Anime localization company FUNimation is separating from third-party streaming service Crunchyroll due to corporate mergers that have taken place since the two companies made their original deals years ago. The separation means a number of high profile series are going to be disappearing for Crunchyroll subscribers in favor of FUNimation’s own service.
The breakdown occurred after AT&T finalized their acquisition of WarnerMedia earlier this year. Crunchyroll, which was joint-operated by AT&T and another company, was thus rolled into WarnerMedia as part of the acquisition. FUNimation, which Sony owns a 95% stake in as of early 2017, operates as a direct competitor to Warner. As such, FUNimation can no longer work with Crunchyroll.
While the full list of what is being removed from Crunchyroll and moved to FUNimation’s service has not been released, the anime localization company is responsible for a lot of Crunchyroll’s biggest hits: One Piece, My Hero Academia, Your Name, Attack On Titan, and others. Not all of these will be disappearing immediately, but the tree branch they’re hanging onto gets progressively thinner as time goes on.
In the meantime, VRV has signed an exclusive deal with HIDIVE, a streaming service that focuses primarily on English dubs for anime.
FUNimation and Crunchyroll will conclude their relationship, barring a few exceptions, on November 9.
