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Exclusive: Cinedigm Acquires Streaming Rights for Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water TV Anime (Updated)
posted on by Alex Mateo
GKIDS acquired the North American rights for Gainax's science-fiction adventure anime Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water, and released the series on home video, based on a new 4K restoration.
GKIDS describes the story:
It's 1889 and people from around the globe are flocking to Paris to see scientific achievements at the Exposition Universelle despite rumors of dangers lurking in the oceans. While attending the fair, teenaged inventor Jean meets Nadia, a mysterious girl who possesses a highly sought-after crystal called Blue Water. Pursued by nefarious forces, the pair journey by sea and by sky to escape their would-be captors and to discover the secret of the crystal.
The staff featured director Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances), character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honnêamise, Evangelion, Summer Wars), sound director Katsunori Shimizu (Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Fushigi Yugi), and musical composer Shiro Sagisu (Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Evangelion).
Sentai Filmworks previously released the anime on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. The anime was previously released on video tape by Streamline Pictures, and on video tape and DVD by ADV Films.
RetroCrush is a free, ad-supported video-on-demand service available in the United States and Canada. The service has apps on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and smart TVs, in addition to being available on browsers. The service launched in March 2020. A free ad-supported television (FAST) version of RetroCrush launched through the STIRR streaming service in July 2020.
Digital Media Rights stated to ANN that its goal with the streaming service is to "serve as a community built for the consumption and discussion of the Golden Age of Japanese animation, (and some not so retro), from the perspectives of pop culture, fandom, art, internet memes & more." The service plans to include a library of content that "hasn't had proper streaming releases outside of Japan." RetroCrush's streaming partners include Discotek Media, TMS, NHK, Studio Pierrot, AMG, Happinet, and Right Stuf among others.
Cinedigm acquired Digital Media Rights (DMR), the parent company of the RetroCrush, AsianCrush, and Midnight Pulp streaming services, in January 2022.
Update: RetroCrush will start streaming Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water on June 2.
Source: Press release
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