With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013
With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

Monday, July 15, 2019

SECTION23 FILMS announces its September 2019 releases


Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its September 2019 slate of releases featuring Sentai Filmworks’ TV animation hit, TADA NEVER FALLS IN LOVE, available on Blu-ray and special Limited Edition Premium Box Set!

Product details in order of release:

Title: THIS ART CLUB HAS A PROBLEM
Published by: Maiden Japan
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 9/3/2019
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: A totally ordinary art club at the totally ordinary Tsukimori Middle School. There, Subaru Uchimaki squanders his artistic talent on his true passion and life's mission: drawing the ideal "2D wife." Club member Mizuki Usami finds herself with a crush on the hopeless Uchimaki. The seemingly uninterested club president is always sleeping, but he keeps a close eye on Uchimaki and Usami's antics. Then there's the mysterious Colette, who's usually lost in her own little world. When this ragtag bunch gathers together as the Art Club, there's sure to be some problems...


Title: BOOK OF BANTORRA BLU-RAY
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 675 min.
Street Date: 9/10/2019
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: In another time and place, on a world of pain and sorrow, when someone dies, their soul doesn't go to Heaven or Hell - it becomes a book. A book that reveals the deceased's innermost secrets and that can be read by anyone. Protecting these priceless treasures is the elite organization known as the Armed Librarians. It's their job to keep the books and the knowledge within them safe from those who would misuse or destroy them. It's a tough, dangerous job, so Chief Librarian Hamyuts Maseta recruits only the best and the brightest psychics to join her team of expert fighters. Even so, will they be able to stop the fanatics of the Shindeki Church from wreaking vengeance on the entire world? Only time will tell, but that book hasn't been written yet. Don't miss the non-stop action of The Book of Bantorra Complete Collection.


Title: DI GI CHARAT ULTIMATE COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 320 min.
Street Date: 9/17/2019
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: What do you do after your parents spend all their money unsuccessfully trying to take over the planet Di Gi Charat? If you're an Alien Princess with cat ears and a tail, and shoot ray beams from your eyes like Dejiko, you travel to Earth and try to become a famous singer, of course! That's harder than it sounds however, and Dejiko, her sidekick Puchiko and their balloon-like protector Gema soon find themselves working in a game store in the only place where cat girls and living balloons seem completely normal: Akihabara in Tokyo, Japan. Now all they have to do is sell a few games, fend off various intergalactic invaders, outperform wannabe singers from other worlds and maybe learn about a strange little Earth emotion called love in the ultimate collection of DI GI CHARAT!


Title: INITIAL D LEGEND THEATRICAL COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 180 min.
Street Date: 9/17/2019
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: When an unplanned street duel launches tofu delivery driver Takumi Fujiwara into the world of high stakes street racing, the competition isn't going to know what hit them. The son of another legendary driver, the unassuming Takumi quickly becomes the downhill racing phenomenon to beat, with a line of challengers as long as the deadly Mt. Akina road itself! There's no time to blink. No chance to second guess your strategy. The streets of Japan become a deadly arena for an incredible battle where if you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough! Hold onto your breath as the legendary series that introduced the sport of drift racing to the west is reinvented in a series of new feature films that will strip the surface from the blacktops in the NEW INITIAL D: LEGEND THEATRICAL COLLECTION!


Title: TADA NEVER FALLS IN LOVE
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 9/24/2019
Format: BD, PBS
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $69.98, $129.98

SYNOPSIS: Nothing lasts forever, so opportunities presented must be taken before they are lost. In Japan, this philosophy is symbolized by the brief bloom of the cherry blossom, and it is under the cherry blossoms that Tada, who dreams of becoming a famous photographer like his late father, meets a girl who has lost her way. As it turns out, Teresa is staying at the hotel next to café owned by Tada's family and she and her companion Alexandra will be attending Tada's school, where they even join his photography club. What Tada doesn't know, however, is that Teresa is secretly a princess who's come to Japan to experience normal life before returning to her own country and an arranged marriage. And that means that the attraction that they begin to feel for each other may be as ephemeral as the cherry blossom in TADA NEVER FALLS IN LOVE.

Tuesday, July 02, 2019

MASTER Z: IP MAN LEGACY set to debut on July 23rd

Well Go USA
Presents
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy / Yip Man ngoi zyun: Cheung Tin Chi
Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping
China, 2018, 108 minutes

MASTER Z: IP MAN LEGACY, the newest entry in the celebrated IP MAN universe, debuts on digital, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD July 23rd from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Legendary action director Yuen Woo-Ping draws on a stellar cast of Max Zhang (The Brink), Tony Jaa (Triple Threat), Michelle Yeoh, and Dave Bautista to create the hard-hitting martial arts blast that follows the story of Wing Chun master Cheung Tin Chi (Zhang) after his defeat by Ip Man.

Synopsis:
After his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi, makes a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. It’s not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight.

P.S. - MASTER Z: IP MAN LEGACY was shown last night at the New York Asian Film Festival. Master Yuen Woo-Ping was present and received the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. I had the honor and joy of participating in an intimate round table discussion with him earlier in the day. I'll be posting transcripts of the panel's questions and his responses in the very near future.

I have previously seen the film and will post a review of it soon. In the meantime, let me just say that it's a solid actioner and well worth watching.