Funimation
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Crunchyroll announces first price hike since Funimation purchase
Crunchyroll, like many other streaming services recently, is raising its subscription prices
Funimation will stream its last anime on April 2
Funimation has revealed that it's going to shut down its old app and website on April 2.
Crunchyroll begins adding Funimation content to anime library
Effectively putting a bookend to Sony’s $1.175 billion deal to buy the platform in 2020, Crunchyroll has added more than 50 series that were previously either exclusive to Funimation or weren’t available to watch dubbed.
Sony closes $1.175 billion deal to buy Crunchyroll from AT&T
With the deal now closed, Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra said the company's goal is to "create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible."
Funimation will replace 'Akira' 4K Blu-ray discs to add HDR
The 1988 anime classic 'Akira' has been released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, remastered from the original 35mm master in 4K resolution. It's supposed to have HDR too, but distributor Funimation confirmed that discs shipped in the UK and US are missing HDR, so it will send out free replacements.
Sony's Funimation agrees to buy anime streamer Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion
Two years ago, Sony’s purchase of Funimation drove a wedge behind the anime production house and Crunchyroll, which is primarily a subscription streaming video service. Crunchyroll ended up becoming a part of AT&T via the Time Warner acquisition and supplied some content for HBO Max, but now AT&T has agreed to sell it off to Sony/Funimation for $1.175 billion. Crunchyroll noted it has 3 million subscribers and over 90 million registered users across more than 200 countries.
Funimation partners with VIZ Media to expand its streaming anime catalog
Thanks to the deal, Funimation subscribers can watch shows like 'Megalo Box' starting on September 22nd.
Hulu's expanded Funimation deal gives it first dibs on anime shows
Hulu likes to see itself as a go-to source for anime in the US (with certain exceptions), and it just cemented a deal reflecting that. The streaming service has struck an expanded "multi-year" deal with Funimation that gives it more access to desirable shows. It'll have "first look" at US streaming rights to anime series produced and released by Funimation from 2019 onward, while Hulu and Funimation will be the "co-exclusive" premiere outlets for key subtitled anime titles. You'll have to subscribe to one or the other if you want access to some shows the same day they launch in Japan.
Genre fans are getting milked by streaming services
Like Thanos at the end of Infinity War, Marvel has culled some of its Netflix universe, canceling both Iron Fist and Luke Cage in the past few weeks. That leaves Daredevil and Jessica Jones as the remaining Defenders on the streaming service, plus spinoff property Punisher. The company promised that this wasn't the last time we'd see either hero, just that it was the end of their respective shows "on Netflix," fueling speculation that they'd be heading to Disney's upcoming streaming service. Now we'll have to cough up even more money if we want to keep up with the continuing adventures of Luke, Colleen, Misty and maybe Danny. (Ed. note: Nobody wants to keep up with Danny.)
After Math: Paying more for less
The rent is too damn high unless you're living in a van down by the river, medical care routinely puts people into bankruptcy, gas prices are still floating around $3 a gallon nationwide and Senator Ted "Zodiac Killer" Cruz is worried that his six figure salary won't enable him to buy a second house anytime soon. Times are tough for everybody so one has to wonder why the companies below are seemingly trying to make things actively worse.
Funimation shows leave Crunchyroll following Sony's acquisition (update)
When Sony acquired Funimation, it apparently also meant the end of the anime localizer's partnership with Crunchyroll and VRV. According to Polygon, Funimation president Gen Fukunaga sent a memo to employees announcing that the company is leaving those streaming platforms as a direct result of Sony's purchase. Funimation specializes in distributing anime dubbed in English, including My Hero Academia and One Piece, providing a good complement to Crunchyroll's subtitled shows.
With Funimation deal, Sony's PS4 will be a must-have for anime fans
Japanese animation has exploded in popularity over the past few years, thanks to increased availability on streaming services like Crunchyroll, Hulu and Amazon. It was popular enough for Funimation, which specializes in translating anime for American audiences, to launch its own service in 2016. It's no surprise that larger media companies came looking for a piece of the pie, with Sony grabbing a 95 percent majority stake in Funimation this week.
