Anime Network Premiers as Pay-Per-View Videos

The Anime Network has updated its homepage to reveal that the service will premier in mid-December as part of Comcast Cable’s digital cable video-on-demand service in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Essentially, Phase One of the Anime Network will not be a distinct TV channel, but rather simply AD Vision translated anime titles offered on a pay-per-view basis. Approximately 25 hours of English dubbed only anime will be available to Philadelphia area consumers, specifically: Spriggan, Evangelion, Excel Saga, Nadesico, Gasaraki, Noir, Dai-Gard, Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Orphen Golden Boy, Sorcerer Hunters, Kimera, Ninja Resurrection, Tekken, Those Who Hunt Elves, Gunsmith Cats, Burn-Up W, and the Samurai X movie.

The seemingly self-contradictory press release on the official site states, in part, “Even dubbed into English, anime is nobody’s cartoon. Anime is distinctly Asian, and explores the boundaries of animated moving pictures in ways that American cartoons never have. The distinctive style of anime is exploding into western pop culture, and anime titles—from Sailor Moon to Cowboy Bebop—are beginning to appear on American television. The time is ripe for more…”

Source: Anime News Network