I was remiss in not posting a couple of bits of FUNimation-related PR we received yesterday…

FUNimation has made an episode of the Witchblade anime adaptation available at no cost thrugh Apple’s iTunes.

Witchblade, the anime series, is now available on iTunes! Download the first episode for free from now until October 26th.

From the renowned anime studio GONZO, Witchblade is the saga of a woman who must bear the burden of a terrible force of destruction known as the Witchblade. Based on the comic book series from Top Cow Productions, the anime series goes into the future to tell the tale of a new bearer of the Witchblade and the conspiracy that surrounds her burden. Witchblade is the first U.S. comic book property to be made into an anime.

Masane Amaha is a woman on the fringe of society, bouncing rootless from town to town with no memory of the past and no clue as to what the future holds. Upon her return to Tokyo, chance and circumstance conspire to unleash the fury of the Witchblade.

A new bearer of the Witchblade has been chosen.

The link to download the free episode is (link)

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I hate the SciFi Channel - I really do. As a lifelong sci-fi geek, I should be totally into something called the ‘SciFi Channel’. But instead of discussions about genre greats like Asimov or Clarke, or documentaries about great science fiction film, we get endless retreads of B-list shit like Mansquito or Alien Apocalypse. Every time I tune into SciFi in the hopes that something remotely interesting might be on, I turn away feeling as used and abused as a cheap Bangkok boy-whore.

Okay, now that I’ve finished venting my spleen at the aborted fetus milkshake that is the SciFi Channel, I can happily remind you that there might actually be a reason to give them your attention as the AniMonday programming block (starting at 1am) has been renewed by SciFi and Manga. Lots of good stuff, believe it or not. I’ll be curious to see if Gurren Lagann lives up to the hype.

Among the movies set to air during the Ani-Monday block are “Strait Jacket,” “Blood: The Last Vampire,” “Ghost in the Shell,” “Jack,” “Dead Leaves,” “Go Shogun” and “Negadon: The Monsters From Mars.”

The block will also feature the TV premieres of the classic anime series “Now and Then, Here and There” and “Descendants of Darkness,” as well as the U.S. debuts of “Gurren Lagann” and “Gundam 00.”