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Kickstarter Campaign for The Dagger of Kamui Anime Film's Blu-ray Release Reaches Goal on 1st Day

AnimEigo's Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for its Blu-ray Disc release of the The Dagger of Kamui anime film titled The Dagger of Kamui Treasure Trove Edition has reached its goal on its first day of campaign. As of press time, the campaign has received US$74,125 from 812 backers. The campaign's initial goal was US$50,000. The campaign started on Saturday and will end on September 24.

The confirmed set contents of the project include: the HD transfer of the original film with English subtitles, SDH subtitles and captions, color and line art galleries, a brand new full-length commentary track by director Rintarō and anime historian Masahiro Haraguchi, names of the backers listed on the disc, and a reversible cover slip. The release will not be region-locked. AnimEigo will also produce a full-size 8.5x11-inch artbook, and a digital archive of additional production materials including timing sheets, scripts, camera instructions, press clippings, research notes, and more.

Rewards include the BD-50 Blu-ray Disc, the artbook, and a chipboard case.

AnimEigo describes the story:

On the eve of the Meiji restoration, as a slumbering Japan awakens and turns its eyes westward, an innkeeper finds a baby named Jiro in a drifting boat; his only companion a glittering blade, the Dagger of Kamui. When Jiro is thirteen, his adoptive family is murdered and Jiro is blamed, only to be rescued by Tenkai, a priest, who trains him in the mysterious arts of the Ninja. Seeking revenge for the loss of his adoptive family, Jiro kills the mysterious one-armed Ninja who reportedly slew them.

Years later, acting on a tip from Tenkai, Jiro tracks down his real mother, only to learn that Tenkai had tasked his father with finding a clue to the lost treasure of Captain Kidd. With the treasure in hand, the Shogun will be able to retain control, and Japan will once again isolate itself from the world. However, his father fell in love, abandoned the search, and had a child -- and for this failure, Tenkai exacted a terrible revenge!

Now the chase begins, as Jiro, with only the Dagger of Kamui to help him, searches for the great treasure, a search that will take him all the way to the American Old West, with Tenkai's minions always close behind.

If Jiro can find the treasure and return to Japan, then, perhaps, Jiro can exact his revenge, and thrust the Dagger of Kamui into Tenkai's black heart!

Rintarō directed the film at Madhouse. The film first opened in Japan in 1985. AnimEigo released the film on VHS and LaserDisc in the 1990s, and released the film on DVD in 2003.

Source: Kickstarter via Justin Sevakis' X/Twitter account