Pre-order Grave of the Fireflies on Blu-ray

In a little less than four weeks, Isao Takahata's 1988 animated masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) will make its Blu-ray debut in North America courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

 

As reported previously, the Blu-ray release will feature a a 1080p high definition video transfer with the original Japanese audio track and a new English dub presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

 

The title is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com for only $17.98, an affordable price point, especially when compared to Disney's standard release week pricing of Studio Ghibli titles.

 

Grave of the Fireflies arrives on store shelves in North America on November 20, 2012.

Grave of the Fireflies gets new English dub

Sentai Filmworks upcoming Blu-ray release of Isao Takahata's 1988 war tragedy Grave of the Fireflies will feature a brand new English dub, according to specifications on the case artwork.

Although a list of voice actors and other details are not yet available, it has been reported that the new dub is being produced by Seraphim Digital, a post-production studio based in Houston, Texas that has extensive experience in dubbing Japanese films and television series in English.

 

According to the case artwork, the Blu-ray release will feature a 1080p high definition video transfer with the original Japanese audio track and new English dub presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.  The original English dub, as featured on the previous home video releases of the film, is also listed for inclusion.  Special features include a Japanese theatrical trailer, storyboards, and deleted scenes storyboards.

 

Sentai Filmworks' Grave of the Fireflies Blu-ray arrives on store shelves November 20, 2012 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $19.99.

Grave of the Fireflies Blu-ray coming to North America

Sentai Filmworks will release Isao Takahata's 1988 animated masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies on Blu-ray in North America this November.

 

The company, which describes itself as "one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America," previously announced that they had acquired the North American distribution rights to the film and released a digitally-remastered DVD in March of this year.  The Blu-ray edition is scheduled to hit store shelves on November 20, 2012 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $21.99.

 

Also available from Sentai Filmworks in November is Makoto Shinkai's 2011 film Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Hoshi o Ou Kodomo), which will be available on Blu-ray and DVD and will feature both the original Japanese language track with subtitles as well as a newly-recorded English dub.

 

 

If you are a Studio Ghibli fan and aren't already familiar with this film, you should definitely check it out.  As you can see from the cover art alone, the look of the characters is very "Ghibli-inspired" and the story reminds me a lot of some of the fantastical worlds created by Hayao Miyazaki in his films.  Both the Blu-ray and DVD editions are up for pre-order on Amazon and scheduled for release on November 13, 2012.

New cover art for Grave of the Fireflies DVD

As reported last month, Sentai Filmworks has acquired the North American home video license for Grave of the Fireflies and will release the film on DVD on March 6, 2012.  Recently, cover artwork for the new edition has been posted on the Amazon.com pre-order page.

 

Although the new cover is similiar to that of the previous DVD edition released by Section23 Films in 2009, the inclusion of film ratings by critics on the cover is a nice touch and I like the overall sophisticated look of the updated design.  It seems as though Sentai Filmworks holds this title with respect and I hope they have the option to release the film on Blu-ray in North America once it is released in Japan sometime in the future.

Let's hope that by getting this title back on the shelves, Sentai Filmworks will create new legions of  Studio Ghibli fans who haven't already discovered the works of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.  This film was one of the first few I watched after discovering the studio and it definitely deserves to be seen all over the world.

Sentai Filmworks licenses Grave of the Fireflies

Sentai Filmworks announced earlier this month that they've acquired the North American distribution rights to Isao Takahata's 1988 masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies.  The film, which has been out of print for the last several years, will return to store shelves on DVD on March 6, 2012 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com.



Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Let's hope that once the film is released on Blu-ray in Japan, Sentai Filmworks will have the option to release the title on the format in North America.  My fingers are crossed!