With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

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

Monday, September 01, 2014

Section23 Films announces its December 2014 release slate


Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its December slate of releases; including the beloved series LOVE, CHUNIBYO & OTHER DELUSIONS which will be released in an English dubbed DVD/BD COLLECTOR'S EDITION.

Product details, in order of release:

Title: DIABOLIK LOVERS COMPLETE COLLECTION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 195 min.
Street Date: 12/2/2014
Format: DVD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: Yui Komori has spent her life sheltered by the Church and the man she thinks of as her father, but now she's going to a new home and there's a very different kind of family waiting for her. To her dismay, she discovers that she'll be living with six very attractive young men, and not a single one is human! And if trying to keep an entire brood of vampires at fangs' length wasn't stressful enough, there are even more sinister forces at work, threatening not only Yui's life, but her very soul. Drawn into her wildest fantasies, or perhaps her most salacious nightmares, one thing is certain: Yui's life will never be the same once she meets the DIABOLIK LOVERS!


Title: LOVE, CHUNIBYO & OTHER DELUSIONS COLLECTOR'S EDITION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 12/2/2014
Format: Combo - DVD/BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $129.98

SYNOPSIS: Yuta has a problem. As one of the thousands of Japanese students afflicted with "chunibyo", a state where they're so desperate to stand out that they've literally convinced themselves that they have secret knowledge and hidden powers, Yuta spent most of his middle school years living in a complete fantasy world. But that's not his major problem now, as with a lot of work and effort, he's finally managing to overcome his delusions to the point where he thinks he's ready to start high school with all his cards in order. No, his BIG problem is the girl he first encounters climbing on his balcony. Because it seems that his own efforts to rid himself of his chunibyo have attracted the attentions of another sufferer, and SHE's decided that this makes him her soul mate. And since Rikka's just moved in upstairs, now he's being sucked into HER fantasy world! Can a formerly wild and crazy guy handle being the focus of a completely delusional girl? Or will his own chunibyo return with a vengeance? Either way, the phrase "madly in love" is bound to get redefined in LOVE, CHUNIBYO & OTHER DELUSIONS!


Title: QUEEN'S BLADE ~ BEAUTIFUL WARRIORS
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 180 min.
Street Date: 12/2/2014
Format: DVD, BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98, $39.98

SYNOPSIS: The Queen's Blade tournament may be over, but the stories of the contestants have barely begun. Unaware that fate is already conspiring to pit many of them against each other in the arena of war, the sword maidens scatter across the lands in search of fame, fortune and adventure. For some that comes sooner than expected, as Leina finds herself drawn to aid her sister, Elina, who's been captured by Echidna. Tortured by the Swamp Witch, Melona focuses her anger on the absent Airi and plots an insidious revenge. But when confronted with their common enemies, how long can it be until they both seek to reunite with Menace? And if that's not enough trouble to be forming on the horizon, Nanael manages to get herself banished from Heaven and her goal of forming a harem of servants for herself proves to be anything but angelic. Finally, to provide the beasts to go along with the beauties, both Alleyene and Nowa, and Tomoe and Aldra each find their separate journeys marred by encounters with different forms of tentacled monsters as naked blades and sticky situations collide in QUEEN'S BLADE: BEAUTIFUL WARRIORS!


Title: EF ~ A TALE OF MEMORIES & MELODIES
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 600 min.
Street Date: 12/9/2014
Format: DVD, BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $79.98, $99.98

SYNOPSIS: Four disparate groups of friends. Different places. Different times. Different lives. Yet, their destinies are inexplicably interwoven, and what happens to any one group will, in the end, affect them all. One Christmas Eve, Hiro Hirono helps Miyako, the victim of a purse snatching, and discovers that she goes to the same school he does. To the dismay of his childhood friend, Kei, Hiro starts hanging out with Miyako. When Renji Asou meets Chihiro Shindou at an abandoned train station, he doesn't notice anything unusual at first. But he soon discovers that she suffers from a rare disease. Shuichi Kuze's been spending time with Mizuki Hayama. As they've been getting to know each other, they've been growing closer. Yuu Himura meets a girl who seems to know him, but he doesn't know her. Soon enough, however, he remembers a girl he met long ago, and begins to rediscover old, half-forgotten feelings. Intertwining fates, tragic, bittersweet and heart-rending combine to form one of anime's most beautifully crafted and emotionally charged masterpieces: ef ~ a tale of memories & melodies.


Title: HIIRO NO KAKERA ~ THE TAMAYORI PRINCESS SAGA
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 650 min.
Street Date: 12/9/2014
Format: DVD, BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $79.98, $99.98

SYNOPSIS: High school is hard enough without the fact of being a first-year transfer student. Not to mention the fact that you're the Tamayori Princess successor who is supposed to fulfill a destiny you're completely unaware of…that doesn't seem like too much to bear! But that's exactly where we find Tamaki Kasuga when she is asked to come live in the country with her grandmother. Things start to get weird when mysterious dark forces and a gang of misfits called the Logos come after her. Luckily for Tamaki, she is suddenly surrounded by five handsome young men that come to her rescue and now act as her guardians! Because being a princess isn't easy, and she'll need all the help she can get in Hiiro no Kakera ~ The Princess Saga: Complete Collection!


