entertainment

Miyazaki Blu-ray collection to be released with special bonus content but won’t come cheap

8 Comments

We’re sure many of our readers have seen films by Hayao Miyazaki and know first-hand what it is like to be utterly drawn in to the fantastic yet convincing world he creates. Now, it’s unlikely anyone familiar with Miyazaki’s works will dispute that he is a giant in the anime industry, but a new DVD collection which has recently been announced reminds us just how much of a giant he is.

That’s right, a collection of anime films directed by Miyazaki will be released on June 18, and we have to say the list of movies it includes is impressive. What’s more, the films will all be in Blu-ray and come in a fancy package with extra bonus content! What fan wouldn’t want one of these, right?

There will be 11 movies in the collection — most of them released from Studio Ghibli, but not all — from the very first theater-released film directed by Miyazaki to his latest work, "The Wind Rises." Here’s what the box will contain.

[11 Miyazaki films in Blu-ray]

  • "The Castle of Cagliostro" 1979 (Miyazaki’s first theater-released film)
  • "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" 1984
  • "Castle in the Sky" 1986
  • "My Neighbor Totoro" 1988
  • "Kiki’s Delivery Service" 1989
  • "Porco Rosso" 1992
  • "Princess Mononoke" 1997
  • "Spirited Away" 2001
  • "Howl’s Moving Castle" 2004
  • "Ponyo" 2008
  • "The Wind Rises" 2013

[Bonus Disc 1]

  • Pilot film from "Yuki’s Sun" (5 min) 1972 (Pilot for a TV series, entirely storyboarded by Miyazaki himself)
  • Three episodes of the TV series "Akado Suzunosuke" (30 min each) 1972-73 (storyboarded by Miyazaki)
  • Promotional music video for the song "On Your Mark" by CHAGE and ASKA (7 min) 1995

[Bonus Disc 2]

  • Miyazaki’s retirement press conference on September 16, 2013 (90 min, uncut)

How’s that for a full serving of Miyazkai anime?

And on top of all this, the collection will come in a uniquely designed box made from a special material with Miyazaki illustrations embossed on it.

So, fans understandably have reason to be excited about this Blu-ray collection. Unfortunately, though, the collection doesn’t come cheap, at a suggested price of 64,000 yen and marked down to 51,192 yen on Amazon Japan. Some Internet users in Japan have already commented on the steep price, saying that it would be more economical to buy the individual Blu-rays for just the movies that you really like.

Nonetheless, we have a strong feeling that there will be more than enough fans willing to pay that price to be the proud owner of this special Miyazaki Blu-ray collection. Whatever you think of the price, one thing that can definitely be said about the collection is that it’s guaranteed to provide many hours of quality entertainment. After looking at the list of movies included in the collection, we can’t help but be impressed with the volume and quality of the work Miyazaki has produced over the years. The only question we now have is, will Miyazakai remain in retirement, or is there a chance he might make a come back… again?

Source: AMAZON.JP via Yaraon

Read more stories from RocketNews24 -- Buy, play, quit – 10 videogames Japanese players gave up on -- We go ghost hunting in our apartment – with bone-chilling results -- Plenty of smoke in Ghibli’s ‘The Wind Rises’ – But not the kind you might expect

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8 Comments
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Its pretty ridiculous that in 2014 theres still no (legitimate) digital distribution for Miyazaki films. The market has spoken and physical media has been on its way out for years, the last movie I watched on blu-ray was probably 2 years ago. They insist on learning the same lesson all others have, if you dont come up with a way to let you fans buy and download your movies/music easy and legally, they will just do it illegally. I wont steal his movies, but theres no way Im paying $600+ and dragging out my Bluray player from the closet anymore. Please join the rest of us here in the 21st century.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

@ Krinkov: Unless you can show valid evidence to back up your "claims"... All you are saying is that you hate this, want the rest of the world to hate it, and we should all forget that digital downloads are only good for both games and music. And both movie and TV, what you are citing is saying that a "stripped down to virtually whatever they offer" is better than owning a beefy BD or DVD that is pretty much the same price.

As for this set... It is cheaper to buy the set. iTunes would charge the same, and the only individual deals are through Amazon Japan, Book Off, and through overseas help (as that is another ~60% saved. Otherwise, this is not a set for you and I doubt you realize that the facts tied to the 21st market contradict your claims. So I will say is don't try to buy these on iTunes Japan. The only difference will be that you'll lug out a new HD instead of your BD player.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Krinkov you don't know nothing, I want to have a blu ray/dvd collection, not some digital shit

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I love this quote in the article: "Some Internet users in Japan have already commented on the steep price, saying that it would be more economical to buy the individual Blu-rays for just the movies that you really like." Yes, of course it would be cheaper to buy only the movies that you really like. Why would you buy this set if you are not interested in it? There are plenty of fans who would love this set at this price. Fans may have already purchased the blu rays of their favorite movies, but they might be enticed by the extra content.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Would be a nice set, but given that I already have bought and own a number of his movies on DVD (not BD, unfortunately, since I bought them before BD came out), and given the cost, I'll pass for now.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Shut up and take half my salary!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Fantastic movies! I have some of them on DVD, but I won't be buying this set for this price. I may go out and rent some of them at Geo Video, though...only ¥103 yen for a week / each--great value.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

". . . but a new DVD collection which has recently been announced reminds us just how much of a giant he is."

Yes. But my first thought was, "About time." His entire body of work should have been available on Blu-ray as soon as it was release on DVD.

With most movies released, you can wait until they are available on-demand to see them simply because they weren't good enough to justify paying $10+ (here in the States) to see them. I've always thought it was odd that Ghibli's catalogue hadn't been converted to Blu-ray long ago. They probably cost themselves a good deal of money not releasing everything here since "Spirited Away" as Blu-ray to begin with and back filling the catalogue as they went as I'm sure the passion for some fans has subsided as they have grown older.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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