funimation films

ONE PIECE: STAMPEDE Lands A Fall U.S. Release From Funimation

Lee B. Golden III

I’d like to think that one day I’ll muster the bravery required to commence finally digesting the epic phenomenon that is One Piece. It’s the animated series that never died after showing up on American shores back in 2004 from 4Kids Entertainment having crossed the pond from Japan’s own 1999 rollout from Toei Animation. Now some 900 episodes and thirteen feature animated movies in, Sony’s Funimation joins in the 20th anniversary celebration that now delivers director Takashi Otsuka’s One Piece: Stampede into North America for its upcoming release this Fall. Shepherded by original creator Eiichiro Oda and featuring character designs by Masayuki Sato, its U.S. segue comes after packing in $28.7+ million at the Japan box office, becoming a record setter to date for biggest opening-day audience for 2019. “We are so excited to bring ‘One Piece: Stampede’ to North America as part of our 20th anniversary celebration of this […]

TOKYO GHOUL ‘S’ To Feast Off Audiences In Select U.S. Theaters In September

Lee B. Golden III

Anime Expo rolled out some of the best news ever for the fandom over the weekend, including theatrical updates with word that Funimation has ordered a September U.S. release for Tokyo Ghoul ‘S’. The film is currently due to premiere in Japan in two weeks while gearing up for a festival run at Fantasia which kicks off its 23rd installment a week earlier. Directors Takuya Kawasaki and Kazuhiko Hiramaki are at the helm this time around following Kentaro Hagiwara’s 2017 hit adaptation which drew rousing approval from AX attendees that year prior to hitting Blu-Ray, also from Funimation. Fantasia programmer Rupert Bottenberg took to the fest’s official website earlier on to properly hype-up the highly anticipated sequel based on the hit manga and anime series: Tokyo’s Ward 20 hasn’t seen the last of the ghouls, those seemingly human super-predators who satisfy their ravenous appetite for our flesh and blood with […]

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[UPDATED] KINGDOM: ‘Bleach’, ‘Inuyashiki’ Director’s Latest Arrives In North America August 16

Lee B. Golden III

Three years since actor Kento Yamazaki took the spotlight for a ceremonial three-minute short celebrating the hit manga franchise, Kingdom, the JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure star is finally poised for a North American event screening on August 16. Niche distro banner Funimation Films acquired North American theatrical rights a few months ago to the Shinsuke Sato-directed action adventure epic which stars Yamazaki with actor Ryo Yoshizawa, and garnered upward of ¥5 billion after releasing in Japan back in April. Orphaned by war, a young boy and his friend dream of changing their fate and becoming the world’s greatest generals. And after his friend sacrifices himself to protect the future emperor, the young boy’s path to greatness is set in motion. Helping the King reclaim the throne puts the boy’s blade to the ultimate test as they go against deadly assassins, large armies, and the dangerous mountain clan. In a country torn […]

MY HERO ACADEMIA: TWO HEROES Smashes Onto Screens This Fall From Funimation Films

Lee B. Golden III

With the series concurrently already underway, as of a week ago during SDCC 2018, Funimation Films is proudly carrying over the U.S. animated feature film release of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes. Voice actors Justin Briner and Christopher R. Sabat will tackle the respective performances of young aspiring superhero, Deku, and his mentor, All Might, on up to 400 screens in the U.S. and Canada with English dub screenings on September 25, 27 and 29, and in the original Japanese (w/ English subs) on September 26 and October 2. Our favorite young hero-in training is in for a wild ride when villains threaten the artificial moving city, I-Island. Deku and All Might receive an invitation to I-Expo, the world’s leading exhibition of Quirk abilities and hero item innovations! Amid the excitement, sponsors, and pros from all over, Deku meets Melissa, a girl who is Quirkless just like he once was. […]

COWBOY BEBOP: Funimation Films Knocks On Heaven’s Door Once More With An August Select Re-Release Of The Feature Animated Movie

Lee B. Golden III

With 2018 signaling the 20th anniversary of Watanabe Shinichiro’s cornerstone anime creation, Cowboy Bebop, Funimation already has the gears rolling with special collectors’ edition home releases of the hit show. The company is also setting forth a select theatrical re-releases of the hit 2001 animated movie accordingly on August 15th in Japanese with English subtitles, and on August 16th with English dub. Caught up in a world of dreams, lost in the cruelty of reality. What should have been an easy bounty turns into biological war after a terrorist gets ahold of a deadly virus. Drawn in by the pretty price on the mastermind’s head, Spike and the Bebop crew are ready to collect a much-needed reward. Unfortunately, the gang’s about to find themselves in more trouble than money when the terrorist threatens to unleash the virus on Halloween—effectively killing everyone on Mars. With little time and leads that seem […]

