Anime Movie Invasion: Anime Movies to be shown in local Cinemas

It is definitely a good time to be an Otaku. 

With the recent success of the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie being shown last year-gaining the title of highest ever box office opening for a Japanese film in the Philippines and earning $647,922.00 in the box office; it is no surprise that more Anime movies are coming our way to local Cinemas. 

Movie Punch - Pioneer films Philippines is bringing top Anime titles to your nearest SM Cinema in the next following months. 

Social Media was all a buzz with news that movies from Naruto, One Piece and Hunter X Hunter are already being negotiated to be shown exclusively in SM Cinemas. 

Along with so many other Filipino Otakus I'm really excited about this news so I reached out to the ever hard working people from Movie Punch (Pioneer Philippines) and asked a few questions about the impending arrival of an Anime Movie Invasion. I have also included a short write up/preview on the anime movies to be shown. ^_^ 

Would you say that these Anime movies are being shown because of the success of the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie? 

Yes, and it means there is really a large fan base that follows Japanese Anime movies here in the Philippines. Rurouni Kenshin has proven that. 

What are you looking to accomplish by showing these Anime movies? 

Firstly, we were not aware of the large following, SM Cinemas suggested Rurouni Kenshin to us because of the "persistent clamor" of fans. This led us to research and we found out that there is a huge request from anime fans (to have Rurouni Kenshin in Cinemas) but it was still a gamble for us since this is going to be the first time for us to show this kind of film genre, so in short we gave in to the "clamor" and got the rights to show it here in the Philippines- we hope to accomplish the excitement we will be bringing to the younger generation and to anime fans as well, by bringing in all their favorite TV programs (Anime series) and a chance to watch it on the big screen! 

Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja: Showing on April 10, 2013

From Samurais to Ninjas - Now it's Naruto's turn to charm Filipino audiences. 

Naruto - the manga was first published in 1999 and is created by Masashi Kishimito and is considered as one of the best selling manga series of all time- selling more than 126.5 million copies and this is just in Japan alone. 

As for the anime series, it's interesting to note that Naruto has actually won some awards in the Philippines specifically: 'Best Full-Length, Animation Program Award' during the 3rd UStv Student's Choice Awards which was held in the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on February 19, 2009. 

Online episodes of Naruto: Shippuuden are also claiming record hitting numbers with an average of 160,000 viewers a week. 

The movie which will be shown exclusively on SM Cinemas on April 10, 2013 - (Yes! Just 15 days to go!) Movie Punch wanted to release the movie before it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan (April 24, 2013). After the DVD is released it will already be available for streaming and downloading online - but seriously if you can watch it in the movie house-it would definitely be a better experience. So you guys better start reserving tickets online or making plans to catch this movie with your friends! :) Why resort to piracy and crappy downloads with bad subtitles if you can enjoy watching the movie in the comfort of the movie theater right? 

Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja was released in Japan on July 28, 2012 (yup- we are waaaay behind), it is the ninth overall Naruto film but only the sixth Naruto Shippuuden film. It's interesting to note that series creator Masashi Kishimoo supervised the movie. 

(Trailer above) 

The movie is a retelling of the Naruto story line and is set in an alternate universe where Naruto's parents are alive and many of the characters in the series have different personalities. 

Road to Ninja has become the highest grossing Naruto film, earning Y 1.46 billion ($18.3 billion) from it's opening date of July 28, 2012 until September 23, 2012. 

Successful Predecessor. Rurouni Kenshin was only supposed to be shown for one week but was extended for a month because of it's success in cinemas. 

Do you think you will have the same success with the Rurouni Kenshin movie, being that it was a live action movie but these upcoming movies are the anime version?

Again we are keeping our fingers crossed, the last time if I remember correctly DBZ (Dragon Ball Z) had a chance to screen here in the Philippines and it did not do quite well, so again this is going to be a gamble for us to say the least. But this time we hope the anime fandom will support us so we can bring in more of their favorite anime movies, we will really need all their support to achieve this goal, now since we will be showing the anime version, we will be expecting a multitude of a younger crowd (and generation) and of course the not-so-young (and not so old either :p- who grew up watching these anime series) to watch the movie and maybe even surpass Rurouni Kenshin in the box office! 

How important is it to relate to fans through Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) 

At this modern age 'social media' plays a big role in society, this tool gives us an instant pulse of what people say, feel, want and think, so yes we made this important decision to bring in the anime movies partly because of social media. 

