FUNimation Channel Official Blog

My very poor attempt to hide the names of entrants.

We’re about 5 days away from San Diego Comic-Con, aka Geek Retreat Week. FUNimation Channel will be there at booth #4135. We’re across the CBS booth. Our contest for the new 42″ HDTV set ends on July 28, so hop on over to the Get FUNimation Channel site and enter your info for a chance to win.
While at Comic-Con, we have another thing to introduce and hope would become a mainstay. We are giving away limited edition FUNimation Channel t-shirts at the show. In order to pick up the exclusive shirt, you would need to:

1) Stop by the booth and fill out the channel request card

2) After filling out the card, you tear and keep the top part of the card and…

3)  follow FUNimation Channel on Twitter (FUNiChan)

4) We will Tweet t-shirt giveaway times.

The supply is VERY LIMITED so when I Tweet the time, calmly head over to the FUNimation booth, show me the top part of the channel request card and Voila! Free limited edition shirt. The shirt is given away on a first-come, first-served basis – fyi. I’ll give you a hint – it won’t be during mid-day.

In addition to the t-shirt giveaway, when you fill out the channel request card you are still entering to win a $250 anime prize pack. We haven’t announced the winner from AX yet. We will as soon as they are confirmed.

In August, we should have some news about the channel expanding. We think you will be pleased. A press release will be posted as soon as it is approved. But for now, just patiently wait for the news. Feel free to guess though.

And now to list what’s up on Comcast VOD:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime–> Funimation Platinum

• Samurai 7 eps 1 – 5 Special
• D. Gray-man eps 1 - 10 Special
• Soul Eater eps 43 – 45
• My Bride is a Mermaid eps 6 – 9

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Free

• Case Closed ep 89
• Nana ep 16
• Honey and Clover ep 6
• Baccano! ep 7
• Claymore eps 7 – 8
• Aquarion eps 5 – 6
• Buso Renkin ep 23
• Monster eps 23 – 24
• Bamboo Blade eps 13 – 14
• Escaflowne eps 13 – 14

The awesome folks over at Bang Zoom Entertainment put together some promos for us. Take a look at this month’s highlights for Comcast On Demand:

And for the latest on what’s airing on the 24/7 channel, jump to funimationchannel dot com.

Later!

I’m in a hotel room in Ariake, Odaiba the man-made island in Tokyo, Japan. What am I doing here? I wanted to escape the blizzard that hit the NYC area Thursday and made it out just in time. But the real reason is my participation in the Tokyo Marathon. Just spending a weekend in Tokyo and racing my butt off. Its warm here too. Above the 50s F. Warm considering what parts of the US is experiencing.

Its a light day for refreshes so I’ll make this brief. Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

FUNimation Anime Platinum

• D. Gray-man ep 48

FUNimation Anime Free

• Case Closed ep 63
• Negima! ep 23
• Shuffle! ep 23
• Solty Rei ep 21
• Buso Renkin eps 01-03
• Black Blood Brothers eps 01-03
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 37-38

*Scheduling is subject to change without notice

I won’t be able to link sites from FUNimation dot com to the titles above because of geo-filtering in Japan. But you can always visit the site at funimation dot com and just go to the “Our Shows” tab (if you’re not living in a geo-filtered country, that is).

Want to know what’s airing this week and next on The FUNimation Channel? Jump here for the schedule.

I’m watching some show on NHK where a Japanese guy walks around an Italian city and turns his walk-thru into a video diary. Now I just changed the channel and the anime “Primo Passo” is on. It looks so dreamy. One of the male characters has like purple, flowing dreamy hair.  Its one of those music school dramas isn’t it? Slice of life dramas.

Before I go to bed (its 11 at night now Friday night), I’m going to post this pic I just took in my room.

Happy Friday to everyone! I hope the weather is fine where you are. Rain, snow, colliding storm systems – that’s just too much for us to take right now. Thankfully, FUNimation Channel has some new anime to air this month.

And that menu change I mentioned last month is starting to show up on your VOD menus (if you are a Comcast customer). This is the new menu:

On Demand —>The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Free —> Action-Fantasy

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Free —> Drama-Comedy

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Free —> Glass Fleet

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —>  Funimation Anime—> Funimation Free —> Anime Selects

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —>  Funimation Anime—> Funimation Free —> New This Week

And for the PPV VOD menu:

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> Specials

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> D. Gray-man

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> Blassreiter

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> Spice and Wolf

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> HunterXHunter

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime—> Funimation Platinum —> Nabari No Ou

And now for today’s lineup on Comcast VOD:

