New Manga UMDS December 6th

Chicago, IL- Japanese animation film distributor Manga Entertainment proudly presents three new anime films formatted for viewing on the Portable Sony Play Station player. These UMD versions of Perfect Blue, Dead Leaves and X will be released on December 6, 2005 by Anchor Bay Entertainment.



Perfect Blue

In the tradition of great suspense masters, director Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress, Memories), special advisor Katsuhiro Ototmo (Akira) and Madhouse Studios (Ninja Scroll), bring Yoshikazu Takeuchi's thrilling suspense novel to the screen, in a tour de force that brings animation to a bold new level.



“an amazing feat of animation, a stylish psychological thriller…creates an increasingly terrifying world and pulls you into it with the effectiveness of a Hitchcock suspense classic.” – LA Times



In the film, pop singer Mima Kirigoe looks forward to a bright new career when she quits her chart-topping trio to become an actress. When she lands a role in a sexually charged murder mystery series, Mima's life begins to fall apart. Reality and hallucinations merge into a terrifying netherworld where innocence is lost and dreams become nightmares. Quickly descending into a dangerous state of paranoid delusions, Mima discovers an internet site describing every intimate detail of her daily life. Helpless and afraid, she watches as her associates are threatened and killed by a mysterious stalker



Dead Leaves – a new and uncharted dimension of Japanese animation - presented in an eye-popping, vibrant and frantically paced action adventure film. Dead Leaves showcases a distinctive style of animation featuring uncanny, fast and furious split-screen action combined with a unique color scheme and unconventional character designs.



“They haven't invented a word yet for how cool Dead Leaves is.” – PLAY magazine



The story follows main characters Pandy and Retro as they awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past. They embark on a crime spree for food, clothing and transportation but are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous lunar penitentiary named Dead Leaves. While incarcerated, they soon discover that Dead Leaves is also a top-secret cloning facility that is occupied by villainous guards and deformed genetic experiments. Ultra-manic chaos and hyper-violent bedlam result as they break out of Dead Leaves with the aid of their fellow mutant inmates. Boasting an extraordinary cast of characters in a comically abusive and chaotic adventure, Dead Leaves is an unusually fresh anime action film that intentionally rattles the senses.



X - Based on the popular Japanese comic book series of the same name, X brings together some of Japan's most talented animators and storytellers. X is the brainchild of CLAMP (Magic Knight Rayearth) – a collective of four female comic artists renowned for creating some of the medium's most durable characters. The stunning animation is provided by the masters of Japan's Mad House Studios (Ninja Scroll and Perfect Blue).



"A visually stunning film that blends drawn animation and computer graphics… The animation detail, from huge city buildings down to small creases in the clothes, is much better than most Disney pictures, and the haunting score gives a nice touch." - Seattle Post Intelligencer



A post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure, X is the story of Kamui, a young man possessed of nearly limitless power who returns to Tokyo to protect his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori. Unbeknownst to Kamui, his arrival ignites a war between two opposing mystical factions - The Dragons of Earth and The Dragons of Heaven. The Dragons of Earth seek to destroy civilization before humanity consumes the Earth, while and the Dragons of Heaven fight to preserve mankind. But when Kamui discovers that his two childhood friends are in grievous peril, he decides to embrace his fated position in a climactic struggle that will decide the ultimate fate of the planet.



Manga Entertainment Inc. specializes in the production and distribution of Japanese animation for theatrical, DVD and home video release worldwide. Manga's cutting-edge film collection also features Asian live-action, cult, pop-culture and international animation. The Manga film library is marketed and distributed in the U.S. through Anchor Bay Entertainment. Manga is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in London and Tokyo. www.manga.com



Manga Entertainment is an Anchor Bay Entertainment Company. Anchor Bay Entertainment is an established leader in the field of home entertainment. The company offers an expansive selection of award-winning, notable theatrical films including “Time Bandits” and “Halloween,” classic television programming such as “Roseanne,” “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Three's Company,” “Highlander” and much of the Stephen J. Cannell library, traditional children's fare featuring the ever-popular Thomas & Friends collection and Mister Rogers Neighborhood, the impressive Manga anime line and chart-topping fitness titles including the "Crunch" and "For Dummies" series. Anchor Bay Entertainment is aggressively developing a wide range of original programs and concepts in addition to licensing existing brands and films.



Anchor Bay Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Entertainment. IDT Entertainment is a vertically integrated entertainment company that develops, produces, and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT, IDT.C), an international telecom, entertainment, and technology company.