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ADV Announces May Releases

ADV Films has announced its slate of May anime releases. The titles include BASTOF SYNDROME: FEAR AND LEMONS, ANGELIC LAYER: INHERIT THE LAYER, LEGEND OF THE MYSTICAL NINJA: LOVE IS A POWERFUL WEAPON, WELCOME TO THE KALEIDO STAGE, SAIYUKI: TROUBLE IN PARADISE and SLAYERS: PREMIUM.

With a street date of May 4, 2004, BASTOF SYNDROME: FEAR AND LEMONS is based on the hit Korean online game, BASTOF SYNDROME ("BASToF" stands for "Be A Stranger To Fear"). The new series was produced in Korea and airs on Japanese television. Set in the year 2097 and in the city of Xenon, the ultimate cyber game, where players fight as biomechanical cyber robots, has been created, but something goes wrong where the damage that occurs in the game's cyber space creates destruction in the city of Xenon. The title (SRP $29.98) includes five complete episodes, an English-language 5.1 version, a Korean-language 2.0 version with English subtitles, clean opening and closing animation and ADV Previews.

With a street date of May 4, 2004, the sixth volume of ANGELIC LAYER: INHERIT THE LAYER is a shonen anime created by the all-female studio CLAMP (CHOBITS, RAYEARTH, TOKYO BABYLON). The series is animated by BONES, the animators of the highly acclaimed RAHXEPHON and WOLF'S RAIN. With the finals well underway, Misaki and friends decide to take a well-deserved break at the beach, where a secret love is revealed and new loves blooms. ANGELIC LAYER: INHERIT THE LAYER (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, including three complete episodes in both English 5.1- and Japanese 2.0-language versions, with English subtitles. Extras include: clean open and close animation; production artwork; commentary with Chris Patton (Ohjiro Mihara) and David Williams (producer); and ADV previews. In addition, a new Collector's Edition is available of the first volume of the series, featuring a limited edition custom series art box, sized to fit the entire series.

With a street date of May 4, 2004, the fourth volume of LEGEND OF THE MYSTICAL NINJA: LOVE IS A POWERFUL WEAPON is based on the popular Nintendo videogame from Japanese game-maker Konami. Goemon and Mudanashi have blasted every villain with all kinds of firepower, from giant bazookas to oversized vacuum cleaners, but will love bring these heroes to their knees? LEGEND OF THE MYSTICAL NINJA: LOVE IS A POWERFUL WEAPON (SRP $19.98) includes: four complete episodes; an English 2.0-language version; a Japanese 2.0-language version, with English subtitles; English cast interviews; commentary with Scott McClennen, Tiffany Grant and Vic Mignogna; and ADV Previews.

WELCOME TO THE KALEIDO STAGE, the first volume of KALEIDO STAR, a new series from the renowned Japanese director Junichi Sato (SAILOR MOON) and the studio HAL Film Maker will hit stores May 11, 2004. KALEIDO STAR is an animated series aimed at tweens and teens, combining playful elements of children's anime with the sophisticated vision of Cirque du Soleil. The Kaleido Stage is a circus extravaganza with death defying stunts, flying trapeze artists and magical clowns. When 16-year-old Sora Naegino arrives in the U.S. with little more than her dreams in tow, she has a chance encounter with mysterious man who immediately recognizes her potential for the stage. KALEIDO STAR: WELCOME TO THE KALEIDO STAGE! (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, containing five complete episodes; English-5.1 and Japanese-2.0 language versions, with English subtitles; clean opening and clean closing animation; production sketches; and ADV Previews. The Collector's Edition (SRP $39.98 DVD) includes a custom series art box, sized to hold six volumes of the DVD series (volumes 2-6 are sold separately), a paper doll set and an exclusive character motion-lenticular card.

The 10th volume of SAIYUKI: TROUBLE IN PARADISE will hit stores May 11, 2004. Based on a manga by Kazuya Minekura and directed by Hayato Date, the series is the latest manifestation of the 16th-century Chinese novel XIYOUJI (JOURNEY TO THE WEST) by Wu Cheng-En, which tells the story of a band of eccentric travelers bound for adventure. In the SAIYUKI tale, a pistol-toting monk and his three eccentric companions are assigned the task of traveling to India from China to quash the resurrection of a sinister demon, encountering a few unsavory characters and experiencing a smattering of mishaps along the way. SAIYUKI: TROUBLE IN PARADISE (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, containing four complete episodes; both English 5.1- and Japanese 2.0-language versions; a SAIYUKI trailer; production sketches; cultural background notes; Japanese opening and closing animation; and ADV Previews. A Collector's Edition is now available for SAIYUKI: THE GODS OF WAR, the series' seventh volume, which includes a custom art box, sized to fit the last six volumes of the series. As a special bonus, the Collector's Edition comes with four limited-edition SAIYUKI pencil boards, created exclusively for this DVD set.

Formed in 1992, ADV Films is the #1 producer-distributor of Japanese animation to the North American market, with the firm's holdings including such premier titles as NOIR, SAMURAI X, HELLO KITTY'S PARADISE, RAHXEPHON, SPRIGGAN, ROBOTECH, FULL METAL PANIC! and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. ADV Films' parent company, A.D. Vision, Inc. also publishes NEWTYPE USA, an anime and manga monthly in the English-speaking world, and operates Anime Network, broadcasting anime and anime-related programming via digital cable, 24 hours a day. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ADV Film has additional offices in the EU and Japan. For more information, visit http://www.advfilms.com.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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