If you're reading this and you haven't registered yet, do so HERE. Funimation requires you to register (for marketing/statistical purposes I assume) in order to take part. Registration is free and only takes a few seconds. 

Once Anime Expo was officially canceled due to COVID19 earlier this year, Funimation was quick to announce that they would pick up the slack on the July 4 weekend. Quicker than the SPJA (Anime Expo's parent organization) to announce Anime Expo Lite, in fact. Thankfully being online means that they won't have to physically compete for viewers and folks at home can swap back and forth between channels, or even watch them all at the same time. If you've got multiple devices or monitors this is your time to shine.  

FunimationCon will have two rooms, each with their own unique programming tracks. Like your usual convention there will be panels, news, screenings, and even a musical interlude or two. Some of the events will be simultaneously broadcast in both rooms so you won't have to worry about missing them. One of the biggest challenges of a convention is getting people all the way from Japan over to America but the internet simplifies that so there will be a variety of Japanese staff on hand.

Take a look at the schedule:

Naturally the things that stand out for me are the musical guests BLUE ENCOUNT (performers for Boku no Hero Academia's fourth OP), fan-favorites FLOW, KANA-BOON, Haruna Luna, and a few featured performances from last year's SACRA MUSIC FES. LiSA, Eir Aoi, TrySail, and others will be streamed. There's also the screenings of "By the Grace of the Gods" and DECA-DENCE.

As Funimation is based in Texas, all times are CDT. Adjust your clocks accordingly. For me that means an 830AM start but that's much later than usual for me at Anime Expo (5AM wakeups everyday, ugh).  Take a look at THIS blog post for a detailed breakdown of FunimationCon's schedule.

As always, stay safe, and all of these events should give you a good excuse to stay sequestered inside on this holiday weekend. Do your part to fight COVID19. This is a long game that we need to come out on top of.

We'll be back tomorrow to talk a little bit about Aniplex's and Kurotsuki's events.

See you next year, and hopefully in person.