Anime Limited To Release Hayao Miyazaki's 'Future Boy Conan' on 4K and Blu-Ray
For many years Hayao Miyazaki's debut TV series Future Boy Conan has been on English-speaking anime fans' wishlist. It's one of the few Miyazaki pre-Studio Ghibli works that has never officially been released in English, and rumour had it that due to some nebulous legal red-tape, was likely to stay that way. So it was pretty surprising when GKIDS Films announced that they had picked up the rights to the series and would be bringing it to Blu-Ray this year.
Fans in the UK who had been watching on jealously need do so no longer. Glasgow-based distributor Anime Limited (aka All The Anime) have now announced that they will be bringing the series to the UK. Here's the real surprise though- Anime Limited announced that they will be releasing the series on 4K UHD/ Blu-Ray Combo, as well as the standard Blu-Ray edition.
The 1978 series has been given a full 4K restoration, but Anime Limited's release will be the show's first UHD release anywhere in the world. GKIDS release is only planned for Blu-Ray and digital at this time- so maybe it's the US fans turn to be jealous now.
Miyazaki's first series as director was (fairly loosely) based on the 1970 book The Incredible Tide by Alexander Key.
Twenty years ago, a terrible war fought with magnetic weapons caused the earth’s axis to tilt, and earthquakes and tidal waves destroyed civilization. Conan is born into this new world, raised by his adopted grandfather on an isolated island. But his life is forever changed when a mysterious girl named Lana washes ashore, pursued by shadowy operatives who seek to use her in a new scheme to control what’s left of the world.
The UK release will also differ from the North American edition in that it will be released in two halves, each containing 13 episodes. The collector's edition of the second half will include a 132-page book written by UK anime experts Jonathan Clements and occasional AFA-contributor and author of the BFI Classics book on Spirited Away, Andrew Osmond.
UK fans will have to wait a little longer than their US cousins. The Collector's Edition of part one is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2022- more information when we get it.
GKIDS release of the series (containing all 26 episodes) will be released on Blu-Ray and Digital on November 16.
