Previously on Dragon Ball Z, a merger between Funimation and Crunchyroll was announced. We weren’t quite sure what that merger meant at the time, but my lofty dream for it was the ability to watch both catalogs of anime in one space.
Today, that dream comes true, as Funimation’s anime library is moving over to Crunchyroll.
“When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first,” said Colin Decker, CEO of Crunchyroll. “Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga—all into one subscription. The new Crunchyroll is the realization of a dream, and we are grateful to the creators of anime and the millions of fans who have joined us in making the community what it is today.”
If you’re like me, you’re wondering what this move means as an anime watcher. What if you have Funimation but not Crunchyroll? What if you have both? I’m going to break down as much information as I can, but in case I miss anything, here’s a nifty FAQ to answer any lingering questions. There’s also this one here. I imagine both of those will be updated with new information throughout the merger.
What does this mean for Crunchyroll?
What the move means for Crunchyroll is an even bigger anime library, as they’ll be gaining Funimation exclusives and gaining dubs that they didn’t have before. For example, Crunchyroll had the subbed version of My Hero Academia, but now they’ll have subbed AND dubbed. Funimation exclusives like Horimiya and SK8 the Infinity are also headed to Crunchyroll, along with other titles that put anime fans in the situation of, “Which subscription service should I pick,” when a series would end up on one platform instead of both.
You can head over here to see a list of what’s been added so far, and throughout the next couple of weeks, the rest of Funimation’s library will be headed over to Crunchyroll.
What happens with future anime announcements from the companies?
One of the biggest changes we’ll see from here on out is the fact that anime announcements for Crunchyroll and Funimation will now just be for Crunchyroll. The timing is pretty perfect, as the Spring 2022 anime season will be here faster than we think. While Funimation will continue to air new episodes of their current anime series, they will not get any new anime updates for the upcoming season and beyond.
Those will be on Crunchyroll, which offers the following subscription tiers:
- Free: the anime available to watch for free is a week behind and comes with ads
- Fan: $7.99/month, ad-free anime viewing of Crunchyroll’s entire library + simulcasts
- Mega Fan: $9.99/month, everything from the Fan tier + offline viewing, access to four concurrent streams, and $15 off a purchase of $100 every three months at the Crunchyroll store.
- Ultimate Fan: $14.99/month, everything from the Mega Fan tier + access to Crunchyroll’s digital manga library, access to six concurrent streams (instead of four), $25 off a purchase of $100 every three months at the Crunchyroll store (instead of $15). You also get access to a member-only swag bag and access to purchases exclusive merch.
Note: This is Crunchyroll’s regular price, and the price is NOT changing with the Funimation move.
What does this mean for Funimation subscribers?
Funimation subscribers are encouraged to cancel their subscriptions and head over to Crunchyroll as soon as possible, as that’s where all new upcoming anime will be headed. One thing to keep in mind is that your watch history and queue will NOT transfer over yet, but that’s something that’s being worked on.
If you have digital copies of anime through Funimation, those won’t transfer over either (at the moment), BUT they will still be available through your Funimation account. You also won’t be able to log in to Crunchyroll with your Funimation credentials and, instead, have to make a new account (though this sounds like something that’s being worked on, too).
If you are a paid Funimation subscriber who does not have a Crunchyroll account and you had your Funimation account before February 28, 2022, you can receive a 60-day free trial of Crunchyroll premium. This is only for those who didn’t have a Crunchyroll premium membership already. More details are right over here along with the message, “Qualified users will receive an email by March 8, 2022, with their own unique link to redeem this offer.”
As far as the Funimation and Crunchyroll merchandise stores go, all business will still be conducted separately through them, so no need to worry about any Funimation orders you might have as it’s just the anime library that’s moving over for the time being.
So is it roommates or blanket?
In my humble opinion, this feels more like a slow burn roommates situation that will, eventually, lead to a blanket fic. Funimation just arrived with some of their stuff, but eventually, they’ll be giving their all to Crunchyroll. While there are still separate things between the two (their stores, for example), it sounds like the end goal is to have everything all in one spot and share the wealth of anime.
Or rather, the blanket, in this fanfic-fueled analogy I’ve come up with. Soon, Funimation will be sharing a toothbrush holder with Crunchyroll.
If you’re like me, you were subscribed to both services, so I’m pretty excited to be able to drop one and watch everything in one space. I’m sure there will be some growing pains along the way, but I’m excited to see what Spring 2022 looks like for anime releases with Funimation and Crunchyroll being under the same umbrella. Oh, and if you’re curious, it doesn’t look like we’re getting any combo names like “FuniCrunch” and are just sticking with Crunchyroll, but in my heart of hearts, “Crunchymation” would’ve been a cute logo.
(Image: Crunchyroll)
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