9-09-2024 6:53am

National Fest Brings Anime Classics To Minnesota Theaters Over The Next 7 Months

Tom Akaolisa Editor

Over the next seven months, Iconic Events Releasing will put classic anime films back in cinemas across the United States and Canada, including theaters around Minnesota.

A run of five films will be screened in more than 500 theaters, including nearly a dozen theaters around Minnesota. Most will screen for two to four nights, with subtitled and English dubbed versions playing on different nights.

The run of films are part of the Anime Expo Cinema Nights (aka AX Cinema Nights), and it'll kick off on Sept. 11 with a 30th-anniversary screening of Ninja Scroll (1993), which will also play on Sept. 12 and Sept. 15.

Ninja Scoll is followed by Osamu Tezuka's cyberpunk classic Metropolis 2001 (2001) playing on Nov. 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10; the concert film Babymetal Legend - 43 The Movie (2024) screens on Dec. 11 and 15; a 15th-anniversary 4K remaster of Satoshi Kon's mind-bending final film Paprika (2006) hits theaters on January 8, 9, and 12; and the initial run of the series wraps up with the beloved Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) on Feb. 5, 6, and 9.

While that list of five films, a couple of which are genre classics, will excite anime fans, there may be more on the way. Iconic Events says more AX Cinema Nights events will be announced "very soon."

Theaters participating around Minnesota include AMC Rosedale, AMC Southdale, AMC Eden Prairie, AMC Inver Grove, AMC Coon Rapids, Marcus Oakdale, Emagine Willow Creek, Emagine Eagan, Emagine White Bear, Emagine Lakeville, and Emagine Monticello.