With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

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

Saturday, January 30, 2021

SECTION23 FILMS announces its April 2021 slate of releases

Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its April slate of releases, which includes Sentai Filmworks action packed series, HERO MASK!, available on Blu-ray April 27th.

Product details in order of release:

Title: ELFEN LIED
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 350 min.
Street Date: 4/6/2021
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: Critics have described Elfen Lied as "weird," (Anime Planet), "surprisingly sadistic," (Gamers Edge), and "addictive"(Animesou). No wonder, when you consider what makes this series hum! Lucy, a beautiful young mutant, is bred by the military to be the ultimate weapon. Now, with government killers on her trail, the disposition of a five year old, and a hair trigger for ultraviolence, Lucy and her young friends must unravel the dark secret of her legacy before it's too late.


Title: IRON GIRL: FINAL WARS
Published by: Switchblade Pictures
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 90 min.
Street Date: 4/6/2021
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $19.98

SYNOPSIS: Chris may have survived the Apocalypse, but there are still plenty of threats from the past lurking in the ruins of civilization… and now one of them is actively looking for her! At least, that's how it seems when she encounters Joe, a member of the resistance who is trying to discover why the artificial intelligence known as JUDA has been sending out murderous cyborgs with a certain heroine as their target! Even more unnerving is the fact that a mysterious young girl Sara has been having dreams calling to Chris for help… even though the two of them have never met! And if killer cyborgs alone aren't terrifying enough, JUDA has doubled their lethality by equipping their resurrected warriors with the latest in sword technology in IRON GIRL: FINAL WARS!


Title: SUNDAY WITHOUT GOD
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 4/6/2021
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: In a world abandoned by God, the bodies of the dead will continue to walk unless they are buried by one of the mysterious Gravekeepers. Ai, one of the last children in a world where no more can be born, becomes her small village's Gravekeeper when her mother, the previous Gravekeeper, passes on… but the arrival of a pale gun-wielding stranger destroys her village and what little remained of Ai's old existence. Is this seemingly immortal man possibly an important figure from Ai's past? Uncertain of what else to do, Ai finds herself compelled to set forth on a mission to learn the secrets of this strange world without proper death, unravel the mysteries of her own past, and, hopefully, find a way to put the dead permanently to rest in SUNDAY WITHOUT GOD!


Title: KIDS ON THE SLOPE
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 4/13/2021
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Kaoru Nishimi has spent his life on the move, always struggling to fit in to new schools and having to push on just when he'd started to set down roots. But when he comes to stay with his extended family in seaside Kyushu, things will be different. Kaoru wanders through high school, meeting friends who change his life forever, and discovers a new kind of music that affects him like nothing ever has before.Ritsuko, the girl whose family owns the music store, and Sentaro, the high school delinquent, both set in motion Kaoru's fascination with this amazing thing called Jazz. Fashions may change and fads come and go, but when you put a couple of musically obsessed teens together and let them follow their muse, magic is sure to happen in THE KIDS ON THE SLOPE!


Title: LAIDBACKERS
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 60 min.
Street Date: 4/13/2021
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: A funny thing happened to Kumi when she moved to Kyoto to take over her grandmother's sweet shop. While she does find a store that sells cheap snacks, the supposedly empty adjoining residence is instead inhabited by three other girls: Harami, Mai, and K, plus a dog, who claim to be legendary heroes reincarnated into our world! However, that's not as exciting as it sounds, as the Demon Lord they were seeking never showed up, so they've just been hanging out, waiting for something interesting to happen. That's when ANOTHER cute young girl, Ran, shows up, and it seems that she WAS the Demon Lord, but botched up her own resurrection and now wants to make amends for the things that she did in the past. But in order to do that, she's going to need a little demon-hunting help from the LAIDBACKERS!


Title: KAIJI
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 1250 min.
Street Date: 4/20/2021
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $99.98

SYNOPSIS: Unemployed degenerate Kaiji Ito spent his time drinking, gambling, and racking up bills, and was sure that his life had hit rock bottom. Then that bottom fell out when Endo the Loan Shark arrived to inform him of a friend's default on a loan that Kaiji foolishly co-signed, making Kaiji responsible for a soul crushing 3,000,000 yen! But there is one possible way out; if Kaiji goes to a secret gambling ship and plays successfully for one night, his debt could be absolved. It's a trick, of course, but what choice does Kaiji have? Trapped into playing a series of increasingly ruthless contests that are hopelessly rigged against the players, Kaiji finds himself a pawn in a competition where the game pieces aren't expected to survive… and the real players are all actively betting against KAIJI!


Title: ASSASSINS PRIDE STEELBOOK
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 4/27/2021
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $99.98

SYNOPSIS: Against the savage monsters that lurk outside the glass walls of Flandore, the last remnants of humanity have only one defense: the mana magic wielded only by members of the Noble class. When Melida, heiress to House of Angel, fails to manifest her magic upon reaching majority, the half-vampire Kufa is sent with orders from her own Grandfather to resolve the issue… and if Melida cannot manifest mana, Kufa is to execute her for the crime of impure blood. But when Melida fails the test, Kufa can't bring himself to kill the spirited young woman whose only fault was to have an adulterous mother. And so, instead, he commits the crime of giving Melida some of his own mana. Now, bound by magic and a deadly secret, the two must work together in order to stay alive in ASSASSINS PRIDE!


Title: HERO MASK
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 600 min.
Street Date: 4/27/2021
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $89.98

SYNOPSIS: Are a series of bombings and the murder of a high-ranking government official linked to the actions of the huge international pharmaceutical company LIVE? Ordered to investigate, Detective James Blood of the Special Service of Crime quickly discovers far more than just a conspiracy. There's a new technology on the street: masks as thin as paper that completely alter the appearance of the wearer's face while also granting amazing strength and agility… at the cost of years off their users' lives! Together with assistant attorney/murder witness Sarah Sinclair, Blood must unearth the secrets behind the masks and their connection to LIVE's mysterious founder. But the clock is ticking down and James and Sarah may already be living on borrowed time. Because when the ultimate disguise powers the ultimate human killing machines, death can be lurking anywhere in HERO=MASK!