Junk Head (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Junk Head (ジャンク・ヘッド) is a 2021 theatrical stop-motion anime film directed, written, and edited by Takahide Hori and is based on his 2013 short film Junk Head 1. Staff credits also include producer Kent Yoshida and composer Yoshiki Kondo working with Takahide Hori on the film score. The film was first released theatrically in Japan in March 2021 followed by screenings at Fantasia International Film Festival 2021.

Background:

“Mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation, but finds itself on the road to extinction when the species loses the ability to reproduce. Their clones who rebelled 1,600 years ago are now known as Marigans and rule the bottomless underworld. Some of them seem to have become fertile and the government takes this as a ray of hope and decides to send civilians in to carry out an ecological study. Selected for the mission, Parton sets off on an adventure through a subterranean labyrinth crawling with monsters in order to secure humanity’s future.”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, September 2023.

What I love about anime is the different variety of art styles and approaches that many artists and directors take for their original works or adaptations of existing material. Sure it’s great to see well-done animation by MAPPA and Ufotable but it can often overshadow the other works that smaller creators or animators have done. In fact one example that really stood out to me was Ujicha’s gekimation anime Violence Voyager (which Third Window Films managed to release here in the UK on Blu-ray) as it’s different in both presentation and visuals but also works well in story-telling.

Saying that, today we have another smaller creator this time by Takahide Hori, who has recently released a film which started to become a cult classic in the film scene – a stop-motion animated film called Junk Head. Now stop-motion animation has been used by a number of studios over the years worldwide (claymation shows and films were rather popular here in the UK and I watched a fair bit when I was younger), but it is rather uncommon for one individual to single-handedly work on all of it for seven years straight and successfully finish the film in a few variations. Most animators these days would just produce a film using either traditional 2D animation or partially or fully utilising CG.

Junk Head has very little information other than originating from a short film he released in 2013, which was them expanded to become a feature-length film in 2017. The 2017 version did receive some fanfare in film festivals but it was the 2021 version that the director and distributor GAGA released in Japanese theaters where it then started to receive more traction, primarily thanks to word of mouth from Japanese audiences who watched the film in the big screen.

The film did well enough to extend its run to more screens and even saw more international attention, including a UK theatrical release by Anime Limited in April 2023. Anime Limited also licensed Junk Head for home video which I now have, and I’m looking forward to checking out this film, especially considering it’s the first in a trilogy that the director is working on. In fact recently he announced its sequel called Junk World.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

Anime Limited loves to distribute films of various genres and approaches, so Junk Head fits in line with their catalog and even received a collector’s edition package.

The package is presented as a rigid box housing an Amaray case that includes the Blu-ray disc. Also included with the set is a 32-page booklet, and a poster. The booklet features details about how the film was made, an interview with the director and an article written by Jonathan Clements.

The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £39.99. A standard Blu-ray is expected to follow suit later.

I pre-ordered my copy through Anime Limited’s store during their early bird sale at £24.99 but using their membership discount for £22.49.

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
• Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
• 32-page booklet
• Poster

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 4th September 2023 (AllTheAnime store), 18th September 2023 (Retailers)

The collector’s edition release for Junk Head contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring produced by VDMS. In terms of audio options, the film has its own unique language (alien dialect as Synergetic described it in their North American release) so it’s available with English subtitles only.

The white subtitles are locked during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B.

Worth noting this release also features a 1 hour making of documentary for those intrigued by the seven year production journey the director went through to make the film.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Original Spoken Language
Audio	Original Spoken Language Linear PCM 2.0
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1 BD-50

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

• UK Theatrical Trailer
• Making Of Documentary

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Junk Head is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray can be acquired through Amazon UK and Anime Limited’s store.

(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)