Editing Project A-ko (section)

==Release==
The film was released to theaters by [[Shochiku|Shochiku-Fuji]] on June 21, 1986, alongside a shorter film titled ''[[Cream Lemon#Non-pornographic animation|Going on a Journey: Ami Final Chapter]]''. [[Pony Canyon|Pony Video]] distributed the film via [[VHS]] and [[LaserDisc]] later in the year. The film's soundtrack was released on [[LP record|LP]], [[Compact disc|CD]], and [[Cassette tape|cassette]] through Polystar Records on May 25 of the same year. "Dance Away" by Annie Livingston was released as a single simultaneously with the album, with the background music track "Spaceship in the Dark" as the B-side.<ref>{{cite web |title=プロジェクトA子 Dance Away/Spaceship in the Dark |url=https://muuseo.com/tetsu0079jp/items/890 |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=Muuseo |archive-date=2023-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215090449/https://muuseo.com/tetsu0079jp/items/890 |url-status=live}}</ref> A Japanese-language version of "Dance Away" and "Follow Your Dream" by {{nihongo|Project Sisters|プロジェクト・シスターズ|Purojekuto Shisutāzu}} was released a month later.<ref>{{cite web |title=プロジェクトA子 ダンス・アウェイ/フォロー・ユア・ドリーム |url=https://muuseo.com/tetsu0079jp/items/891 |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=Muuseo |archive-date=2023-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215090448/https://muuseo.com/tetsu0079jp/items/891 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Outside of Japan, many fans of anime would watch the film without [[subtitles]] and serve as an introduction to anime films.<ref name="Ouelette" /> ''Project A-ko'' was [[Central Park Media]]'s first video release in 1991 alongside ''[[Dominion Tank Police]]'' and ''[[MD Geist]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gurman |first1=Sarah |last2=Zahed |first2=Ramin |date=January 2006 |title=They made it through another year! |work=[[Animation Magazine]] |page= |pages=28–34 |issue=156}}</ref> They later released a dubbed version produced by [[Manga Entertainment]] to [[VHS]] in 1992.<ref name="Davies" /> Both ''Project A-ko'' and ''Dominion Tank Police'' were later shown in America on the [[Sci-Fi Channel]] during a "Festival of Japanese Animation".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Newitz |first=Annalee |author-link=Annalee Newitz |date=Fall 1995 |title=Magical Girls and Atomic Bomb Sperm - Japanese animation in America |url=http://www1.udel.edu/History-old/figal/Hist372/Materials/magicgirls.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Film Quarterly]] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=2–15 |doi=10.2307/1213488 |jstor=1213488 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207192444/http://www1.udel.edu/History-old/figal/Hist372/Materials/magicgirls.pdf |archive-date=2022-12-07 |access-date=2024-06-13}}</ref>

The album was released in the U.S. in 1994 by [[Central Park Media]] under their MangaMusic label and later included as a bonus disc the "Collector's Series" DVD in 2002.<ref>{{Discogs master|master=685180|name=Project A-ko: Original Soundtrack|type=album}}</ref>

In 1996, a CD-Rom package called "Anime Hyperguide: Project A-ko" was released, including artwork, interviews with the creators.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Strauss |first=Bob |date=July 19, 1996 |title=Anime Hyperguide: Project A-Ko |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/07/19/anime-hyperguide-project-ko/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en |archive-date=2024-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613232609/https://ew.com/article/1996/07/19/anime-hyperguide-project-ko/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

After releasing ''Project A-ko'' on DVD in its original widescreen video format, Central Park Media later released a "Collector's Series" version in 2002, which features remastered video and coloring, a large number of ''A-ko'' related extras, commentary and interviews by many of the ''Project A-ko'' staff, and a free ''Project A-ko'' soundtrack CD. Central Park Media has released the three OVA sequels in a single-disc DVD collection, ''Project A-ko: Love and Robots''.

In May 2011, [[Discotek Media|Eastern Star]] released a newly remastered R1 ''Project A-ko'' DVD. It contains many of the extras of the original CPM release, minus the soundtrack CD.<ref name="Douglass 2011">{{Cite web |author=Douglass, Todd Jr. |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50508/project-a-ko/ |title=Project A-Ko |work=DVDTalk.com |publisher=[[Internet Brands]]<!-- |publisher_rem=As of Sep 2007. See http://www.dvdtalk.com/welcome.html--> |date=June 20, 2011 |access-date=2016-02-14 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042935/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/50508/project-a-ko/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Discotek Media released the film on Blu-ray in December 2021. Originally, the footage for the film was to be sourced from the laserdisc release using the [[BBC Domesday Project|Domesday Duplicator]] to capture the footage at a higher quality than previous releases,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-09-14/discotek-licenses-rose-of-versailles-hajime-no-ippo-project-a-ko-anime/.163988 |title=Discotek Licenses Rose of Versailles, Hajime no Ippo, Project A-Ko Anime |first=Rafael Antonio |last=Pineda |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2020-09-14 |access-date=2020-10-27 |archive-date=2021-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427230528/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-09-14/discotek-licenses-rose-of-versailles-hajime-no-ippo-project-a-ko-anime/.163988 |url-status=live}}</ref> with a technology called AstroRes being used to [[Video scaler|upscale]] the footage and restore it to a higher quality.<ref name="Chapman"/> The film was instead sourced from the original 35mm [[Negative (photography)|film negatives]], which were previously thought lost.<ref name="Pineda">{{cite web|last=Pineda|first=Rafael Antonio|date=March 8, 2021|title=Discotek Licenses Dear Brother, Sgt. Frog, Kashimashi, Nyanbo! Anime|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-08/discotek-licenses-dear-brother-sgt-frog-kashimashi-nyanbo-anime/.170404|url-status=live|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=[[Anime News Network]]|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309062054/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-08/discotek-licenses-dear-brother-sgt-frog-kashimashi-nyanbo-anime/.170404}}</ref> The film negatives had been stored in a [[film laboratory]] but a [[clerical error]] had resulted in confusion as to where it was.<ref name="Chapman"/>