At Anime Expo the Right Stuf’s Shawne Kleckner announced a number of new licenses acquired by his company’s Nozomi Entertainment division.  While the American anime industry has been in turmoil for the past five years as major players such as ADV and Geneon have departed, the Right Stuf’s Nozomi and FUNimation have been the two companies that have actually increased their output (Bandai and Viz Media have maintained a steady presence by concentrating on a limited stable of high quality, high profile titles). 

 

Nozomi first found its niche by issuing high quality, low-cost editions of classic anime series, most of which had been previously issued here by other companies.  But Nozomi has branched out and is now offering series such as the recently released Sound of the Sky Complete Collection that are recent Japanese productions that have not been previously released in North America.

 

Nozomi’s 2011 Anime Expo announcements include two valued-priced DVD sets that will include the various extensions of the original Dirty Pair TV series.  These include the Affair of Nolandia OVA, the Project Eden Dirty Pair movie, the Flight 005 Conspiracy OVA, and a 10-episode OVA series, which will include the ADV Films and Streamline Pictures English language dubs as well as the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles.  The other value-priced set will include the entire 16-episode Dirty Pair Flash, an alternate universe series featuring younger versions of Kei and Yuri. It will feature re-mastered video as well as the previously released English audio plus Japanese audio and English subtitles.

 

Nozomi has also acquired the rights to the 26-episode science fiction comedy series Martian Successor Nadesico, its sequel the anime feature film The Prince of Darkness, and the spin-off Gekiganger III OVA, which has never been released in the U.S. before.  All three elements, the TV series, the anime movie, and the OVA will be released in one value-priced multi-disc set. The TV series, which will have re-mastered video, and the movie will come with previously issued English language dubs as well as a Japanese track with English subtitles.  The Gekiganger III OVA will be released with subtitles only.