• Tower of Druaga eps 1-3 (back-to-back eps)
• Tower of Druaga eps 4-6 (back-to-back eps)
• Rin~Daughters of Mnemosyne~ (encore airing)
• D. Gray-Man eps 49-51
• Blassreiter eps 21-24
• Spice and Wolf eps 10-13
• HunterXHunter eps 17-20
• Nabari No Ou eps 23-26
• Case Closed eps 58-59
• Air Gear eps 21-22
• Negima! ep 20
• Shuffle! ep 20
• Fruits Basket eps 25-26 (Final Weeks)
• Solty Rei ep 18
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 19-20
• Black Cat eps 9-10
• Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino eps 11-13 (Final Weeks)
• Glass Fleet eps 23-24
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 31-32
• Vampire Pincess Miyu eps 19-23

I know some of you have left comments asking for changes to the linear schedule – looking for titles to return or just having a new slew of titles airing. I’ll let you know when I learn more about those changes. In the meantime, jump here for the latest grid info.

Next week we will have the premiere debut of Evangelion 1.11 You Are [Not] Alone on Comcast VOD. Tell your friends, your family, your pets, your lovers that this movie is a big deal to air in the US and that it shouldn’t be missed.

And now for something not anime-related:

Who do you think will win Super Bowl XLIV this weekend? New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts? And are you excited about The Who performing at the half? Leave your answer in the comments below. Game on!  Congrats to the New Orleans Saints!

It is coooold out there! And worst part is I’m still fighting a cold.
This will be a quick post anyway since its the final week of the month and not much happens in the land of refreshed content. So here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

On Demand —->The Cutting Edge—->FUNimation Anime

• D. Gray-man eps 46 – 48
• Negima! ep 19
• Shuffle! ep 19

Pretty light huh? Don’t worry though, next month we’ll have this movie up on your menu starting FEB 12 -

Only, the version we will air is 1.11. Show details:

After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that’s being attacked by giant creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas.Shinji’s objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01,while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei.

And here’s a review from the cool folks over at Anime TV:
http://revision3.com/player-v4372

This version just made Miley verklempt. Awe. What’s the difference between 1.01 and 1.11? 1.11 contains additional scenes not found on 1.01 and higher resolution.

And to see what’s up and airing on linear, jump to this link.

Right, now I’m off to fend off more cold symptoms.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We’ve made it out of the 2000s decade. Now its full steam ahead into a new decade. The anime industry went through a lot of changes in the last decade; having gone through its ups and its downs. I think the most important thing that happened here in the US was seeing anime becoming more accessible to viewers – whether it was through VOD, streaming or linear. We’re working to continue expanding and this new year we’ll unveil some new features on The FUNimation Channel. Stay tuned…

Here’s a smathering of what’s up today on Comcast On Demand:

Comcast On Demand —–> The Cutting Edge —–> FUNimation Anime

• Soul Eater eps 4-6 (back-to-back eps special)
• NANA eps 24-27
• Dragonaut eps 16-18
• Spice and Wolf eps 9-11
• D. Gray-man eps 43-45
• Hunter X Hunter eps 14-16
• xxxHolic ep 21
• Negima! ep 15
• Shuffle! ep 15
• Solty Rei ep 14
• Glass Fleet eps 17-20
• Case Closed eps 52-53
• Devil May Cry eps 5-6
• Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino eps 5-6

As always, visit The FUNimation Channel‘s site and jump to their Schedule to see when your favorite shows are airing.

Got any anime-related resolutions for the new year? Feel free to post them here and maybe if you say it and write it a lot, you’ll be able to make that goal. I resolve to run a little faster and get healthier while watching some anime.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Spice and Wolf was pushed back to start on Wed, 11/11 instead of today on Comcast VOD. We encountered some gremlins in the system. We should be back on track with those new eps. I know lots of you folks have been waiting to catch a glimpse of the series.

But we do have some other titles appearing today on Comcast VOD. Here’s the rundown:

Movies and Events —–> FUNimation Anime (PPV VOD)

• My Santa OVA
• Case Closed movie 3 – The Last Wizard of the Century
• Blassreiter part 1 eps 1-5 special
• D. Gray-man eps 37 – 39
• NANA eps 17 – 20
• Dragonaut eps 9 – 12
• Hunter X Hunter eps 7 – 10

The Cutting Edge —–> FUNimation Anime (FREE VOD)

• Mushi-Shi eps 25 – 26
• Sasami eps 23 – 24
• Ah! My Goddess eps 13 – 16
• xxxHolic eps 13 – 14
• Case Closed eps 40 – 41
• Solty Rei eps 9 – 9a (9a is a bonus ep that didn’t air in Japan)
• Air Gear eps 9 – 10
• Negima! ep 8
• Shuffle! ep 8
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 9 – 10
• Glass Fleet eps 1 – 4

I know you guys want to see FUNimation Channel linear network on your cable and satellite system. We are always working to make that happen. I’ll have another post next week talking about some changes to the Comcast VOD menu and changes overall on how to access FUNimation Anime On Demand. I’ve read viewer comments about the current programming available on the linear network. Next week, I’ll drop a tiny hint on what we plan to do for 2010.

