FUNimation Channel Official Blog

This morning I woke up to the surprise that one of my fave bands has their first single “Rocket” on sale in some countries but not here in the US. WTF? But thanks to some folks there is a full track streaming out there on the wild interwebs. I can’t post a link but can only point you to the bands message board and you can find it from there…if you are curious

Looking at the single’s album cover reminded me of some anime titles out there. I just can’t place which one though. I mean, the singer Alison Goldfrapp is shooting a laser outta her hand. See…

And what does this have anything to do with anime? Absolutely nothing. I thought to share with you my morning and let you know where my head is at. BTW, the song reminded me to look forward to Oh! Edo Rocket because the song made me think so.

Ok. Now that I got that outta my system… Last week Jb correctly guessed that we will air Evangelion 1.11 in February on Comcast VOD. Good job! Another change on the VOD menu will happen starting in February. We are designating which titles are free and which ones are PPV VOD. The free titles will be under the folder titled FUNIMATION FREE while the PPV VOD will be under the folder titled FUNIMATION PLATINUM. The new structure will look something like this:

THE CUTTING EDGE —>Funimation Anime –>Funimation Free

THE CUTTING EDGE —> Funimation Anime –>Funimation Platinum

Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD for 1/22:

• Case Closed ep 57
• Air Gear eps 19 – 20
• Negima! ep 18
• Shuffle! ep 18
• Fruits Basket eps 23 – 24
• Solty Rei ep 17
• xxxHolic ep 24
• Devil May Cry eps 11 – 12
• Vampire Princess Miyu eps 17-18

As always, for the latest on when your favorite anime is on linear TV, jump to the sked to get the latest info.

I will leave you with this parting chorus… “Oooohh, oohhh, oh! I got a rocket! Oooh, oh, oh! You’re going on it! Oooh, oooh, oh! You’re never comin’ back…”

This week seemed to have flown by. My inbox this morning offered some great news regarding Toei brands that will be available as uber cool graphic tees by the uber cool clothier UNIQLO this Spring. I love that store. The news was from License! Global. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Uniqlo Teams with Toei for Spring Tee Line

Toei Animation has tapped Uniqlo, a Japanese apparel retailer, to roll out a line of Dragon Ball T-shirts and more this spring.

Besides Dragon Ball, the T-shirt range from Uniqlo will feature other Toei anime properties, including One Piece, Galaxy Express 999, Dr Slump and Saint Seiya. The line will be available at Uniqlo stores in France, Russia, the U.K., the U.S., Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Korea.

http://www.uniqlo.com/utunes/widget/widget.swf

So far in my UNIQLO graphic tees collection I have Gatchaman and GTO. Can’t wait to grab me some Toei brands and add them to my collection. Even Saint Seiya gets a tee. As long as its not branded Knights of the Zodiac I think we’re good.  I realllly hope there’s a range of graphic tees from Sailor Moon. That would be EPIC! You have no idea how excited I am about this… I’m already thinking about adding One Piece, Galaxy Express 999 and Fist of the North Star to my wardrobe too. :bloody:

Alright, and now for those VOD updates on Comcast On Demand:

Cutting Edge —-> FUNimation Anime

• El Cazador de la Bruja eps 16 – 18
• Case Closed eps 55 – 56
• Negima! ep 17
• Shuffle! ep 17
• Solty Rei ep 16
• xxxHolic ep 23
• Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino eps 9 – 10
• Devil May Cry eps 9 – 10
• Glass Fleet eps 21 – 22
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 29 – 30

And for linear viewers, jump here for the latest grid info.

Last week I dropped in a few hints about a movie we are going to premiere first on Comcast VOD in February. A couple of you were kinda close but didn’t hit the correct version release. So here’s another hint and it should be very obvious at this point. The movie is currently on pre-sale right now and will release in Blu-Rei I kinda gave it away there. So yeah, we’re going to premiere the movie on Comcast VOD in February.

It is cold out there! If you are living in a very warm climate, give a shout-out and send us some of your warmth.

And now for the list of shows on Comcast VOD:

Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime

• Nabari no Ou eps 22 – 24
• Blassreiter eps 19 – 21
• xxxHolic ep 22
• Air Gear eps 17-18
• Negima! ep 16
• Shuffle! ep 16
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 17-18
• Fruits Basket eps 21-22
• Solty Rei ep 15
• Black Cat eps 7-8
• Case Closed ep 54
• Devil May Cry eps 7-8
• Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino eps 7-8

And for the latest on when your favorite anime titles airs on the linear channel, jump here for the grid. I’ve seen some comments from viewers asking what channel number the linear channel is on Verizon FiOS. Channel 262. You can play that as a lottery number if you like. But that is the channel number.

I think I’m allowed to give you some clues as to what new shows will go up on VOD in the future. Next month, we’ll air a movie and its a giant robot movie. That’s clue one. Clue two… the heroes are kids. That’s all for now! I’m sure you can figure out what movie we’ll unveil in February from those two clues.

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.

Hello all! We are knee deep in X-Mas craziness around here. But while you guys are looking for the perfect gift, try to catch some anime on TV – especially if its FUNimation Channel. I’ve just heard that a N’oreaster is heading my way and that I might actually see a foot of snow dumped along the mid-Atlantic. All I have to say is “Bring it!”

What’s on tap on Comcast VOD?

Comcast Presents… —-> Cutting Edge —–> FUNimation Anime

• El Cazador de la Bruja eps 13 – 15
• Devil May Cry eps 1 – 4
• xxxHolic ep 19
• Air Gear eps 15 – 16
• Negima! ep 14
• Shuffle! ep 14
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 15 – 16
• Solty Rei ep 13
• Glass Fleet ep 13 – 16
• Case Closed ep 49 – 50

We’re actually in the process of simplifying the VOD menu on Comcast. We’ve received your feedback and by March, you’ll see which titles are pay-per-view titles and which titles are free titles. As a rule of thumb, new titles or pre-release titles are usually pay-per-view titles. So Soul Eater and Spice and Wolf are most likely available as pay-per-view at .99 each ep. But this month, we bundled eps 1 -3 of Soul Eater as a special presentation. More episodes will become available in March.

Lots of changes are being planned for FUNimation Channel in 2010. Stay tuned to this blog and FUNimation Channel’s site. For linear viewers, jump here for the latest on when your favorite anime is scheduled to air.

If you are still experiencing problems with your Comcast VOD menu (missing eps, missing shows, etc.), please list your zip code, the city you are receiving Comcast service, and short description of the issue and I’ll ask Comcast to look into fixing it.

If it snows in your area, stay very safe and don’t drive like a maniac in AWD. Just remember Mother Nature always wins.