First Impressions of Gonzo Anime Online
If you missed it, Gonzo announced they were streaming anime online as it was being aired in Japan. This is pretty huge, as it’s a pretty sizable company offering subtitled anime to the public as it’s being aired, basically cutting out the need for fansubs. The first episodes of the two series, BLASSREITER and The Tower of DRUAGA -the Aegis of URUK, are officially up on Youtube and other video sites, playing to the public for free.
I’m completely thrilled by the prospect of getting my anime fix the day it’s aired. If this model works for Gonzo, it’s possible others will follow their example. I know that Crunchyroll offers the ability to download the full episodes for a donation. The donation prices are $2, $5, and $10, and it also has an option to donate more where you fill in the blank. This open pricing method is pretty interesting, and I wonder how well it actually works. They have a list of the top donators, with some giving as much as $50. I tried donating $0, but it wouldn’t let me, so apparently this is a mandatory donation. The file size of the first episode of BLASSREITER is 312MB, which will probably be the average for all the episodes.
“The download video file is a high quality Xvid encode and DRM-free, so you can use it on anything! In order to play the file, you will need a video player that supports the Xvid codec. Crunchyroll recommends the VLC media player!
You will be PMed and/or emailed the download link. You can download each file as many times as you need from 5 different IP addresses with login required.
This download is for personal use only. Please do not share this file illegally! Information will be embedded into the downloaded file that can be traced back to your purchase.”
For those of you that are cheap, or can’t afford to shell out cash for an episode, don’t worry, you can still watch it for free on the website itself. Like Youtube, the quality is pretty bad. It’s definitely watchable, but it will skip a bit and look pixelated if you watch it in anything bigger than the window they give you. And that, I’m assuming, is because they are free.
Now, on to BOST TV, which is the third site to air the two series. BOST TV is a little different, in that it requires you to first create an account to view any video. Once you have your account, to view a video, you have to rent it. To rent though, you need to add points to your account (Note: The first episodes of the two Gonzo anime are both available to rent for free). Every 500 points is $9.95, and you can buy points in four quantities: 500, 1000, 2000, and 5000. Unfortunately, aside from the two Gonzo anime, the others aren’t available in my region, but the majority of rentals clock in around 100 points to rent for 14 days. During those 14 days you can download PSP and iPod compatible files right to your computer for mobile viewing. The quality is substantially better than the other two, and loads itself in small chapters so that video loading and buffering doesn’t slow down playback.
If there wasn’t the price tag, this would be my first choice. BOST TV does allow for season passes to ease that, though. The entire season of The Tower of DRUAGA -the Aegis of URUK can be purchased for 1000 points (or $19.90) and BLASSREITER for 2000 points (or $29.80). However, you still have to follow the rules of the rental period. Only once you add them to your library via rental, does the rental period start. So you can purchase them and watch them at your leisure, but make sure you actually watch it once you start, because you’ll have to get it again if you stop and don’t finish it during the rental period. It’s about $2 an episode without season passes, and between $1.25 and $1.65 with the pass.
There are a number of options available here depending on what suits you best. Hopefully, these are just a sign of things to come for anime and online video streaming. You can pay for it and get excellent quality, or watch for free and deal with a bit of pixelation. Either way, you’re watching it without waiting years for it on DVD or having to hunt down a fansub somewhere.
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