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July 2nd, 2008: Announcing the release of the Yawara Box!
No, not the box set; we just thought you'd like a sneak
peak of what the thinpack box is going to look like. We still have a few tweaks to do on it, but what you see here is pretty close to the final box we're going to use (click on it for a larger image).
In the meantime, we're finishing up our final tweaking on the actual stuff that goes inside the box; more news on that soon.
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June 19th, 2008: Cold Vengeance
The final installment in the Shogun Assassin series, Shogun Assassin 5 - Cold Road to Hell, is now available for purchase. This time, the Lone Wolf has a real problem on
his hands -- how do you kill assassins who are already dead?!
May 19th, 2008: Going to the Mountain
We are immensely pleased and proud to announce that IMAMURA Shohei's Palme d'Or winning film, The Ballad of Narayama, is now available for purchase. This is a movie that spans the full gamut of human experience, from comedy to tragedy. Don't miss it.
April 21st, 2008: A Very Fashionable T-Shirt
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To celebrate the upcoming release of Yawara - a fashionable judo girl, we've
created a special Yawara T-Shirt, featuring calligraphy by local expert Mitsuyo Ito.
The character, “yawara”, is the first kanji in Judo.
To emphasize the flexible nature of yawara, it appears tilted on the t-shirt.
These high-quality shirts are available for a mere $9.98, or you can get one free
with any order of $100.00 or more. And note that if you buy a t-shirt, you can get free USPS shipping,
and we'll be able to add in a free copy of the Yawara Preview DVD!
Also, we have a limited number of shirts that feature the kanji on the back instead of the front. If you'd prefer one of these,
simply say so in the comments field of your order.
Click here to order.
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April 18th, 2008: The Return of the Ninja
ISHIKAWA Goemon (ICHIKAWA Raizo) is back, and he's out to get the evil ODA Nobunaga (WAKAYAMA Tomisaburo) in Shinobi no Mono 2 - Vengeance. This DVD also has a special commentary track featuring film scholar Ric Meyers! Now available on the website!
April 3rd, 2008: The Hell of Shipping Box Sets
Several people have inquired as to why we do preorders the way we do. Well, obviously it furthers our Diabolical Plans for World Domination, but it also helps get the product shipped out as efficiently as possible. To give you some idea of what it is like, we've ressurected our page that documented the release of the Macross Box Set back in 2001, modestly entitled
“The Hell of Shipping Box Sets.”
April 2nd, 2008: Yawara Preorder Opens!
We're pleased to announce that the first season of Yawara! is now available for preorder! You can get the entire first season, 40 episodes in all, for a measly $124.98 + S&H,
and if we get enough preorders, we'll automatically reduce the price.
We expect to ship Yawara Season 1 sometime in the summer; the exact date depends on whether we hit any snags in our final review and authoring.
PS: To the fans who took our April Fool's announcement seriously and took our graphics guy Matt hostage, can we please have him back? We need him to do the packaging...
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April 1st, 2008: AnimEigo Licenses 2,162 Ronin
The 47 Ronin (Chushingura) is the iconic Japanese samurai story, and has been made into countless movies and TV shows. Therefore, building on the solid sales success of “Kon Ichikawa's 47 Ronin,” we've decided to explore this story in all its facets by acquiring additional ronin - 2,162 of them to be precise! That's right; adding them to our current roster of 47 Ronin, we now have the rights to a grand total of 2,209 Ronin - 47 bands of 47 Ronin!
Today, AnimEigo begins an ambitious 5 year mission to release all our new Ronin into the US market - and you won't just see new Ronin movies and TV series, but also Ronin manga, anime, music, games (computer, board and collectible card), and yes, in a first from AnimEigo, porn -- “The 47 Pe... er, People”
As you can well imagine, such a huge project will be a major effort, one that will require all of our attention. Thus, we will have to delay the release of the first season of Yawara to the fall... of 2013. We know that this may disappoint some people, but trust us -- it's the right decision!
March 14th, 2008: If You Tell Everyone You're A Ninja, You're Not a Ninja!
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What better way to follow up on our Samurai T-Shirt, especially now that we are releasing
the Shinobi no Mono series, than with
a shirt that celebrates Ninjas -- though Robert thinks that these really should be black
shirts with black printing on them, because real Ninjas are invisible! So if you really are a Ninja, we suggest you wear this shirt under another shirt, which will let you safely walk around chuckling to yourself such time-honored phrases as “The fools! They suspect nothing!”
These high-quality shirts are available for a mere $9.98, or you can get one free
with any order of $100.00 or more. Click here to order.
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March 12th, 2008: Spend a Wakeful Night Laughing Yourself To Death!
We just received a shipment of Wakeful Nights, an outrageous comedy set in the world of Rakugo -- Japanese comic storytelling. Trust us, this is a must-see film that's so funny, we recommend special precautions be taken while watching it to prevent laughter-induced injuries.
