It was hard growing up in the convention scene in the late 1980’s as anime was being taped over in Japan but there were no subtitles. In fact I can remember one of the first conventions that I went to (a Creation Con no less) and the dealers room had at least six to eight dealers selling bootleg VHS tapes. These tapes had everything from the first episode of Bubblegum Crisis (which I bought for $20) to another show called Aura Battler Dunbine. To me this was an amazing show as it blended fantasy and mecha seamlessly together.
Now in the digital age that we live in it is easier to see new and classic shows like Aura Battler Dunbine however, the folks over at Sentai Filmworks went one better by releasing the entire season on blu-ray! The entire 49 episode series will be available on six beautifully illustrated discs as this show will be completely restored and remastered in HD! For those that never heard of the show it takes place when an up and coming motocross racer named Show Zama suffers an accident and is transported to the mysterious realm of Bryston Well. In this fantasyland lords live in sprawling castles and settle disputes with giant mecha named Aura Battlers! However, once Show appears in this realm he is conscripted by a powerful figure that calls himself Lord Drake. As he pilots this Battler for Lord Drake he soon realizes that he might be on the wrong side of this conflict.
I am VERY excited that Sentai Filmworks has decided to release this collection as I have never really seen the show. I have seen ads for it in NewType and Hobby Japan but never once actually seen the series and I look forward to watching it. Aura Battler Dunbine will be available on August 28th however, you can go ahead and pre-order the boxed set here for the low price of $64.99 (instead of the retail price of close to $100!). And make sure you check out Sentai Filmworks for other classics and new hits coming straight of out Japan.
