Streamline Pictures was one of the first companies to bring uncut anime to the United States, but their distribution throughout their life was rocky. From 1988 to 2002, numerous companies distributed their titles, and this post is an attempt to make sense of it all. Unless otherwise stated, all VHS tapes are dubbed, and all LaserDiscs and DVDs are bilingual
Distributor #1: Streamline Pictures (1988-1994, VHS)
Streamline Pictures’ first distributor was none other than themselves. For their first few years of existence, they distributed all of their VHS tapes in-house. These can be identified by packaging that has no logo, the “Streamline Pictures” logo, or the square “Video Comics” logo on the front. The list of titles is as follows:
- 3×3 Eyes [Volumes #1-#4]
- 8 Man After [Volumes #1-#4]
- Akira [Letterboxed]
- Akira Production Report
- The Castle of Cagliostro
- Crying Freeman [Volumes #1-#4]
- Dirty Pair: Affair on Nolandia, The Flight 005 Conspiracy, and Project Eden
- Doomed Megalopolis [Volumes #1-#4]
- Fist of the North Star
- Goku: Midnight Eye
- Lensman
- Lily C.A.T.
- Lupin III: Tales of the Wolf [Volumes #1-#2]
- Nadia [Volumes #1-#8]
- Neo-Tokyo
- Planet Busters
- The Professional: Golgo 13
- Robot Carnival
- Robotech Perfect Collection – Macross [Volumes #1-#8, Bilingual VHS]
- Robotech Perfect Collection – Southern Cross [Volumes #1-#7, Bilingual VHS]
- Robotech Perfect Collection – Mospeada [Volumes #1-#7, Bilingual VHS]
- Silent Möbius
- Twilight of the Cockroaches
- Vampire Hunter D
- Wicked City
- Windaria
- Zillion [Volumes #1-#5]
- Zillion: Burning Night
Distributor #2: Image Entertainment (1991, LaserDisc)
As the 90s rolled around, LaserDisc picked up somewhat of a second life in deluxe collectors editions. Streamline partnered with LaserDisc distributor Image Entertainment to distribute a number of titles, however only one made it out before the partnership dissolved. Almost a decade later, however, Streamline and Image would work together again to bring some of their titles to DVD (see Distributor #2 [Redux]). The only title is the following:
- Fist of the North Star [Dub only]
Distributor #3: The Criterion Collection (1992-1995, LaserDisc)
When Akira broke box office records and showed America that animation could be for adults, The Criterion Collection took notice, and offered to produce one of their famous releases for the film. To date, it’s the only anime to ever get the Criterion Collection treatment, and one of only three animated films. The list of titles is as follows:
- Akira [Special Edition, CAV Release]
- Akira [CLV Release]
Distributor #4: Lumivision (1992-1994, LaserDisc)
After the success of their partnership with The Criterion Collection, Streamline partnered with the company Lumivision to bring a number of their other titles to LaserDisc (again), as Streamline still had no expertise in that field. Like most attempts to release anime on LaserDisc in the west, this fizzled out with only a few releases. The list of titles is as follows:
- 3×3 Eyes [Volumes #1-#4 on one disc]
- Lensman
- Nadia [Volumes #1-#4 on one disc]
- Robot Carnival
- Twilight of the Cockroaches [Subtitled only]
- Vampire Hunter D
Distributor #5: Best Film & Video (1993, VHS)
In 1993, Streamline partnered with distributor Best Film & Video to re-release a number of their titles at budget prices. This partnership was short lived, however, lasting less than a year. These titles can be identified by a blue and white star on the spine of the box, and a UPC code that starts with “021442”. The list of titles is as follows:
- The Castle of Cagliostro
- Lensman
- Robot Carnival
- Windaria
- Zillion: The Beginning [Volumes #1-#3 on one tape]
- Zillion: Burning Night
Distributor #6: Orion Pictures (1993-1996, VHS)
Mere months after Streamline had announced their partnership with Best Film & Video, they changed their minds and partnered with Orion Pictures, and subsequently re-released almost their entire back catalog. These Orion releases often look nearly identical to the previous Streamline-only releases, even sometimes sharing the same UPC code. The best way to identify them is an “Orion Pictures” logo on the front and a UPC that starts with “739991”. The only exception to this is the subtitled release of Akira, which while distributed by Orion, does not carry their logo anywhere on the packaging. The list of titles is as follows:
- 3×3 Eyes: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- 8 Man After: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- Akira [Letterboxed]
- Akira [Letterboxed, Subtitled]
- Akira [Pan & Scan]
- Babel II [Volumes #1-#4]
- Babel II: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- Barefoot Gen
- Casshan: Robot Hunter [Volumes #1-#4]
- Casshan: Robot Hunter: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- Crimson Wolf
- Crying Freeman [Volumes #1-#5]
- Dirty Pair: Affair on Nolandia, The Flight 005 Conspiracy, and Project Eden
- Doomed Megalopolis [Volumes #1-#4]
- Fist of the North Star
- Great Conquest: Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Lily C.A.T.