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Funimation’s Live-Action ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM Graduates To U.S. Release In August

Lee B. Golden III

Wild 7 and Over Drive helmer Hasumi Eiichiro is finally being granted the stateside audience for Funkmation Films’ DVD/Blu-Ray/Fun Digital release, Assassination Classroom. Both the 2015 live-action adaptation of Yusei Matsui’s Jump manga and its 2016 sequel, Assassination Classroom: Graduation will get a subtitle-only package deal ahead of its August 7 release telling of the epic saga centered on a group of delinquent students secretly faced with saving the world from destruction at the hands of a teacher in the form of an alien they’ve come to love. The killer manga comes to life in this two-part movie series. Join the students of Class 3-E as they learn to become proper assassins and try to kill their teacher. But he’s no ordinary instructor—he’s a tentacled creature with a thirst for destruction! And while they train to take him out they quickly learn there’s more to Koro Sensei than a will to […]

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TOKYO GHOUL: Creepy Girlfriends, Crawlers And Creatures In The Gory U.S. Trailer For The Live-Action Horror Manga Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

As expected, a full trailer is here for the upcoming horror manga adaptation, Tokyo Ghoul. Funimation Films is gearing up for a limited theatrical engagement slated from October 16 through 22. Riddled with gripping fight scenes and tasteful gore, this adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul brings the popular manga series to life like never before. Buried in books and a quiet life, Ken Kaneki is all but dead to the world in an age where flesh-eating ghouls live among us. But when his only chance for survival is an organ donation that turns him into a ghoul-human hybrid, he finds sanctuary at Anteiku—a café run by the people he once considered monsters. Targeted by anti-ghoul forces, this safe house is up against a hunger more sickening than their own. When their most innocent members are threatened by humanity’s taste for vengeance, Kaneki will risk life and limb to protect the very world that […]

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TOKYO GHOUL Sets An October Limited Theatrical U.S. Release From Funimation Films

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a bustling year with Japanese movie adaptations, and not for nothing either with the successes that have emerged. Such is what Anniversary helmer Hagiwara Kentaro brought with Ishida Sui’s 2011 horror manga, Tokyo Ghoul, which became well received in Asia. It also earned praise from viewers and fans this summer at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Fumination Films held that screening and I reckon they couldn’t be prouder for it, now setting a timetable for limited theatrical engagements from October 16 through 22 in select U.S. theaters. Riddled with gripping fight scenes and tasteful gore, this adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul brings the popular manga series to life like never before. Buried in books and a quiet life, Ken Kaneki is all but dead to the world in an age where flesh-eating ghouls live among us. But when his only chance for survival is an organ donation that turns […]

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Funimation’s SHIN GODZILLA Brings Down The House On August 1

Lee B. Golden III

Time or tell if whether or not the latest and celebrated Anno/Higuchi pairing for Shin Godzilla will amount with sequel prospects after some confusion stirring in March. For now, folks in North America can bask in their own forthcoming ownership of FUNimation’s Blu-Ray combo pack release on August 1. An official trailer went live on Thursday which you can view below as pre-order information draws near. Check it out just above and view the following announcent and subsequent artwork just beneath. U.S. label FUNimation Entertainment has dated its upcoming Blu-ray release of Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s film Shin Godzilla (2016), starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Takahiro Miura, and Pierre Taki. The release will be available for purchase on August 1. Synopsis: Make way for the ultimate homage to one of the most enduring legends of the big screen—Godzilla! The King of the Monsters is back in Tokyo […]

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Take Flight Against Monsters In The New Trailer For The ATTACK ON TITAN Compilation Films

Lee B. Golden III

Following last week’s announcement, the latest official trailer arrived for Funimation Films’s upcoming releases of the Attack On Titan compilation films. Both movies are comprised of elements from the anime series advance of Isayama Hajime’s popular manga with Araki Tetsuo at the helm. The films, Attack on Titan Part 1 – Guren no Yumiya (The Crimson Bow And Arrow) and Attack on Titan Part 2 – Jiyuu no Tsubasa (Wings Of Freedom), are set in a dystopian world plagued with seemingly invincible man-eating giants called Titans. A century after the first attack, mankind’s last city is on the verge of destruction when the Titans re-emerge, devastating the inhabitants of Wall Maria, the outer segment of which there are three. It is in the wake of this attack when we meet Eren Yeager who, along with adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman join the military to fight the Titans and save their city. […]

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Funimation Films Acquires Rights To ATTACK ON TITAN Compilation Films Screening In The U.S. In Late March!

