Anchor Bay Films recently announced the acquisition of Katsuhito Ishii’s ‘Redline’ with all rights in North America, the U.K. as well as Australia and New Zealand. The film will be released under Anchor Bay’s Manga brand this fall. Written by Katsuhito Ishii (director of The Taste of Tea, Funky Forest, Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl and the anime segment of Kill Bill Vol. 1) and directed by the up-and-coming Takeshi Koike, who participated in the “World Record” segment of Animatrix (2003), ‘Redline’ was seven years in the making and proudly demonstrates the new possibilities of 2D animation, amidst the current prominence of 3D animation. Bill Clark, President of Anchor Bay Entertainment, made the announcement.

Additionally, ‘Redline’ has received rave reviews even from those admittedly not anime fans. From its premiere at Fantastic Fest, Harry Knowles said “‘Redline’ should not be missed, everyone came out smiling and happy. FANTASTIC!” He called it the “…coolest Speed Racer ever…and that counts the Wachowski film.” AnimeNewsNetwork.com called it “… the most insanely exciting, visually exhilarating anime film you’ve seen in decades. Incredible fun!”

‘Redline’ is a racing film created by studio Madhouse (Paprika, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars). ‘Redline’ is about the biggest and most deadly racing tournament in the universe. Only held once every five years, everyone wants to stake their claim to fame, including JP, a reckless dare-devil driver oblivious to speed limits with his ultra-customized car – all the while, organized crime and militaristic governments want to leverage the race to their own ends. Amongst the other elite rival drivers in the tournament, JP falls for the alluring Sonoshee – but will she prove his undoing, or can a high speed romance survive a mass destruction race?