I have the Anime Network...now what?

[Kitschensyngk]

Late last June I get word from my cable company that after two years of carrying the Anime Network’s on-demand service, they were finally planning to pick up the channel proper in the coming months.

One month later an article appears on the Anime News Network’s website that the channel has just signed linear carriage deals with two cable providers in Kansas, and mine is one of those named.

As of last Tuesday, we officially have the channel, sandwiched between two movie networks.

I assure you all I’m not merely posting this to brag about it.

I have mixed emotions about this, in fact.

On the one hand, I can finally watch a number of series I’ve had my eye on for a while now (Paniponi Dash, Nerima Daikon Brothers) without having to buy any DVDs or pay a subscription fee or anything.

And yet, at the same time, knowing that a number of interesting titles can all be found in one place kinda takes the fun out of the search. It used to be just two or three other TV channels and whatever they had in my anime club library, plus I had just signed up for a rental card at a video store that has a good number of titles in stock. If a title that I was about to watch interested me, I’d borrow it or tune in or whatever. Having an entire channel at my disposal will feel a little weird since I’ve been pretty much scavenging for as long as I’ve been into anime.

It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.

[BCVM22]

So fans complain that it's too hard to view series that don't get mainstream TV broadcasts or wide DVD releases, but then when handed a whole network's worth, they complain the fun's been taken out of it?

[Kitschensyngk]

So fans complain that it's too hard to view series that don't get mainstream TV broadcasts or wide DVD releases, but then when handed a whole network's worth, they complain the fun's been taken out of it?

Hey, I'm not complaining. Any way these shows get some TV exposure is good...plus, what can beat a whole network devoted to them?

I just thought that part of the fun was in the search.

[J'onn J'onzz]

Anime Network is run entirely by ADV, isn't it? I'm sure there are still FUNimation and Bandai titles for you to rent and watch, this is just lightening your DVD rental load.

Unless you get FUNimation Channel too. :sweat:

My DirecTV package doesn't get either, but I wish they did.

[GWOtaku]

You're still searching, its just taking less time. Progress is awesome.

[Beat]

Consider it reaping the fruits of labor. Besides, a lot of times, you stumble upon stuff you weren't looking for. That's how I found Area 88.

[Space Cadet]

Since you have the channel now, what's it like? Does it have commercials? How's the packaging? Does it have blocks?

[Kitschensyngk]

Since you have the channel now, what's it like? Does it have commercials? How's the packaging? Does it have blocks?

Weekday afternoons are old school series (Robotech, Evangelion).

Every Monday through Friday evenings sports a different lineup. Mondays and Thursdays are action programming (Air Gear, Madlax, GetBackers), Tuesdays are mecha shows (Rahxephon, Full Metal Panic) and Wednesdays are shoujo series (Kaleido Star, Paniponi Dash). I'm not sure what Fridays are yet, I'll get back to you. It's a three-hour six-show rotation every evening which repeats before they get into their more mature offerings (Abenobashi, Excel Saga).

They have commercials, but they're only of the text messaging, ringtones and make-more-money-at-home variety and you don't see them here as often as on other channels.

They keep saying they're 24 hours a day, but I'm seeing paid programming between 3-7am CDT.

EDIT: Forgot to mention--every Saturday night I'm told they have a handful of series in the original Japanese language with subtitles.

[Space Cadet]

Weekday afternoons are old school series (Robotech, Evangelion).



Ahh, I can imagine a 10 year boy coming home from school and sitting down to watch the latest episode of Evangelion.;)

Thanks for the info. Can you tell if a show has been edited or not?

[HG Revolution]

Ahh, I can imagine a 10 year boy coming home from school and sitting down to watch the latest episode of Evangelion.;)

Thanks for the info. Can you tell if a show has been edited or not?

I don't think things would be editted anymore than they are On Demand. So that means: the Japanese cut of Gantz and no other shows are harmed.

[Kitschensyngk]

Most of these shows are new to me so I can't tell if they edit for time, though I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. So far all I know in this department is that they chop off the next-episode previews.

As for content, they're pretty lenient (they air Excel Saga, after all). Episode 12 of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi was on last night and all they did was bleep out the F-bombs.

[SpaceCowboy]

As for content, they're pretty lenient (they air Excel Saga, after all). Episode 12 of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi was on last night and all they did was bleep out the F-bombs.I heard something awhile back about them doing this to the linear channel, due to how their test market reacted.

[Ashton Anchors]

Ahh, I can imagine a 10 year boy coming home from school and sitting down to watch the latest episode of Evangelion.;)


Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore!

[TheFZAtUGSOnline]

well, now that you have TAN, what will u do, oh, i know, you can watch PaniPoni, and enjoy the comedy in it, and all thats left for TAN to do is to give it to us in the NY/NJ/CT area (for example, Comcast Linear!)