It's really hard to describe this film except to say that it's funny... really, really funny. Also, the jokes, stories and songs are twisted... really, really, really twisted! It took us twice as long as usual to translate and subtitle this film, in part because of all the puns, but mostly because we spent a lot of the time either on the floor convulsively laughing, or cleaning spit-takes off our monitor screens!
But don't take our word for it -- watch the trailer in either
Quicktime or
Windows Media.
February 22nd, 2008: Yawara Progress Report
We know a lot of people are waiting patiently for us to release the
first season of Yawara so we thought we'd give you a progress report.
We have completed our first pass on the subtitling and dialogue editing, but Yawara is a title that is so dear to our hearts that we are doing a second review, concentrating on making sure we've got all the Judo terminology correct
and standardizing our use of terms.
Fierce battles are being fought at the office over such weighty issues as whether Yawara belongs to a Judo Team or a Judo Club, whether she's a Judo athelete or a Judoka, and whether she's Japan's Best or Japan's #1, not to mention when sensei are sensei and when they are masters.
We're even consulting with US Judoka (or is that Judo athletes?) in order to make sure that our translation matches with US Judo usage.
The end result is that, to paraphrase Master Jigoro (or is that Jigoro-sensei?), “The Road of DVD Production Cannot Be Walked in a Single Day.” So please be patient with us!
Yawara should be in authoring in late spring and in your hot little hands in early summer. We'll officially open the preorder when it goes into authoring. You can sign up to be alerted when that happens using the form
on our Yawara Preview page.
January 30th, 2008: The Family that Slays Together, Stays Together!
The Lone Wolf and his Cub are back and the body count keeps rising in Shogun Assassin IV - Five Fistfuls of Gold. This time around, our heroes must collect their fee on the installment plan by killing 5 master swordsman, each one of which has 1/5 of the money and 1/5 of the details!
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December 17th, 2007: We end the year with a Big Bang!
Controversial director Takashi Miike is back with what he proudly proclaims is his masterpiece -- Big Bang Love, Juvenile A. A profound meditation on the true meaning of love, it's unlike just about any movie we've ever seen. We're not quite sure what the critics mean when they call it “a hard-edged ontological essay” or “an overtly homoerotic, Brechtian prison drama”, but we do know that we had to watch it a dozen times while doing the production work, and each time we came away with a different perspective on it!
December 10th, 2007: Ho Ho Ho, On Vacation We Go!
The AnimEigo office will be closed from 12/22/07 through 01/01/08. Orders received on Friday, December 21st will be processed if time permits, but orders after that will not be shipped until Tuesday, January 2nd. So if you want something in time for Nondenominational Gift-Getting Season, please order it now!
November 1st, 2007: Take the AnimEigo Slayride
The infamous Mikogami Trilogy is now available as a box set, and we've also reduced the price of the individual films, so that you can handle your holiday vengeance needs on a budget!
October 19th, 2007: The Last Line of Defense
Acclaimed director Kihachi Okamoto brings his unique vision to one of
the most tragic battles of the Pacific war in his heroic, and often blackly comedic Battle of Okinawa. With the war all but lost, 77,000 Imperial troops are ordered to defend to the death the Okinawan islands against an invading Allied force almost three times their size -- and half a million civilians are caught between them with nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
September 18th, 2007: Ninjas invade AnimEigo
ISHIKAWA Goemon (ICHIKAWA Raizo), a talented young ninja, becomes ensnared in a twisted scheme to
assassinate ODA Nobunaga, an evil warlord bent on ruling feudal Japan with an iron fist. Deceit,
treachery, and entire gangs of enemy ninja lurk around every corner as Goemon travels the countryside
to complete his task, win back his honor, and save his skin!
These terrific Ninja DVDs just suddenly appeared in our office (we never noticed them arrive!) and we expect they'll disappear very quickly!
So get yours now!
September 11th, 2007: AnimEigo Is Looking For A Few Good Translators!
AnimEigo is searching for several highly-skilled J-E translators who can deal with difficult dialogue (such as in our WWII and Samurai films) and produce good, clear, literal translations. An extremely high level of Japanese spoken and written comprehension, not to mention good English writing skills, are required.
Think you've got what it takes? Then email natsumi@animeigo.com with subject "AnimEigo/Translator". But beware, very few have taken her tests and survived to tell the tale (in good Japanese!)
September 2nd, 2007: AnimEigo Fall 2007 / 2008 Release Schedule
Shinobi no Mono (10/2007) This is the film which launched the first Ninja boom in Japan after WWII, and stars Raizo Ichikawa, one of the biggtest film stars in Japan film history. The producers enlisted the aid of the last “living Ninja master” as a consultant, so this film contains realistic Ninja techniques, details of Ninja society and the secrets of Ninja houses. A must-see film for real Ninja fans.
