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The two most prominent names in anime streaming have combined to form one enormous outlet. A reported 80% of Funimation's library will be moved to Crunchyroll, along with VRV and Wakanim.
The Funimation-Crunchyroll merge seeks to take the primary streaming outlets for anime and combine them under one service. This was announced via an article and video on the Crunchyroll News forum early on March 1.
How did the Funimation Crunchyroll merge happen?
This news follows the acquisition of both companies by Sony. Crunchyroll began life as a semi-independent venture but shifted ownership through AT&T to Sony last year. Funimation has been around for almost thirty years and was acquired by Sony in 2017.
Sony began promising a single consolidated anime streaming service after acquiring both brands. The duo were once in competition, but Sony has announced that Funimation will be sidelined in favor of the Crunchyroll brand.
How will this affect subscribers?
The Funimation Crunchyroll merge announcement encourages users to cancel their subscription to Funimation, VRV, or Wakanim. The statement ensures that Crunchyroll will serve as a one-stop platform.
Crunchyroll has ensured that, despite the sharp increase in content, subscription rates will not be changing. Ad-free subscriptions will still run $7.99 a month by default, $9.99 for the Mega Fan package, and $14.99 for the Ultimate Fan experience.
VRV and Crunchyroll users will receive 60 free days of the Crunchyroll Premium service to sample the new library. This comes with the advice to cancel service and migrate fully to Crunchyroll.
The fate of VRV originals like Harmonquest or My Brother, My Brother, and Me, or the unspecified 20% of Funimation's content, is unknown. Funimation users can watch new episodes of existing series, but new shows will no longer appear on the platform.
The new Funimation and Wakanim content catalog will move to Crunchyroll by the end of March 2022. Users of the other services will not have their watch history, queue, or digital copies available at this time with their new Crunchyroll account. Crunchyroll ensures they are working on this and that users' information will join them soon.
New stuff coming to Crunchyroll
Over a hundred shows dropped onto the Crunchyroll service on March 1. Not all of them were new to the service, but many offered fans had been waiting for further options.
Funimation handles dubbing for many of the best-loved series in the medium. Crunchyroll users can finally enjoy My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Goblin Slayer, and many more series in English.
Many series that are new to the platform will also leap. The iconic Masterpiece Cowboy Bebop is finally available on Crunchyroll. Classic Shonen Yu Yu Hakusho is also newly available on the service. The Attack on Titan: Junior High spin-off series is now on Crunchyroll.
Here's Crunchyroll's list of new titles following the merger. The Funimation Crunchyroll partnership will bring tons of content over the coming weeks.
