, ?Cool Farscape Facts? by Paul Simpson (author of Farscape: The Illustrated Companion), ?Alien Encounters,? an extensive production design gallery, updated character histories, and previews of other coming attractions from ADV Films. Farscape: Starburst Edition 3.3 is the definitive edition of this amazing sci-fi series for new and established fans alike!
DVD Product Details
Volume: 3 of 3
Running Time: 350 minutes
Age Rating: n/a
CAT: DFSR/009
UPC: 702727105128
Pre-Book Date: 3/14/2006
Street Date: 4/11/2006
Format: DVD
SRP: $24.98
Product specifications and content configuration subject to change.
About ADV Films:
In the 14 years since its inception, ADV Films has become the #1 producer-distributor of Japanese animation (?anime?) for the North American market and has also developed a leadership position in the UK. With best-selling titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon, Robotech, Full Metal Panic, Hello Kitty and Azumanga Daioh, ADV Films' extensive catalog is fueling the popularity of anime around the globe. Always on the forefront, ADV is introducing North America to bold new anime franchises such as Gantz, Elfen Lied, Chrono Crusade, Peacemaker and DNAngel. ADV Films' library also includes popular live-action science fiction programs such as The Jim Henson Company's Farscape, the nationally syndicated Gene Roddenberry?s Andromeda and the Saturn Award-nominated Mutant X. In 2005 ADV Films was voted ?Best Anime Company? in the SPJA awards, presented at Anime Expo, North America?s largest anime convention. The readers of Anime News Network designated ADV Films ?Overall Favorite Anime Company? in both 2004 and 2005.
Parent company, A.D. Vision, Inc., encompasses a multitude of complementary media divisions, spanning publishing, television, licensing and merchandising and continues to expand into new areas. Its Anime Network? is America's first and only television network dedicated to bringing anime and anime-related programming to consumers nationwide via digital cable 24 hours a day. The company has two publishing arms: Newtype USA, the premier anime and manga monthly magazine, and ADV Manga?, dedicated to publishing graphic novels. Headquartered in Houston, the company has offices in Europe and Japan. For more information, visit www.advfilms.com.
Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 (Archive on Friday, March 17, 2006)