GKIDS announced on Wednesday that Warner Bros. Japan and STUDIO4°C’s anime of Hiroshi Sakurazaka and Yoshitoshi ABe’s All You Need Is Kill science fiction light novel has launched digitally for rental or purchase, and it will ship on Blu-ray Disc on July 7 with distribution by Shout! Studios. Bonus features include director scene breakdowns, a director and cast pre-screening discussion, storyboards with director commentary, an art gallery, and teasers/trailers.
Image courtesy of GKIDS
© 桜坂洋／集英社・ALL YOU NEED IS KILL製作委員会
Image via All You Need is Kill anime’s X/Twitter account
© 桜坂洋／集英社・ALL YOU NEED IS KILL製作委員会
The film opened in theaters in North America January 16. GKIDS acquired the anime in multiple territories, including North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. GKIDS is screening the film in both Japanese audio with English subtitles, as well as an English dub.
The film opened on January 9 in 10 theaters throughout Japan.
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France screened All You Need Is Kill in June. The film then had its North American premiere screening at this year’s 29th annual Fantasia International Film Festival that was held from last July-August in Montreal. New York Comic Con screened the film’s U.S. premiere last October. It was an official selection and was nominated for the “Anima’t Selection” of the 58th Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia last October in Spain. The anime also screened in additional festivals, including the Bucheon International Animation Festival last, San Sebastian Fantasy Festival last October-November, Scotland Loves Anime Festival last November-December, Leeds International Film Festival last October-November, and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival in November.
The anime stars (English dub in parentheses):
Kenichiro Akimoto (Children of the Sea CGI director, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko unit director) directed the anime at STUDIO4°C. The anime retells the story from a different viewpoint than the novel and Hollywood’s Edge of Tomorrow film adaptation.
University student and singer-songwriter AKASAKI performs the theme song “Tsuretette” for the anime. AKASAKI specifically wrote the song for the anime. This is AKASAKI’s first anime theme.
The original novel by Sakurazaka is set in a future Earth under attack by alien invaders known as Mimics. Humanity’s infantry goes into battle in powered armor suits that enhance their deadliness, but they are still losing the war. Keiji Kiriya is a newly enlisted soldier, but dies in his first battle. After he dies, he finds himself awakening to a time prior to the battle, having inexplicably entered a time loop. Through a repeating process of dying and learning from his mistakes, he slowly finds a way to live longer and longer, and finds himself drawn to an elite soldier named Rita Vrataski.
Shueisha published the novel in December 2004. Viz Media published Sakurazaka’s novel in English to launch its Haikasoru imprint for Japanese science fiction and fantasy in 2009.
The novel spawned a manga by artist Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Bakuman.) and writer Ryōsuke Takeuchi (ST&RS) in Shueisha’s Young Jump magazine in January to May 2014. Viz Media published the manga in English.
Viz also released a separate one-volume full-color graphic novel adaptation of the story in May 2014. Nick Mamatas (Move Under Ground) adapted the story and Lee Ferguson (Green Arrow, Miranda Mercury) drew the art.
The novel inspired the live-action Hollywood movie adaptation Edge of Tomorrow in 2014, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Edge of Tomorrow made over US$100 million in the U.S., US$15 million in Japan, and US$370,541,256 worldwide.
Source: Press release