Title: INFINITE STRATOS II
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 315 min.
Street Date: 12/9/2014
Format: DVD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: There are probably worse things that could have happened to Ichika Orimura than being the only guy in a training academy filled with military hardware and several battalions of highly competitive and extremely boy-crazed teenage girls. And being caught in a five-girl crossfire between his obsessive childhood friends Lingyin and Houki and the even more zealous British, German and French pilots Cecillia, Laura and Charlotte, at least turned out to be survivable. But surely, Ichika's finally put all his female troubles behind him, right? Oh don't be ridiculous. None of the femmes fatales in his life have canceled their conquest scenarios; there's double trouble arriving in the form of the Sarashiki sisters; the rest of the school is still waiting in line to take their shot; and when a whole new set of female pilots working for the bad guys shows up with a new generation of stolen IS hardware, things are about to get utterly lethal! The mayhem continues, the mecha runs amok, the hormones run wild and the maiden's behavior becomes even less maidenly as Ichika gets schooled for a second spectacular semester in INFINITE STRATOS 2!


Title: OKAMIKAKUSHI ~ MASQUE OF THE WOLF BLU-RAY
Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 12/9/2014
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: From the moment Hiroshi and his family arrive in Joga, he senses something odd about the isolated village. It's not that the people are cold and aloof. Except for his beautiful class president, Nemuru, most welcome him quite warmly. But some also simply disappear. Students transfer out of his school without any notice, and Hiroshi's next door neighbor Isuzu, who seems quite infatuated with him, warns him to stay away from the old part of town. The upcoming Haasaku Festival, which celebrates the town's unique oranges, seems to be generating an unusual level of concern, and groups of masked people roam the streets by night, hunting… something. Could the legends of man-sized wolves roaming the mountains surrounding Joga be real? Who is the girl with the scythe? What is the real purpose of the festival? And how does this all revolve around something called a Temptation? Hiroshi and his new circle of friends have little time to solve these riddles before the answers will become far more dangerous and personal than he could ever imagine! Beneath the mask of society and the skin of humanity, something ancient awaits in Okamikakushi - MASQUE OF THE WOLF!


Title: DETROIT METAL CITY BLU-RAY Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 150 min.
Street Date: 12/16/2014
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $39.98

SYNOPSIS: Get ready for the ear-splittingest, skull-smashingest band to ever assault your senses! Led by phallus-waiving terrorist-from-hell Johannes Krauser II (guitar/vocals,) and given pulsing, throbbing life by indestructible drummer Camus and bassist Alexander Jagi, they're Detroit Metal City, the hottest ticket on the concert circuit! There's just one catch. That "hottest ticket" is just a meal ticket, and beneath the makeup these ultimate headbangers are hired doppelgangers who don't even LIKE what they do! Jaggi is actually Wada, who wants to play Glam Rock, Camus is Nishida, an anime fan with an appalling weakness for curry and NSFW videos, and Krauser is… oh the shame… street-singing Soichi Negishi, whose dreams of singing happy pop seem hopelessly doomed by the success of his rage-fueled alter ego! Worse, he can't even tell anyone who Krauser is. Not even the girl he likes, who HATES DMC! Will rage against the corporate machine consume Negishi's tortured soul? Is there life after Death Metal? What it's like to put your head in a jet engine and turn UP the volume? Find out as angst, amps and anarchy collide in DETROIT METAL CITY!


Title: HIDAMARI SKETCH SP BLU-RAY
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 50 min.
Street Date: 12/16/2014
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $24.98

SYNOPSIS: Even though studying at a prestigious art school like Yamabuki is hard work, the girls who live at the Hidamari Apartments always manage to squeeze in time for a little fun and exploration. And when they actually get a day off? Watch out world! Yuno, Sae, Hiro, Miyako and new students Nori and Nazuna return to create another masterpiece of life as art, with all new adventures that include swimming, pajama parties, trips to the art museum and even an all-you-can-eat diner courtesy of the landlady! Of course, there's always a little housework that has to be squeezed in, but with a pinch of resourcefulness and a dash of creativity, even the most onerous of chores can be turned into something magical. Get ready for another illustrious collection of life, laughter and togetherness as Yuno and her friends always put a little love in their art in HIDAMARI SKETCH X SP!


Title: REIDEEN COLLECTION 1
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 12/16/2014
Format: DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: Although mathematically gifted, Junki Saiga is otherwise a typical high school student, whose archaeologist father disappeared during an expedition years ago. But recently his family learned that his father's remains have been discovered near Japan's pyramid, along with artifacts and notes from his research. While Junki is still reeling from the confirmation of his father's death, a meteor comes crashing from the sky carrying a foreign robotic life-form that immediately begins attacking anything and everything. And this sequence of strange events triggers a bracelet left from his father's research to activate and merge with an ancient robot hidden inside the pyramid: Reideen. But not everyone welcomes Reideen's help in dealing with the alien threat. There are those that want the robot's power for themselves, and still others who would see it and its pilot destroyed. Without the help of his nation, or even his friends, Junki must push himself to succeed in piloting Reideen against the aliens or watch the world perish!


Title: THE AMBITION OF ODA NOBUNA
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 12/16/2014
Format: DVD, BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98, $69.98

SYNOPSIS: Yoshiharu Sagara thought he knew his Japanese history backwards and forwards, but when he inexplicably finds himself in the past, everything he thought he knew was wrong and he's in a very different history altogether! Because not only is this timeline's version of the legendary (and very male) Oda Nobunaga now the cute (and very female) Oda Nobuna, but one of the first things Yoshiharu manages to accidentally accomplish is getting one of the Sengoku era's most important historical figures killed! Still, when you're stuck in the past, have a semi-reliable knowledge of one possible future and there's now a vacancy in the history books, what's your best present course of action? Aligning yourself with someone with the potential to become one of the most powerful warlords in any of Japan's possible histories might not be a bad start. Provided, of course, that you can keep yourself from becoming too intimately involved in the cloak and dagger action during a time when the cloaks cover body armor and the daggers are paired with multiple swords! But that's just part of the risk you assume when your history becomes her story and you join THE AMBITION OF ODA NOBUNA!