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AICN Anime-Adaptation of Hit Supernatural Suspense Death Note For Download Purchase

Published at:  Jan 10, 2007 4:27:57 PM CST


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Column by Scott Green




VIZ Media has announced that it has licensed from Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) the Download to Own (DTO) and Download to Rent (DTR) rights for the United States for the smash hit DEATH NOTE anime series, currently airing in Japan.

The deal is significant because it marks the first time a well known Japanese anime property will be made legally available to domestic audiences for download to own while the title still airs on Japanese television. VIZ Media will seek to make the series available to consumers through a number of online providers in order to reach the widest audience possible.

DEATH NOTE, based on the Shueisha manga series of the same name, is currently one of the hottest anime titles in Japan. Published in North America by VIZ Media, it depicts the adventures of Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects but who is bored out of his mind. All of that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to investigate, and he is soon hot on the trail of Light, who must now reevaluate his one noble goal.

The DEATH NOTE agreement is the latest in a series of moves by VIZ Media to make anime content available on a widespread basis via the web. Earlier this year, the company recently helped launch Toonami Jetstream, a joint venture with Cartoon Network that provides 24/7 broadband service and allows users to watch streamed episodes of a number of hit series like NARUTO, Samurai Jack and Megas XLR. Users are also able to watch full-length episodes of series like HIKARU NO GO, MÄR and THE PRINCE OF TENNIS that are not currently offered domestically.




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    Readers Talkback

  • Jan 10, 2007 5:12:06 PM CST

    Nice try!!

    by godoffireinhell

    I wonder how that will compete with the fansubbers who are offering the same thing but for free.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 10, 2007 9:20:32 PM CST

    awesome anime...

    by v1cious

    too bad the ending to the manga sucked so much.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 10, 2007 10:09:23 PM CST

    oooh

    by steff_so_funny

    anime. i love that idea of it being available soon like that. sweet.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 11, 2007 3:39:37 AM CST

    just saw both movies

    by mavsman15

    and I loved them. Hope the anime is better

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 11, 2007 9:19:32 AM CST

    Hikaru no Go

    by veritasses

    is an excellent manga. It's the only work that I know of that actually makes you want to go out and learn to play a complex strategy game like 'Go' (which incidentally, is a much, much better game then chess in every respect). I haven't seen the HnG anime but I've heard it's pretty good. Death Note is a good cat-and-mouse, mystery/thriller genre manga but I think there was too much of an emphasis on creating rules for the Death Note and making every plot point revolve around a particular rule that made the stories sort of monotonous. And the characters were sort of one dimentional in their pursuits and 'empty'/'lifeless' and thus it was hard to develop any sort of empathy for them. Though given the theme of the work, perhaps this was intentional.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 11, 2007 12:22:18 PM CST

    eeyowserz!

    by kirttrik

    I think pay per view downloads is a good idea, I just hope it doesn't effect the future of file sharing, hopefully it will actually make it easier to get properties shared.

    Reply to Talkback

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