Studio Ghibli is pretty much universally admired among ScreenAnarchy writers and readers I'd wager. Hayao Miyazaki's work has, however, been somewhat under-appreciated in this new high definition world. Until now. A few weeks back, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was released in a stunning new edition in Japan. The good news: super cool packaging, English subtitles, multiple language dubs, and Region A coded, which means it is good for all of our North and South American friends as well as all of Asia. The bad news: it is priced like a Japanese disc, those of you who have purchased Japanese discs know what I mean, and it is locked to Region A, which means our European friends won't be able to view it without modified hardware. But don't despair! Optimum in England and Madman in Australia are releasing Nausicaa in Region B land, presumably with similar extras features minus the cool packaging. No word yet on when Disney plans of sharing the love in North America for those us who are a bit more budget conscious in these troubled times.
Now for something new! Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars has also had its ass praised off by ScreenAnarchy and anime enthusiasts worldwide. The first English subtitled edition of this beauty comes from Taiwan, and it looks like a good one as well. Two discs, a film cut, book, etc are all part of the package. This edition is scheduled to release on September 10th, and is available for preorder from Yesasia. The region coding status is still up in the air, but it will at least be Region A for N/S America and Asia. Again, our European buddies needn't fear, Manga in the UK has this release tentatively scheduled for early 2011. For those in the US who prefer not to import, Funimation has picked up the film and will be distributing it with a limited theatrical run in late 2010 and on home video in early 2011.
Happy shopping!