Nozomi Entertainment has a channel full of their own Anime for you to stream and enjoy, as does Right Stuff (even though the latter is all silly). This is yet another streaming source that gives you entire episodes of anime programs, although in this case they save the cost of installing, configuring, and running their own video servers by using the YouTube service as their delivery platform. I like the concept, and appreciate it means they get to supply us with yet more free to watch anime from an amazing range of classic productions. I end up buying the majority of my Anime DVDs from Right Stuf, simply because their prices tend to beat everybody else’s by a noticeable percentage. And as with the other suppliers, being able to watch the shows for free definitely helps me remember why they need to be part of my permanent collection.
I have never had a Viz Media paid subscription, so I know nothing about their paid services, it’s quality, etc. But they do put a bunch of stuff on streaming for free, and they have some kick ass programs, including One Piece, Naruto, and Tiger and Bunny, to name a few. Like most everybody else they stream to a number of platforms, which seems to have a bit of emphasis to the X-Box in their case. Like Funimation, they are a distribution house, which means they only carry licensed programs that they can also sell you on a disc. But they have a large enough library of product that they keep constantly updating that you will probably be pleased with the selection.
Funimation is another site that has streaming Anime that I decided to try out a subscription with. Like others, it includes both Anime and live action, and it also has simulcasts, meaning you can see an episode within a short amount of time of when it originally airs across the Pacific. It takes a slightly different approach on its subscription service than some others, in that it only gives you the first one to 3 episodes free on a number of series. If you want to keep watching after that you have to buy the subscription service. Note that that is only for a selection of it’s series, with other shows being available for free from beginning to end, and I haven’t noticed that a paid subscription gives you other advantages, like 720i or 1080P video quality. So while I still currently maintain my subscription, I am thinking about whether I should keep paying the monthly premium. I suspect it will ending up boiling down to what they are willing to add to the lineup each week or month; if I have already seen the ones I am interested in, then we will be finished. At the moment, they have a LOT of shows I am interested in, but they need to keep adding to that library if they want to retain me as a customer.
Crunchyroll was the first streaming video service of any kind that impressed me enough that I got a paid subscription. In part, that was because I didn’t have to hand them money to watch any of the shows or join the online community, which made me feel welcome and included. In part it was because they have a huge library of programming available from a lot of sources, including not only Anime but also live action dramas and even music videos that never get played here, and I wanted to support that so it would continue to be available. In part it was to get the HD video quality, since the free version only comes in standard def. I do have to confess that while I told myself it was also so I could watch my favorite Anime shows an hour after the episode first aired in Tokyo, I only did that with six episodes of a single show just to feel that new-show thrill. I find I enjoy it more if I can watch 3 or so episodes back to back every several weeks, at a time of day that does not involve setting alarm clocks. When you watch enough different shows, this actually works out very nicely. If you are an Anime fan, you owe it to yourself to check out Crunchyroll, and if you like what you see you should at the minimum join the fan based community there.
Daisuki launches this month, a coalition of 6 Anime houses in Japan trying another way of making their product available around the world. Some of the shows they own are not available through existing streaming services, but many of them are, scattered across multiple providers. Part of the logic of launching this new service is they hope to gain subscribers because they will be a one-stop shop for their titles, so you don’t have to go different places to watch the different shows. At the same time, they have made it clear that they have no intention of pulling shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, One Piece, or Lupin the 3rd off of the various streaming services now carrying them. This already makes me appreciate their approach, and I look forward to checking them out once they launch. While I have not been able to find an exact launch date listed, sometime in late April is the announced target, so it shouldn’t be long now.
There are several interesting films coming out this week, but I would be lying if I said I was more interested in anything else than I was in Odd Thomas, the Dean R. Koontz story about a short order cook with a hot line to heaven (or hell). I figure it would be too much to hope this production actually becomes available this week, considering back in January they were in court suing for distribution money that was promised but never delivered. In fact the movie itself was supposed to be released in January. But hey, I live in hope, and there is also a real good chance another Dean Koontz book series, Frankenstein, will be made into a TV series after all.
Things we have already seen worth going back to the theaters for this week are topped off with the 3D Jurassic Park presentation; it should be a monster (yes, pun intended)! And of course that leaves us with Evil Dead 2 as another option to consider. All in all, the selection this time looks interesting.