* Fansubs Release Information *
"I want my own copy!"
You're in luck.
Although the movie has not been picked up for commercialization yet, both MaachaQ Productions and Reflex Anime have made fansubs of the movie while Kodocha Anime and Sachi's Distribution are distributing them. There are others, I'm sure, but these are the ones I know for sure of at the moment. If you know of other groups subbing/distributing, please feel free to drop me a line.
The Utena movie has been released in North America by Central Park Media. It is released as both a dubbed VHS format and a bilingual/hybrid DVD. The DVD itself comes in two flavors, Limited Edition and regular edition. The Limited Edition comes in a collector's pink case and contains an extra DVD of CPM extras, while the regular edition comes in a white case and contains merely the movie DVD. Both have a retail price of $29.99, although internet retailers and brick-and-mortar-shops alike often offer it for much less. If you're interested in the Limited Edition, find your copy now because it really is Limited - CPM sold out its pressing to various retailers long before the street date arrived.
The DVD comes packed with the following features:
Director's Commentary (by Kunihiko Ikuhara), Behind-the-scenes video (making of the English dub), Japanese TV spots and trailers, US teaser and trailer, Art sketches and character sketches with commentary, the results of the fan tribute contest and a full listing of those who entered, a trivia game, and sneak peeks. The DVD-ROM features include a full dub script as well as the director's commentary translation, more art galleries, more information on the fan tribute contest, links to websites, cast and production notes, and other extras.
The DVD is offered in widescreen anamorphic format and is region 1 encoded.
For the hardcore fan, the Utena movie has been released in VHS and DVD format in Japan. CD Japan is selling them, I believe. The price for the DVD is a hefty $65 or thereabouts, because it is an import. It's probably region-2 coded, so you'd need to find a way to resolve the regions issue. The price for the VHS tape is listed as the same on CD Japan's site. Also, I've noticed a number of Utena movie tapes going up for aution at Ebay. DO NOT BUY THEM. They are most likely fansubs that someone's selling for outrageous prices. Fansubs should not be bought or sold period. Getting it straight from a fansub distributor who charges only for the cost of the tape/shipping is different than putting a bid on E-bay. I highly doubt that the original company (Star Child/King Records/Movic and the like) would put English subs on the official release. In fact, the only people I've heard of who did that is Gainax, who added English subs on their DVDs for their OAV FLCL. Again, do not bid/buy the movie on an aution site like E-bay or Yahoo Auctions! These are bootleg copies that do not support the companies that created Utena!
Central Park Media, the company which owns Software Sculptors and several other companies, has the rights to the entire series - finally! They released the first third of the series (1-13) last year in both dub and sub format. It's available in a boxed VHS set and in 2 DVD box sets. You also might try a local video store - although they may only carry the dubbed version (as mine does.)
They currently also have the rights to the second story arc of Utena, episodes 14-26, which covers the Black Rose Arc of the series. A release is planned for the near future. They'll probably release in a 4/3/3/3 fashion, with boxed sets and DVD sets probably forthcoming in the near future, similar to the release of the first 13 episodes. Please support the commercialization of this series! Remember what Ms. Chiho Saito wishes: Don't buy fansubs! (I doubt any reputable fansub distributor is offering them anymore, anyways.) Besides, who wouldn't jump for Utena on DVD? ^_^
There is also a one volume manga (tankouban) by Chiho Saito that is based on the movie, hence it's referred to as the 'movie manga.' It was published 9/99; the ISBN number for it is 4-09-136089 and is also identified by FC-6089. All (5) of the Utena manga have been published by Flower Comics/Shogakukan, as well as the movie manga (making a total of 6 books), and are likely to be found in a local Japanese bookstore. If you don't have an Asahiya, Kinokunia, Nippon Books, etc, near you, you could try Sasuga Books for online ordering. Prices range from $2 (used) to $6 (new). The Utena manga is also available in Chinese, which is published by Daran Comics. The title is "Revolutionary Girl" - the same characters as "Shoujo Kakumei" but without the "Utena" part. They even use the same font, so it's easy to spot. The US rights to the Utena manga have been picked up by Viz and are being published in their monthly magazine, Animerica Extra!, along with other popular titles like Fushigi Yuugi, and began it's run in January 2001. Viz also publishes graphic novel compliations. Other Viz graphic novels run around $12-15 if you don't mind the wait. I do not know if Viz will also translate the movie manga, however... I suppose time will tell.
