A NOTE ON STUDIO GHIBLI BLU-RAYS:
First thanks to everyone for your kind words and enthusiasm!! It's surreal to have gone from owning a VHS tape as a kid to putting our logo on the same film decades later. Literally a dream come true.
I wanted to provide some quick answers to frequent questions:
- we may have gotten carried away with "ALL FILMS". The actual press release is more specific... we will now have all films in our collection except Grave of the Fireflies (always excluded due to the fact it is not represented by Ghibli in USA), and The Wind Rises, which is still new. And we are not going to re-release our current Ghibli titles (Poppy, Ocean Waves, Only Yesterday, Kaguya, Marnie). I'm proud of them, think we did a great job, and there's nothing I'd change yet.
- there will be three subtitle streams on every film: English for Japanese audio (translation), English SDH (aka "dubtitles"), and French
- if it's on the Japanese Bluray (from Ghibli), we probably have it. If it's not, sorry, I wouldn't expect to see it at this time. Old dubs, old tweaks etc. Ghibli is extremely particular about their masters and what is "studio approved." While I share some fondness/nostalgia for previous versions of things, Ghibli is particular about the dub you hear and the presentation you receive. In a good way. These editions will be "studio approved." We are carefully reviewing transfers, updating subtitles (where appropriate) and going nuts on the QC process. And pushing some buttons on requests every now and then. If you already own these releases, I don't expect a double dip... yet. We are going to try to earn it
- We are starting to release the catalog titles in October and will release a few new ones each month with a goal to get them all on shelves by end of Q1 2018.
- Yes this includes Yamadas on Bluray. I am really looking forward to spreading the joy of that film across the land.
- Artwork is going to be similar to previous US editions on some releases, different on others. It will be revealed this week for the October titles. Every Bluray will have a translated booklet, DVD and BD combo will have O-cards (slipcovers).
- You should all get your Kiki's Delivery Service tickets this weekend!!! English dub on Sunday / subtitles on Monday. We are going to do a great job, but the best place to see these films is still in a theater. Find a theater near you at FathomEvents.com.