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Aniplex USA Details Koyomimonogatari, Kizumonogatari III, Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Home Video Releases
posted on by Rai Kelly
Aniplex of America announced the release dates and details for Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen, Koyomimonogatari, and Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale at Otakon on Friday.
Aniplex of America will release Koyomimonogatari on a two-disc Blu-ray Disc set on December 19. The set will bundle a deluxe booklet, pin-up postcards, and a package illustrated by Akio Watanabe. The release will have a suggested retail price of US$89.98 and a sales price of US$69.98. The release will include English subtitles and Japanese audio, and will feature a promo video and commercial collection.
The short anime debuted in 2016 on the Koyomimonogatari app for iOS and Android devices. The anime is based on NisiOisin's short story collection of the same name, which he published in May 2013. The novel contains twelve short stories set before Owarimonogatari.
Aniplex of America will release the Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen film on November 21. The Blu-ray Disc will bundle a soundtrack, deluxe booklet, pin-up postcard set, and package illustrated by Akio Watanabe. The set will have a suggested retail price of US$89.98 and a sales price of US$69.98. The release will include Japanese audio and English subtitles, and will also include a theatrical trailer, promo videos, and commercials.
Aniplex of America screened the film in theaters in the United States starting on April 7. The company screened the first film in the trilogy in the United States in February-March 2016, and in Canada starting in August-September 2016.
The company then screened the second film in the U.S. in October-November 2016. Aniplex of America also released the first film on Blu-ray Disc on December 27 and the second on May 9.
The first film in the trilogy, Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu, premiered in Japan on January 8, 2016. The second film, Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu, opened in Japan on August 19. The third film opened in Japan on January 6.
Kizumonogatari is the third volume in NisiOisin's Monogatari book series and is a prequel to Bakemonogatari. The novel tells the story of how protagonist Koyomi encounters the female vampire that would turn him and his journey to return to his normal life. Vertical licensed the novel, and released it in December 2015.
Aniplex of America will release Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale on December 19 on a limited edition Blu-ray Disc, a standard edition Blu-ray Disc, and a standard edition DVD.
The company's press release noted that the release of all editions will feature "brief nudity and some violence." Both Blu-ray Disc releases will also include the "Sword Art OFFline –Ordinal Scale–" anime short. The releases will all feature Japanese and English audio and English and Spanish subtitles.
The limited Blu-ray Disc set will bundle a bonus music CD, a deluxe booklet, and a rigid box, and has a suggested retail price of US$79.98 and a sales price of US$69.98. The standard Blu-ray Disc has a suggested retail price of US$49.98 and a sales price of US$39.98. The DVD has a suggested retail price of US$39.98 and a sales price of US$29.98.
The Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale film opened in Japan on February 18, and sold about 308,376 tickets for 425,762,760 yen (about US$3.76 million) in its opening weekend. The film also surpassed US$1.35 million in ticket sales in its in North American theaters when Aniplex of America and Eleven Arts screened the film in the United States on March 9. The film then returned to U.S. theaters with an English dub starting on April 22.
Original light novel author Reki Kawahara wrote the new story for the film. Kawahara's light novel series has more than 20 million copies in print.
