I’m so incredibly happy!

I found out yesterday that Viz has finally released my my all-time favorite anime, Hikaru no Go on the iTunes store! You can purchase each of the five, 15-episode seasons for $19.99 and–most importantly–get all 75 episodes with the well-done English dub. To my knowledge, some of these were never released or broadcast. I can finally enjoy the show in its entirety rather than being hung up at episode 45 right before Hikaru passes the Pro exam. You can also purchase each episode individually for $1.99 or rent for 99¢. This is some of the best anime news I’ve had in a long time! If you’re not an iTunes person, it’s also coming to The Playstation Network and Amazon VOD.

After Viz Media stopped releasing the show on DVD in 2008–even though it had already been dubbed and was more than halfway through (45 of 75 episodes)–I basically stopped supporting them: I canceled my subscriptions to their magazines, stopped buying their products, and sold many of the ones I owned (especially my Naruto and Inuyasha boxed sets). I’ve continued to purchase the Hikaru no Go manga volumes as they’ve come out but that was pretty much it (except I recently started purchasing the Cross Game manga too–it is so excellent that even a grudge couldn’t stop my buying it).

So now, I can begin to forgive. I will even begin singing their praises once they bring back and complete The Prince of Tennis, Full Moon, and Mär. While they’re at it, they can become my heroes if they start selling Inuyasha – The Final Act and Cross Game.

Maybe now they’ve learned their lesson and will support fans of their other properties–there’s more to anime than Bleach, Death Note and Naruto.