It appears Seifer misread.  Thanks to A PR rep from Funimation who checked the trailer frame by frame Digimon Frontier definately does not appear in it.  Fanboy Review regrets the error, and Seifer is currently getting his 12 lashings.
 
It appears when ShoDojo launches it will launch with a few new shows (or it’s possible they will show up slightly after launch.)
 

 
A recent convention apparently had a new ShoDojo trailer that showed Digimon Frontier as one of these new series (Digimon Frontier was the only show that was recognized.)  There had previously been no news from either Toei USA or Funimation about Digimon Frontier streaming.  It’s also possible this may be the beginning of a new wave of Toei On-Demand titles.  No news on Digimon Adventure or Digimon Tamers. Hopefully the trailer will be put online and we will find out more about this soon.
 
ShoDojo is Funimation’s new Anime video and community website that will be launching soon.
 
Thanks to Seifer for seeing the trailer and bringing it to my attention (at least I can thank him for something, he’s supposed to be staff…. get to work lazy!)
 

 

So I sat down to start watching Gonzo’s “Gad Guard”, not knowing much about the series, except that it was a mecha anime.  Now I know what you’re thinking (I thought it too); if you’ve seen one mecha anime, you’ve seen ‘em all.  But don’t count out “Gad Guard”; it may surprise you, a little.
 

 
I actually watched the show subtitled on FUNimation’s website via their free internet stream.  So for obvious reason I won’t get too technical about the video or audio quality, but stick more to the story and animation elements.  Also, this review pertains only to the original subbed version of the show and not the dub.  However, from watching the dubbed series trailer, it doesn’t sound half bad.  In fact, it sounds damn good, but I’m only saying that based off a trailer, so I wouldn’t take that statement to heart. Continue reading →

Viz is gonna start airring Shippuden almost day and date with the Japanese airrings and try and catch up with earlier episodes as fast as they can.

Frankly it seems a bit stupid to do it that way since it’s a plot based show and the early Shippuden haven’t gotten an American release yet (and who knows what this says about the potential for the show on TV).

Viz to Stream Naruto Within 1 Week of Japanese Airring {Anime News Network}

Update-  Tv Tokyo will be putting new Naruto on Crunchyroll subbed an HOUR after it airs on Japanese TV.

TV Tokyo to Also Stream Naruto Through Crunchyroll {Anime News Network}

As everyone knows Toei started doing stuff OnDemand via Direct2Drive.

After getting a few of these, and being underwhelmed by the horrid video quality, I now need to ask this very serious question.

Is Toei USA committing fraud?

I show you this screenshot that is on the Pretty Cure sales page.  This is supposed to be a screenshot from the show, to be used as a gauge on the video quality, to help you decide if you want to buy it or not.

Relatively nice picture quality isn’t it?

So what is the problem?

Well… here is the same picture, taken by me, from the first episode of the series, as it is available to buy.

Ignore the credits, afterall, it would be fair for them to use a scene from the opening, but remove the credits to help people gauge the video quality.

Compare the actual picture quality.  The resolution is bigger, but let’s ignore that.  The screenshot they have as an example has bright vivid colors and is very clean.  The episode itself has rainbowing, artifacing issues, is pixelated, and may have very well been copied from a VHS tape.  Compare stuff like the girls’ hair, the sunlight, the pipe in the bottom left.

This is dishonest advertising at it’s worst.  This is an unacceptable way to do business, especially when you are trying to sell a show with an extremely niche audience anyways.  The video quality for Toei OnDemand’s other three shows: Digimon Adventure 02, Slam Dunk, and Fist of the North Star, is also very poor, but the screenshots from those shows are at least accurate in showing that.

I suggest fans of Pretty Cure and anime in general vote with their wallets and not purchase episodes of the series to show this isn’t acceptable.

So what do you think?  Is Toei USA committing fraud by being dishonest like this?

A few shows have been updated in the last few days on Toei OnDemand on Direct2Drive. Continue reading →