Japanese films (upcoming) on blu-ray

[Cinematt]

I've been finding DukeTogo's thread in the US forum very helpful so I thought I'd start a UK equivalent because there seems to be a glut of releases coming up from more labels than there have been for a while.
Please do let me know anything I've missed!

I'm not much one for anime, but if you are look this way.


August 11th


August 18th


August 25th


September 8th


September 15th


September 22nd


October 13th


October 20th


October 27th


November 3rd


November 17th


Release date not yet announced
The could be from a variety of sources, either mentioned by people that made them or are working on the release, or from BBFC submissions.




Label threads
Arrow
BFI
Eureka
Radiance
Third Window Films
88 Films

[Cinematt]

Last 12 Months
This post now updates each month so it keeps the last 12 months of releases, with anything older moving in to the alphabetical posting below.

2025 Releases


July 2025


June 2025



May 2025



April 2025



March 2025


February 2025



January 2025



2024 Releases

December 2024


November 2024


October 2024


September 2024


August 2024

[Cinematt]

This is a list of all the Japanese movies I can find with UK releases up to the end of 2023, in alphabetical order. There are a couple of things that are not in Japanese, but are by Japanese directors, so I thought they warranted including. I've included multiple releases of the same title (thanks to Arrow for the dozen releases of Battle Royale!!) but the database doesn't separate editions that had slips or booklets in one edition but not another unless they came with a new UPC so there are plenty here that do exist in different versions - if you're trying to collect slips or booklets it's probably best to ask in the label's thread to find out if things originally came with one.

I've combed the database here for things that are listed as having a Japanese soundtrack, but if you have something that's not listed here please let me know so I can add it.

This gets updated each month as things move out of the past 12 months releases post above.
A

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B

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C

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D

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E

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F

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G

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H

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I

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J

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K

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L

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M

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N

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O

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P

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Q

[Show spoiler]No releases

R

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S

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T

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U

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V

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W

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X

[Show spoiler]No releases

Y

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Z

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Numbers

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[roguejp]

Thank you Cinematt! It is indeed a struggle to keep up with all the releases among the different labels. This thread will be very handy!

[XGEEKEDGERX]

I've been keeping an eye on DukeTogo's US thread as well so this is amazing. Thanks Cinematt!

[bleedandtrim]

Great idea, was thinking of doing something similar myself but hadn't found the time!

There isn't a movie page entry for it here (not sure how to add one) but Eureka has teased a release of Teruo Ishii's Abashiri Prison for this year.

[thenexus6]

Brilliant idea for a thread!

[NormanicGrav]

Thanks for the thread! One title that you might want to keep an eye on is Shin Ultraman as I recently noticed a BBFC home video listing by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, the same distributor who released the Korean film Project Wolf Hunting.

I reckon Anime Limited will eventually distribute Godzilla Minus One for home video (and hopefully 4K) but it's way too early to see if they do manage to make it happen.

[OnlyJapantown]

Very good idea for a thread, given how much is getting released at the moment. Bounty Hunter Trilogy is the one I'm most looking forward to.

Anyone know the likelihood of Takeshi's latest getting a cinema release over here?

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by NormanicGrav

Thanks for the thread! One title that you might want to keep an eye on is Shin Ultraman as I recently noticed a BBFC home video listing by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, the same distributor who released the Korean film Project Wolf Hunting.

I reckon Anime Limited will eventually distribute Godzilla Minus One for home video (and hopefully 4K) but it's way too early to see if they do manage to make it happen.

I saw the Shin Ultraman listing but at the moment they’ve only submitted it for VOD/Streaming so it doesn’t look like they have immediate plans for a disc.

I’m sure we’ll see Godzilla Minus One, but I’ll be buying it from wherever gets the 4K and minus colour version, which at the moment has me looking to the US release as they got minus colour in cinemas. It has made such a chunk of its money there I can’t imagine they won’t go all out for the home video release. I’ve seen speculation Toho will want to make them wait to give the Japanese release a decent exclusive window, so I’m not expecting progress too soon wherever it may come from.

Originally Posted by OnlyJapantown

Anyone know the likelihood of Takeshi's latest getting a cinema release over here?

I haven’t seen anything about its uk distributor, but I really hope it gets a bit of a run.
We’ve got a good crop of high profile Japanese films coming, with Kubi, Perfect Days, Monster, The Boy and the Heron, Godzilla Minus One, and Shadow of Fire (which Third Window are giving a release theatrically first. I don’t remember the last time we had so many new releases coming through, I’m still reeling from getting to watch 2 subtitled Japanese films in the space of a week at my local Cineworld. Unprecedented times!

