This week’s home entertainment releases won’t overshadow the fireworks, but there are some interesting offerings including Stephen Chow’s wild Hong Kong fantasy/comedy The Mermaid, a visually stunning Brazilian animated feature, the latest season of the marvelously Machiavellian political drama House of Cards, reasonably-priced collections of The Real Ghostbusters, and a bevy of interesting anime releases led by the only Studio Ghibli film that has never been released here before, and the steampunk sci-fi epic The Empire of Corpses.

Anime

This is a very strong week for anime releases led by The Empire of Corpses (Funimation, 120 min., $29.95, BD/DVD Combo $34.95), a psychological alternate history science fiction steampunk adventure film set in a 19th Century where Victor Frankenstein’s experiments led to the development of reanimated corpses that can be controlled via primitive computing devices named after the pioneering Charles Babbage.  With all sorts of familiar 19th Century characters (Holmes & Watson, etc.) The Empire of Corpses will appeal not just to lovers of anime sci-fi, but also to those who enjoy pulpish period adventures like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Also new this week is Shonen Hollywood—Holly Stage for 50: Season 2 Collection (Funimation, 325 min., Subtitles Only, $44.98), which collects all 13-episodes of the 2015 second season of the “idol saga” about a 32-year-old who pretends he is a teen to get a spot in a new “idol group” Shonen Hollywood.

Fans of Hitoshi Iwaaki’s horror manga Parasyte will enjoy the release of Parasyte—The Maxim: Collection 2 (Sentai Filmworks, 300 min., $49.98, BD $59.98), which collects the final 12 episodes of the 24-episode Madhouse anime form 2015 that aired here on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.  That prime TV exposure and the popularity of Iwaaki’s manga, which was a big hit for Tokyopop back in the day (and is now available from Kodansha USA), should insure that this collection does well.

But for the many fans of Studio Ghibli this week’s number one release is the North American disc debut of Only Yesterday (Gkids, “PG,” 240 min., $29.95, BD/DVD $34.98), Isao Takahata’s sensitive 1991 adult animated drama about a 27-year-old woman who returns to the countryside and is drenched in memories from her childhood that eventually lead her to reevaluate her life and priorities.  This is the only Studio Ghibli film that has never been released in the U.S. (though a subtitled version was shown on Turner Classic Movies), and its release is long overdue.

Other new (to North America) releases include the Hatenkou Yugi Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, 250 min., Subtitles Only, $49.98), which collects the 10-episode 2008 anime from Studio Deen that is based on the action-packed fantasy romance manga Dazzle by Minari Endoh, 10 volumes of which were published by Tokyopop; and Naruto Shippuden: Uncut Set 27 (Viz Media, 325 min., $39.99), which contains episodes 336-348 of Masashi Kissimoto’s classic ninja saga in their original uncut form.

Among this week’s many re-releases are: The Guilty Crown Complete Collection (Funimation, 550 min., BD/DVD Combo $69.98), which had previously been released in two parts;  After War Gundam X: Collection 2 (Right Stuf, 500 min.,Subtitles Only $49.98), which contains episodes 20 to 39 of the classic 1996 Gundam series, the seventh anime incarnation of the classic science fiction mecha saga from anime powerhouse Sunrise; plus Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ: Collection 2 (Right Stuf, 625 min., Subtitles Only, $59.99, BD $74.99), which contains the conclusion (episodes 23-47)  of the classic 1986 anime from Yoshiyuki Tomino that was the third installment in the Gundam mecha anime franchise; the Aquarion Evol Complete Collection (Funimation, $34.95) which collects the 2012 sequel to 2005 mecha anime The Genesis of Aquarion; the Karneval Complete Collection (Funimation, 325 min., BD/DVD combo $29.98), which collects the 13-episode 2013 series based on the action-packed josei manga; Sekirei: Season 1 & 2 Collection (Funimation, BD/DVD $49.98), which collects both seasons (2008 & 2010) of the anime produced by Seven Arcs that is based on the action-packed harem comedy manga by Sakurako Gokurakuin; and The Devil Is a Part-Timer Complete Collection (Funimation, BD/DVD Combo $44.98).