Lee B. Golden III

Before season two arrives, anime fans can now gather in line for their chance to catch the Attack on Titan recap films courtesy of Funimation. The films, Attack on Titan Part 1 – Guren no Yumiya (The Crimson Bow And Arrow) and Attack on Titan Part 2 – Jiyuu no Tsubasa (Wings Of Freedom), are two feature-length summations of the Araki Tetsuo-helmed animated series inspired by Isayama Hajime’s 2009 action horror manga about a dystopian world plagued with seemingly invincible man-eating giants called Titans. One hundred years after the first attack, mankind’s last city is on the verge of destruction when the Titans re-emerge, devastating the inhabitants of Wall Maria, the outer segment of which there are three. It is in the wake of this attack when we meet Eren Yeager who, along with adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman join the military to fight the Titans and save their city. However, […]

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Funimation Films Licenses Live-Action BLACK BUTLER For DVD And Blu-Ray Release!

Lee B. Golden III

Three years since the release of Warner Bros. Japan’s live-action adaptation, Black Butler, U.S. anime staple Funimation has announced the film as its latest acquisition for a May 2 release on Blu-Ray and DVD. Kentaro Otani and Keiichi Satou directed the film hailing from its roots at Square Enix from Yana Toboso’s 2006 manga publication. SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the hit anime series Black Butler, this live-action adaptation brings an all-new story featuring a familiar demon butler doing what butlers do best: helping their masters seek revenge. The Black Butler is back—and there’s an all-new mystery to be solved. An alarming number of dignitaries from all over the world have turned up mummified with no clues about their murders except for a mysterious calling card, a tarot card, left behind at every crime scene. This time, Sebastian serves Earl Kiyoharu Genpo. Together, they’re up to some familiar antics. There’s the mind-boggling […]

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Oshii Mamoru’s GHOST IN THE SHELL Gets A Limited Theatrical And Steelbook Blu-Ray Treatment Starting In February

Lee B. Golden III

To say the least, the division spanning the reception of director Rupert Sanders’s treatment of popular manga/anime property, Ghost In The Shell has been nothing short of stark. Indeed the film has been much better received in its press push overseas than even I expected while there are many who still stake the film as an example of the continuing obscurity of Asian talent. The marketing has also been pretty compelling following its several televised micro teasers last year and the trailer which convincingly sells itself as a worthwhile adaptation of Shirow Masumane’s 1989 cyberpunk manga and subsequent 1995 anime film from heralded filmmaker Oshii Mamoru. Oshii himself endorses Paramount’s investment and with a little over two months left, hopefully this will be enough for the fans to calm their woes – otherwise the film may be in for an entirely different result. In the meantime, consider this as part […]

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SHIN GODZILLA Is Now Playing Throughout North America From Funimation Films!

Lee B. Golden III

Well, I don’t know what your plans are this weekend, but I’ll be putting this info into good use. Shin Godzilla is out in limited theaters as of Tuesday and Funimation Films has their latest announcement below. Peep it and get your tix soon! FLOWER MOUND, Texas, Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — The signature roar of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, will echo throughout North America tonight when “SHIN GODZILLA” opens in theaters. Funimation Films® will be screening the Japanese kaiju film in 534 theaters across the U.S. and Canada during its limited theatrical engagement from October 11 – 18. “SHIN GODZILLA” is the 29th film produced by Toho Co., Ltd. in the iconic science fiction monster franchise and is co-directed by Hideaki Anno (creator of “Evangelion”) and co- directed by Shinji Higuchi (director of Toho’s 2015 “Attack on Titan” live action movies). The movie has been a huge box […]

ONE PIECE FILM: GOLD Gets A One-Week Run In The U.S. And Canada From Funimation Films

Lee B. Golden III

Anime fans will soon get their chance to witness the next phase of the epic saga that is Toei’s latest venture, One Piece Film: Gold, in nearly 20 years following its succession as a popular manga, TV and film property. A feature film is also in the works as of June so time will tell how that one gets received, but needless to say, the ‘Gold”s prospects over the summer for its theatrical run in Japan have earned it an audience across the pond. Read the announcement from Wednesday and stick this one on your 2017 calendar for further notice! Funimation Films Set To Bring “One Piece Film: Gold” – Biggest ‘One Piece’ Movie Ever – To North America On January 10 – 17, 2017 New Blockbuster Film from Toei Animation Coming Soon to U.S. and Canadian Theaters FLOWER MOUND, Texas, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Anime and “One Piece” […]

RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE LEGEND ENDS Teases An Epic Final Battle In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

The final chapter in the live-action telling of Keishi Otomo’s epic Rurouni Kenshin trilogy comes to a close with the limited U.S. release of Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends. The first two are already rolling out on DVD and Blu-Ray from Funimation Films and you can get those before they release in November. SYNOPSIS: After his confrontation with Shishio ends in defeat, Kenshin Himura awakens at the home of his old Master. With his mind set on revenge, he trains day and night to learn the final technique of his deadly fighting style. While he builds up his strength, Shishio and his army attack the coastline and force the new government to name Kenshin a wanted man. With the world closing in on him, Kenshin will have to look inside himself to find the strength he needs to protect his friends and end Shishio’s reign of terror once and for […]

SHIN GODZILLA Reigns With Terror And Destruction In The Official U.S. Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Monster movies aren’t going away anytime soon and certainly in the wake of Japan’s biggest stake, Shin Godzilla, stooping high to both critical and commercial acclaim for Japanese cinema in 2016. The film has since rolled out in a few territories across Asia and will now soon make its way to the U.S. via Funimation Films with screen dates set for October 11 through 18. SYNOPSIS: Make way for the ultimate homage to one of the most enduring legends of the big screen—Godzilla! The King of the Monsters is back in Tokyo for a city-crushing crusade that speaks to the very roots of the world-renowned franchise. It’s a peaceful day in Japan when a strange fountain of water erupts in the bay, causing panic to spread among government officials. At first, they suspect only volcanic activity, but one young executive dares to wonder if it may be something different… something […]

SHIN GODZILLA Debuts A North American Poster!

Lee B. Golden III

The acclaimed King Of The Monsters himself has been taking Japan by storm once more in the latest kaiju epic, Shin Godzilla. Having become a box office hit at home, it seemed only fair that Toho’s prized property took the world stage and it has since obliged accordingly with releases throughout Asia, as well as a planned release in North America. Thus, the good folks at Funimation Films heard the call and now by way of the gang over at Sci-Fi Japan, Shin Godzilla is roaring online in the first official poster which you can view below. All that and more can be read in the subsequent press release which highlights the dates of the film’s U.S. limited theatrical run. LOS ANGELES, CA – September 2, 2016. The iconic science fiction monster Godzilla makes land fall in the U.S. and Canada this October with the North American theatrical release of […]

The Juppongatana Emerge In The New U.S. Trailer For RUROUNI KENSHIN: KYOTO INFERNO

Lee B. Golden III

The rollout continues next month Otomo Keishi’s Rurouni Kenshin trilogy continues to pave its way in select theaters North America. Next month will see the limited event debut, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno on September 12, 13 and 14 and Funimation Films has unveiled the latest trailer for the live-action adaptation which now encompasses our hero’s journey to Kyoto to stop a mad swordsman and his army from pillaging Japan and plunging the country back into darkness. SYNOPSIS: Former assassin Kenshin Himura and his friends are called back into action when a ghost from the past era rises to wreak havoc across Japan. Makoto Shishio, another ex-assassin, was betrayed, burned, and left for dead at the end of the war. Badly scarred—but very much alive—Shishio has put together an army and aims to overthrow the new government—burning anything and killing anyone who stands in his way. After witnessing his brutality firsthand, […]

GODZILLA: RESURGENCE Is Invading North America Later This Year!

Lee B. Golden III

Thursday night saw some terrific announcements at Comic-Con International: San Diego from the good folks at Funimation. Their official website has a bit more information but if you live in North America and cult monster movie fare is your thing, look no further than the latest press release announcing Funimation Films’s acquisitions of Godzilla: Resurgence which opens in Japan from Toho later this year. The film is just one in several of the biggest moves made in the live-action department with Funimation having ultimately grown into a growing mecca of all things Otaku. Having invested in event-screenings releases like last year’s live-action adaptations of both parts of the Attack On Titan films as well as all three of the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy starting next month, the inclusion of the latest directorial pairing from Anno Hideaki and Higuchi Shinji – as ceremonious as the hype is in the last two years, […]