FUNimation Channel Official Blog

March was supposed to come in like a lion and then go out like a lamb. At least that’s what the calendar told me.

I ran in the Tokyo Marathon last week and it was a good experience. Thanks for your comments last week.  Sadly, I didn’t make it to the finish line since I wasn’t able to cross the 15k within its time limit (the marathon has time limits every 5k). I slowed down too much and I thought I could eek my way at the turn but no I screwed up. Worst part, having a Japanese TV crew with their camera in your face asking how it felt to be cut off from finishing the race.  They brought a whole new level to agony of defeat. And it was broadcast live throughout the country. I will have to say, it was quite a different challenge. Unlike running marathons here in the States, there its really about racing against the clock. Very interesting. I did notice a few runners cosplaying as Chopper from “One Piece” and of course a few folks cosplaying as Krilin from “Dragon Ball Z”. I wonder how far they went?

I did visit the UNIQLO store in Harajuku and they are now selling those Toei t-shirts that they mentioned a couple months back. The shirts they have are from the following: Dragon Ball, Devilman, One Piece, Dr. Slump, Galaxy Express 999 and Saint Seiya. Oddly, no Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure or Marmalade Boy or Air Gear. Hopefully, if this first run with the Toei line becomes successful we can eventually see more down the road. I luv the capsules!

Ok! Back to VOD reality. We have a whole bunch of updates today on Comcast VOD. Here’s what’s up:

The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime —> FUNimation Platinum

• Case Closed movie 4 Capture in Her Eyes (also found under Movies —> By Genre —> Anime)
• Case Closed movie 5 Countdown to Heaven (also found under Movies —> By Genre —> Anime)
• Slayers Revolution eps 1 – 5    BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Soul Eater S1 Pt. 2 eps 14 – 18    BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Strike Witches eps 1 – 5   BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Hunter X Hunter eps 23 – 25

The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime —> FUNimation Free

• Case Closed eps 64 – 67
• Negima! eps 24 – 26   FINAL WEEKS!
• Shuffle! ep 21, ep 24   FINAL WEEKS!
• Solty Rei eps 22 – 24  FINAL WEEKS!
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 23 – 26
• Black Cat eps 13 – 16
• Buso Renkin ep 4
• Black Blood Brothers ep 4
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 39 – 40

And for the latest on what’s airing on linear, go here. The channel is expanding later this year so stay tuned. I’ll also let you guys know if yours truly will be attending upcoming anime conventions.

Continue to ask your digital cable and satellite providers to carry The FUNimation Channel in their programming lineup. Your calls and emails to your customer service rep does indeed make a difference and helps us during our discussions with those cable and satellite providers. The greater the demand, the easier it is for us to make the operators realize the benefit to launching the linear service.

*Programming Disclaimer: Schedules are subject to change at any time and without notice.

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.

We made it to the end of the week. I hope you guys are squeezing in some anime viewing between some Winter Olympic viewing.

Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

• Case Closed eps 61-62
• Negima! ep 22
• Shuffle! ep 22
• Solty Rei ep 20
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 21-22
• Black Cat eps 11-12
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 35-36
• Vampire Princess Miyu eps 24-26 <—–FINAL WEEKS

Note: Starting March you can find movie titles under the following folders on Comcast’s VOD menu -

• Movies —> By Genre —> Anime
• Movies —> By Title (A to Z)
• Movies —> By Genre —> Animation

This is in addition to  The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime —> Funimation Platinum —> Specials

Next week, we’ll start running Buso Renkin and Black Blood Brothers under FUNimation Free. Woot!For the latest linear schedule, jump here.What did you guys think of Evangelion 1.11 that debuted last Friday on Comcast VOD?

*Programming Disclaimer: Scheduling is subject to change without notice at any time.

What a week. Being trapped in your house makes you realize you have stuff you can watch on TV besides AccuWeather forecasts. If you were affected by the weather, I hope things are good on your end.

Comcast viewers who sent emails and left comments last week regarding their VOD menus, please be assured that Comcast operations are working to fix it (if they haven’t already) and dealing with your headends directly.

Big day today… its the US broadcast premiere of Evangelion 1.11 on Comcast VOD! Curious about this rebuild? Check it out and spread the love!

Here’s what’s up for the week on Comcast VOD:

• Evangelion 1.11 <——-US Broadcast Premiere !!!!!!!
• Case Closed movie 3 The Last Wizard of the Century
• Hunter X Hunter eps 21-22
• Case Closed ep 60
• Air Gear eps 23 – 25 (final weeks)
• Negima! ep 21
• Shuffle! ep 21
• Solty Rei ep 19
• Glass Fleet eps 25 – 26 (final weeks)
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 33 – 34

And to find out when your favorite show is airing on the linear service, jump here. I’m still waiting on final details on a newly re-branded FUNimation Channel. So stay tuned!

It is Valentines Day this weekend so why not cozy up with that special someone in your life and watch a little anime together? :bloody:

And don’t forget President’s Day on Monday in the US. Like Columbus Day, its one of those days that morphed into a three-day sale at your local mall or car sales dealerships. It wasn’t intended for that purpose, but economics will dictate the way we do things. (and I just heard more snow sliding off my roof and nearly impaling someone outside)

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.

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.