In early February, Crunchyroll and Funimation announced that the Funimation website would be going away permanently on April 2. Funimation’s subscribers will have to move to Crunchyroll.
The closure of Funimation’s website appears to be the final episode in a long merger story arc which has been ongoing for a couple of years. And it won’t come without some growing pains.
What does this mean for Crunchyroll and Funimation subscribers? Will this be a good thing or a negative thing for anime? Or will it be a little of both?
Price Increases?
Obviously, the biggest concern is price. If you are primarily a Crunchyroll subscriber, you might not notice any changes. After all, you’re already paying Crunchyroll’s subscription rates to watch Crunchyroll’s simulcast anime.
However, paying Funimation subscribers who have been told to move to Crunchyroll have definitely noticed.
For example, “legacy” Funimation subscribers report that they have been paying a cheap, “grandfathered-in” monthly rate, which is a couple of dollars cheaper than the post-merger price.
(At least one story quotes Canadian prices, but U.S. subscribers will also be affected.)
In 2022 (when the merger started), Funimation’s cheapest “Premium” rate for new subscribers increased to $7.99 a month, the same as Crunchyroll’s “Fan” rate. Crunchyroll also has a middle-tier $9.99 “Mega Fan” price.
However, Crunchyroll’s top $14.99 “Ultimate Fan” subscription is much more than Funimation’s $9.99 “Premium Plus.” (Naturally, all of these prices balloon out if paid annually.)
Will Crunchyroll raise prices in the future? It’s hard to say. When the Funimation news first broke, some articles reported that all Crunchyroll subscribers would have to pay more — a lot more — starting in 2025. However, other articles walked back that statement. Annual Funimation legacies will see a huge increase, but not everybody.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Crunchyroll won’t eventually raise prices. Netflix has already done so recently.
A Better Library?
One frustrating aspect of the Crunchyroll/ Netflix/ HIDIVE/ Disney/ Amazon/ etc. streaming war is the balkanization of the anime universe. Teasing Master Takagi-san had three seasons; each season was licensed to a different provider.
It was obvious from the beginning that this merger would combine two libraries into one Godzilla-sized anime library. And they’ve already started. Crunchyroll published a huge, braggy list in 2022. (Take that, Netflix!)
And Crunchyroll has been slowly and quietly merging Funimation into Crunchyroll for a while now. (Funimation’s “About Funimation” link leads to a Crunchyroll FAQ page.) Crunchyroll-hime, the orange website’s cute mascot, can be found at Funimation now.
But, there is one less cheerful aspect to all of this. As others have pointed out, Funimation’s Digital Copy downloading system is also disappearing. The copies allowed people to have digital versions of their Funimation DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
The merger FAQ states that Crunchyroll doesn’t support the service.
A Brief History of Crunchyroll/ Funimation
Funimation Productions was founded in 1994. Its first major success was bringing Dragon Ball Z to Cartoon Network.
Crunchyroll started out in 2006. In contrast to Funimation’s licensing, Crunchyroll initially went the other direction with fansubs and pirated content. However, as the website grew, it began to obtain titles legally. In 2009, it removed all of its pirated material.
Since then, Funimation and Crunchyroll have competed for a lot of anime. We won’t mention every transaction, but …
In 2009, Funimation started streaming Toei anime on its website; Crunchyroll inked a deal with TV Tokyo for Naruto Shippuden. In 2016, Crunchyroll gained Kadokawa’s library.
Partnership and Merger
In 2016, the two rivals agreed to a partnership where they would share selected titles. The Crunchyroll/ Funimation collaboration ended in 2018, but they would soon be back together again.
In 2017, entertainment giant Sony bought Funimation. Meanwhile, Crunchyroll ended up with AT&T, which also owned WarnerMedia (formerly Warner Bros.).
Finally, Sony bought Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2020. With two anime streaming organizations under one roof, it was probably inevitable that they would merge. The process began in 2022.
Ironically, the company which had started out as a pirate haven now survives as a licensed, corporate giant.
Final Thoughts
Change is never easy, and corporate mergers tend to be unpopular. But, there is more than anti-corporate nostalgia in the reaction to shutting down Funimation.
This merger will create winners and losers. Overall, Crunchyroll subscribers will be winners, as they have gained access to more anime.
However, all anime fans should be concerned that some of Funimation’s most loyal subscribers will get socked with a huge bill.
Digital Copy owners also deserve better than the weak excuse they have been given. Hopefully, that issue is not resolved yet.
And finally, the company which helped bring anime to millions of cable TV viewers deserves some recognition — especially on its 30th anniversary.
Farewell, Funimation (1994-2024).