But in the meantime, you can access the 24/7 network schedule and see when your favorite series is on.

Are you guys ready for Halloween? I’m not. I was thinking of giving trick-or-treaters small bags of pretzels and maybe some candy. I usually mix things up though. I sometimes give out those microwavable Pop Secret Kettle Corn popcorn and suddenly my house becomes the popular house on the block. Would be funny if I ended up putting anime DVDs in bags. Oh, but will there be a disk inside? Trick!

Enough of that for now. Let’s see what’s new on Comcast VOD.

Movies and Events —–> FUNimation Anime (PPV VOD)

• Heroic Age eps 21 – 26
• D. Gray-man eps 35 – 36
• NANA eps 12 – 16
• Hunter X Hunter eps 1 – 6 <—- First episode is a Free View

The Cutting Edge ——> FUNimation Anime (Free VOD)

• The Galaxy Railways eps 23 – 24
• Case Closed ep 36
• Ah! My Goddess eps 9 – 12
• Air Gear eps 5 – 6
• Negima! ep 4
• Shuffle! ep 4
• Darker Than Black eps 21 – 23
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 5 – 6

And linear channel viewers, continue to check out your favorite series and jumping to the program guide for scheduled times. If you noticed, this month seems to be a crazy HunterXHunter love fest on linear and VOD. Catch the series when you can.

Later folks!

I hope its not raining where ever you are ’cause its looking overcast here - boo!

On a better note, it gives viewers more reason to see what’s on TV, especially on VOD. Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

Movies & Events —–> FUNimation Anime (PPV VOD)

• Jing King of Bandits OVA
• Big Windup! eps 14 – 19  <–Special airing
• Buso Renkin eps 21 – 26
• Tower of Druaga eps 5 – 8
• Blassreiter eps 5 – 7
• D. Gray-man eps 32 – 34
• Dragonaut: The Resonance eps 1 – 8 <— Episode 1 is a FREE View

http://www.youtube.com/v/YVaa_DMWkiQ&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1 

http://www.youtube.com/v/SLp_mqdxkWs&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1

The Cutting Edge ——> FUNimation Anime (Free VOD)

• Mushi-Shi eps 23 – 24
• Sasami eps 21 – 22
• xxxHolic eps 9 – 10
• Fruits Basket eps 9 – 10
• Case Closed eps 34 – 35
• Negima! ep 3
• Shuffle! ep 3
• Solty Rei eps 5 – 6
• Darker Than Black eps 19 – 20

For linear channel viewers, highlights for the month are Honey and Clover, NANA, Ouran High School Host Club, Tsubasa Chronicle and HunterXHunter. Jump to the schedule for times.

Also, keep checking this blog for the AKB48 & Yui Makino interviews from NYAF. They are coming soon.

Today is Friday and we have some new anime eps up and running on Comcast VOD to start your weekend.

I know for some of you, today is not your typical Friday. We just want to take this moment and remember those who have passed on while our thoughts go out to those who lost someone that day. Take it easy out there.

Movies & Events —–> FUNimation Anime (PPV VOD)

• Romeo X Juliet eps 23 & 24
• Heroic Age eps 18 – 20
• Claymore eps 25 & 26
• Buso Renkin eps 20 -24
• D. Gray-man eps 30 & 31

The Cutting Edge ——> FUNimation Anime (Free VOD)

• The Galaxy Railways eps 19 & 20
• Case Closed ep 30
• Ah! My Goddess eps 1 – 4
• Darker Than Black eps 11 – 13
• Air Gear eps 1 & 2 8)
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 1 & 2

*UPDATE FOR KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE AREA COMCAST VIEWERS*

Your service area headend have backfilled missed content and you should be receiving updates soon if it hasn’t happened already. They had to backfill content onto a physical hard drive so the process took longer than expected. But hopefully you guys can catch up on those missed episodes. If not, we will eventually re-air those shows.

I want to make a note that Tsubasa Chronicle returns to VOD starting with episode 1. It was one of those shows that got interrupted during the switch in May. This time, we should be able to completely air both seasons.

On the linear channel, remember that Honey and Clover and Nana start airing next Saturday, 9/19. Check the guide for scheduled times. Other highlights this month are Basilisk, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars and School Rumble.

Wow. September already. Where did summer go? You know its almost Christmas when the local Costco starts to put up Christmas deco items together with Halloween and Thanksgiving deco and items. Even at bulk warehouse clubs, holidays are mashable. But lets savor this month and enjoy the anime on TV.

The VOD updates are for viewers who have FUNimation Anime on Comcast. If you are not a Comcast cable customer and would really like to see this and the linear channel on your cable or satellite system, tell your local cable/satellite service to carry it. But be nice in your request.

Comcast VOD