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.
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.
Will they air Dragon Ball?
Unfortunately no, they won’t.
Brian Ige, Vice President of Animation at VIZ Media, told me:
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.
When does it premier? How do I get the channel? I’d loved to watch the OP dub on tv! It’d be great, kind of like the anime answer to oldschool CN. (that showed old cartoons no longer on tv basically 24/7)
It’s available now. Go to http://neonalley.com and sign up for a 1 week free trial.
As for DB rights, I remember reading that CN paid like $15,000,000 for the rights to season 4/5/6. (can’t remember) Given that, sounds like CN has the rights locked up. (and that Nicktoons ponied up more for DBZ Kai)
Excuse me, I have a question. Is Akira Toriyama himself a martial artist? Did he at least do some basic training or something in his life? Just wondering.
That’s a good question. I’ve always wondered it myself. I’d also like to know Akira Toriyama’s religious affiliation.
My guess is that he picked up most of what you see in Dragon Ball from traditional Japanese and Chinese culture combined with pop culture films. He may also have read a lot of Chinese Wuxia (Wandering Martial Artist) novels.
I also wonder the same thing about Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto. It’s amazing to me how these mangaka are able to tell these stories filled with supernormal abilities and life lessons without actually walking those paths. They’re great story tellers!
Excuse me, but what do you mean with that? I meant; not to insult anyone, but I am not a physcian and because of that; I wouldn’t try to write a story centered on medical elements as I could be straight-out lying about stuff. Also about life lessons without walking those paths.
I think I will stick with toonamiaftermath.com