Sherlock Hound celebrates its 40th anniversary with remastered movies featuring four iconic episodes from the beloved anime series, exclusively released in select theaters across Japan. This limited theatrical release offers a unique opportunity for fans of Hayao Miyazaki's classic anime to experience Sherlock Hound in a nostalgic and fresh way.
The beloved classic Sherlock Hound anime, which originated from Studio Ghibli, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with remastered versions of its two feature-length compilation films. These remasters will be released in Japanese cinemas as a double feature in over a hundred cinemas later this Spring, providing longtime fans with a rare opportunity to revisit the classic in a fresh and captivating way.
Despite the extensive theatrical release, it is evident that Japanese fans hold immense respect for this series, Miyazaki or otherwise. Sherlock Hound was an Italian-Japanese production that featured Miyazaki's contributions on six episodes in 1982. However, the series was only re-released in 1984 due to copyright issues, by which time Miyazaki had shifted his focus to other projects (namely Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind).
The remastered Sherlock Hound movies will be shown in 117 cinemas from March 22 to April 18. Prominent locations include the Shinjuku Piccadilly, Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas, Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro, and United Cinema Aqua City Odaiba. These compilations are assembled from four Miyazaki-directed episodes, titled "Blue Ruby", "Treasure Under the Sea", "Mrs. Hudson is Taken Hostage", and "Air Battle Over Dover". The movie's localization title suggests that Sherlock Hound reinterprets Doyle's characters as anthropomorphic canines, though instead of a Victorian setting, the anime employs steampunk and dieselpunk elements.
Other Studio Ghibli staff were involved in six of the anime's episodes. Yoshifumi Kondo served as character designer for six episodes of the anime, while Nizo Yamamoto was the art director for six episodes used in the first movie. Sherlock Hound was originally produced in 1982 but was delayed until 1984 due to legal battles with the Doyle estate. The movie compilations were a quick attempt to cash in on Miyazaki's popularity, which exploded with the release of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Despite the absence of concrete evidence, it appears that the compilation films will not be released internationally at this time. However, the original anime remains widely accessible both online and offline, with TMS Entertainment offering the entire series on YouTube, along with distribution through Crunchyroll and Prime Video. Anime enthusiasts worldwide can access relevant episodes of Sherlock Hound online, but there is an undeniable allure to watching one of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's earliest creations on the big screen, as they were initially intended to be enjoyed in that manner.