ADV Films has acquired the exclusive home video and broadcast rights for the new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR trilogy, a modern animated series based on the world-renowned FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga. Anime Network is planning a broadcast run of the new trilogy to support the upcoming home video release.
In the aftermath of the great apocalypse on Earth, bandits and enterprising overlords hold survivors in an unflagging grip of terror. A lone warrior, Kenshiro, rises from the ashes and cut a swath of justice across the Earth's ruined landscape with his unconquerable martial arts and proclaims, "Youre already dead."
The new trilogy, recently released in Japan, is based on the popular FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga series and classic anime feature film. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga first enthralled audiences with its debut in the early 1980s by selling more than 60 million copies in five languages worldwide. The story's success made its creator, Hara Tetsuo, an internationally renowned manga artist and led to two hit television series, two animated movies and one live-action movie.
Its over-the-top violence and exciting action sequences quickly became legendary, making the series a staple of Japanese pop culture. The series has been parodied in several prominent anime titles over the years, most recently in MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBASHI, also available from ADV Films. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR has gathered impressive merchandising momentum with numerous video games, action figures and other character related merchandise in stores around the world.
"The new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR trilogy maintains all the explosive action of the original property by utilizing the latest in anime production techniques," said ADV Films' ceo/co-founder John Ledford. "I am confident that the new trilogy will satisfy the title's countless fans and attract new ones." An added bonus is the participation of Japanese pop sensation Gackt, who sings the opening and closing theme songs and acts in the first volume of the DVD.
ADV Films has not yet announced specific release plans for the title, but Ledford says he expects a home video release around late spring or early summer 2004 with exclusive airings of the new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR on Anime Network prior to the DVD release.
In 1992, ADV Films (www.advfilms.com) began to forge the international market for Japanese animation (anime) by combining unique titles, outstanding production values and efficient large-scale distribution. Today, ADV Films is a top producer/distributor of Japanese animation to the North American market, with the firm's holdings including such premier titles as NOIR, SAILOR MOON, HELLO KITTY'S PARADISE, RAHXEPHON, ROBOTECH, FULL METAL PANIC and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.
ADV Films' parent company, A.D. Vision Inc., also publishes anime and manga monthly magazine NEWTYPE USA, operates Anime Network, broadcasting anime and anime-related programming via digital cable, 24 hours a day; and publishes ADV Manga, a line of Japanese and other East Asian comics, illustration books, graphic novels and more. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with additional offices and distribution across four continents, ADV Films is fast becoming an international multi-media entertainment powerhouse.
