Anime Current was an anime television block running on G4 Canada, in which one series is broadcast from beginning to end. It was similar to Anime Unleashed, a former programming block on the American version of G4. It premiered on 6 November 2006 [1] with R.O.D the TV.
On 1 January 2007, G4techTV and Geneon Entertainment announced an exclusive deal in which Geneon titles would air on Anime Current. [2] Previously, Geneon's first (and only) title that aired in Canada was Samurai Champloo on Razer's Kamikaze block.
On 25 June 2007, the channel announced the lineup would include six series, first being, Serial Experiments Lain , Texhnolyze , Last Exile , Tokyo Underground , Ergo Proxy , and Paranoia Agent . [3] At the end of July 2008, Anime Current reappeared on the channel's schedule, but would finally shut down a few months later in November 2008.
(In Order of date aired)
Serial Experiments Lain is a Japanese anime television series created and co-produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura. Animated by Triangle Staff and featuring original character designs by Yoshitoshi Abe, the series was broadcast for 13 episodes on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from July to September 1998. The series follows Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl in suburban Japan, and her relation to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the internet.
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming. At the height of its six-year run, TechTV was broadcast in 70 countries, reached 43 million households, and claimed 1.9 million unique visitors monthly to its website. A focus on personality-driven product reviews and technical support made it a cultural hub for technology information worldwide, still existing today online through its former hosts' webcasts, most notably the TWiT Network.
Last Exile is a Japanese anime television series created by Gonzo. It featured a production team led by director Koichi Chigira, character designer Range Murata, and production designer Mahiro Maeda. The three had previously worked together in Blue Submarine No. 6, one of the first CG anime series. It aired on TV Tokyo from April to September 2003. A sequel series, Last Exile -Fam, the Silver Wing-, aired from October 2011 to March 2012. A film adaptation of the series, Last Exile -Fam, the Silver Wing-: Over the Wishes, was released in February 2016.
G4techTV was a short-lived American cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The network officially launched on May 28, 2004.
NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan.
Paranoia Agent is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger. The plot relays between a large cast of people affected in some way by the phenomenon; usually Lil' Slugger's victims or the detectives assigned to apprehend him. As each character becomes the focus of the story, details are revealed about their secret lives and the truth about Lil' Slugger.
Ergo Proxy is a Japanese cyberpunk anime television series, produced by Manglobe, directed by Shūkō Murase and written by Dai Satō. The series ran for 23 episodes from February to August 2006 on the Wowow satellite network. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future where humans and AutoReiv androids coexist peacefully until a virus gives the androids self-awareness, causing them to commit a series of murders. Inspector Re-L Mayer is assigned to investigate, discovering a more complicated plot behind it that involves a humanoid species known as "Proxy" who are the subject of secret government experiments.
Yasuyuki Ueda is a Japanese producer, who has worked on such projects as Serial Experiments Lain. He was a director for the Noel video game, worked on the Lain video game, as well as on Wachenröder for the Sega Saturn. He first hired Yoshitoshi Abe, who would become a regular collaborator on many other anime projects.
New Generation Pictures, Inc. is a production company specializing in voice recording for anime and video games.
Lupin the 3rd Part II, also known as Shin Lupin III or simply as Lupin III for the American market, is a Japanese anime series based on the manga by Monkey Punch and is produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha. The first season, which contains 26 episodes, aired between October 3, 1977 and April 3, 1978 on NTV. The opening theme is Theme from Lupin III '77 by Yuji Ohno, while the ending theme is the instrumental version of Love Theme, also by Yuji Ohno. In the United States, twenty-six episodes of English adaptation of the series aired on Adult Swim starting on January 14, 2003 at midnight ET with the exception of episode 3, which was skipped due to its Nazi themes. In Canada, the entire first season of the series aired on G4techTV's Anime Current from May 7 to June 11, 2007.
Lupin the 3rd Part II, also known as Shin Lupin III or simply as Lupin III for the American market, is a Japanese anime series based on the manga by Monkey Punch and is produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha. The second season, which contains 25 episodes aired between April 10, 1978 and September 25, 1978 on NTV. The opening theme is Theme from Lupin III by Peatmac Junior while the ending theme is Love Theme by Ichirou Mizuki. Only the first episode of second season's English adaptation aired on Adult Swim on June 4, 2003, due to it being a replacement for episode 3, which the network skipped due to its Nazism content. In Canada, the entire second season of the series aired on G4techTV's Anime Current from June 12 to July 16, 2007.
G4 was a Canadian English-language specialty television channel owned by Rogers Media. The name was licensed from NBCUniversal, whose parent company Comcast formerly owned a minority stake in the channel. Based on the U.S subscription networks TechTV and G4, the channel was originally focused on technology-themed programming.
Syfy Universal Asia was an Asian cable television channel, launched on July 1, 2008, which mainly airs science fiction, fantasy and horror programs and movies. It also airs anime programming. It is owned by Universal Networks International.
Locomotion was a Latin American cable channel dedicated to anime and animated shows targeting primarily an 18–34 audience, broadcasting movies, TV series and shorts. It was launched on November 1, 1996, and was closed down on July 31, 2005. It was also broadcast in Portugal through Cabovisão and TVCabo, and in Spain by satellite TV provider Vía Digital until 2003 due to administrative reasons with the TV operator.
Animax was a Spanish version of anime channel Animax owned by Sony. It was launched in Spain as a programming block on AXN Spain on 20 October 2007 before launching as a full channel on 12 April 2008.