FUNimation and Toei announce online streaming of DBZ!

[DB_Fan1991]

My stand on the Gohan filler is that it did help him a bit, but he got scared of Nappa when they were fighting him.

[Castor Troy]

As much as we bash Toriyama for his storytelling at times, he really knew how to escalate the drama even further and made our heroes face impossible situations just when we think they're ready.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I really don't see why people are complaining about this. It's free, isn't it? Be happy you even get streaming where you live.

[VegettoEX]

I really don't see why people are complaining about this. It's free, isn't it? Be happy you even get streaming where you live.

People are allowed to legitimately criticize anything they want. Hasn't anyone seen the Seinfeld episode where the homeless people are given the free muffin bottoms...? C'mon, now!

Also, while I totally dig the conversation about Gohan filler material and its contributions to / contradictions with his character development/arc, I don't know that the streaming thread is where it belongs. Feel free to create a new one! I know we did an episode on the podcast about it (holy crap...) over four years ago. Can't vouch for the sound quality, but the content was probably pretty good...!

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

Is FUNimation aware of the fact that Canadian viewership is blocked?

Do they care?

[AgitoZ]

Is FUNimation aware of the fact that Canadian viewership is blocked?

Do they care?

Could be a rights issue. Or perhaps Toei's doing.

[JulieYBM]

The issue is Hulu, which doesn't work outside of the USA.

[AgitoZ]

The issue is Hulu, which doesn't work outside of the USA.

Is the stream at the DBZ site powered by Hulu? I thought they just had the back-catalog there.

[JulieYBM]

The issue is Hulu, which doesn't work outside of the USA.

Is the stream at the DBZ site powered by Hulu? I thought they just had the back-catalog there.

Yup, it's all on Hulu (hence why it doesn't work outside the USA).

[Goku100xKamehameha]

Hulu got a great region blocking system. It even knows that I'm not accessing it in the US, even though I turned my IP address program on (which works for YouTube and Nicktoons).

[TripleRach]

Yup, it's all on Hulu (hence why it doesn't work outside the USA).

Then it's pretty awful that they said the streaming rights were for the US and Canada in the press release, because Hulu is US only. But then it was the same press release that falsely claimed this was the first legal stream of DBZ (Cartoon Network had streams years ago), and also claimed that Dragon Box 5 will be released February 8th (when it has been delayed twice to April 26th).

But those other two factual errors are pretty minor compared to the slap in the face to Canadians they did.

[JulieYBM]

Yup, it's all on Hulu (hence why it doesn't work outside the USA).

Then it's pretty awful that they said the streaming rights were for the US and Canada in the press release, because Hulu is US only. But then it was the same press release that falsely claimed this was the first legal stream of DBZ (Cartoon Network had streams years ago), and also claimed that Dragon Box 5 will be released February 8th (when it has been delayed twice to April 26th).

But those other two factual errors are pretty minor compared to the slap in the face to Canadians they did.

I thnk it's just a case of the hands not knowing what the brain means. Inter-communication amongst staff at FUNimation tends to get...well, screwy.

Although...the whole Hulu-unviewable-outside-the-USA thing really should have tipped FUNimation off to maybe just using their own player for their site...

[Daimo-Rukiri]

There's always VPN and dedicated servers in the US that people surf from.
A Simple google search will solve your problems.

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

Could be a rights issue. Or perhaps Toei's doing.

More like the former.

I think it's just a case of the hands not knowing what the brain means. Inter-communication amongst staff at FUNimation tends to get...well, screwy.

You know the old saying: "Anything you say can be used against you"? This is pretty much the same situation here. If there is a serious lack of communication amongst the staff at FUNi headquarters, then someone over there needs to smack a few heads around and get everyone back on attention. These are more than just words, they represent the actions of the official company!

Although...the whole Hulu-unviewable-outside-the-USA thing really should have tipped FUNimation off to maybe just using their own player for their site... :oops

FUNimation had a GREAT player on their site! It was very user-friendly and best of all, it was accessible to Canadians! I had a blast watching One Piece on their site but when the transition to Hulu happened, we got the typical blackout. It sucks!

But those other two factual errors are pretty minor compared to the slap in the face to Canadians they did.

FUNimation has been slapping us in the face for years. I'm beginning to wonder if Canadian patronage is even relevant to this company.

[Envy]

The issue is Hulu, which doesn't work outside of the USA.

Is the stream at the DBZ site powered by Hulu? I thought they just had the back-catalog there.

It switched to Hulu sometime on Saturday night, I believe.

It was strange because when they first uploaded them they were run through FUNimation's video player but they were instantly instantly switched (as opposed to One Piece which they at least wait a few days).

I have access to Hulu living in the US but I do get annoyed myself. The sites used to stream independently but now there is no use to going to all of the different streaming sites since I'm just watching it through Hulu anyway. VIZ Anime and Toonzaki are absolutely worthless and I'm honestly surprised anybody visits them enough to give them enough reason to actually stay up.

[GamingBuddha]

Has Funimation specified how exactly they're going to be releasing these episodes? I assumed that 15 episodes would be released every Saturday, but when I got home and checked Hulu, I didn't see anything new. Also, Dragon Ball and GT were mentioned in the original press release, but I haven't seen anything about them ever since.

And if anyone didn't know, Kai has been streaming online for a while now. Episodes 1-26 and 39-50 are being streamed by 4Kids and Nickelodeon, respectively. Hulu has a list of the episodes here.

[KKZ]

Why is free streaming of DBZ on the Internet a big enough deal to write 14 pages about it? I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm legitimately curious.

[JulieYBM]

Why is free streaming of DBZ on the Internet a big enough deal to write 14 pages about it? I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm legitimately curious.

There was controversy, then half of that controversy turned out to be miscommunication. The half that remains involves terrible looking footage being advertised as Dragon Ball. Fans don't like it when a series they love is treated like so. Other fans don't care and decide that they're going to say that they don't care or might even go as far as belittling the fans that do care.

Et cetera, et cetera.

[Levlik]

Sort of an out of the blue question, but where did that Toei logo come from? I've never seen it before. Is it something that actually aired before the show started in Japan? I quite like it; I dig 80s FM synth.

[Strongbad456]

Why is free streaming of DBZ on the Internet a big enough deal to write 14 pages about it? I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm legitimately curious.

Because some of us don't own all of DBZ and want to see it for free, legally, on the internet. I don't care if it's the orange bricks, I want to see the Buu saga again .