More Mana From Funimation Gods (Strike Witches and other licenses!)

Hello to all 1 of my current followers! I'm your navigator once again, leading you down the road of life, taking the fork of dub to the city of Fun!

Or something.

I'd have been here to throw out my woohoo sooner for Funimation's latest license announcements but, alas, my grandfather died and I had to attend the funeral and help my family out. He was a good man who touched many lives and made a real difference in my hometown. He is missed.

Fortunately, I am quick to deal with sadness, especially when it means my grandfather is no longer suffering as he was toward the end.

Enough of my problems. I'm here to talk to you about Funimation continuing it's insanely huge licensing coups!

If you haven't already heard: Funimation recently announced licenses of Strike Witches and Linebarrels of Iron, Gonzo titles both, as a follow-up to the news earlier that they had essentially entered into an alliance with Gonzo.

Oh they say it is not an evil one. Proof of all this here at Funimation's blog of goodness. (Stop in and praise Rojas for his good work there!)

For a second there, ya'll were thinking this was all a dream right? Nope. The Gonzo/Funimation alliance is just getting more awesome!

Bask in the glory of this image and rejoice for the girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing and please support their efforts to kick alien Neuroi butt. (Wait, do the aliens have butts?)

Here's Funimation's own description:

It's 1939 and the world is under attack by the mysterious Neuroi. To combat this overpowering force, an elite aviation task force has been assembled called the 501st Joint Fighter Wing also known as "Strike Witches." These magically-powered girls pilot their Striker Unit weapons to protect and save humanity from destruction.

Already we are hearing the "oh, noes!" from some on the Internet because of the lack of fully clothes girls in this anime. (Long ankle length dresses would apparently be preferred.)

However, I offer this out of context Funimation image as a response:



Oh yeah, auto-win.

Also licensed and getting far less dues angst loli is Linebarrels of Iron. This one seems more in the veing of classic mecha badassery and thus should be fun. Support it!

What Funimation has to say about this one:

Fourteen-year-old Kouichi Hayase's life has always been a mediocre one, if not dismal. However, those days of being bullied by classmates and escaping to a fantasy of being a hero are put to an end when a certain "accident" bestows on him a girl and a gigantic humanoid robot called "LINEBARREL". The extraordinary power that Kouichi obtains puts him and everything around him on a sudden rollercoaster ride of battles, intrigues and friendship! During the course of his adventure, the boy starts to learn what life has to offer; he meets new friends, bids farewell to the old ones, but most of all he now has considerable responsibilities and is forced to confront the world around him.

So, of course, I can hear people muttering under their breath out there: why is he talking about shows without dubs?

Ah, but this is Funimation who cites actual statistics to prove their customers like English dubs and want them! They've found that 62% of their customers who sent back surveys watched anime with English dub the majority of the time. Only 25% watched in Japanese with subs the majority of the time. (Yes, by God, we have real numbers for a change! Source was a post on Funi's own blog bless their licensing hearts!)

Other awesome licenses on the way: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Rin ~ Daughters of Mnemosyne, My Bride Is A Mermaid, El Cazador De La Bruja, EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE, Dragonaut, Tower of Druaga, Blassreiter and Bamboo Blade. And unless there is one heck of a nasty disturbance in the force, I for one fully expect ALL OF THEM TO BE DUBBED IN ENGLISH!

Please check out Funimation's Video Portal for all of their delicious English dubbed and, yeah, if you must their tasty subbed too.

Also, I hope you've all bought a copy of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya light novel from Yen Press and Little Brown. It's quite good and even someone who hasn't seen the anime should be able to love it.

Also Jr., if you happen to know of a more reliable free photo linker that isn't too difficult for a tech-challenged guy like moi, let me know. (Also if any more pics get deleted by Photobucket, please let me know.)

For now, once again, I'm your navigator Richard J. signing off!

Pantsu!