Bandai Visual, arguably the most prolific anime studio in Japan, has established a U.S. subsidiary to release high quality collector's editions of classic anime.  Earlier this year Bandai Visual USA put out its first release, Patlabor: The Movie (1988) in both a Limited Edition ($89.99) and a Regular Edition ($29.99).  Both versions featured superb transfers of the mecha-happy science fiction classic directed by Mamoru Oshii, but the Limited Edition included a second disc of extras along with a 300-page book of storyboards and 184-page Archives volume.

In July Bandai Visual USA plans to give Patlabor 2 (1992), which was also directed by Oshii, the same deluxe treatment with a 2-disc Limited Edition of 10,000 copies (MSRP $89.99) and a single disk Regular Edition ($29.99).  Both Patlabor movies were previously available in the U.S., but not in these 'Criterion quality' editions. Bandai Visual USA releases are distributed by Image Entertainment (see 'Bandai Visual Teams With Image Entertainment').

To celebrate its second Patlabor release, Bandai Visual is bringing Yutaka Izubuchi, the pioneering mecha designer who created the still impressive robots for the Patlabor movies and TV series, to Anime Expo.