Media distributor Sentai Filmworks has acquired the exclusive rights to the classic animated film Venus Wars.

In a recent blogpost, Sentai Filmworks announced the acquisition and extolled the film’s historical and artistic significance. Venus Wars began as a manga series written by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko in 1987. Yasuhiko also became the director for the film which released in 1989. Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack and is famous for his work on many of Studio Ghibli’s films such as Spirited Away.

You can read the announcement from Sentai Filmworks including a summary of the film below.

“When war breaks out between the Venusian nations of Ishtar and Aphrodia, hotheaded motorcyclist Hiro Seno and bubbly reporter Susan Sommers find themselves caught in the crossfire and trapped behind enemy lines. As Susan desperately broadcasts the realities of war to the masses, Hiro must put aside his aversion to warfare and fight not only for his life, but for the life of every last citizen of Venus.

Produced by Triangle Staff (Serial Experiments Lane), Venus Wars is directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the film’s original creator who also serves as the film’s scriptwriter and character designer. The film stars Katsuhide Uekusa as Hiro Seno, Eriko Hara (City Hunter 2) as Susan Sommers, Yuko Mizutani (Sorcerer Hunters) as Maggie and Koichi Yamadera (Cowboy Bebop) as Jeff.”

Sentai Filmworks intends to release Venus Wars on home media and will follow up with a digital release. Details are forthcoming about any possible collector’s or limited edition releases of the film.

Sentai Filmworks is on its way to becoming a bigger name in anime distribution. Recently the distributor has laid the groundwork for their own streaming service to compete with Funimation and others. In anticipation, Sentai Filmworks removed over 70 of their licensed titles from Crunchyroll allegedly in anticipation of launching their own service.