AniComi (U.S. TV series)

AniComi is a one-hour (formerly two-hour) American television block-within-a-block showcasing two to four series at a time, all animesque to some degree; in addition to those, pilots are shown during the last half-hour if only three series are on the block at a given time. Originally set to air on Nickelodeon Family's Thursday-night AuraNightfall block beginning in January 2019, with a repeat airing as a standalone block on Nickelodeon Family proper the following night, the block-within-a-block officially premiered on May 30th, 2019, though a sneak peek was aired on January 1st, 2019.

On May 5th, 2019, it was announced that the fifth series in production was postponed for airing in July and that the block itself would be shortened to two hours.

In November 2019, it was announced that some episodes of the series featured would air in a 30-minute program, The Best of AniComi, for SurgeAnime Extra's Western Domination block beginning December 26th, 2019. Hour-long episodes of AniComi itself were later syndicated via Beta on AC|X.

In April 2020, it was announced that new episodes scheduled after April 30th, 2020 would be delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. New episodes, now cut to an hour long, resumed on September 24th, 2020.

On May 14th, 2022, AuraNightfall announced that AniComi would finish its run after Fall 2022, with post-2022 episodes of remaining AniComi shows still in production to air as spin-offs from the block, also for AuraNightfall. A finale marathon is scheduled for December 26th, 2022, with the finale airing at 3AM after the marathon. According to NFStudios, the main reason for AniComi ending was due to AuraNightfall focusing more of its resources towards co-producing anime, in addition to focusing its Western animation efforts more on standalone series such as Late-Night Variety and Sellout Corp.

On January 26th, 2023, a month after the series finale was aired, one of the former writers for the series mentioned that the entire team was let go or moved to other projects from NFStudios, effectively confirming both spin-offs would only run for one season as separate shows.

Development
AniComi first began development in December 2016 as a potential sister series for Cartoon Madness. It was originally meant to dub anime pilots and air them during the block, but the failure to license any anime pilots led NickFamily Studios to decide to develop AniComi as a three-hour block of animesque series, as a future replacement to Cartoon Madness.

Development for the initial five series meant for the block began in July 2017, while the first pilot for the block began production in April 2018. However, the block's premiere date was not given until December 2018.

Series featured
TBA.

Pilots shown
TBA.

International broadcast
In December 2018, YTV Family picked up the Canadian broadcast rights and planned to have it broadcast on its AuraNightfall block in the future; however, it has yet to be seen whether they would broadcast the series or not.

Aura similarly picked up the German TV rights and produces a German dub.

Trivia

 * Despite being an intended replacement to Cartoon Madness, AniComi features full series that were picked up during the project.
 * AniComi is a portmanteau of animation and comic.
 * Prior to the series' 2022 ending, criteria for the series being featured on AniComi were:
 * It must have an animesque style.
 * It must have been concepted in North America (for example, a series can be concepted in Canada and still be eligible to air on AniComi if it follows all other criteria).
 * Anime-influenced animation that premiered prior to the debut of AniComi (ex. My Life Me, Road to Infinity, Avatar: The Last Airbender) are not eligible to air on AniComi, as with anime-influenced animation that has been picked up by other networks (ex. The Owl House).
 * The overall plot must be suitable for the 12 to 15 demographic. If the plot is unsuitable for said demographic, it will either move to AuraNightfall proper or be rejected. However, plots suitable for a younger audience can be accepted, as long as the overall series is made for the 12 to 15 demographic.
 * The general plot must be understandable to the viewers. A "Gainax ending" shouldn't be made.
 * Comedy is allowed, as long as no cutaway gags are present.
 * The creator should agree that the work air as a part of AniComi wherever the block is run. Elsewhere, it can be sold as a series separate from the AniComi block.

TBA.