FUNimation Channel Official Blog

Its sunny out here in LA-LA Land. I just pulled open the curtains to see how it looks outside — in my boy shorts. That was very Strike Witches-esque of me. Yeah, I’m waging a solitary war against pants in my hotel room right now. Thankfully no one seemed to have noticed from the street. Otherwise, I would’ve heard some fender-bender crash. No one would want that!

We have some refreshes today on Comcast VOD. Because it is July 4th weekend and it is AX, some of the newer titles that were scheduled to air today have been pushed for next week. If you see an empty folder on your PPV VOD, just disregard it. Gremlins had interfered with the system.

Here’s a list of what’s up on Comcast VOD:

• Case Closed ep 87
• Honey and Clover ep 05
• Baccano ep 05
• Claymore eps 05 -06
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 39 – 40
• Aquarion eps 03 -04
• Buso Renkin ep 20
• Monster ep 20
• Bamboo Blade ep 10
• Kenichi eps 1 – 12
• Jubei-Chan eps 09 – 12
• Escaflowne eps 09 – 10

Note to California viewers – If you are attending Anime Expo, stop by the FUNimation booth and fill out the channel request form. You will also get a chance to win a $250 anime prize pack. Free to enter. Plus you are helping with our campaign to expand the channel. BTW – the campaign is working. Our meetings with cable providers such as Time Warner Cable is gaining momentum — all because of this campaign. You are getting heard. Let’s keep this going! Not at AX? You can still get in on the action by going to the Get FUNimation Channel site.

I’ll be live-Tweeting at the con today and tomorrow. If you are cosplaying and look so awesome that you cause traffic in the aisles – look for “FUNiChan” and I’ll take a pic of you in your outfit and share on the channel’s Twitter site. Cosplaying as a group? Sure – I’ll post a pic of you and the gang. Its all about you guys this weekend. How will you know you found “FUNiChan”? Ummm, let’s see…I’m wearing pants at the show…

To see what’s airing now on the linear channel, go to the channel’s programming grid at the jump.

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

Hey folks! I’m on my way to Somerset, NJ and spend some quality time at AnimeNEXT. If you live in the Tri-State and Eastern Pennsylvania areas and haven’t filled out the request form online to get FUNimation Channel, you can stop by the FUNimation booth and fill out the cards this weekend. Remember, these cards are our best way to show those cable and satellite execs that you guys are vocal and want the channel.

Here’s what’s new this week on Comcast VOD:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Free –> By Genre–> Drama-Comedy

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Free –> By Genre –> Action-Fantasy

• Case Closed ep 85
• Nana eps 11.5 – 12
• Honey and Clover ep 03
• Kenichi eps 37 – 38 <— Last ep airing
• Baccano ep 03
• Claymore eps 03 -04
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 37 – 38
• Aquarion eps 01 – 02
• Monster eps 15 – 17
• Bamboo Blade eps 06 – 07
• Jubei-Chan eps 05 – 08
• Escaflowne eps 05 – 06

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

Last week I visited the Uniqlo SOHO store in NYC and briefly met Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. Let me just say it in pictures:

photo by Amanda Nanawa	photo by Tasayu Tasnaphun
photo by Tasayu Tasnaphun	photo by Tasayu Tasnaphun

Did I geek out? A bit. I played it cool though. And on that rare occasion we were able to take pictures inside the store. Usually, they never allow people to do that during normal shopping days. But that day wasn’t normal by any standard. The line seriously stretched out and down Broadway and wrapped around the corner. They finally have the new Evangelion 2.22 You Can [Not] Advance t-shirts in stock. I managed to pick one up:

photo by Tasayu Tasnaphun
Shout-out to Tas for allowing me to share some of his pics.

Don’t forget, you can find out what anime title is playing now on the channel by going to the site. And you can follow the channel via .
We are also on:
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See you at the shows and keep requesting FUNimation Channel for your cable and satellite service!

So Mother’s Day is this weekend in the US. I’m going to spend the weekend taking my mom out for shopping. She loves shopping. She also loves Case Closed and Monster. Moms can be so awesome. Has your mom surprised you with an anime title you thought she wasn’t going to watch? Feel free to share your tales below. I’m sure there’s a mother out there who doesn’t mind watching a bit of Nana with a dose of Tsubasa Chronicle.

Here’s what’s up today on Comcast VOD:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Platinum (PPV VOD)

• Evangelion 1.11
• Genghis Khan
• Case Closed movie 3 The Last Wizard of the Century
• Slayers Revolution ep 13 and re-air of ep 10
• Soul Eater eps 24 – 26
• Strike Witches eps 11 – 12 *Series ends June 4
• Hunter X Hunter eps 29 – 31 re-air

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Free (Free VOD)

• Case Closed eps 79 – 80
• Monster eps 6 – 7
• Kenichi eps 32 – 33
• Nana eps 6 – 7
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 31 – 34
• Black Cat ep 24
• Buso Renkin ep 12
• Black Blood Brothers ep 12
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 49 – 50

And for the latest on what’s airing on the linear service, jump to this link to get caught up. Stay tuned next week for some news and updates related to the linear channel.

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

I made it out of the rainy East Coast to arrive at a rainy Northwest Coast. Oh irony. And I’m hearing there’s a wind advisory today in the Puget Sound area of Seattle, WA. Challenging for cosplayers today who are attending Sakura-Con, I’m sure. Its my first time visiting Seattle and first time attending Sakura-Con. I’ll be at the FUNimation booth today and Saturday so stop by. I would love to meet you.

