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FUNimation adds another series to its "just aired" streaming portal
- By Phyl Good
- Published 04/23/2009
- Anime and Manga
- Unrated
Phyl Good
View all articles by Phyl Good
Fans of Fullmetal Alchemist are already aware of the new FMA series that has been created, that began airing in Japan early in April of 2009. And many also know that instead of having to wait several months while the anime is dubbed and then distributed in North America, they can view each episode on FUNimation Entertainment's video portal, on Thursday mornings, mere days after its first broadcast in Japan.
In fact, response to the streaming of the new series was so enthusiastic the first week that the site was overwhelmed, resulting in buffering problems that made the episode take a long time to play, progressing in an endless series of jumps. By the second week, FUNimation had devoted many more resources to the portal, and performance was greatly improved.
But with such an eager response to the FMA episodes, the company has now added a second just-aired series to its lineup. As of Thursday, April 23, 2009, four episodes of Requiem for the Phantom have been placed in the video portal as well. The series is currently airing in Japan, and the four-episode upload will catch up to the Japanese broadcast schedule. For each subsequent week, a new episode will be placed on the video portal site at 10:30 a.m.
Central Time, half an hour after the latest Fullmetal Alchemist show. And similar to that series, each episode features the original Japanese voicing, with English subtitles.
Produced by Bee Train and directed by Koichi Mashimo (who formerly worked on Blade of the Immortal and Noir), the new series is adapted from the Phantom of the Inferno video game from Nitroplus, originally written by Gen Urobuchi (who previously did Blassreiter). The series revolves around a mysterious organization called Inferno, whose most elite assassin is known as "Phantom." When this assassin's true identity is jeopardized by an inadvertent witness, that witness is brainwashed into becoming another assassin for Inferno.
With the success of the new Fullmetal Alchemist series, FUNimation has clearly tapped into a strong desire on the part of North American fans, not to be left behind as new programs emerge. There will undoubtedly be other ventures into this area.
Source: FUNimation press release, April 23, 2009.
In fact, response to the streaming of the new series was so enthusiastic the first week that the site was overwhelmed, resulting in buffering problems that made the episode take a long time to play, progressing in an endless series of jumps. By the second week, FUNimation had devoted many more resources to the portal, and performance was greatly improved.
But with such an eager response to the FMA episodes, the company has now added a second just-aired series to its lineup. As of Thursday, April 23, 2009, four episodes of Requiem for the Phantom have been placed in the video portal as well. The series is currently airing in Japan, and the four-episode upload will catch up to the Japanese broadcast schedule. For each subsequent week, a new episode will be placed on the video portal site at 10:30 a.m.
Produced by Bee Train and directed by Koichi Mashimo (who formerly worked on Blade of the Immortal and Noir), the new series is adapted from the Phantom of the Inferno video game from Nitroplus, originally written by Gen Urobuchi (who previously did Blassreiter). The series revolves around a mysterious organization called Inferno, whose most elite assassin is known as "Phantom." When this assassin's true identity is jeopardized by an inadvertent witness, that witness is brainwashed into becoming another assassin for Inferno.
With the success of the new Fullmetal Alchemist series, FUNimation has clearly tapped into a strong desire on the part of North American fans, not to be left behind as new programs emerge. There will undoubtedly be other ventures into this area.
Source: FUNimation press release, April 23, 2009.