Topping the week’s animation home ent. releases is the highly anticipated U.S. release of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Short Peace on DVD (Sentai Filmworks, $24.98) and Blu-ray ($29.98). The anthology film — an update on his next-gen filmmakers showcase Memories (1995) — combines four diverse animated shorts from celebrated directors. Both versions come in a protective slipcover with four postcards featuring unique art from the shorts.
Shuhei Morita’s Oscar-nominated Possessions blends 2D textures with CG animation in its tale of a lone traveler confronted by unusual object-spirits in an abandoned shrine; a mysterious white bear defends a rural village from a red demon in Hiroaki Ando’s Gambo from an original story by Katsuhito Ishii (Redline) and character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion); things take a sci-fi twist in Hajime Katoki’s A Farewell to Weapons, a man-vs-machine tour-de force set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo; and mastermind Otomo’s multiple award-winning Combustible takes a Romeo and Juliet theme back to the distant past of Edo as star crossed lovers confront their fate against the backdrop of a raging fire. [Available now]
Also out August 5:
Transformers Cybertron: The Complete Series [Shout! Factory, $44.99] Seven-disc set collects the final installment of the Unicron Trilogy with all 52 episodes of the 2005-06 series.
Dragon Ball Z: Season 6 [FUNimation, $44.98] Another seven-disc set, containing episodes 166-194 of the hit Toei show, plus cast interviews, Dragon Ball Z Retrospective: Part Five, textless opening & closing songs and U.S. trailer.
LEGO Ninjago: Rebooted – Battle for New Ninjago City [Warner, $14.98] First four season three episodes; the ninja feel left out of the city’s tech renaissance, until they’re called back into action as the Overlord has survived the Final Battle as a digital virus and has created a new menace, the Nindroids.
Sofia the First: The Enchanted Feast [Disney, $19.99] A magical pre-k friendly romp in which Sofia hosts an amazing banquet that gets crashed by an evil fairy trying to steal her amulet. Special appearance by Snow White.
VeggieTales: Celery Night Fever [Big Idea, $14.97] The weirdly addictive moral-driven kids show brings a new disco-themed special featuring six new songs and the voice talents of Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Everybody Hates Chris).
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