Anime distributor AnimEigo, in collaboration with its parent company MediaOCD, has revealed the upcoming English Blu-ray home media release of the Romeo’s Blue Skies anime. The series will be available starting July 29 in a remastered widescreen English edition, marking its first-ever release in this format.
Originally produced by Nippon Animation in 1995, Romeo’s Blue Skies consists of 33 episodes and was directed by Kozo Kusuba, with Michiru Shimada in charge of the screenplay and Yoshiharu Soto as the character designer. The series is based on the 1941 Swiss novel Die Schwarzen Brüder (The Black Brothers) by Lisa Tetzner.
Pre-orders for the Blu-ray set are now available on the official website, with the release featuring a remastered widescreen version of the series, previously unavailable in English. The story is described by AnimEigo:
When You’re Feeling Sad and Lonely, Look to the Sky
Romeo, a poor kid living in a Swiss village, bravely sells himself into servitude as a chimney sweep to save his family. On his way to Milan, he meets a mysterious boy named Alfredo, and they become fast friends. Life as a chimney sweep is hard and dangerous. But together, and with the help of some new friends – the “Black Brothers” – Romeo and Alfredo find themselves striving for a better life.
While the series has never been aired in English due to American broadcasters deeming as “too emotional,” but it gained significant international acclaim, getting broadcast in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Indonesia, South Korea, Bahrain, Iran, and U.A.E. This Blu-ray release aims to introduce the story to a wider North American audience.
The Blu-ray set for Romeo’s Blue Skies will include the following features:
- 33 episodes remastered in HD widescreen
- The series in its original 4×3 SD format
- Clean opening and ending (SD)
- Original TV promos (SD)
- Audio: 1080p, Japanese 2.0 Stereo DTS Master Audio
- English subtitles
- 3-disc, dual-layer set
- Region Free
The set will retail for $59.95 USD. For more information, you can visit the pre-order page, while a trailer for the Blu-ray release is also available below:
About AnimEigo
Founded in 1989, AnimEigo is a described as a pioneering distributor of Japanese anime and cinema in North America. Now a division of MediaOCD, the company is known for its commitment to high-quality localization and has played a significant role in expanding the reach of Japanese media in Western markets. Another recent home media English release from the company was Nobody’s Boy Remi.
Source: Press Release
NIPPON ANIMATION CO., LTD.
Participate In Discussions