Battle of Okinawa (11/2007) In March 1945, the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War took place. Acclaimed director Kihachi Okamoto and an all-star cast and crew spared no effort to depict this massive battle from a variety of perspectives, mixing the horrors of war with black comedy. As with Okamoto's “Japan's Longest Day”, this is a must-see WWII film.
The Mikogami Trilogy Box Set (12/2007) The wait is over, now these three bloody Yakuza action films will finally be available in a cool box set.
2008 Tentative schedule (One per month, Jan-Nov/2008)
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (2006) The hottest Japanese Cult film Director, Takashi Miike, calls this film his “masterpiece!”. A hit at numerous festivals including the Berlin International Film Festival and the NY Asian Film Festival.
A Hardest Night!! (2006) A classy and refined Japanese comedy set in the world of Rakugo (Japanese Comic Storytelling) -- or at least, it would be if it weren't full of the raunchiest jokes you've ever heard or seen. You'll never look at a Manta Ray the same way again, and you won't believe the Geisha Sex Song Contest.
Shinobi no mono 2
Shogun Assassin 4
The Wolves
Revenge of Kabuki Actor (1963) (Yukinojyo Henge, An Actor's Revenge) Don't say you've seen enough beautiful Kon Ichikawa art films UNTIL you see this one. His unique camera/lighting work, dreamy Kimono beauties, and the usual all-star cast make this another must-see film for fans of the Master Director.
Shinobi no mono 3
Father of the Kamikaze (1974) (Aa Kessen Koukutai) This is the story of Admiral Onishi, known as the father of the Kamikaze missions -- and who, despite helping to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor, thought it was a mistake.
Shogun Assassin 5
The Ballad of Narayama (1983) (Narayama Bushiko) Winner of the Palm d'Or, Cannes Film Festival 1983; 8 other awards and 9 nominations. Directed by Shohei Imamura, 2-time Palm d'Or winner (Kurosawa won only once).
Shinobi no mono 4
And of course, sometime in the spring, we'll release Yawara! Season One!
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| News so old we've forgotten it! |
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| Get on our Mailing Lists |
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We run two useful mailing lists that you might like to subscribe to if you're interested in Anime:
AnimEigo-News is a low-volume announcement-only mailing list that will
get you all the latest AnimEigo News and Gossip.
AnimEigo-Talk is an unmoderated general discussion list about
AnimEigo-related stuff.
You can find out more information about these mailing lists and manage your
subscriptions by visiting the AnimEigo
Mailing Lists Information Page.
Our thanks to Sean Figgins for maintaining these mailing lists.
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| So who are these people anyway? |
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Since 1989, AnimEigo has been dedicated to releasing the
finest in Japanese Animation, properly translated, and lovingly subtitled and
dubbed in English for the benefit of fans and the Japanese-language impaired.
More than any other company in the business, we have released a broad cross
spectrum of Anime, from gentle love stories through science fiction to subtle
gothic horror. In recent years, we have also been inflicting our peculiar
sense of style upon unsuspecting live action films as well, from blood-spurting samurai adventures to art films.
So, assuming you can deal with our occasionally strange sense of humor (normal
people wouldn't do this kind of thing), you'll find lots of interesting stuff
on this site. Enjoy it - or our special team of Ninja Entertainment Consultants
will pay you a visit...
Remember - if you order via the Web, you get discounts off the list
price, plus free (or reduced) S&H if your order is large enough. For example, you can
get free ground shipping to US destinations if your order is $80.00 or more. The
shopping cart computes everything automatically.
Contact Email Addresses:
Most questions regarding AnimEigo and our products can be directed to
questions@animeigo.com; they will
be directed to and answered by the appropriate staff-person.
But please, read the AnimEigo Top-10 list, it probably contains
the answer to your question!
Orders and questions about orders should be sent to
orders@animeigo.com, for minimum delay.
Questions about Convention sponsorship, screenings, film festivals, etc., can be directed to
branson@animeigo.com.
Reviewers who wish to attempt to bamboozle us into sending them free
copies of our titles should offer flattery and bribes to
aaron@animeigo.com.
Retailers wishing information about ordering our products should call our main number, or email
madoka@animeigo.com.
You can also call us at 1-800-24ANIME (in North Carolina, 910-251-1850),
fax us at 910-763-2376, or write to us at AnimEigo, P.O. Box 989, Wilmington NC
28402-0989.
More information about our staff (and probably more than you actually
want to know!) can be
found here.
Returns Policy: Limited to manufacturing defects only. If you cannot return to point of
purchase, please phone or email for instructions and a Return Authorization
Number (R.A.#). No returns more than 30 days after purchase. NO RETURNS ACCEPTED WITHOUT A R.A.#. Please enclose
a written description of defect, including time on the DVD where the problem occurs (this will help us track down
any manufacturing problems).
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