Summary
Sherlock Hound celebrates its 40th anniversary with remastered films with exclusive, limited theatrical releases in select theaters across Japan. Only four volumes of the series were included in the film, but this is a chance for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s old work to see this classic in a new way. The wide theatrical release shows the respect Japanese fans have for Sherlock Hound, even though it exists in the shadow of Studio Ghibli.
Classic favourite Sherlock the Hound anime, featuring original episodes directed and designed by members of the Ghibli Studio, including Hayao Miyazaki, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with remakes of two feature-length compilation films. The films will be re-released in Japanese theaters as a double feature in more than a hundred theaters later this spring.
The films only make up four of the series’ 26 episodes, but the screening offers a chance for longtime fans to see the beloved classic in a new way. Among audiences, today’s Sherlock Hound is more of a curious historical figure, existing as something insignificant in the shadow of Studio Ghibli.
Still, the wide theatrical release shows how much Japanese fans respect the franchise, Miyazaki or otherwise. Sherlock Hound was an Italian-Japanese production that saw Miyazaki make six volumes in 1982. However, the series was only re-released in 1984 due to copyright issues, and at that time Miyazaki has moved on to other projects (namely Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds).
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Produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and RAI – Italian Radio and Television
As reported by Sora News 24, Sherlock Hound remakes will screen in 117 cinemas from March 22 to April 18. Notable locations include Shinjuku Piccadilly, Ikebukuro Humax Cinema, Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro and United Cinema Aqua City Odaiba. These anthologies are compiled from four episodes directed by Miyazaki, titled “Blue Ruby,” “Treasure Under the Sea,” “Mrs. Hudson Taken Hostage,” and “Aerial Battle Over Dover.” As its localized title suggests, Sherlock Hound reinterprets Doyle’s characters as personified canines, although instead of a Victorian setting, the anime uses steampunk and dieselpunk elements.
Other Studio Ghibli staff were involved in the six animated episodes. Yoshifumi Kondo served as character designer here and for films such as Princess Mononoke, while Nizo Yamamoto was art director for episodes used in the first film and assisted on Castle in the Sky’s Studio Ghibli. Sherlock Hound was originally produced in 1982, but was delayed until 1984 due to legal battles with the Doyle estate. The film compilation was a quick attempt to cash in on Miyazaki’s popularity, which exploded with the release of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
So far, there is no indication that the compilation film will be released internationally. However, the original anime is widely available both online and physically, with TMS Entertainment even hosting the entire series on YouTube, alongside it being available on Crunchyroll and Prime Video. Anime fans outside of Japan can simply stream related episodes of Sherlock Hound online, but there’s something special about seeing one of Miyazaki and Ghibli Studiothe first productions to hit theaters, just as they were intended to be enjoyed forty years ago.
Source: Sora News 24, Filmaga
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