Funimation Is Shutting Down This April
Back in 2020 the great anime streaming wars came to an end when Funimation (who are owned by Sony) acquired Crunchyroll. It doesn't take a business genius to see that it doesn't make sense to have two services doing the same thing. So eventually it was announced that Funimation would be folded into Crunchyroll. The majority of (but not all) Funimation's catalogue migrated to Crunchyroll, along with all new series. Funimation's physical media releases also became Crunchyroll, meaning the end of a brand with nearly 30 years of history in the US anime scene.
It wasn't quite the end of Funimation as the streaming site has remained open, and continued to add ongoing series. This week though Crunchyroll has been emailing Funimation customers to inform that the service would be shutting down from April 2, 2024.
Customers who haven't already done so should log in to Crunchyroll with their Funimation credentials and it will bring over watch history and Queue to their new account. If you already have a Crunchyroll account the accounts will be merged.
The news is not without controversy, however. Funimation Blu-Rays and DVDs sold in the US used to include digital copies that could be redeemed on the Funimation website. Crunchyroll has no such facility- and shows no intention of introducing it- so when the Funimation website goes into the digital void, the digital copies go with it. Fans are understandably a bit miffed about no longer being able to access something they have paid for, but unfortunately, that's a risk of the digital age.
There are also some series that won't make the jump across to Crunchyroll. In many cases, they aren't available anywhere else, so when they disappear they will essentially be gone. They tend to be more obscure titles so the chances of anyone else picking them up are slim.
To make matters even worse, users migrating from Funimation to Crunchyroll will see a price increase in most cases. Funimation was one of the cheapest subscriptions at $5/99/£4.99. Annual customers have been told that their subscription will jump from $54.95 to an eye-watering $99.99 from January 2025.
This news has been a long time coming as Funimation has been on borrowed time since the merger, but still, it's a shame to see one of anime's biggest names going away.
Crunchyroll is available via desktop and apps for iOS. Android, Amazon, Roku, and Google devices, Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch game consoles and Samsung Smart TVs.
