HBO Max continues its strong anime sequence with the addition of four new films, two documentaries and an upcoming Studio Ghibli film this month, courtesy of distributor GKIDS Films, which is best known for managing the international distribution of works by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. Some of them can be seen on Netflix, but only outside the US due to licensing restrictions, as HBO’s parent company WarnerMedia has secured US rights for most (but not all) of the Ghibli catalog and works closely collaboration with GKIDS for non-Ghibli bond rights.
Scissors and the witch, Ghibli’s latest film and Miyazaki Gorō’s son’s third directorial work, will debut on HBO Max on February 5, after a limited theatrical release two days earlier. The film is based on the work of British fantasy novelist Diana Wynne Jones (who also wrote the book, which was adapted for the work of Ghibli Howling Moving Castle), and will be made available in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbing. It is Ghibli’s first foray into computer-generated animation.
As for the previously released films arriving on HBO Max, they include some important names. The largest in the group is Makoto Shinkai Resisting you, one of the most popular films ever released in Japan and the follow-up to Shinkai’s worldwide success in 2016 Your name.
Also included is Studio Trigger’s Promare, a visually surprising action film by the animators who now work in the Cyberpunk 2077 anime spinoff Edgerunners and best known for producing TV series Kill La Kill and Darling In the Franxx. HBO Max subscribers will also have access to romantic comedies The night is short, walk with the girl (per Devilman Crybaby director Masaaki Yuasa) and the surf-centric drama Ride Your Wave.
Included in all these new additions to HBO Max are two documentaries by Miyazaki. The first is from 2013 Endless Man: Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese television documentary directed by Kaku Arakawa that aired for the first time after Miyazaki’s early retirement was announced almost a decade ago. The second is The realm of dreams and madness, another documentary released in 2013 that follows Miyazaki and other Ghibli co-founders while the studio produced The wind rises and The tale of Princess Kaguya.
Resisting you is now available only in English dubbing, although GKIDS Films says it is working to add the original Japanese language option to the stream. The other additions will come to HBO Max throughout the month.