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GKIDS
GKIDS is actively distributing anime in North American theaters and on home video, with recent releases including The Last Blossom, a 4K remaster of Your Name, and a 4K remaster of Tekkonkinkreet, alongside home video editions of Look Back, Angel's Egg, and Love & Pop.
Synthesized from 6
Yomimono stories · updated
Sep 2
GKIDS has spent 2026 expanding its North American footprint for anime, leaning on limited two-night theatrical engagements for titles that have historically lacked wide U.S. releases. The distributor screened a 4K remaster of Tekkonkinkreet on May 31 and June 1, marking the film's first nationwide U.S. theatrical run two decades after its debut. It followed with a two-night run for Adolescence of Utena on June 21 and 22, the first wide North American theatrical release for that 1999 film. Both events offered Japanese with English subtitles, and Tekkonkinkreet also included an English dub.
GKIDS has also handled new theatrical releases. The Last Blossom, the first original feature from Odd Taxi director Baku Kinoshita, screened in U.S. theaters on August 30 and 31, after premiering at Annecy in 2025 and opening in Japan in October. The distributor also brought a 4K remaster of Makoto Shinkai's Your Name back to theaters on August 14 for the film's 10th anniversary, with both subtitled and dubbed showings.
Home video has been a parallel focus. GKIDS announced at Anime Expo a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for Look Back on September 8, a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for Angel's Egg on September 22, and a Blu-ray for Hideaki Anno's live-action Love & Pop on October 6. Your Name will also receive new 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray Disc editions on August 25. The distributor's partnership with STUDIO4°C has been active, with All You Need is Kill released in January and ChaO set for April 10, alongside the Tekkonkinkreet remaster.
Key facts
- The Last Blossom U.S. theatrical dates
- August 30 and 31, in Japanese with English subtitles ↗
- The Last Blossom production
- Directed by Baku Kinoshita, written by Kazuya Konomoto, animated by Studio CLAP ↗
- Your Name 4K re-release date
- August 14, 2026, in theaters ↗
- Your Name home video release
- 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray Disc on August 25 ↗
- Tekkonkinkreet 4K remaster theatrical run
- May 31 and June 1, 2026, first nationwide U.S. theatrical release ↗
- Adolescence of Utena theatrical run
- June 21 and 22, 2026, first wide North American theatrical release ↗
- Home video slate announced at Anime Expo
- Look Back 4K UHD Collector's Edition September 8, Angel's Egg 4K UHD Collector's Edition September 22, Love & Pop Blu-ray October 6 ↗
Timeline
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Announced
- 10th anniversary 4K theatrical re-release of Your Name · 2026-08-04
Connections
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/gkids.
CC BY 4.0.
Claim activity
When a claim about GKIDS was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against
open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
- Confirmed GKIDS produces Look Back 6d ago · source
- Confirmed GKIDS produces The Last Blossom Aug 31 · source
- Debunked gkids produces revolutionary girl utena adolescence of utena May 28 · source
- Disputed gkids produces revolutionary girl utena adolescence of utena May 28 · source
- Confirmed gkids produces tekkonkinkreet May 28 · source
All coverage
Aug 28
The Last Blossom, the first original feature-length anime from Odd Taxi director Baku Kinoshita, opens in select U.S. theaters this weekend. GKIDS, the film's North American distributor, is releasing it for two nights only, August 30 and 31, in Japanese with English subtitles. The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival before opening in Japan last October under the title Housenka. The story follows Akutsu, a former yakuza serving a life sentence, who recounts his life to a sarcastic talking flower growing from a tin can. Kinoshita directed and designed the characters, reuniting with Odd Taxi writer Kazuya Konomoto, who wrote the original story and screenplay. Animation was handled by Studio CLAP, known for Pompo the Cinephile. In an interview with Anime Herald, Kinoshita discussed his interest in criminals as people who live in the moment, the Balsam flower as a wiser-than-human philosopher, and why the song Stand By Me appears in the film. He also noted that he currently leans toward television work because it offers more room to develop stories.
Aug 4
GKIDS will bring Makoto Shinkai's Your Name back to North American theaters on August 14 with a 4K remaster, marking the film's 10th anniversary. The distributor began streaming a trailer for the screening on Wednesday. Tickets are already on sale for showings in both the original Japanese and an English-language dub. The 2016 film, animated by CoMix Wave Films, follows Mitsuha, a rural teenager, and Taki, a Tokyo student, who wake up in each other's bodies and uncover a connection that spans time. Your Name became an international hit, earning more than $400 million worldwide, and won best animated feature at the Sitges Film Festival, plus honors for animation, directing, screenplay, and music at the Japan Academy Film Prize. The theatrical re-release joins several other Shinkai films that GKIDS distributes, including Weathering with You, 5 Centimeters per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. The film will also receive new 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray Disc home video releases on August 25.
Jul 6
GKIDS announced during its Anime Expo panel on Sunday several home video releases, including a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for Look Back on September 8, a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for the 4K remaster of Angel's Egg on September 22, and a Blu-ray Disc release for Hideaki Anno's live-action film Love & Pop on October 6.
Jun 10
GKIDS will screen Baku Kinoshita and Kadzuya Konomoto's original anime film The Last Blossom in U.S. theaters on August 30-31. The film, which opened in Japan on October 10 and played at Annecy in 2025, follows a dying former yakuza reminiscing with a talking flower. CLAP handled animation production.
May 28
GKIDS announced on May 28 that it has acquired the North American theatrical rights for Kunihiko Ikuhara's 1999 anime film Adolescence of Utena. The distributor will screen the movie in Japanese with English subtitles in U.S. theaters on June 21 and 22, 2026. Tickets are now on sale. GKIDS also released a new trailer and poster alongside the announcement. The film is a surreal retelling of the Revolutionary Girl Utena television series, which aired in 1997. It follows Utena Tenjou as she enrolls at Ohtori Academy and becomes entangled in duels over the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. The creative team includes screenwriter Yoji Enokido, art director Shichiro Kobayashi, and composer J.A. Seazer. The film was produced by J.C.Staff and originally premiered in Japan on August 14, 1999. Previous North American home video releases came from Central Park Media on DVD and VHS, and the film has streamed on RetroCrush, Funimation, and Tubi. This marks the first wide North American theatrical release for the film.
May 16
GKIDS will screen a new 4K remaster of the 2006 anime film Tekkonkinkreet in North American theaters on May 31 and June 1. The two-night event marks the 20th anniversary of the feature, which was directed by Michael Arias and animated by STUDIO4°C. It is the first nationwide U.S. theatrical release for the title. Tickets are on sale now. The screenings will offer both the original Japanese language track and the English dub. A 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital download release will follow later in the year, though no date was given. The film adapts the Eisner Award-winning manga by Taiyo Matsumoto. It won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year in 2008 and the Ofuji Noburo Award at the 2006 Mainichi Film Awards, among other honors. The remaster continues an active period between GKIDS and STUDIO4°C. The distributor released the studio's All You Need is Kill in January and will release ChaO on April 10. Previous collaborations include Mind Game and Children of the Sea.