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.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS!

We hope your holiday is going well. We got a few new eps showing up on Comcast VOD today.  They are:

• xxxHolic ep 20
• Fruits Basket eps 19-20
• Black Cat eps 5-6
• Case Closed ep 51

And linear viewers, check out the TV schedule here to get the latest on when your favorite anime is airing. I’m going to be busy this holiday catching up on some anime eps recorded on my TiVO.

This is a really short post. I gotta head out now. Meanwhile, feel free to share and comment what X-Mas gifts you got from Santa.

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.

So far so good…I hope you guys are enjoying watching some of the new stuff and favorites on VOD. Hard to believe this year went by sooo fast. What will 2010 hold for anime fans? Good things. Really good things. My teasing won’t cease .

Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

• Rin~Daughters of Mnemosyne~ eps 1 & 2 Special (playing back-to-back) 
• Nabari no Ou eps 19 – 21
• Blassreiter eps 16 – 18
• xxxHolic ep 18
• Negima! ep 13
• Shuffle! ep 13
• Solty Rei ep 12
• Case Closed ep 48
• Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino eps 1 – 4

And a reminder to all Comcast VOD viewers – the VOD menu has changed and now both PPV VOD & Free VOD are found together in one place under Comcast On Demand—> The Cutting Edge —>FUNimation Anime.

For viewers with access to the linear channel, go jump here for the latest schedule. And I hope you guys are enjoying Spice and Wolf, Linebarrels of Iron and Soul Eater.

Stay warm, stay safe, and always keep watching your favorite anime.

Last month was a bit of a doozy for VOD. Stuff got changed. Things went missing. Bonus eps never came to fruition . And to top it off, its the holidays. By now, we are hoping the dust settled in most Comcast cities and that they are receiving the anime titles.

Just to remind everyone – all anime titles under FUNimation Anime On Demand are now in one place: The Cutting Edge category. Free and PPV VOD are living together in one place, in peaceful harmony. From time to time, you will find a title from FUNimation Anime featured under the Movies/Movie Collections section. That usually happens when Comcast wants to do program stunts for a month.

Here’s what’s up on Comcast VOD:

The Cutting Edge/FUNimation Anime

• Spice and Wolf eps 6 – 8
• NANA eps 21 – 23
• Dragonaut eps 13 – 15
• HunterXHunter eps 11 – 13
• D. Gray-man eps 40 – 42
• Soul Eater eps 1 – 3 *Special back-to-back airing
• Linebarrels of Iron eps 1 – 3 *Special back-to-back airing
• xxxHolic ep 17
• Air Gear eps 13 – 14
• Negima! ep 12
• Shuffle! ep 12
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 13 – 14
• Fruits Basket eps 17 – 18
• Solty Rei ep 11
• Ah! My Goddess eps 21 – 24
• Black Cat eps 3 – 4
• Glass Fleet eps 9 – 12
• Case Closed ep 46 – 47

SOUL EATER! Yes. Merry Christmas!

And for linear viewers, to find out when your favorite show airs, jump here for the grid. Thanks to all who have participated in our viewer poll last week. If you still want to vote, visit here to make a difference. Later!

I hope you guys are having a good holiday so far. If you are doing or have returned from your Black Friday shopping, I hope you got the bargains you were aiming for.
I did ok last weekend at the Philadelphia Marathon. I finished in 3hrs and 14min – not under the 3hrs I wanted to finish. But hey, I finished ok and didn’t collapse or anything at the finish line. Some runners actually did collapse from cramping. I did realize that I seem to run better in the cold. I am quite weird that way.

I also want to remind folks that we have an important poll that everyone should participate in. Last week, I posted a poll about subtitled anime and if viewers were interested in watching it on TV during a certain hour of the day.

Here’s the poll again:

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

Your input is important as we have several changes planned for the linear channel in 2010. As the channel expands into other markets and cable/satellite systems, we want to make sure that the programming and choices cater to all viewers – dubbed and subbed.

Alright, here are some of the titles refreshing today on Comcast VOD:

• xxxHolic ep 16
• Negima! ep 11
• Shuffle! ep 11
• Solty Rei ep 10
• Case Closed ep 45

Jump here to see when your favorite show airs on the linear channel.

And a reminder to Comcast VOD viewers – both PPV & Free VOD are now under one place: Cutting Edge. If you are still missing shows/titles under FUNimation Anime, please post in the comment section below the following info:

• Zip code where you get Comcast service
• Town/City you get Comcast service
• List of category/shows currently missing on your VOD menu
• a short, concise description of the issue

Have a good, safe holiday!

PROGRAMMING UPDATE (12/2): The two bonus episodes of Solty Rei – ep 9a and ep 9b – will not air in the US. There was some confusion as to whether these two episodes would ever get sent and the licensors won’t allow the eps to air. Sorry. But, its good to know that there are in fact two bonus episodes (bonus ep 25 & bonus ep 26) floating around on DVD or somewhere. But it sucks that I wasn’t able to air these.

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)