August 21st is going to be a great day for classic anime fans as Pony Canyon has set the release for three titles on Blu-ray that have been long out of print and deserving of some high quality treatment. The company is set to bring out Angel’s Egg, The Cockpit and Arion on the same day for 5,985 yen each. While Arion wasn’t released in North America before, the other two were but first blush information doesn’t seem to indicate that any existing dub or subtitle tracks will be ported to these releases. The titles have some strong pedigree to them such as Mamoru Oshii directing Angel’s Egg and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takashi Imanishi and Ryosuke Takahash each directing segments of The Cockpit. And for fans of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, getting to see his work as a director on Arion is a treat.
Angel’s Egg: In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life… and they discuss the world around them.
The Cockpit: 1. Slipstream
About a Luftwaffe pilot who must choose between his duty to his country: to guard a bomber loaded with Germany’s final hope of victory… the world’s first atomic bomb… or his duty to the world: to let it fall in flames to enemy Spitfires and be a footnote in history. Of course, things are complicated by the plane’s other cargo… the woman he loves.
2. Sonic Boom Squadron
Near the end of the war, Japan has implemented a new weapon — a human-piloted rocket-propelled flying bomb. Aboard a bomber carrying one of these, young Ensign Nogami awaits his chance to die as a “cherry blossom”, a suicide pilot. In a few hours, he will die. The date of his death is set: August 6, 1945.
3. Knight of the Iron Dragon
Two soldiers attempt to reach an air base in order to fulfill a promise despite the fact that it might have been rendered moot in the reality of war.
Arion: In Thrace, Arion is taken from his mother Demeter by the god Hades. In the Underworld, Arion is trained to be a warrior. His training is driven by revenge: Arion was told that his mother`s blindness was caused by Zeus and Zeus` death will remove the curse. Finally, Arion and Geedo (a huge ape-like creature who had become Arion`s friend and companion) left the Underworld to find Zeus. Seneca, a small thief, makes off with Arion`s sword and this leads Arion to his first encounter with the forces of Zeus, commanded by his daughter Athena. Arion is captured but is later set free by Lesfeena, Athena`s mute serving girl. As Arion rejoins Geedo and Seneca (and worries about Lesfeena), the forces of Zeus and Poseidon face each other in battle. In the background sits the scheming Hades, and the calm Apollon who seems to have plans of his own.
[Source: JP & Asian Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming Industry News]