Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s films now available in DVD and Blu-ray sets with extras

From Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro to The Boy and The Heron, these sets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

Hayao Miyazaki has achieved a lot in his 83 years, including directing 12 feature-length anime films, 11 of which were released by Studio Ghibli, which he co-founded with fellow director Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985.

As one of the most celebrated animators in the industry, Miyazaki’s films are considered to be some of the best in the world, and now you can own every one of them in a special boxed set, thanks to a surprise release by Studio Ghibli.

Available as either a Blu-ray set (pictured above) or a DVD set (pictured below), each bundle contains all 12 of Miyazaki’s feature films, including 1979’s Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, the first film he ever directed, which preceded Studio Ghibli by six years.

These collections don’t come cheap — the Blu-ray bundle retails for 72,600 yen (US$449.22) and the DVD set for 48,400 yen — but they’re bound to be snapped up by fans as soon as they’re released. As a special bonus, the studio is offering a special “first-come-first-served benefit” for those who get in quick to buy the first rollout of the sets, with a trio of theatre poster cards included with each purchase.

▼ The cards measure 14.8 by 10.5 centimetres (5.8 by 4.1 inches).

This special bonus will also be offered to customers who buy any of the five other items being released on the same day.

▼ The Boy and the Heron Special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray (12,650 yen)

This edition includes the film and a bonus extra — “Hayao Miyazaki and the Grey Heron… ~The Road to ‘The Boy and the Heron'”, a two-hour documentary that draws upon seven years of exclusive coverage to reveal what was going on behind the scenes at Studio Ghibli in the lead-up to the creation of the movie.

▼ The Boy and the Heron Special Collector’s Edition DVD (9,350 yen)

Though the Blu-ray contains two discs and the DVD three, they both include the movie and the documentary, as well as bonus content covering interviews and overseas trailers. The Blu-Ray comes with Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese audio and subtitles, while the DVD has English and Japanese audio and subtitles.

▼ The Boy and the Heron 4K UHD Blu-ray (11,880 yen)

4K UHD (4K Uktra HD) is the evolution of Blu-ray that far exceeds conventional Blu-ray in terms of resolution, brightness, and colour gamut. A compatible display, player, and cable are required to play this disc.

▼ The Boy and the Heron Blu-ray (7,480 yen)

This Blu-ray includes the movie and bonus extras, but no documentary, and it includes Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese audio and subtitles.

▼ The Boy and the Heron DVD (5,170 yen)

This DVD includes the movie and bonus extras, but no documentary, and although it comes with Japanese and English audio and subtitles, all the DVDs listed here are designed for use in Japan as they’re classified Region 2.

▼ One item that has no regional restrictions is the 2LP The Boy and the Heron Soundtrack (5,280 yen).

Although this is the one product that doesn’t come with the first-come-first-served-bonus cards, it’ll still be highly sought after, as it contains 37 tracks, including the theme song. It also comes with a new jacket design and English text in the newly written commentary that comes with the pack.

All the new items listed above will go on sale online at 10 a.m. (JST) on 3 July, so be poised to make your purchases then, before the products sell out. After all the publicity following The Boy and the Heron’s win at the Oscars, there’ll be a lot of interest in this new collection!

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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