One Piece: The Movie Z: Tentative Screen Date: May 1, 2013

One Piece is written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda and was has been published as a manga since August 4, 1997. It currently marks as the best-selling manga series and has over 280 million volumes sold in Japan as of 2012. 

The anime series was first shown in Japan on October 20, 1999 and is still ongoing with more than 500 episodes to date. In 2001, the readers of Animage voted the series as 5th place in the "Readers' Picks for Anime that should be remembered in the 21st century". 

One Piece Film: Z is the 12th One Piece Movie in the franchise and was released on December 15, 2012. Creator Eiichiro Oda himself has overseen the production of the movie. 

In the movie, the Marine's trump card, the "Dyna Stone" has been stolen, former Marine Admiral "Z" is behind the plot and this terrifyingly powerful man stands in the way of the Straw Hat Pirates. (See the trailer above). 

As of January 5, 2013 the movie has earned Y5,286,555,200.00 (about $54,97 million) It is considered as TOEI's highest grossing film since 2000. 



How did you decide on what anime movies to be shown? 

We partly based it on Social Media, consultation from different Anime enthusiast groups and SM Cinemas. 

Will the movies have a limited showing? 

It will really depend now on the fans who will support us and SM Cinemas, we have done our part, it's time to do theirs, as long as people continue to watch it, times is limitless, Rurouni Kenshin was in theaters for a month! 

How do you you see the future of anime movies in the Philippines? 

After Showing Naruto, One Piece and Hunter X Hunter then we can gauge the future of Anime movies here in local cinemas. 

Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja already has a confirmed date of April 10, 2013, One Piece Cosplay event is already in the works, Hunter X Hunter play date has been moved to the month of June indefinitely. 

Hunter X Hunter: The Phantom Rouge 

Screen date moved to June 2013 indefinitely. 

A personal favorite trivia of mine when it comes to Hunter X Hunter is that the creator - Yoshihiro Togashi is also the creator of the ever famous YuYu Hakusho or most commonly known as Ghost Fighter (Ahhh! So that's why!) 

Hunter X Hunter first appeared on manga on March 3, 1998, although the manga has frequently gone on hiatus. This can be attributed to the fact that Togashi was often sick when he was working on YuYu Hakusho, from the stress and rushing deadlines, he is really taking his time with Hunter X Hunter. 

Did you know that Yoshihiro Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi- the creator of Sailor Moon? (imagine Yusuke (Euguene) is your dad and Sailor Moon is your mom!-That is my childhood right there!) 

The manga has been very successful, selling over 60.5 million copies in Japan as of February 2012. 

The series made it's debut on October 16, 1999 and ran until March 31, 2001. It is worth while to note that the series is directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi who also directed the anime series of Rurouni Kenshin. 

Hunter X Hunter the series was voted as the 16th best anime of 2000 in the Animage Grand Prix and rose to 4th place the next year. In 2001, the same magazine listed Hunter X Hunter as the 94th most important anime of all time. 

Hunter X Hunter: The Movie: Phantom Rouge is the first movie for the anime and premiered on January 12, 2013. It took the number 1 spot from One Piece Film Z which was on the top spot for four consecutive weeks. 

The movie sold 357,976 tickets during its opening weekend and earned 
Y456,779,000 (about US $ 5,143,930) in 257 cinemas.

Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge is based on an unpublished story from Togashi which he wrote 10 years ago. The story revolves around Kurapika and his thirst for vengence for the massacre of his clan. The movie also features a new character, Omokage, who has the No. 4 spider tattoo. (Trailer above)



Let's make the most out of this great opportunity which Movie Punch has worked hard for and let's support these movies! Reserve tickets online and arrange movie dates with friends! :) 


....but WAIT there's more!

Movie Punch is currently negotiating to also have (drum roll please.......) Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods to be released here as well (I can hear the battle cries of fans of this legendary anime). The manga was first serialized in 1984 (I was not even born at that time!). 

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is yet to be released in Japan - it is the upcoming 18th feature film based on the series. It is scheduled to hit Japanese theaters on March 30, 2013. 

It is the first Dragon Ball Movie after 17 years to have a scheduled theatrical release and is also the first-ever Japanese film to be screened at IMAX Digital Theaters. 

So guys if you want Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods to be released in theaters then be sure to support the upcoming Anime Movie Invasion! :) 

 It is a great time to be an Otaku indeed!