This season, AX Cinema Nights brings a slate of highly influential feats of anime filmmaking back to theaters: The lineup includes the 30th anniversary theatrical release of the acclaimed samurai action-adventure Ninja Scroll; the futurist cyberpunk mindbender Metropolis 2001, based on a story by the “Godfather of Manga,” Osamu Tezuka; a special 15th Anniversary 4K restoration of director Satoshi Kon’s groundbreaking Paprika; and the wildly popular Cowboy Bebop The Movie, the feature film based on the beloved anime series about a team of swashbuckling fortune hunters.
This year’s program also includes BABYMETAL Legend 43 – The Movie, a concert film depicting Japan’s popular three-member metal dance unit.
Tickets are on sale now, and additional programming will be announced soon. Visit ax-cinemanights.com for participating theaters, tickets and more information.
The films, in order of screening dates, are:
Ninja Scroll 30th Anniversary (HIDIVE)
Screens Sept. 11 (sub), Sept. 12 (dub) Sept. 15 (encore of choice)
When Jubei saves a young ninja woman from the unthinkable, he assumes that’s the end of it. To his surprise, it’s only just the beginning. Together, the two investigate the mysterious deaths of an entire village which uncovers a conspiracy of demonic proportions! Getting closer to the truth, the demonic forces will stop at nothing to silence Jubei and his companion for good!
Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis 2001 (Sony Pictures)
Screens Nov. 4 (sub), Nov. 7 (dub), Nov. 10 (encore of choice)
In the late 1940s, long before Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the legendary illustrator created the classic manga Metropolis. Set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi search for a rebel scientist, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young girl. But when they locate him, Shunsaku quickly realizes that the eccentric genius is protected by a powerful man and beyond their reach. A retro-futuristic cautionary tale, Metropolis is spectacularly rendered, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
BABYMETAL Legend 43 – The Movie (Live Viewing Japan)
Screens Dec. 11 & Dec. 15
BABYMETAL held their largest scale world tour “BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2023 – 2024” from 2023 to 2024. The headline tour, excluding festivals and guest acts, drew a cumulative audience of more than 280,000 people for a total of 98 performances. The final chapter of the world tour, the first Okinawa performance “TOUR FINAL IN JAPAN LEGEND – 43”, has been fully filmed. The film is BABYMETAL’s first live film that allows viewers to experience all the diverse music, unique worldview, production that only a tour final can offer, and the overwhelming performance of BABYMETAL, which has evolved even further during their world tour.
Paprika 4K 15th Anniversary (Sony Pictures Classics)
Screens Jan. 8 (sub), Jan. 9 (dub), Jan. 12 (encore of choice)
Anime Expo Cinema Nights presents the final film by visionary director Satoshi Kon with his mind-bending thriller, Paprika, which has been restored in 4K for the first time. When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients’ dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Sony Pictures)
Screens Feb. 5 (sub), Feb. 6 (dub), Feb. 9 (encore of choice)
Caught up in a world of dreams, lost in the cruelty of reality. What should have been an easy bounty turns into biological war after a terrorist gets hold of a deadly virus. Drawn in by the pretty price on the mastermind’s head, Spike and the Bebop crew are ready to collect a much-needed reward. Unfortunately, the gang’s about to find themselves in more trouble than money when the terrorist threatens to unleash the virus on Halloween – effectively killing everyone on Mars. With little time and leads that seem more dreamy than helpful, they’ll have to use their own bag of tricks to stop a dangerous plot.
