HMV ran a 20% discount across their entire Blu-ray catalog and anime was included. While I attended the last day of the weekend, I figured I would pick up some more Ghost in the Shell titles that I had yet to watch or own.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (Koukaku Kidoutai: Shin Movie) is a 2015 feature-length anime film directed by Kazuya Nomura, animated by studio Production I.G, and published by Kodansha. The New Movie is a continuation of the Ghost in the Shell: ARISE original video anime series and the franchise as a whole is based on Masamune Shirow’s manga Ghost in the Shell.
The New Movie is a bizarre name to call the film considering its part of the ARISE storyline. ARISE as a whole also has a bit of a complicated structure. The four OVAs were released in the west by Funimation and Manga Entertainment, but the fifth OVA hasn’t outside of the television version ARISE Alternative Architecture which is currently only available to watch via streaming (Japanese Blu-ray releases do include English subtitles).
I don’t exactly know if knowledge of the Pyrophoric Cult OVA is needed but I presume it does given the film takes place after the events of the OVA series. Like the ARISE series, Funimation owns the UK & Ireland rights for the series with Manga Entertainment sub-licensing them over here for physical distribution. The film was released in the UK on 9th May 2016, around the same time that a number of Funimation titles under Manga Entertainment were expiring due to Funimation switching UK distributors for their catalog.
This release by Manga Entertainment is a regular package that covers the film on a single Blu-ray disc with inside artwork. The Blu-ray disc offers both the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub using a modified version of the Funimation author (so that it has UK logos before the menu). The disc is region locked to B and the subtitles are locked during playback.
You can order the standard edition UK Blu-ray release on Amazon UK.
Blu-ray Specs:
Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Video: 1080p High Definition Native format with 16:9 ratio
Region: B
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: Yes
Discs: 1
Plot Synopsis (via Manga Entertainment):
“Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics. With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people s bodies and memories.
When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.
When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your ghost, and hope you aren’t infected too.”
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Inside the World of Ghost in the Shell Part 2
Special: “Arise Explained in 25 minutes” (Extended Director’s Cut)
Special: “25 Years Reviewed in 25 minutes” (Extended Director’s Cut)
Promotional Video
Theatrical Trailer
Teaser
U.S. Trailer
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is available on Blu-ray from Manga Entertainment.
The Normanic Vault 
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