Having topped the pre-order chart on Amazon.com, the eagerly awaited Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children arrives on home video today, giving fans a chance to obtain it legally after a pirate got nailed for posting it online. Anime aficionados can also pick up the new anime title Karas: The Prophecy, a two-disc limited collector’s edition of the 1990 favorite Patlabor: The Movie and the live-action feature adaptation of Peter Chung’s 1995 MTV anime series, Aeon Flux.
Directed by Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was animated in CG by Square Enix and features the voices of Ayumi Ito, Takahiro Sakurai, Maaya Sakamoto, Miyuu Tsuzuhara. The futuristic action thriller takes place two years after Cloud Strife and company saved the world from Sephiroth, and finds Strife living a secluded life, haunted by his past. Meanwhile, a strange disease is spreading throughout the planet and old enemies are hatching schemes, forcing Strife back to go back into action.
The two-disc special edition from Sony offers both the original Japanese-language film with English subtitles and an English-dubbed version. Bonus features include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, footage from the Venice Film Festival premiere and a sneak peak at upcoming Final Fantasy VII video games. The release lists for $26.96.
Karas: The Prophecy takes place in a Tokyo where humans and ghostly beings co-exist via a balance between dimensions kept by the city’s guardian crow, Karas, and his masters. That balance is upset when Eko, a former Karas, attempts to seize power and an entity named Yurine must lead a newly risen Karas in battle to stop him and save humainity. The English-language dub features the voices of Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo) Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) and Jay Hernandez (Hostel). Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette titled Montage: The Making of Karas, concept/animation comparisons, original Japanese trailers and TV spots and interviews with the Japanese voice actors, directors and producers. There’s also an exclusive 24-page Karas mini-comic from Dark Horse Comics. The disc from Manga Ent. carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.
Patlabor the Movie is available as a single-disc ($29.99) and and a two-disc limited collector’s edition ($89.99) from Image Ent. The anime classic from acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost In The Shell, Jin-Roh, Avalon) centers on the adventures of the heroic Special Vehicles Division 2, a mecha police force that investigates suspicious forces, government cover-ups and citywide destruction around Tokyo Bay. The collector’s edition, limited to 10,000 numbered sets, features illustrated cover designed by illustrator Yutaka Izubuchi, Japanese trailers and television commercials, a making-of featurette and two books: Archives (184 pages) and Storyboard (300 pages). Two different editions of Patlabor 2 will be available this summer.
Also hitting retail today is the Paramount Pictures’ attempt to recapture the anime appeal of Aeon Flux with star Charlize Theron. Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand and Pete Postlethwaite also star in this tale of a top underground operative at war with the totalitarian regime governing what appears to be a perfect society. Bonus materials include commentaries by Theron, producer Gail Anne Hurd and writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and the featurettes Creating a World: Aeon Flux, The Locations of Aeon Flux, The Stunts of Aeon Flux, The Costume Design Workshop of Aeon Flux and The Craft of the Set Photographer on Aeon Flux. The Paramount Home Entertainment release lists for $29.95.
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