Theatrical Movies

None of the American films due out on disc on Tuesday made more than $1.6 million, which was the total earned by the Hank Williams biopic I Saw the Light (Sony, “R,” 124 min., $25.99, BD $26.99), which features an excellent performance by Tom Hiddleston (Loki in the MCU) as a young Hank Williams Sr. in this downbeat musical drama that is saved by Hiddleston’s powerful turn as one of the troubled and talented founding fathers of country music.

The film due on Tuesday that made the most money in the U.S. is Stephen Chow’s 2016 Hong Kong romantic comedy/fantasy The Mermaid (Sony, “R,” 94 min., $25.99, BD $30.99), a clever saga about a mermaid who is sent to seduce an evil developer, but who falls in love with him instead.  The ecological message is strong here—but does anyone blame Chinese artists for examining the costs of rapid industrialization?  Stephen Chow is an inventive filmmaker to a fault, and not all his visual gags work, but The Mermaid (Mei Ren Yu) is really quite enjoyable and definitely worthy of its 92% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The Brazilian animated film Boy and the World (Universal, “PG,” 162 min., $29.95, BD $34.98) is a visual delight that earned a spectacular 96% positive rating from the critics.  Writer/director Ale Abreu has created a distinctive work that is a bit on the abstract side (sometimes reminiscent of the UPA toons of the 1950s) and yet it works surprisingly well as a sort of universal fable that unfolds largely without dialogue with a fluid combination of striking images and evocative music.

The rest of this week’s offerings are not quite as edifying.  By the Sea (Universal, “R,” 123 min., $22.95, BD $26.95) was written and directed by Angelina Jolie, who stars along with her husband Brad Pitt in an Antonioni-like saga of bored, rich ex-pats in the 1970s trying to revive their relationship while staying at a seaside hotel.  Critics hated this slow-moving saga, which had few defenders (and only a 33% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but those who enjoy the work of Angelina Jolie might want to take a look at this period piece.  Jolie appears serious about working on both sides of the camera, and I suspect that in the future her work behind the camera will receive some serious study.

Another actor-turned-director with some talent on both sides of the camera is Jason Bateman, whose The Family Fang (Anchor Bay, 106 min., $22.99, BD $26.99) examines a strange and dysfunctional family.  Bateman and Nicole Kidman play the adult children of a couple of wild and woolly performance artists played by Christopher Walken and Maryann Punkett, who return to their family home after their parents disappear in a film that earned a solid 79% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

TV on DVD

There is a dearth of new releases this week, but at least one of them is first rate, House of Cards: The Complete 4th Season (Sony, $55.99, BD $65.99), which collects the latest season of Netflix’s scathing political drama that may seem a little tame in the face of the political farce taking place in one of our major parties in the current election, but which still has more Machiavellian malice and scheming than our classless pols could even dream of having.

The only other contemporary series out this week are from the U.K., the delightful BBC mystery series Death in Paradise: Season 4 (BBC, 446 min., $34.98) and the wonderfully snarky Vicious: The Finale (PBS, 60 min., $24.99), which charts a year in the life of verbally-sparring couple played by Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.

The big news is on the vintage front.  The impending release of a new Ghostbusters film has spurred Sony to release all 147 episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, an animated series that was written and overseen by JMS (Joseph Michael Straczynski).  The Real Ghostbusters aired from 1986 to 1991 and was previously released in a massive 25-disc set by Time-Life in 2008, who then began to release single volumes, though that lasted for only 3 releases.  Now Sony is releasing the episodes in chronological order in sets that will each contain 11-12 episodes.  This Tuesday Sony will release Vol.s 1-5  with each volume selling for a reasonable $14.99 MSRP.  Sony plans on releasing the remaining 5 volumes of the series on September 6.

Also now available at a very reasonable price are the first two seasons of The Rockford Files (Mill Creek, 920 min., $14.95 each).  Starring the subtly-talented James Garner, The Rockford Files is simply the best detective series ever broadcast on American TV (and the training ground for The Sopranos’ David Chase, whose fingerprints are all over The Rockford Files).