GKids To Release A Collector’s Set of Masaaki Yuasa’s Five Films

Gkids has recently announced, with distribution from Shout! Studios, a Blu-ray collector’s set of five films by visionary director Masaaki Yuasa called Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films, available to purchase on December 19, 2023. The five films to be included in this set are 2004’s Mind Game, 2017’s The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, 2017’s Lu Over the Wall, 2019’s Ride Your Wave, and 2021’s INU-OH. The set includes a number of never-before-seen bonus features.

The collection includes newly designed art by Masaaki Yuasa throughout the packaging, a 13″x21″ poster of the new art, and an exclusive 60-page book celebrating the work of Yuasa and featuring excerpts from the creative’s sketchbook. You can pre-order the set on the Gkids website.

Trailer of the collector’s set:

Here is a summary of each movie, plus some of the extras:

MIND GAME
Audiences will begin to grasp what they are in for early on as loser Nishi, too wimpy to try to save his childhood sweetheart from gangsters, is shot in the butt by a soccer-playing psychopath, projecting Nishi into the afterlife. In this limbo, God – shown as a series of rapidly changing characters – tells him to walk toward the light.  But Nishi runs like hell in the other direction and returns to Earth a changed man, driven to live each moment to the fullest.

THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL
As a group of teens go out for a night on the town, a sophomore known only as “The Girl with Black Hair” experiences a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife… all the while unaware of the romantic longings of Senpai, a fellow student who has been creating increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her, in an effort to win her heart. Featuring boundless imagination and visual wit, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is a celebration of the unconventional, confusing routes that life and love can take, from one of the most exciting voices in anime today.

LU OVER THE WALL

After his family moves from Tokyo to a small fishing village, teenager Kai spends his days sulking and adrift. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their jam sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance. But when an ancient prophecy threatens Lu and the village, Kai and his new friends must save the day in this toe-tapping adventure for the entire family.

RIDE YOUR WAVE
Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a sudden fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love. Just as they become inseparable, Minato loses his life in an accident at sea. Hinako is so distraught that she can no longer even look at the ocean, but one day she sings a song that reminds her of their time together, and Minato appears in the water. From then on, she can summon him in any watery surface as soon as she sings their song, but can the two really remain together forever? And what is the real reason for Minato’s sudden reappearance?

INU-OH
Born to an esteemed family, Inu-oh is afflicted with an ancient curse that has left him on the margins of society. When he meets the blind musician Tomona, a young biwa priest haunted by his past, Inu-oh discovers a captivating ability to dance. The pair quickly become business partners and inseparable friends as crowds flock to their electric, larger-than-life concerts. But when those in power threaten to break up the band, Inu-oh and Tomona must dance and sing to uncover the truth behind their creative gifts.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• English-language dub of The Night is Short, Walk On Girl for the first time on Blu-ray
• Two short films by Masaaki Yuasa: Happy Machine (2007), and Kick-Heart (2013)
• Filmmaker commentaries for MIND GAME, Lu Over the Wall, and INU-OH
• Scene breakdowns and commentaries from each feature film
• Masaaki Yuasa draws characters from MIND GAME, Lu Over the Wall, and INU-OH
• Filmmaker interviews about Lu Over the Wall, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, and INU-OH
• A Night Out with Yuasa: An exclusive interview with Masaaki Yuasa at a Los Angeles speakeasy, where he discusses his inspirations, favorite type of restaurants, perfect vacation, dancing, and more
• A 60-page book featuring an essay by Emily Yoshida and excerpts from Masaaki Yuasa’s sketchbooks
• And more!

What do you think about this collector’s set? Have you seen any of these movies before? Which ones were your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!