Sony is acquiring anime distributor Funimation
Turns out the partnership Sony and Funimation forged to create the latter's streaming service wasn't a one-off thing. Sony Pictures is currently in the process of buying 95 percent of Funimation for $143 million, putting the anime distributor's value at around $150 million. Funimation's streaming website, which launched earlier this year, has over 400 titles on offer, including Dragon Ball Z, Cowboy Bebop, One Piece and Attack on Titan. While the service is new, the company itself has been selling anime DVDs and merchandise for over two decades.
Hulu may lose most of its anime catalog come June (update)
Hulu might be best known for its catalog of network TV shows, but for fans of Japanese animation it's been a great resource for anime titles both new and old. That looks like it's changing on June 1st, with a significant bulk of Hulu's anime catalog disappearing as the service streamlines to include only the most popular titles.
Funimation launches its all-in-one anime destination site
Funimation Entertainment announced today that its FunimationNow platform is now live. The site, which we first saw back at CES, will make the studio's expansive archive of shows -- including DBZ, Attack on Titan and Assassination Classroom -- available to subscribers without ads or viewing restrictions. The new service will initially be available on iOS, Android, Kindle and Windows 10 devices while support for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Roku devices is expected by May.
Funimation is launching its own streaming anime service
Funimation announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Sony DADC to create its own ad-free Crunchyroll-style streaming platform, called FunimationNow. The new service will begin rolling out in February and complement the company's existing streaming offerings through its website. It will be available through not only iOS, Android and Kindle apps as well as directly through the Apple or Amazon Fire TVs. Subscribers will have access to more than 400 titles from the studio's expansive archive including full series of Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, One Piece, Tokyo Ghoul and Space Dandy. There's no word yet on pricing.
You'd Bayonetta watch the Bloody Fate trailer with English dubs
Funimation provided a first look - moreover a first listen - at its English-dubbed version of feature-length anime Bayonetta: Bloody Fate. Directed by Afro Samurai's Fuminori Kizaki, the Western version sees Hellena Taylor reprise her role as the vivacious witch, so that's a big plus. The film will be available in North America as a Blu-ray and DVD Combo starting October 21 - it's currently priced $26.24 on Funimation's site. Meanwhile, the clock's ticking down on the Western launch of Wii U exclusive Bayonetta 2. The hopefully enchanting spectacle featuring the bespectacled enchantress is coming to North America and Europe sometime in October. PS: If the video's blocked in your country, check it out here courtesy of Nintendo Everything [Image: Funimation]
Bayonetta anime coming to North America courtesy of Funimation
If October's Wii U debut of Bayonetta 2 just isn't enough sexy witch for your tastes, you'll be pleased to learn that Funimation has signed an agreement to release the Bayonetta: Bloody Fate anime feature film in North America. Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is based on Platinum Games' critically beloved, fan-favorite action game Bayonetta, which sees the titular witch battling the forces of heaven in a quest to regain her memory. Amnesia is as common a trope in Japanese fiction as magical schoolgirls or giant robots, but Bayonetta brings her own special flair to the well-worn storyline. If nothing else, it takes a very special protagonist to wield guns on her feet without making the whole premise seem like the sort of thing conjured up in the mind of a 10-year-old hopped up on high fructose corn syrup. Funimation has yet to reveal a release date (or even a nebulous release window) for the film, but it does state that director Fuminori Kizaki will be on hand at this year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles for a special, sneak peek at the English dub of Bayonetta: Bloody Fate. Following the July 5 screening, Kizaki will be available to answer questions from fans, though if you're looking for a logical explanation behind the physics of Bayonetta's magical hair, you're likely to walk away disappointed. [Image: Funimation]
New Mass Effect: Paragon Lost trailer has drama, Vega's beefy neck
We've discovered the real reason why Funimation's new anime movie, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, was delayed until the end of December: Vega's massive neck must take forever to animate. Seriously, that thing is like an entire Christmas ham. His windpipe must be the size of a baseball bat.
Mass Effect anime 'Paragon Lost' delayed until Dec. 28
Paragon Lost, Funimation's DVD and Blu-ray James Vega vehicle, set in the Mass Effect universe, has had its November 13 release date pushed back to December 28, according to the film's official twitter account.Don't be disheartened, though. While this does mean that the movie won't be ready on Christmas morning, pre-orders are still open. So, just do what we do when it comes to gifting: print out the receipt, roll it up into an empty lipstick tube and then bury it in a series of nested boxes.
