Shout! Factory Archives | Otaku No Culture

Life on the Penguin Highway is Never Sane

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Distributor: Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 6, 2019

The anime adaptation of Tomohiko Morimi’s novel, Penguin Highway, is coming to home video! Those who have not seen this anime last year at Fantasia 2018 either had to wait for a local (film festival) screening or this Tuesday. Life is certainly a highway for young Aoyama (Kana Kita), a 4th grader with an IQ of about 105. He aspires to be a scientist, and hopes to visit the moon one day. But first, he has to answer the question of why penguins–who typically prefer cold arctic conditions–are in a sleepy suburb of humid Japan.

He meets a young woman whom he calls Lady (Yuu Aoi) who works at his dentist’s office, and they form an unlikely friendship. Life at school is rough. He’s rather stuffy since everyone identifies him as a nerd. As a result, he’s constantly teased and bullied. He can stand up for himself but he is stronger when his two friends are there to help. Ultimately, the narrative does not differ from, for example, Trollhunters. His just-as-nerdy pal, Uchida (Rie Kugimiya) tries but Hamamoto (Megumi Han) ends up being more handy. The threesome eventually even has the bully team up to deal with a mysterious orb found in a meadow nestled deep in a forest. Just what it is, nobody knows.

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Stay Awhile at Okko’s Inn, Everybody is Welcome!

Both versions of Okko’s Inn are based on a 20 volume series by Hiroko Reiji, and to say which is better isn’t fair.

Okko's Inn Blu-ray Case — Available for order on Amazon USA

Release Date: July 2, 2019
GKIDs & Shout! Factory

Plenty of memories exists in Okko’s Inn, the animated adaptation of the novel 若おかみは小学生！This anime offers a lot of interpersonal drama for the titular character and it often comes across in a slice of life style narrative than anything else.

She is an innkeeper in training. At a young age, she has a lot to deal with. After a car accident which killed her parents, to which she miraculously survived, she is off to live with grandma and play with ghosts. These spirits are friendly, if not a little mischievous.

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Landing on Shout! Factory’s Lap is Space: 1999 – Details on Blu-Ray Release

Penguin Highway

Just when fans os Gerry and Sylvia Anderson‘s epic sci-fi series, Space: 1999 thought the 30th Anniversary Edition was enough, Shout! Factory is doing one better with their upcoming release, coming July 16, 2019.

Six new features will be added which looks at the past and future of this series. The Surround sound remix has me intrigued and I’m tempted to pick up the entire series all over again. For Blu-ray enthusiasts, this version will mean fewer discs to flip (there’s 13 versus 18) when compared to the original.

New interviews with director Kevin Connor, actors Barbara Bain and Nick Tate, and new audio commentaries will be in this set, and for those wanting a keepsake, a snow globe is included! It has the Eagle Transporter landing on the Moon and this set is available for pre-order now at shoutfactory.com. The globe itself has a 4-inch circumference and sits on a 2-inch base.

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Anyone Can be One of Studio Ponoc’s Modest Heroes

Release Date: June 18, 2019

Studio Ponoc’s Modest Heroes is a collection of tales which shows how life must go on despite the obstacles that come what may. They are all heroes in their own unique way. This collection of animated shorts encompasses a wide range of genres, and it honours the precedent Studio Ghibli set in their films, and that’s to focus on vivid characterization.

Originally, this work would include four animated shorts, but the untimely passing of Isao Takahata did not dampen spirits. To make the theatrical experience a touch more worthwhile, a featurette with founder Yoshiaki Nishimura was included in most screenings, which discusses the design of each piece.

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Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Documentary Comes to Home Video!

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

If you are a huge Deep Space Nine Fan like me, trying to find a local theatre playing this documentary about this show is difficult. Not every town will offer it. Thankfully, Shout! Factory is releasing this product to home video so those who are looking for that love letter from outer space can get it. In what I believe made this series work is that directors Ira Steven Behr (showrunner) and David Zappone (producer of For the Love of Spock, The Captains) were on board for all seven seasons. Their vision never waned!

They are two of the many names who look back at What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s a fascinating in-depth look at the past, present, and future of a series whose dark, edgy take on Gene Roddenberry’s vision was often misunderstood when it premiered but has grown into a beloved mainstay in the Star Trek franchise, What We Left Behind will be available August 6, 2019 on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital, as well as a Shout! Factory exclusive two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray.

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Go Go Turbo! Power Rangers to Speed into Stores July 30th!

Penguin Highway Time to shift into turbo. Shout! Factory is proud to announce that the fan-favorite Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is coming to Blu-ray for the first time on July 30, 2019. The release includes an all-new documentary “Ranger Tales: A Back at Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,” alongside and original featurette and trailer. Turbo features many frequent guest stars and regulars from other Power Rangers series, including Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, and Catherine Sutherland.

It’s the Power Rangers to the rescue in their all new high action motion picture adventure. With new turbo powers and racing Turbo Zords, the five superheroes battle a ruthless band of evil space aliens in order to save Earth from destruction.

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