'Wings of Honneamise' to Fly on Blu-ray, HD DVD this September

One of the classics of anime will make its high-def debut when Bandai Visual brings 'Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise' to Blu-ray and HD DVD this fall.

Due to hit both Blu-ray and HD DVD on September 11, Bandai will present the acclaimed anime masterpiece in a newly-remastered 20th Anniversary Edition.

Tech specs are identical on both versions, and are set to include a restored print remastered in full 1080p video, along with the original Japanese soundtrack in both Dolby Digital TrueHD and uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround versions. (An optional English dub in standard Dolby Digital 5.1 will also be included.)

Intriguingly, both next-gen releases are being billed as "two-disc sets," with the second disc being a standard-def DVD. At press time, it wasn't clear what might appear on that second disc -- the fact that Bandai is calling both next-gen releases "combos" has led some to speculate that the standard-def DVD may just be a duplicate copy of 'Honneamise' in standard-def. Here's hoping that's not the case, and that the second disc will contain some as yet unannounced supplements, instead.

Bandai has set a rather pricey $79.99 MSRP for both the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions of 'Wing of Honneamise.'

We've added listings for 'The Wings of Honneamise' to both our Blu-ray Release Schedule and HD DVD Release Schedule under September 11. Watch for full supplemental details and box cover art to be revealed in the coming weeks.

We've also set up dedicated threads for Bandai Visual's latest announcement in our Forums area -- click the following links to discuss the 'Wings of Honneamise' Blu-ray release and the 'Wings of Honneamise' HD DVD release.