Pioneer Entertainment announced its upcoming global 10th anniversary celebration promotion at the recent Anime Expo (see 'Growing Pains at Anime Expo'), which will involve the release of catalogue titles previously available only on VHS in DVD format.  The Tenchi Muyo and Armitage III OVAs will be released in October, and the Magical Project S TV series (a rework of the Tenchi series) in November.

 

Pioneer is continuing the trend of special box set packages in Q1.  Nanako will be released in a DVD box set in Q1 2003 in a tin 'first aid kit' package (in keeping with the 'Amazing Nurse' theme).  Hand Maid May will also be released in a DVD box set in Q1, with two skus available:  3 DVDs and a CD-ROM in a box, or for those that already have the DVDs, the box and the CD-ROM sans DVDs. 

 

Several new acquisitions were also announced by Pioneer at the show, including the Chobits anime (it's already been a manga hit for Tokyopop in the US);  Mahoromatic; and perhaps most importantly, the Lupin III TV series.  The Lupin acquisition news had leaked to the US from Japan (see 'Pioneer Gets Lupin III'), but the Anime Expo anouncement represented official confirmation that this long-running series is coming to the US.  FUNimation has already begun releasing the Lupin III OVAs in the US.