- Lupin III’s Greatest Capers [Tales of the Wolf Volumes #1-#2 on one tape]
- Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo
- Megazone 23: Part One
- The Professional: Golgo 13
- The Secret of Blue Water [Volumes #1-#4 and #5-#8 of Nadia on two tapes]
- Vampire Hunter D
- Wicked City
Distributor #7: Fox Lorber / Mondo Pop (1994, VHS)
For some unknown reason, Orion didn’t distribute their re-release of Twilight of the Cockroaches directly, instead opting to sublicense it to Fox Lorber, who released it under their Mondo Pop brand. That means there are Streamline, Orion, Fox Lorber, and Mondo Pop logos on the box. Why this happened is a mystery for the ages. The only title is the following:
- Twilight of the Cockroaches
Side Note #1: Orion (without Streamline) (1995, VHS)
After Crimson Wolf in 1995, Streamline stopped licensing and dubbing new titles due to financial difficulties, but continued to release their back catalog through Orion. Orion, sensing an opportunity, licensed the second half of the OVA series 3×3 Eyes themselves, which Streamline had never fully released. Unfortunately, Orion would only release 2 of the 3 remaining episodes before hitting financial difficulties themselves. These technically aren’t Streamline releases, but they’re often grouped in, so they’re worth a mention. The list of titles is as follows:
- 3×3 Eyes [Volumes #5-#6]
Distributor #8: MGM Home Entertainment (1998, VHS)
In 1998, Orion Pictures went bankrupt, and their assets, including their distribution deal with Streamline, were purchased by MGM. Knowing the distribution deal was set to expire later that year, MGM quickly re-released some of the titles they had acquired from Orion. Often, these were just the Orion tapes with a new barcode and SKU sticker, but copies with properly printed boxes have appeared in the wild. These tapes can be identified by a SKU number on the spine that starts with “100”, or a UPC code on the back that starts with “651021”. They do not say MGM anywhere on the packaging. The list of titles is as follows:
- Akira [Letterboxed]
- Akira [Letterboxed, Subtitled]
- Akira [Pan & Scan]
- 3×3 Eyes: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- 3×3 Eyes [Volumes #5-#6] {Technically not Streamline titles, see Side Note #1}
- Barefoot Gen
- Babel II: Perfect Collection [Volumes #1-#4 on one tape]
- Fist of the North Star
- Lupin III’s Greatest Capers [Tales of the Wolf Volumes #1-#2 on one tape]
- Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo
Distributor #2 [Redux]: Image Entertainment (1998-1999, DVD)
After Streamline’s distribution deal with Orion/MGM finally ended in 1998, they went back and partnered with a former distributor, Image Entertainment (See Distributor #2) for their jump to DVD. By this point, most of Streamline’s library had expired, so very few titles made it out before Streamline themselves finally closed for good in 2002. Weirdly, a few of these releases were dub-only, despite being on DVD. The list of titles is as follows:
- 8 Man After: Perfect Collection [Dub Only]
- Babel II: Perfect Collection
- Barefoot Gen
- Crimson Wolf
- Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo [Dub Only]
- Megazone 23: Part 1
Side Note #2: Image Entertainment (without Streamline) (2001, DVD)
In 2001, Streamline’s rights to 8 Man After and Babel II, which they had sublicensed from Enoki Films USA, expired. Image Entertainment, not wanting to discontinue a DVD they’d had out for less than 2 years, made a deal with Enoki Films USA to re-release these two titles, with Image acting as the sublicensor instead of Streamline. These releases look very similar to the prior Streamline-licensed releases, but can be identified by lacking a Streamline logo on the cover, and coming in standard DVD cases instead of the infamous cardboard “snapper” cases Image had used previously. Like the Orion releases of 3×3 Eyes #5-#6, these technically aren’t Streamline titles, but they’re closely linked enough they deserve a mention. The list of titles is as follows:
- 8 Man After: Perfect Collection [Dub Only]
- Babel II: Perfect Collection
And that is, to the best of my knowledge, information on every single release and distributor (all 8 of them), plus the few “Streamline associated” titles. Currently, this list does not include the few Canada-specific releases. If you have any corrections, additions, improvements, or suggestions, feel free to comment below.
Leave a Reply