Anime Collection Update: Whisper of the Heart (+ Discussion on Ghibli releases)

Amazon package has arrived, and it's my favourite Ghibli film on Blu-ray (with the DVD included as a combo).



Whisper of the Heart - Blu-ray / DVD Combo
Region: B (Blu-ray), 2 (DVD)

There were a few reasons I got this. First of all, I took myself a year to realise that the Ghibli collection I was given was in fact a Bootleg licensed and approved by the Malaysian government. What this means, well basically every film included in the collection was pirated and sold illegally as bootlegs to everyone who fell for it on ebay and other bootleg sites. This is unacceptable, as the money does not go back to the Ghibli creators.

This is what a bootleg looks like:

I did however have some of the titles on DVD at the same time (it was my birthday back then) so I did have some legit versions. When I got access to Blu-ray, I decided that I should get every release in HD but in this case I had six Ghibli films already on DVD and getting them on Blu-ray also means getting two versions on DVD.

Just a reminder on which Ghibli films I have on DVD:
Howl's Moving Castle

My Neighbour Totoro
Pom Poko
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
Spirited Away

Out of those six films, three of them (soon to be four with Porco Rosso) have been released on Blu-ray in the UK as a BD/DVD Combo. And five of them have been released on Blu-ray in Japan. While the US is slightly more superior to the UK versions, the UK has more releases than the US will mainly due to licensing issues and reverse importation. Grave of the Fireflies has luckily been released by Sentai Filmworks for Blu-ray and Princess Mononoke has been seen on Disney's Ghibli list.

Ghibli releases for UK:
Arrietty - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
From Up on Poppy Hill - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD [September 2013]
Grave of the Fireflies - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD [July 2013]
Howl's Moving Castle - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Kiki's Delivery Service - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD [July 2013]
Laputa: Castle in the Sky - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
My Neighbour the Yamadas - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
My Neighbour Totoro - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind - DVD - Blu-ray
Ocean Waves - DVD
Only Yesterday - DVD
Pom Poko - DVD
Ponyo - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Porco Rosso - DVD
Princess Mononoke - DVD
Spirited Away - DVD
Tales from Earthsea - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
The Cat Returns - DVD
Whisper of the Heart - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Minor-Ghibli | Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Minor-Ghibli | The Little Norse Prince - DVD

Ghibli releases for Australia:
Arrietty - DVD
Grave of the Fireflies - DVD
Howl's Moving Castle - DVD - Blu-ray
Kiki's Delivery Service - DVD - Blu-ray
Laputa: Castle in the Sky - DVD
My Neighbour the Yamadas - DVD - Blu-ray
My Neighbour Totoro - DVD
Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind - DVD - Blu-ray
Ocean Waves - DVD
Only Yesterday - DVD
Pom Poko - DVD
Ponyo - DVD - Blu-ray
Porco Rosso - DVD
Princess Mononoke - DVD
Spirited Away - DVD
Tales from Earthsea - DVD - Blu-ray
The Cat Returns - DVD
Whisper of the Heart - DVD - Blu-ray

Ghibli releases for USA:
Arrietty - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
From Up on Poppy Hill - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD [September 2013]
Grave of the Fireflies - DVD - Blu-ray [Sentai Filmworks]
Howl's Moving Castle - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Kiki's Delivery Service - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Laputa: Castle in the Sky - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
My Neighbour the Yamadas - DVD
My Neighbour Totoro - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Ocean Waves - DVD
Only Yesterday - DVD
Pom Poko - DVD
Ponyo - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD
Porco Rosso - DVD
Princess Mononoke - DVD
Spirited Away - DVD
Tales from Earthsea - DVD
The Cat Returns - DVD
Whisper of the Heart - DVD - Blu-ray/DVD