March 12, 2021

GKIDS UNBOXED: “On-Gaku: Our Sound”

Now available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack & Digital Download!

In this edition of GKIDS Unboxed, we’re rocking out to On-Gaku: Our Sound on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack!

Kenji is a high school delinquent feared by all, despite his chill attitude. One day, in a moment of inspiration, Kenji approaches his comrades Ota and Asakura with an idea to start a band. The trio then embark on a rock and roll journey and, with the help of a soft folk group, decide to enter a local music festival. But when Kenji gets cold feet, it puts the future of the band, and their friendship, in jeopardy.

Based on the manga by Hiroyuki Ohashi, On-Gaku: Our Sound was hand-drawn over rotoscoped footage and animated over the course of seven years by director Kenji Iwaisawa and a small team of amateur animators, making it truly worthy of the term “indie.” On-Gaku’s indie cred is further cemented by Shintaro Sakamoto, the Japanese alt-rock legend, who voices the main character, Kenji.

The film’s dry humor and laid-back attitude recalls the best of 90s slacker media like Daria and Beavis and Butthead, while also drawing from teen delinquent anime, ensuring On-Gaku: Our Sound’s status as an instant cult classic.

It’s even got the approval of Clone High co-creator and co-director of The Lego Movie, Phil Lord, who calls it “A funny, humane, insane, modest, ambitious, delight,” and “In [his] top ten for the year.” Thanks, Phil!

Both the Blu-ray and DVD are mastered in DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound audio in the original Japanese with subtitles in English or Spanish. The Blu-ray includes an hour-long documentary on the making of the film, including some hilarious footage of the live action scenes the team shot as reference for the rotoscoped animation. There’s an additional fifteen minute behind-the-scenes featurette delving into the crew’s process of location scouting and storyboarding.

Love the music in On-Gaku: Our Sound? Check out the ten minute performance of the film’s original songs, presented here in a deliciously lo-fi video. Sit back, spark up your lighter and just vibe.

For an extra peek behind the scenes, you can flip through storyboards, a pencil test, and the original five minute “demo” film, which served as a pitch for the full movie.

To sweeten the deal even further, we’ve added four original animated shorts from Kenji Iwaisawa, including Mountain, Mourning Ice Pop, Nicky, and Taro Wanted to be Water. Each short is unique in its own right, and shows the evolution of Iwaisawa’s sense of humor and art style perfected in On-Gaku: Our Sound.

But that’s not all! For a limited time, when you order through the GKIDS Store, you’ll get an exclusive 14.75″ by 8.5″ poster of a luxurious Kenji at his absolute chillest. Order today for your brain to feel exactly as peaceful as this image. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Ready to see more? Check out the full GKIDS Unboxed below!

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On-Gaku: Our Sound is now available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and Digital Download

Bonus Features:

  • The Making of On-Gaku: Our Sound**
  • Our Movie: Behind The Scenes
  • Live Musical Performance
  • On-Gaku (Demo)
  • Rock Festival Pencil Test
  • Short Films by Kenji Iwaisawa:
    • Mountain
    • Mourning Ice Pop
    • Nicky
    • Taro Wanted to be Water
  • Storyboards Gallery
  • Trailers

**Blu-ray only

Run Time

71 min

Aspect Ratio

1.90:1

Release Date

March 9, 2021

Audio

Japanese

Region

A/1

Rating

NR

Production Date

2019

Subtitles

English, Spanish

AVAILABLE NOW

BLU-RAY/DVD

APPLE TV

VUDU

PRIME VIDEO (SUB)

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