Will it ever be released?

?

Since The Sword of Doom came out on Criterion, hopefully there will be renewed interest in this movie, I've only heard good comments about it. If you bought the tSoD DVD then the insert says that Okamoto made this movie first and then was forced to make Samurai Assassin and The Sword of Doom even though he was reluctant and directed them with shuffling feet(supposedly).

In other books it then says that Toho refused to release this one until years later because they thought it was too risky. Okamoto has even been quoted as saying "The producer and everyone at the studio said it was about ten years ahead of its time. After that they wouldn't let me write any of my films- I could only direct someone else's script. That's why I did Samurai Assassin and The Sword of Doom; I didn't write them."

Yet everywhere I've looked they've said that Age of Assassins is the closest thing to his masterpiece of his films(I'm alluding to old reviews and filmographies on other directors, so it has no basis other than the integrity of the writer but it got published so I put a little bit of stock in their word)

Basically my question, in a desperate and pleading voice is this:

HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS MOVIE?
What was your opinion of it and how was it that you were able to see it, VHS DVD or at a film festival? I've basically started to lose hope in seeing this unless I move to Japan and learn the language and accidentally stumble across a dirty VHS of it with no subtitles one day after I've sold my TV and VCR to afford living expenses there. I

P.S.- This is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated. - Mitch Hedburg