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UHD Ghost in the Shell and Earwig and the Witch Released Monday

On Monday September 27, Funimation will release standard and limited editions of Mamoru Oshii's 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime film on Ultra-High Definition (UHD) 4K Blu-ray. The film has been remastered in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and the new edition features artwork by British artist Matt Ferguson.

Both editions include a Blu-ray disc in addition to the 4K UHD discs. The extras on both editions are as follows:

- Full-length audio commentary, featuring Mary Claypool (English Language Scriptwriter of Ghost in the Shell), Eric Calderon (animation producer and writer), Richard Epcar (English voice of Batou) and Charles Solomon (animation historian and critic).

- "Accessing Section 9: 25 Years into the Future" featurette, 18 minutes.

- "Landscapes & Dreamscapes – The Art and Architecture of Ghost in the Shell" featurette, 10 minutes.

- Production Report

The Limited Steelbook edition will also include a poster and six art cards. Funimation previously described the film:

In the year 2029, cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master”—a mysterious and threatening computer virus is capable of infiltrating human hosts. Working closely with her fellow agents from Section 9, the Major embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.

Oshii and Production I.G's 1995 film is based on Masamune Shirow's manga of the same name. Dark Horse Comics and later Kodansha Comics published Shirow's original 1991 manga and its sequels in North America

Elysian Films will release the Studio Ghibli CG film Earwig and the Witch as a Limited Blu-ray, a Steelbook Blu-ray and a DVD. All three editions include feature-length storyboards and interviews with the Japanese cast and crew. The source book by British writer Diana Wynne Jones was published in 2011, and publisher HarperCollins describes the story:

"Not every orphan would love living at St. Morwald's Home for Children, but Earwig does. She gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, and it's been that way since she was dropped on the orphanage doorstep as a baby. But all that changes the day Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to St. Morwald's, disguised as foster parents. Earwig is whisked off to their mysterious house full of invisible rooms, potions, and spell books, with magic around every corner. Most children would run in terror from a house like that . . . but not Earwig. Using her own cleverness—with a lot of help from a talking cat—she decides to show the witch who's boss."

Goro Miyazaki directed the anime as the studio's first full 3D CG feature, and his father and studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki are credited for the movie's planning and development. Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki produced the film.

Keiko Niwa (Ocean Waves, Tales from Earthsea, The Secret World of Arrietty, From Up On Poppy Hill, When Marnie Was There) and Emi Gunji (From Up On Poppy Hill assistant director) wrote the screenplay. Miho Satake (Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit, Kiki's Delivery Service), the illustrator of the novel's Japanese edition, is credited with the original character and setting designs, and Katsuya Kondo (Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, Ronja the Robber's Daughter, From Up On Poppy Hill) designed the characters for animation.

Yukinori Nakamura (Ghibli Museum's "Boro the Caterpillar", Expelled from Paradise) supervised the CG, and Tan Seri served as animation director. Yuhki Takeuchi handled the backgrounds. Satoshi Takebe (From Up On Poppy Hill, Ronja the Robber's Daughter) composed the music, Koji Kasamatsu directed the sound, and Eriko Kimura directed the dialogue recording. Kentarō Morishita produced the animation, and Isao Yoshikuni, Keisuke Tsuchihashi, and Koji Hoshino were production managers.

Anime Limited will release a standard Blu-ray edition of Mobile Suit Gundam NT (Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative).