Missed your chance to see this decade’s biggest anime movie hit in theaters? Soon you’ll be able to watch it at home, with no language barrier.
While Makoto Shinkai’s anime hit Your Name has received a wider release in English-speaking territories than many other animated films from Japan, it’s still not on the same scale as mainstream movies’ distribution. Unless you live in a major city, odds are you’re looking at a long drive several towns over, and if your schedule isn’t free during the few days the anime is showing, you may have already lost your chance to see Your Name on the big screen (or to see it again, if you enjoyed it enough to be craving a repeat viewing).
Thankfully, though, Your Name’s Japanese home video release date has finally been announced. Come July 26, you’ll be able to own Your Name in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD formats.
Now, for non-Japanese anime fans, the Japanese home video release is often merely the beginning of another period of waiting, as price discrepancies usually mean the translated overseas release of a title only comes months, or even years, after Japanese consumers get to purchase it. But in the case of Your Name, there’s no language barrier to worry about, since the Japanese release is listed as including English subtitles, as well as Chinese ones, by Amazon Japan, which also designates the Blu-ray discs as region-free and usable in Blu-ray players purchased anywhere in the world.
Specifically, Your Name’s product description lists the disc’s subtitle options as being Japanese, English, Chinese, and “English songs,” as the audio options allow viewers to choose between the original Japanese songs by rock band Radwimps or the English versions the group recorded for some of the film’s overseas screenings. Regardless of the music selection, all character dialogue is in Japanese, as the film’s English dub is not included.
Official pricing starts at 3,800 yen (US34) for the DVD, whereas the Blu-ray will set you back 4,800 yen. 7,800 yen gets you the three-disc Special Edition Blu-ray, with two discs of extra content including storyboards, a making-of video segment, unused voice clips, a clean opening (yes, Your Name does have a TV anime-style opening sequence), a 100-page art/interview booklet, the Your Name bottled water ad shown on Japanese TV, and audio film commentary from lead voice actor Ryusuke Kamiki, lead voice actress Mone Kamishiraishi, and Radwimps.
Finally, for 12,000 yen there’s the five-disc Collector’s Edition, with the movie on both Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, all the extra goodies of the Special Edition, and a third, exclusive disc of extra content with an interview with Shinkai and video from Your Name events, including its world premiere at Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles.
Amazon Japan has already started taking pre-orders. The stand-alone Blu-ray is priced at 4,147 yen, the Special Edition at 6,739 yen, and the Collector’s Edition at 10,368 yen (the DVD is currently missing in action, but if there’s a movie that’s worth splurging on the prettier Blu-ray for, it’s the lushly colored Your Name). Along with the inclusion of English subtitles and region-free play, the deep discounts are just a few more happy surprises.
Source: Otakomu, Your Name official website
Images: Your Name official website
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