Manga UK Announce 'Paprika', 'Cowboy Bebop The Movie' and 'Steamboy' On Blu-Ray
While many believe the future is digital, there's still a lot of animation fans who prefer to have a shiny physical copy of their favourite films and series. And it can be frustrating when many films and shows have yet to make the jump to Blu-Ray. Things have just got a little better for anime collectors in the UK, with the announcement that Manga UK is releasing three films from a trio of the animation medium's foremost auteurs in new Blu-Ray/DVD editions this October.
Satoshi Kon's final film Paprika (considered by many to be his masterpiece) has previously been available on Blu-Ray via Sony Pictures, but Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy and Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop: The Movie will be available on Blu-Ray in the UK for the first time.
All three films will include Blu-Ray and DVD editions, an O-card and reversible inlay designs.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie will be available October 9, with Steamboy hitting October 16, with Paprika following on October 23rd (and all three can be pre-ordered via the links).
Check out the synopsis for each film below:
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie On Blu-ray for the first time ever!
Mars. Days before Halloween 2071. Villains blow up a tanker truck on Highway One, releasing a deadly virus that kills hundreds. Fearing a bigger, even more devastating biochemical attack, an astronomical reward is offered for the arrest and capture of the person behind the destruction. On the spaceship "Bebop," Spike Spiegel and his crew of bounty hunters (Jet Black, Faye Valentine, Ed and Ein) are bored and short of cash. But with the news of the reward everything changes.
Based on the wildly popular TV series, Cowboy Bebop, the big-screen smash Cowboy Bebop: The Movie pits Spike and Co. against their deadliest adversary ever. Featuring stunning, state-of-the-art animation, this action-packed sci-fi adventure builds to a breath-taking, nail-biting climax, guaranteed to keep you hanging on the edge of your seat.
Steamboy On Blu-ray for the first time ever!
From the leader in anime Katsuhiro Otomo (Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis, Memories), comes his first feature-length directorial project since his breakthrough film (Akira). Ten years in the making, with a total budget of $22 million, Steamboy is the most expensive Japanese anime production ever. A retro science-fiction epic set in Victorian England, Steamboy features an inventor prodigy named Ray Steam, who receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation, the Steam Ball. Young Ray Steam must use the Steam Ball to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction. With more than 180,000 drawings and 400 CG cuts, Steamboy is one of the most elaborate animated features ever created. Steamboy will be brought to life with an outstanding ensemble voiceover cast including Anna Paquin (X-Men), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and Alfred Molina (Spider-man 2).
Paprika
Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination -- where reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After being stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device -- before it falls into the hands of a "dream terrorist" in this gripping anime thriller from acclaimed director Satoshi Kon.
