Anime on public television has been losing a lot of steam the last few years or so. Cartoon Network only shows anime Saturday night, with half of it being old reruns, and the only other place you’ll find without a special cable or Direct T.V. package is Dragonball Kai on Nicktoons. Say what you will about liking or disliking English dubs, they have gotten a lot better over the years. Viz Media wished to provide a more widely available medium of anime by creating Neon Alley, the PS3 streaming channel of nothing but anime and old Japanese films, all dubbed in English. It’s been out for two months now and if you haven’t already checked it out, I’m sure you are wondering if this service is worth it?
Neon Alley is a streaming service for the Playstation 3. However it acts like a television station with set programming schedules and little commercial breaks plugging arriving anime, games, manga, and more otaku goodness. The service brings back some older shows that disappeared from cable like Naruto, One Piece, InuYasha, and more. The real treat here is that it is bringing in new shows like Blue Exorcist and Tiger and Bunny, along with movies, shorts, and old live action Japanese movies. When shows like Naruto and One Piece were originally on T.V. many long time fans complained about the edits and censorship they had to endure. That worry is gone, on Neon Alley, all there content is uncut both old and new. While I personally enjoy both original Japanese dub and English dub, it may turn some of you off to know the Neon Ally only shows English dubbed content. A pretty bold move considering many anime lovers out there prefer the original Japanese voices. However there is a growing fan base for English dub and I think this service proves that.
The shows available right now are pretty diverse but I would like to see more shows in the future. With only a limited amount of shows, you see a lot of repeats throughout the week. Which can be good when you can’t always catch the show you want but also can be annoying when you have the time to see your shows and you have to rewatch them several times during the week. That is however becoming less of an issue with shows like Naruto and One Piece already having a decent amount of episodes ready to be viewed so you get marathons. I don’t know how I feel about Blue Exorcist dub yet but I am loving the Tiger and Bunny one. Already an interesting and original plot, it revolves heroes who are sponsored by companies to see who the best hero is. I haven’t seen a show like this in a while, both comical and action packed with a lot of heart. It’s worth checking out.
It comes down to the age-old otaku question, sub or dub? Whichever one you prefer just remember fan dubs do not support anime shows. We all love our anime shows and by watching fan dubs the companies and the artist do not get the money they deserve. If you prefer subs, check out the companies who license anime here in America to see if they stream their content. You can also check out Crunchy Role and other sites like that who support their anime shows. That aside, I would definitely recommend Neon Alley. I love to support my shows and Neon Alley is a great way to do so. The dubs on there are good to great and they are working hard to provide good shows and grab more for fans. If you have your reservations about it, they offer a free week trial period. If you have a Playstation 3 and love anime, this is definitely a must. Now if you’ll excuse me, a new episode of Tiger and Bunny is on!