Anime Limited, licensee of BigWest Co., Ltd., in partnership with Crunchyroll, announced plans for the release of the Macross Plus Ultimate Edition, bringing this classic series to Blu-ray exclusively in the United States this fall — the set’s first availability outside of Japan. Fans of the decades-spanning Macross franchise can bring home the classic 1995 film — together with its original four-part OVA presentation — for the first time in English on Blu-ray.
Created by BigWest and Studio Nue, with Shoji Kawamori (Super Dimension Fortress Macross; Escaflowne) serving as executive director, the film marks the directorial debut of Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop; Samurai Champloo) as co-director and the first collaboration with composer Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop; Escaflowne).
This Ultimate Edition comes packaged in a large rigid slipcase adorned with the title’s most iconic visuals, which contains an immense and comprehensive hardback book chronicling the history, production and creative efforts behind Macross Plus — from interviews with its creators to character designs, background and key animation artwork.
Also included with the set is a series of nine art cards celebrating all of the title’s key visuals, plus an A3 “concert promotion” poster serving as an homage to virtual pop idol Sharon Apple.
Bonus features on the disc include the full Manga Entertainment dub for the OVA version of the show, as well as the Bandai Visual dub of OVA #4, while both Neil Nadelman’s Manga Entertainment subtitles and Bandai Visual’s subtitle options are present for the Movie Edition. With a host of other extras, including an interview with Shoji Kawamori and special visual effects director Ichiro Itano, this is the ultimate Macross Plus viewing experience for new and old fans alike.
In North America, the Macross Plus Ultimate Edition will be available exclusively via the Crunchyroll Store, while U.K. customers will be able to purchase the product exclusively from the AllTheAnime.com storefront. Pre-orders for the release will open on Thursday, June 6 at 9 a.m. PST.
An edition of Macross Plus for France and other European territories will follow, with more details to be confirmed later in the year from Anima Limited.
