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RetroCrush Adds Astro Boy, Black Jack, More Tezuka Pro Anime Starting in June (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Digital Media Rights announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Tezuka Productions to release nine anime titles on its service starting on June 5. Black Jack and A Time Slip of 10000 Years: Prime Rose will launch on June 5, and the remaining titles will premiere from June to August. RetroCrush has obtained the SVOD (subscription video on demand), TVOD (transactional VOD), AVOD (advertising-based VOD), and digital linear rights to these anime for the United States and Canada.
The titles coming to the service include:
- Astro Boy (1980, 52 episodes)
- Black Jack (1993 OVA, 12 episodes including Black Jack Final) - June 5
- Ambassador Magma (1993 OVA, 13 episodes)
- A Time Slip of 10000 Years: Prime Rose (1993 film) - June 5
- Undersea Super Train: Marine Express (1979 film) - June 26
- One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book (1978 film)
- Dear Brother (1991, 39 episodes)
- Jungle Emperor - The Brave Changes the Future (Jungle Emperor Leo, 2009 film) - June 19
- Moby Dick - Great Whale in Space (Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick, 1997, 26 episodes)
RetroCrush is a free, ad-supported video-on-demand service. The service has apps on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and smart TVs, in addition to being available on browsers. The service launched in March with 12 titles, and added 18 more anime titles in May.
Digital Media Rights stated to ANN that its goal with the streaming service is to "serve as a community built for the consumption and discussion of the Golden Age of Japanese animation, (and some not so retro), from the perspectives of pop culture, fandom, art, internet memes & more."
The service plans to include a library of content that "hasn't had proper streaming releases outside of Japan."
RetroCrush's streaming partners include Discotek Media, TMS, NHK, Studio Pierrot, AMG, and Happinet, among others.
Update: Added more premiere dates for some of the works.
Source: Press release
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