Viz Anime on Joost.com

First FUNimation, now Viz ... it's good to be an online anime fan! Few days ago Viz Media announced they will be working with Joost to provide Naruto, Bleach and Death Note free, online, streamed and not all pirated like some of the crap out there (last part my words not theirs). Now I'm not familiar with Joost yet, but I'm getting there and fast thanks to this announcement. So I'll have more 2 cent comments on this as I do some watching, but for now here are some snippets from the presser ...

"San Francisco, CA, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 — VIZ Media, LLC. (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies has announced that Joost™, the world's first broadcast-quality internet television service, will carry the original Uncut (Japanese version/English subtitled) episodes of the hit animated series NARUTO, DEATH NOTE and BLEACH (coming soon) in the United States.

Episodes will be made available for free at www.joost.com with new installments being added regularly. With Joost, NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE fans will be able to watch these shows in their web browser while interacting with others in the Joost community. Whether they join or form fan groups around their favorite characters, or add their own comments to their favorite shows, Joost’s unique social features help a larger audience find and discover these hit shows.

“Joost recognizes a truly diverse community for content and has developed an interactive vehicle that will help build an even larger audience for NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE,” Ken Sasaki, Sr. Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “VIZ Media shares a vision to use the latest web technologies to make compelling animated content easily accessible in a legal, secure and high-quality format. We look forward to fans sharing their favorite episodes of NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE on Joost and taking advantage of its social features to discuss and trade commentary individual episodes and expand the global momentum behind these properties.”

Danny Passman, global head of programming for Joost, said, “Our goal is to be the leading online destination for premium, legal anime – and VIZ Media is a key partner in this objective. NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE have great fan bases because of their amazing artistry and compelling storylines, and with Joost’s social features, these shows will be introduced to an even larger audience.”

These are some pretty popular series to say the least and Viz is puting their best foot forward right off the bat. Will it pay off ... yeah, I think so after all content is out there in pirate form, why not hook up some official content and get those 1-2 or more extra fans to buy the manga, music, gear and whatnot.