Burn the Witch (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Burn the Witch (BURN ☩HE WITCH) is a 2020 theatrical anime film based on Tite Kubo’s manga series of the same name. The film was produced by Studio Colorido, and the staff credits include director Tatsurō Kawano, screenplay writer Chika Suzumura, character designer Natsuki Yamada, and music composer Keiji Inai. The film was first released theatrically in Japan in October 2020.

Background:

“In this world, there is a “FRONT” side and a “REVERSE” side.

Historically 72% of all the deaths in London are related to dragons, fantastical beings invisible to the majority of the people. While unknown to most, some people have been standing up to these dragons.

Only inhabitants of Reverse London who live in the hidden “reverse” side of London can see the dragons. Even then, only a selected few become qualified enough as witches or wizards to make direct contact with them.

The protagonists of the story are witch duo Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole. They are protection agents for Wing Bind (WB), an organization for dragon conservation and management. Their mission is to protect and manage the dragons within London on behalf of the people.”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, November 2023.

Bleach was one of the most popular manga titles released on Shonen Jump, and even if it ended earlier than expected for the fans, it’s still talked a bit here and there even internationally. Since then Tite Kubo worked on two projects; SEGA’s Sakura Wars as the lead character designer, and a new manga series called Burn the Witch for Weekly Shonen Jump but in a different model. For the series, Tite Kubo has decided to not release the manga in the regular weekly chapter approach, but rather in batches. So far there’s only 1 volume worth of content with more to come.

Burn the Witch received well and was even given an anime adaptation, but produced by Studio Colorido than Studio Pierrot this time around. The adaptation is also presented as a film, but for international audiences it was split into three episodes when it was made available for streaming. Despite the lack of new content, they did recently announce another anime film which adapts the original one-shot called Burn the Witch #0.8 planned for end of 2023.

While Bleach was licensed by Viz Media, Burn the Witch ended up with Crunchyroll for streaming and home video, though the former was able to sub-license the home video rights and release it for North America. Anime Limited in the UK, who are now the new licensor for the Bleach franchise, was also able to get their hands on UK sub-license for Burn the Witch.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

Burn the Witch fits the collector’s model for not only as a film but also having the Bleach community enjoying the series as a whole, so it’s good to see Anime Limited are able to release one for the UK. Technically they are pretty much bringing over the assets that Viz Media had but it’s better than nothing.

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 12-page booklet and A3 Poster. The booklet features character designs and information about the world-building.

The artwork is free of any information on the front and spine, but the back cover includes the BBFC content, information and specification. 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 offer back in August 2023 for £24.99 but with the Anime Unlimited membership offer at £22.49.

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and semi-clean artwork
• Back cover of rigid box with info, specification and BBFC description
• 12-page booklet
• A3 Poster

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 6th November 2023 (AllTheAnime Store), 13th November 2023 (Retailers)

The collector’s edition release for Burn the Witch contains both the theatrical film and the three episode split version on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring produced by Viz Media. Audio options include Japanese with English subtitles and the Studiopolis Inc. English dub commissioned by Crunchyroll. English SDH subtitles are also available.

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

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	English, Japanese
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English, English SDH
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1 BD-50

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

• Clean Ending “Blowing”
• More from VIZ (Bleach Set 13 trailer)

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Burn the Witch is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland territories. The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can 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.)