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

I haven’t seen anything about its uk distributor, but I really hope it gets a bit of a run.

Are you talking about Kubi? I've heard very little about this film outside of Japan as it seems like no one has mentioned distribution rights yet? I wonder if the asking price as too high? I was expecting a few announcements after Cannes, but it was only crickets.

[Cinematt]

You might well be right on the price for Kubi, they clearly did a big PR push beforehand trying to stoke up interest in 'Kitano's final film' but the reviews were probably a bit less positive than they hoped and maybe they never reached the pitch of excitement they wanted to bring in the cash. You'd expect by now they would have accepted that and made some kind of deals though, it's still a much more marketable film outside Japan than some of his more recent things.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

You might well be right on the price for Kubi, they clearly did a big PR push beforehand trying to stoke up interest in 'Kitano's final film' but the reviews were probably a bit less positive than they hoped and maybe they never reached the pitch of excitement they wanted to bring in the cash. You'd expect by now they would have accepted that and made some kind of deals though, it's still a much more marketable film outside Japan than some of his more recent things.

Kitano has an audience for sure. Usually after Cannes there are a few articles in places like Variety that so and so was picked up by so and so. For Kubi, I was constantly checking and heard nothing. Kadokawa is a strange company too. Their "biggest" title in years in terms of budget before this was the Yokai film, and somehow really small label SRS picked it up in the US, which is a bit confusing.

Either way, I hope someone picks this up soon and puts some English subtitles as a Samurai film from Kitano you would think would be a hot commodity.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Either way, I hope someone picks this up soon and puts some English subtitles as a Samurai film from Kitano you would think would be a hot commodity.

those kitano films that TWF put out didn’t really do much. Felt like nobody paid much attention and they were deleted iirc, or put out of their misery faster than anything else I can remember seeing the same fate.

[Rutger Lundgren]

Originally Posted by logboy

those kitano films that TWF put out didn’t really do much. Felt like nobody paid much attention and they were deleted iirc, or put out of their misery faster than anything else I can remember seeing the same fate.

I'm not sure how well they did for TWF, but they were around for quite a while. I guess that just like TWF's Tsukamoto and Sono releases, people presumed that they would remain in print for a long time, so many prioritized other things instead (I know I did, and that's also the main reason why I still don't have some of their Tsukamoto and Sono films). Once their deletion was announced, most sold out relatively quickly.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by logboy

those kitano films that TWF put out didn’t really do much. Felt like nobody paid much attention and they were deleted iirc, or put out of their misery faster than anything else I can remember seeing the same fate.

What do you mean they were deleted? They went out of print?

Kitano has always carried a pretty decent following I would say. His more obscure films that don't involve cops and robbers and samurai would probably be a hard sale, and even then those are films he really didn't excel at all that much outside of maybe The Kids Return. Most of his post 2000 work outside of Zatoichi and The Outrage films are a hard sell. Either way, I could see Kubi getting some love due to Kitano and the genre.

[NormanicGrav]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

What do you mean they were deleted? They went out of print?

Yeah the Kitano films Third Window Films released in 2016-17 went out of print around February/March 2022.

[GlacierTuba]

Anything listed that is even remotely within the realms of The Game Trilogy, Doberman Cop, The Street Fighter and Yakuza Graveyard, I'll be there near the front of the queue.

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by logboy

those kitano films that TWF put out didn’t really do much. Felt like nobody paid much attention and they were deleted iirc, or put out of their misery faster than anything else I can remember seeing the same fate.

It's a relatively crude barometer of the wider market, but if you sort all third window titles by the number of collections they're in for members here you get:

1. Love Exposure
2. Cold Fish
3. Hana-bi
4. Confessions
5. Kikujiro
6. A Scene at the Sea
7. Dolls
8. Kids Return
9. Tetsuo/Tetsuo 2
10. Lesson of Evil

So I doubt Adam regrets putting those out.

[GlacierTuba]

Great to see Tetsuo and Tetsuo 2 in a lot of folks collections. I remember when Manga Video released Tetsuo on VHS. I bought it blind and was absolutely blown to bits by how brilliant it was. Mind melting film.

Body Hammer was great too but, for me, the original film was the benchmark. Tetsuo 3 was great too. I think I enjoy that one more than Tetsuo 2.

Regardless, Snake of June, Tokyo Fist etc, after buying that Tetsuo VHS all those years ago I became a Tsukamoto fan and have been ever since. Love his work.