Tag: Blu-ray

Love at First Splash: ChaO Comes Home!

ChaO brings its colourful mermaid romance, giant robots and boundless energy home on Blu-ray, with a digital release planned for Canadian viewers.

ChaO Blu-ray slipcase
GKIDS
Movie review can be read here.

Just when it seems summer is over, GKIDS is offering a second chance to anime fans who missed ChaO during its theatrical release, bringing the film home on September 22, 2026. The release is perfectly timed for anyone longing for a breezy return to those fondly remembered summer days under the boardwalk. That isn’t quite the film’s plot, of course, but ChaO does offer plenty of colour, energy and romance. For those who prefer streaming, a digital release is also planned specifically for Canadian residents.

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From Sunset Strip to Cthulhu’s Lair: Minions and Monsters Pulls Off a Wonderful, Essential Send-Up

With Minions and Monsters now out on home video, it’s a terrific film, but where’s the beef? The bonus features need to be buffed up to match the tribute the film makes.

Minions and Monsters_400x400
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

Minions and Monsters finally gives those little yellow, pill-shaped critters from Despicable Me a proper calling, and it is about bloody time. The home-video release looks superb on Blu-ray, although its basic selection of bonus features makes this less of a must-buy package than the film deserves. Ever since Sergio Pablos pitched the idea to Illumination, I have regarded them as natural heirs to cinema’s early comedians, like Buster Keaton. And to pay tribute to that fact, I’m glad what directors Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin massaged into shape acknowledges all that and more!

And for those people who missed seeing this film on the big screen, the home video release gives viewers a chance to watch this film multiple times to pick out the scenes where this tribute shines the most. It is a marvellous send-up of the Silent Era and Hollywood’s Golden Age, with a specific Minion, James, taking centre stage. And I have to assume the narrative imagines how a new film industry might develop without D.W. Griffith defining its early days.

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AnimEigo and Otakon 2026 Home Video Announcements Galore: So What’s New?

From Fantasia Film Festival to Otakon 2026, we have this intermission. AnimEigo announced a fantastic array of titles that also includes a literary classic for those who missed it the first time ’round.

Animeigo at Otakon 2026

With Otakon 2026 taking place this weekend, there’s reason to celebrate! Anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD announced five newly licensed Blu-ray home media titles during a panel at Otakon 2026. They are a mix of old and new, and for those in the know, it’s about time one fond favourite anime from the 90s is getting an update!

The following are to be released in 2027

Antique BakeryAntique Bakery is a slice-of-life anime series about four men who work in a French bakery in Tokyo. It’s based on an acclaimed manga series created by Fumi Yoshinaga (Ooku: The Inner Chambers, What Did You Eat Yesterday?) that won a Kodansha Manga Award for best shojo manga. The 2008 TV anime ran for 12 episodes on Fuji TV’s late-night Noitamina block, following an earlier live-action drama adaptation from 2001. AnimEigo will release the series on Blu-ray in 2027.

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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 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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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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