Siren welcomes you to Welcome to the NHK and Kaiba
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 – Siren Visual is pleased to confirm June 17 will occasion the release of the darkly satirical Welcome to the NHK Directed by Yasuke Yamamoto from the acclaimed 2002 novel by Tatsuhiko Yakimoto, Welcome to the NHK dramatises the outrageous interior life of isolationist Sato Tatsuhiro. Part of a growing silent majority of ‘hikikomori’, which is to say a socially withdrawn university drop out whose existence for the past four years has consisted primarily of being barricaded inside his apartment, Sato-san suffers from a modern malaise akin to agoraphobia; his connection to the world is largely limited to online domains and television, which he believes is perpetuating a grand conspiracy.
Both wry celebration and sly critique of contemporary consumer culture, Welcome to the NHK fashions a compelling love story from the psychological residue of self-imposed loneliness, paranoia and alienation with the wit worthy of a slacker comedy. Boasting a popular online cult, NHK will be available to buy as a 4DVD boxed set housing the complete series.
June also sees Siren unveil the highly anticipated Kaiba. Recipient of an excellence prize for animation at the 2008 Japan Media Arts Festival and helmed by Masaaki Yuasa, the award winning director behind the mind-blowing The Tatami Galaxy, Kaiba fashions a dream world where memories are recorded and relived time and again by a privileged few. As a result the greater populace live lives bereft of reflection – their fondest recollections borrowed never to be returned. Not unlike an animated Strange Days and the work of Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner) it explores the freedom of the imagination and the cost of gambling with that very same freedom. Anime Planet said, “The beauty of Kaiba, however, is that is a multi-faceted series, in that it melds several different genres and philosophies together to become one darkly complicated whole.”
Eric Cherry Siren Visual CEO expects both titles to elicit a strong reaction from anime fans. “Welcome to the NHK is a gem that slipped through the cracks and we're very happy to have picked it up. It's a witty, satirical and sometimes earnest series that pokes fun at Otaku culture and we're looking forward to giving it the Siren treatment.”
He added, “Kaiba on the other hand is one of the most interesting anime shows we've ever seen. What a concept! Masaki Yuasa is a favourite here and we worked for years tracking it down. It's our first license through Madhouse and I hope Australian anime fans appreciate it as much as we do.”
For more information please contact Bill Craske on 8671 0201
