It caught me off-guard. Up until this point I thought that anime was something that only existed on the periphery of society; a pocket of sub-culture that had to be sought-out and scavenged, far from the realm of the mainstream. And yet here it was, displayed front-and-centre in a dedicated space on Satellite TV.
Up to this point in my childhood I had no knowledge of the online anime community; my only access to anime was through channels like Cartoon Network and Fox Kids. However the anime they screened was limited to what was suitable for kids: Pokemon, Beyblade, Shaman King. As a self-concious high-schooler I would try and distance myself from them-- they were far too childish for my new, cooler, sensibilities. This situation created an itch that was yearning to be scratched: a means of sating my love for anime without the condescension I perceived in these other shows.
Through AnimeCentral I was indulged in shows like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Planetes, Wolf's Rain, Gundam SEED, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Witch Hunter Robin. The channel did more than simply scratch that itch-- it opened up my perspective to what was even possible within the medium. It provided a platform for the absurd, vibrant world of teen and adult-oriented anime.
Almost immediately, my nighttime routine was overhauled so that it could revolve entirely around the station. From 9pm, when broadcasting resumed, I would glue myself infront of the television and binge watch its shows.
Many of the programmes I first viewed on the channel left such a strong impression that I ended up revisting them several years later. I've rewatched Ghost in the Shell time and time again and it has become a long-standing favourite of mine. While the channel's library wasn't large, it was very, very good (with a handful of exceptions) and many of the shows and scenes are still embedded in my mind a decade later.
We often see Toonami being revered as this great gateway to anime for many[1][2] of this generation. Perhaps this view is American-centric as I don't have any fond memories of Toonami growing up-- I don't really remember there being any anime on its UK channel that matched the calibre of those found on AnimeCentral. Perhaps I had missed the boat; maybe all of the good shows were off-air by the time I was old enough to pay attention.
Regardless, I think it's a complete tragedy that this channel has seemingly been forgotten by the zeitgeist. While Toonami's praises are sung from every corner of the community I have yet to hear a single utterance for AnimeCentral.
It has now been ten years since AnimeCentral closed down. Throughout its brief lifetime it struggled to secure advertising, leaving it unable to cover its costs. On August 27th 2008, less than a year after its launch, losses were cut and the channel was pulled from air.
I remember it having a slow demise; as its death day approached, the programming became increasingly lackluster and constant reruns were the norm-- even I began to lose interest. Before long it disappeared, its existence erased from the channel listings. With the death of the channel, my only avenue for quality anime vanished. For the half-decade that followed, the only option available to me was pixelated 240p streams of goodness-knows-what on fansites. My love of anime had to sit on the backburner until the more reliable online outlets took form.
The channel was ahead of its time; riding on the coattails of the anime boom of the 2000s it provided an alternative means of watching adult-oriented anime outside of buying DVDs at specialist stores. I think it's downfall also lies in the fact that it was so ahead of the curve-- the UK anime community, while expanding, was still too small to sustain a dedicated TV channel. However, even if it had held out long enough for the fanbase to grow large enough to support it, it would have soon been eclipsed by the anime streaming services that emerged thereafter.
Perhaps it's fate was sealed from the beginning, doomed to failure regardless of its trajectory; stuck in an awkward phase between the early growth of the community and the emergence of online video.
Even if it was a financial failure, I am immensely grateful for it's brief existence. It was pivotal to the maturation of my passion for the medium. It helped me get through my own awkward phase as an adolescent. While I don't see much praise for you online, I have no doubt in my mind that there are many, many more out there with similar experiences. You have not been forgotten!
You are sorely missed.
