GKIDS has announced today that it will be issuing new limited edition 4K UHD Steelbook disc releases of Mamoru Hosoda’s early film catalog, starting in 2025 with Summers Wars and Wolf Children. The new releases will be made in partnership with home video distributor Shout! Studios.
New issues for 2009’s Summer Wars will be released on April 1, 2025, and 2012’s Wolf Children on August 5, 2025. Both titles are now available for preorder on Amazon and Apple TV.
The latest home entertainment releases will be presented with brand new artwork in a 4K UHD SteelBook case and a standard Blu-ray issue. The films will also be available on digital download-to-own platforms.
The bonus features that will be included in the Summer Wars Steelbook releases include:
- • Interviews with the Original Cast — Ryunosuke Kamiki (Kenji Koiso)
- • Interviews with the Original Cast — Nanami Sakuraba (Natsuki Shinohara)
- • Interviews with the Original Cast — Mitsuki Tanimura (Kazuma Ikezawa)
- • Interviews with the Original Cast — Ayumu Saito (Wabisuke Jinnouchi)
- • Interviews with the Original Cast — Sumiko Fuji (Sakae Jinnouchi)
- • Interview with Mamoru Hosoda
- • Teasers and Trailers
Summer Wars first premiered in Japan on August 1, 2009, with Madhouse handling the animation production. Funimation released the film on home video in North America in February 2011, while Manga Entertainment released the film in the United Kingdom in March 2011.
GKIDS describes the main synopsis of Summer Wars as:
Kenji is a shy, part-time moderator for OZ, the virtual reality world that powers everyday life, until pretty and popular Natsuki recruits him to be her fake boyfriend. While posing as an affluent suitor to Natsuki’s family, Kenji finds that a rogue A.I. program has stolen his online identity, and Kenji is accused of hacking OZ and causing real-world catastrophes. As the destruction in OZ throws Natsuki’s family into disarray, Kenji must unite his newfound connections to overcome an impending cyber apocalypse.
Wolf Children premiered in Japan on July 21, 2012, with Studio Chizu in charge of the animation production. Funimation released the film in North America in 2013, while Manga Entertainment released the film in the U.K. in the same year.
GKIDS describes the main synopsis of Wolf Children as:
College student Hana falls in love with a “wolf man” and together they have two half-human, half-wolf children, Ame and Yuki. The young family’s happy but humble life comes to an abrupt end when the father is tragically killed during a hunt. After struggling to raise her children in the busy city, Hana boldly decides to move to a dilapidated house in the countryside, in hopes that her children may one day decide their own path to happiness – whether “human” or “wolf.”
Source: press release
