Will Neon Alley Air Dragon Ball?

Neon Alley is a new 24/7 anime channel launching today for US and Canadian anime fans. The big question is, ‘Will Neon Alley air Dragon Ball?’ To find out I asked the creators themselves.

Viz Media created Neon Alley because they saw a need in the North American market. Back in the early 2000’s, Dragon Ball, Gundam Wing and other hit anime series aired daily on Cartoon Network’s Toonami.

But that’s no longer the case today, as you can only see anime a few hours per week on the Adult Swim.

Neon Alley’s representative contacted me because Viz solves that problem and she wants anime fans to know more about it.

So what is Neon Alley and how does it work?

Subscribe to the service for $6.99 per month and you’ll receive a constant stream of anime in HD (where available), uncut and dubbed in English. It runs through your TV via your PlayStation 3. I imagine that xBox 360 and other platforms will roll out eventually.

What shows will be on it?

Here’s the full list.

naruto shippuden movie 1 neon alley

You can see they have Naruto, One Piece, Inuyasha, Bleach, Tiger & Bunny, Berserk, Deathnote, Zetman, and classic Kung Fu chop socky films.

The Kung Fu films are a big draw to me because they’re responsible for a lot of my interest in the martial arts, and were also an inspiration to Toriyama to make Dragon Ball (ala Jackie Chan). The themes of rivalries, revenge, and striving to be the best show up in both mediums.

fists and guts kung fu movie master killer fiver fingers of death

Will they air Dragon Ball?

Unfortunately no, they won’t.

Brian Ige, Vice President of Animation at VIZ Media, told me:

Dragon Ball has a huge fan following and is one of the biggest anime brands around. Given that it is currently airing on network television, Neon Alley unfortunately would not be able to acquire that title at this time. Our goal is to supplement the existing TV market by providing shows that are no longer or have never been available on TV. We’re hoping to help grow & expand the existing anime market by providing a great mix of both new and catalog titles.

Kind of a bummer for DBZ fans, but if you like DBZ then you probably also like Naruto, One Piece and Bleach, right?

In any case, Neon Alley seems like it’s off to a great start. Here’s hoping that they’re able to acquire the rights to Dragon Ball some day.

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