MANILA, Philippines – Leading Filipino entertainment conglomerate Viva Communications is seeking to woo anime fans through two events on both its streaming and pay television platforms.
On the streaming front, the company’s flagship general entertainment streamer, Viva One, which is mainly the home of its Wattpad adaptations, has launched its “Anime Zone” vertical for the first time, with the science-fiction anime title Dandadan as its maiden offering.
The show began streaming on April 1 and is available in its original Japanese and Filipino-dubbed audio version commissioned by its licensor, Muse Philippines.
The dub is headlined by the late Jeff Utanes as Okarun, in one of his final roles before his death in December 2025.
Prior to its Viva One debut, Dandadan has been available on TAP Digital Media Ventures’ Blast TV OTT app, with both seasons available on the platform, as well as the Muse Philippines Youtube account.
Meanwhile, in a first, Viva Networks channel TMC or Tagalized Movie Channel is slated to premiere the 2019 movie “Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll”, which is a “side-story” to the 2018 anime series “Violet Evergarden” and produced by Kyoto Animation.
It would be shown on April 26, Sunday at 8pm under its “TMC Premiere” block.
The movie was distributed by Viva International Pictures in 2020, marking its first anime film to be distributed.
“The Drossel royal family pulls strings to have Violet tutor Isabella York, a student at a prestigious girls’ school, for her upcoming debut. Isabella may have a well-connected father but as Violet befriends her she discovers the debutante has an unhappy past of poverty and separation. With Benedict’s help and with the emotional power of letters Violet sets out to reconnect Isabella with her past.” – Synopsis from Anime News Network.
The movie is expected to be aired in Filipino audio and would be also available on Viva One on a later date.
THE SIDE NOTE
With these two moves, Is the Vic del Rosario Jr. – owned company, home to such classics as “Bituing Walang Ninging”, “Sana’y Wala nang Wakas”, “Sinasamba Kita”, “Working Girls” and other Filipino movie greats, going to reach an underserved but potentially marketable audience which has been longing for Filipino-dubbed anime shows?
Let us remember, during its heyday when it blocktimed on IBC-13 under the “Viva TV” branding (itself a product of its merger with the Bobong Velez-owned Vintage Television), it acquired “Cyborg Kuro-Chan” and “Crayon Shin Chan”, which would enter Philippine TV lore as being dubbed by two top stars in the country: Ogie Alcasid as Kuro-Chan and Andrew E. as Shin-chan.
Is Viva going to give Filipino anime fans what they wanted for so long that ABS-CBN has failed to deliver?
We will find out after the game.