Category: Home Video Releases

Top 5 DiscoTek Deep Cut Picks for August! And We Promise A Devilish Good Time!

DiscoTek Deep Cuts is loading up August with Lupin the Third releases, the complete Symphogear collection, and a stacked run of Go Nagai adaptations, from Go Nagai World to the two-volume Mazinger Z set.

Go Nagai World Blu-ray DiscoTek Deep CutWith more Lupin the Third original video animations and television series releases than I can count, DiscoTek Deep Cuts is happily grinding out the hits for this IP in August, along with other series! While a lot more love is being offered for the complete magical girl series release of Symphogear (including G and GX; and available to stream on Crunchyroll), which is considered a musical wonder set in a futuristic world, I have to focus on my top picks from what’s been adapted from Go Nagai’s works. Yes, I’m a fan of his worlds than anything else, and that’s why the first item on this list is tops.

Go Nagai World Blu-ray

This one’s a fun oddity from Go Nagai’s massive catalogue: a three-episode OVA from 1991 that takes his famous creations and turns them super deformed. Akira Fudo wakes up with his body all wrong, and along with Miki and Ryo he’s got to figure out how to fix it while running into a bunch of familiar faces from other Nagai works.

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Vampire Princess Miyu, Back From The Dead … But For How Long?

40 long years (or two decades resting) won’t matter much for Vampire Princess Miyu! MediaOCD/AnimEigo’s next release brings back the original video animation that introduced this young girl to anime fans in the 90s. An Interview with a Vampire’s Claudia better look out!

Vampire Princess MiyuAnimEigo and MediaOCD

The resolution bump required to bring Vampire Princess Miyu back to home video is certainly needed to showcase why the original still matters. This latest rerelease features the classic U.S. and UK dubs alongside the original Japanese stereo track. However, it arrives without extensive extra features, largely due to the strict licensing time constraints parent company MediaOCD faced to get prints out to the masses.

That time crunch extended to the packaging, which utilizes a pure white case reminiscent of GKIDS’ release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time. This minimalist design works beautifully. It represents a canvas of purity before corruption can taint anyone’s soul, a visual metaphor that feels entirely apt when considering the tragic background of the titular character.

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Vampire Princess Miyu Returns From the Blackest Shadows to Blu-ray

At long last, the four part original video animated series Vampire Princess Miyu is headed to Blu-ray, giving fans a chance to bathe in this supernatural classic!

Vampire Princess MiyuRelease Date: Sept. 8, 2026

AnimEigo, along with parent company MediaOCD, is finally unearthing a classic for fans of Vampire Princess Miyu. She’s no ordinary teen who has joined the ranks of the undead. Instead, she’s a Guardian, accompanied by a servant of sorts who may be much older than she is. And for this release, the companies are going for a bold design: a pure white label to reflect innocence. The only text to be found will be on the spine.

Although his name sounds strange, Larva, as used in the translation, serves a very specific purpose. He’s meant to keep Miyu from becoming a full vampire, even though he’s the one responsible for her transformation! As part of his shame, he hides his face behind a ceramic mask.

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When Hotori Doesn’t Have To Sing Along to Billy Joel’s “Pressure”

Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope is a short anime about a girl losing herself to an unknown condition and the android built to inherit a dead child’s memories, and their unlikely bond asks the most essential questions about what makes us human.

Hotori Wishing for Hope

The quest for memories is the focus in Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope, a short film about a girl who can’t have a tomorrow. She’s struggling with an unknown condition that’s steadily erasing who she is. She’ll become a shell of what she was, and in contrast, she meets an android built to inherit the memories of a deceased child. His parents know Suzu is no replacement, but when a life is cut too short, is it a fair trade to gain what another has lost? That’s the existential crisis at the heart of this heartbreaking, or is that heartwarming, story about why life is precious, and why we shouldn’t take every day for granted.

Hotori originally aired as a Japanese television special and was directed by Takashi Anno (Maison Ikkoku, Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma). It won third place at the 2004 Animax Grand Prix awards, and although this release comes very late, the themes feel timely when you consider what defines an AI, its personality, and what exactly constitutes a soul. Memories aren’t the only piece of the puzzle. There’s “Personality,” which can apparently be extracted and put into code. We’re not meant to unpack how all of that works, and what’s genuinely poignant is the relationship these two tweens share.

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Alien Nine Is Landing Soon Courtesy of MediaOCD!

AnimEigo and MediaOCD are bringing Alien Nine to Blu-ray, giving this oddball schoolgirl sci-fi horror OVA a new HD life with restored visuals and plenty of archival extras.

Alien Nine Cover
Available to pre-order on Amazon USA and MediaOCD

Anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD have announced that Alien Nine is coming to Blu-ray on June 9, 2026. And while this original video animation focuses on elementary school girls battling aliens, I’m wondering when teens will get in on the act too. Technically, they have with Prefectural Earth Defense Force, but that prior licence belonged to ADV Films rather than this partnership to redistribute older titles. Technically, the original North American release was handled by Central Park media, so who knows?

Although the animated adaptation didn’t continue as the manga continued with Emulators and Next, chances are very slim when considering the height of its popularity was back in 2001.

From the Press Release:

This upcoming release is based on a manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Tomizawa that was originally serialized in Akita Shoten’s manga magazine, Young Champion. Set in the not-too-distant future, alien invasion is a daily occurrence. Someone must save the planet, so Yuri and her 6th grade classmates are elected for this important assignment. Can a trio of cute schoolgirls defeat terrifying creatures from outer space?

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Film Masters Monster Mayhem Collection Shows What Happens on a Saturday Night…

A look at Film Masters’ Monster Mayhem Collection, from its restored B-movie horrors to the lingering charm of drive-in-era oddities, missing extras, and what may be coming next.

Film Masters Monster Mayhem Collection

Available to order on Amazon USA

Film Masters

No B-Movie horror fan should ever rush through collections of forgotten movies of yore like they are peanut butter sandwiches. Although Film Masters Monster Mayhem Collection has been out for a month, to enjoy these restored works requires dedicating a Saturday night at the drive-in. Back then, during the 50s, that was when these movies were released, and whether couples were necking or actually watching what’s projected, I’d need a time machine to find out. The slang used is appropriate for the era as groovy, man, and I think that’s why this set appeals to me.

In this set, the works offered are Monster from Green Hell, The Brain from Planet Arous, Frankenstein’s Daughter, and Giant from the Unknown. This collective has chosen these works as the “first volume” of movies originally released by the Film Detective, and if the distributor labels seem confusing enough, you’re not alone!

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