Project Lafiel

This story is a bit old, but still interesting.

The North American anime distributor Viz Media has announced that its Naruto.com website will simulcast Naruto Shippūden episode 101 for free on March 26. Normally, the website streams episodes of this ninja anime series for free in the United States a week after their Japanese airing, but there is no new Naruto Shippūden episode this week due to pre-emption. Canadian viewers can also see this episode on March 26 on the Joost.com, and Crunchyroll is offering this episode for free on the same day. Viz Media will ship volumes 42 to 44 of Masashi Kishimoto's original Naruto manga in two weeks.

--via ANN (EXPLICIT: At the time of posting, the advert contained blood and gore)

Subtitled Naruto Shippuden episodes 1-101 are currently available for free on Naruto.com via Hulu.

Atlhough I'm not a fan of Naruto, I applaud this effort. This kind of online distribution model, which basically amounts to official ad-supported fansubbing, is exactly the kind of thing the anime industry needs to embrace if it wants to survive in international markets. Unfortunately, these subbed Naruto episodes are only available in America, but this is a promising start. The next step should be releasing less mainstream anime (such as Gundam 00) in subbed form on Hulu. As long as the subs come out within a week of the original Japanese airdate, this will benefit the anime companies immensely. Not only will it put an end to illegal fansubbing, it will also create a new source of revenue and, theoretically, boost declining anime DVD sales. Viz has taken the first step; will other companies follow suit?

Bandai has now announced that they are planning to distribute Gundam worldwide in ten languages for free via the internet. Specific details haven't been revealed yet, including which series will be included and what medium they'll use. However, given that Bandai already streams Code Geass and Gundam 00 on Youtube, it seems likely they'll do the same with the other series.

If you feel like supporting this noble cause, go to Bandai's Youtube Channel, where you can watch Season 1 of Code Geass and the first three episodes of Gundam 00 for free, either subbed or dubbed. Hmm, maybe we should try and convince Bandai to put Crest of the Stars up on Youtube...

It appears the online distribution model is catching on. The future of anime is bright!

--Via ANN

sigh...

i commend the production companies for their efforts, but it must be a nightmare for the lawyers or whoever. Because unfortunately, the youtube geass is not accessible to australians.

poop.

That is a common complaint levied against streaming entertainment. For example, in the United States, we can watch shows like Fringe, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica for free online. However, those streaming shows are not available to international viewers. Personally, I think the UN needs to lay down a global copyright code and create an agency to supplant the various governmental copyright agencies. This way, copyright issues could be decided on an international scale, not a national one.

While I'm fantasizing, I'd like a million dollars, a cute girlfriend and an A-10 Thunderbolt.

Funimation will be streaming subbed episodes of the new Fullmetal Alchemist on their website four days after they air in Japan. That means the first episode will be out Thursday, April 9th in North America. Australians can watch subbed episodes on madman.com. I encourage all FMA fans on this site to NOT DOWNLOAD any fansubs and watch the stream when it comes out. Remember, we must throw all our support behind this new online streaming phenomenon. The future of anime is depending on you!