The ’90s animated series based on Capcom’s beloved Mega Man franchise is finally coming to Blu-ray this fall. Mega Man: The Complete Series joins Discotek’s lineup of standard definition Blu-rays on October 28. This is great news for fans of charming cartoon, as the 2014 DVD edition has been out of print for years and sells for high prices these days. Mega Man fans can preorder the new Blu-ray edition for $50 at Amazon or $40 at Crunchyroll.
With Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, you’ll automatically get any discounts offered before your order ships. Amazon often matches Crunchyroll’s prices in the days and weeks after listing a new Blu-ray.
$50
Mega Man: The Complete Series includes all 27 episodes from the show’s two-season run (1994-96). It’s worth emphasizing that while this is a Blu-ray disc, the series is presented in standard definition with the original broadcast aspect ratio of 4:3.
Bonus materials include an interesting mix of archival content, TV commercials, and new features like select commentary tracks from Mega Man’s US voice actor, Ian James Corlett.
The total runtime for Mega Man: The Complete Series on Blu-ray is 10 hours and 50 minutes.
Mega Man: The Complete Series Blu-ray Special Features
- Mega Man original pilot pitch
- Scans of the original press kit
- TV commercial
- Toy commercial
- Art galleries
- Series bible
- All-new commentary from Mega Man voice actor Ian James Corlett
Like other animated series of the time, Mega Man is a lighthearted cartoon with plenty of silliness. Even though it’s a family-friendly show, it still has plenty of action, and the show accurately recreates the main plot of games from the time. Mega Man regularly battles Dr. Wily’s mechanized forces, and episodes regularly introduce new Robot Masters. This show was a joint effort between Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions, and while the episodes are still presented in standard definition, they should still look great, as the slick animation style has held up well.
If you’re looking to build up a collection of anime based on popular video games and cult-classic manga, then you’ll want to check out the rest of Discotek’s offerings. The distributor has been on a roll lately, with one of its well-received recent releases being Street Fighter: The Animated Series. Another Capcom property, this Blu-ray features all 26 episodes of the original series in their original standard definition presentation and 4:3 aspect ratio, as well as plenty of bonus materials. Alongside the episodes, you’re getting an art gallery, behind-the-scenes storyboards, game-inspired menus, commentary tracks for select episodes featuring notable FGC hosts, and a compilation of memes that the series that spawned.
While the show is admittedly cheesy, Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie isn’t. It’s still an incredibly well-animated feature film based on the fighting game sequel, and decades later, it’s impact still resonates in modern-day Street Fighter. Discotek’s version of the film upgrades it to 4K, making the action-packed presentation look better than ever. For extras, it comes packed with clean credit sequences, archival promotional materials, production art, an isolated score, and various cuts of the movie in English and Japanese.
If you’d prefer some animated Sega fun, you’re in luck. Amazon has the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog for a nice discount for a limited time. It’s a very goofy but lighthearted show that’s perfect for younger members of the family. You can also get all 78 episodes of Sonic X on Blu-ray. Depending on your preferences, you can pick this anime series up in either its original Japanese format or the English version that released in the West.
Other highlights here include Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva–currently the only animated feature based on the popular Level-5 video game series–a Digimon movie collection, and even the Darkstalkers original video animations from the late ’90s. A second Darkstalkers release, The Complete Animated Series, is slated to release alongside Mega Man on October 28.
If you’re after a more traditional anime experience, then you can grab a 30% discount on Fist of the North Star, as it’s on sale for $63 (was $90). That gets you all 152 episodes from the original anime series, and you can pair this with modern-day anime reimagining like Legend of Kenshiro or Legend of Raoh.