We are starting a major grassroots marketing push to launch The FUNimation Channel HD linear to more cable and satellite systems in the US. That debuts here at Sakura-Con. We need you guys – your feedback needs to be heard by the cable operators. I’ll explain more at the FUNimation industry panel on Saturday but basically, we have survey cards that we are asking all anime fans and viewers to fill out. Our target is to get thousands of survey cards filled out and delivered to Comcast Seattle to make them understand that The FUNimation Channel HD is a channel that makes a big difference and serves everyone – not just the anime fan – but everyone. What cable systems are telling us in meetings is that they don’t hear or read feedback from enough viewers to have the channel launched linear on Comcast. Let’s make some noise guys. We’re pretty close but we really need viewer support like never before. This is your big chance to make a huge difference and prove that The FUNimation Channel HD is as necessary to you as ESPN HD or HBO HD.

I know that some people think that your emails or calls to your cable or satellite operator doesn’t make a difference. That its basically money that gets a channel launched linear on systems. Actually, it takes both – money and your voices. Fans and viewers DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Let’s get this campaign rolling. Let your cable and satellite operators know that “I WANT MY FUNIMATION CHANNEL HD!”.

And now for your VOD updates on Comcast:

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime Platinum (Transactional VOD)

• Initial D Third Stage movie
• Case Closed 6 movie The Phantom of Baker Street
• Slayers Revolution eps 6 – 7
• Soul Eater eps 19 – 20
• Strike Witches eps 6 – 7
• Hunter X Hunter eps 29 – 31

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

• Case Closed eps 71 – 73
• Monster eps 1 – 5 xD
• Kenichi eps 27 – 30
• Nana eps 1 – 4
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 27 – 30 <— Season 2 :bloody:
• Black Cat ep 19
• Gundam SEED Destiny ep 45

And here are some programming highlights for linear viewers. Thanks to jlaking for pointing out that tomorrow – April 3rd – marks the start of Monster on The FUNimation Channel linear. Its Monster Month on VOD and linear!

Other highlights include El Cazador De La Bruja, Nabari No Ou and new episodes of  Honey and Clover and Nana. For the latest listings, go visit The FUNimation Channel’s grid at the jump. And programming is subject to change without notice.

Have a Happy Easter weekend and stay dry. Remember, “I WANT MY FUNIMATION CHANNEL HD!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thanksgiving is literally around the corner and I can’t wait to make more pumpkin pies. Mmmm. This weekend, I’ll be running in the Philadelphia Marathon but only running the half – at 13.1 miles. I’m gonna do my best to run in under 3 hrs. The weather should be good – highs in the 60s. It will be unseasonably warm in Philly though so it should be interesting. Last year we ran in cold weather where the low in the morning was something like 21 degrees and by 11Am it went to 40 degrees.  Fun!

In addition, I got accepted to run in the 2010 Tokyo Marathon. Yay! I’ll have a separate post about that since I’ll ask you guys for suggestions on what cosplay items/accessories I should wear during the run. Hehe!

Ok. Back to reality…As most of you are aware by now, Comcast made some changes to their VOD menu. This was a nationwide thing and some cities went ahead and did the switch before 11/19. Some cities even had issues and shows didn’t seem to appear on the menu.  To viewers who sent me their city info and what shows didn’t appear, a trouble ticket was issued by operations and we’re waiting on those headends to correct their issues. I know that the Seattle/Everett/Spokane Washington area confirmed they have the titles Case Closed eps 40-42 and Fruits Basket eps 15-16 on their server. And I’ll re-air the Solty Rei bonus eps 9a & 9b after the series is done.

And to remind all Comcast VOD viewers – the PPV & Free VOD titles are now under one place:

The Cutting Edge —->FUNimation Anime

And now for today’s VOD updates on Comcast:

• El Cazador De La Bruja eps 7 – 12
• Sasami eps 25 – 26
• xxxHolic ep 15
• Air Gear eps 11 – 12
• Negima! ep 10
• Shuffle! ep 10
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 11-12
• Solty Rei ep 9b (the bonus ep)
• Ah! My Goddess eps 17-20
• Black Cat eps 1-2 :bloody:
• Glass Fleet eps 5-8
• Case Closed eps 43-44

As always, for the latest on when your favorite shows are airing on the linear channel, jump here to check out the schedule. I have a poll below and would love to get your feedback on the question – At what part of the day would you watch subtitled anime? The question is basically for linear channel viewers and future linear channel viewers so be honest with your choice.

We shall speak soon! Huzzah!

Would you watch subtitled anime if it aired during…(polls)

Halloween is next week and I just started listening to Christmas music in my iTunes library. I was updating my playlists and I accidentally double-clicked on the file and the song started playing. Thankfully, it was a Christmas song that I liked – Goldfrapp covering “Winter Wonderland”. And then there was that song that was stuck in my head for the longest time. Its the song “Dirty Desire” by Utada and the lines, I’ve loved you long time….I keep thinking 6 and 9… makes me laugh a bit when I hear her sing it. I could just imagine her purring into the mic during recording asking if she sounded drrrty.

But let’s focus back on the hallow’s eve and the new stuff airing today on Comcast VOD. **NOTE: It seems the folks at Comcast.net got really excited and gone ahead and posted what will debut on PPV VOD starting November 6. Its [spoiler]Spice and Wolf[/spoiler].

Ok. Now that the cat’s outta the bag on that one, are you excited?

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

•  El Cazador De La Bruja eps 1 – 6 (Episode 1 is a FREE VIEW!)

If its got the Spanish word for “witch” in its title, it must be spooky. Well, ok maybe not spooky but there is some ballz kicking.

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

• The Galaxy Railways eps 25 & 26
• Case Closed ep 39
• Air Gear eps 7 & 8
• Negima! ep 6
• Shuffle! ep 6
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 7 & 8

And for linear channel shows and schedule, jump here for the latest listing.

The Yui Makino video interview is almost done. Just tweaking a bit here and there.