It looks like Bandai is starting the HARUKA special events a little early. Previously, we learned that a whole host of HARUKA-related goodies await the attendees at Sakura-Con in Seattle, at the end of this month. But now it seems that Bandai is having mercy on those of us who can't get to Seattle to participate.

The ecommerce site operated by Bandai Visual USA - dot-anime.us - has announced their new streaming video service, and fans in Canada and the U.S. are now able to stream the first episode of HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time - A Tale of the Eight Guardians.

According to the web page, we can also look forward to episodes of three other series - Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed, true tears, and sola - which are described as "Coming Soon." All episodes streamed on the site will remain for three months after their starting date, so fans will want to keep checking back to see what's new.

The one drawback is that apparently the stream will only work for people using Microsoft Windows XP or later, using Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, and having Windows Media Player 10 or above. There is a FAQ link on the webpage, which gives more details.

At the original Japanese site, dot-anime.com, fans can watch over 400 titles and 4000 episodes, download anime songs, and purchase CDs and DVDs. Bandai intends to develop the related North American site in a similar way. In today's announcement, the company described the new service as "a legal option to view a full episode of Bandai Visual USA titles." This may be a veiled reference to the recent controversy over Crunchyroll.com, and may explain the timing of Bandai's criticism last Wednesday, when it warned several times that the entire anime industry could be in jeopardy if sites like Crunchyroll continue streaming unlicensed anime.

But for those of us who don't want to get embroiled in controversy, but just want to see what all the HARUKA fuss is about, this new streaming site comes at a perfect time. We can watch the first episode, and be even more envious of the people at Sakura-Con.