Amazon launches anime streaming subscription for Prime members

PanARMENIAN.Net - Amazon is rolling out its first branded on-demand subscription service for Amazon Channels: Anime Strike, offering more than 1,000 series episodes and movies ranging from classic titles to current shows broadcast on Japanese TV, Variety reports.

The Anime Strike channel is available to U.S. Amazon Prime members for $4.99 per month after a seven-day free trial, the newest addition to the lineup of around 100 services now available in Amazon Channels.

The ad-free programming on Amazon’s Anime Strike includes recent series like “The Great Passage”; same-day-as-broadcast series from Japan including “Scum’s Wish” (“Kuzu no Honkai”) and “Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga” (“Ao No Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen”); and older anime hits like “Paprika,” “Tokyo Godfathers” and “Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS.” Content on the channel will be refreshed weekly, Amazon says.

“With anime in particular, there’s a strong, passionate audience that is underserved by traditional pay TV,” said Michael Paull, Amazon’s VP of digital video and head of Amazon Channels worldwide.

Amazon has struck exclusive U.S. streaming deals for several series on Anime Strike, including “Scum’s Wish,” “Onihei,” “The Great Passage,” “Vivid Strike!,” “Crayon-Shin Chan Gaiden: Alien vs. Shinnosuke,” and “Chi’s Sweet Adventure.”

In the coming months, Amazon plans to launch additional branded subscription VOD channels, according to Paull, but he wouldn’t say what genres those will cover. For now, Anime Strike is available only to Prime members in the U.S.