Discotek Media announced on Wednesday that it has licensed the Fighting Foodons, Ultra Maniac, and Freedom anime. The company also announced that its DVD release of Crusher Joe: The Movie is slated for April 25, and will be a two-disk set with both the 4:3 version and the 16:9 version.

Discotek will release all 26 episodes of Fighting Foodons, the English-dubbed version of Bistro Recipe, on DVD on April 25. Enoki Films previously licensed the 2001 series and sub-licensed it to 4Kids Entertainment for broadcast on television in North America.

Discotek describes the story:

Ruling the world through cooking might sound like baloney, but when food can come alive as combative cuisine, it's no yolk! The conniving King Gorgeous Gorge and his greedy Gluttons are smothering innocent people with their evil Fighting Foodons, and it's up to the young apprentice chef Chase and other rebel chefs like him to stand up to the evil epicureans. The only problem is Chase's greatest culinary accomplishment and his strongest Fighting Foodon is Burnt Meatballs! Though cute, they fight like they taste, and when Chase's dad Jack, a master chef, is kidnapped by the Gluttons, Chase will need a lot more than charred beef to pull his dad out of the fire!

The anime is based on a manga by Shuntarō Ashida and Naoto Tsushima.

Discotek will release all 26 episodes of the Ultra Maniac television anime with English and Japanese audio on DVD on April 25. Geneon Entertainment previously released the 2003 series in North America, and Viz Media previously streamed the series.

Discotek describes the story:

Ayu Tateishi is in her second year of junior high school and is known as the cool popular tennis club girl that all the other girls idolize. To tell the truth, Ayu only acts cool in order to impress Tetsushi Kaji of the school baseball club. Then, one day, Ayu meets Nina Sakura, a transfer student who had found Ayu's missing purse. Nina's strange personality had left Ayu a little perplexed. Furthermore, Ayu finds out that Nina is a witch that came from the kingdom of magic to study abroad. This is a story of one girl's hope of love and another girl's study of magic and their friendship to overcome the challenges set before them. Get ready for the ultra-cool, ultra-funny, ultra-romantic Ultramaniac!

The series adapts Wataru Yoshizumi's manga, which Viz Media's Shojo Beat published in English from 2005-2006. The manga also inspired an OVA adaptation prior to the TV series' premiere.

Discotek will release the Freedom OVA series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD combo pack on April 25. The release will include all seven episodes with both Japanese and English audio. Bandai Visual previously released the series in North America.

Discotek describes the story:

In the 23rd century, mankind has fled Earth and emigrated to the moon. The last outpost of civilization is the Lunar Republic of Eden, where the omnipresent Citizens Administration Council grants residents everything they need. But what do you do when you discover everything you believe is a lie? A single photograph with an inscribed message found inside a rocket launched from Earth leads a group of young men to question the council ruling the seemingly utopian city. But what length will they go to discover the true meaning of Freedom?

The series premiered in 2006 and was partially funded by Nissin Cup Noodles as part of an advertising campaign. Shuhei Morita directed the series at Sunrise, and Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo provided some of the designs.

[Via WTK]