Summary

• Funimation, the giant anime app, will be shutting down and merging with Crunchyroll in April, leaving fans saddened.
• s can still enjoy all the anime through Crunchyroll and transfer their history from Funimation.
• The change has been met with controversy, however, due to a price increase and the lack of for shows and movies purchased digitally.

s of the giant anime app Funimation will have to say farewell to the platform as it is shutting down and merging with Crunchyroll in April. Although it was known that this would happen for some time now, it is still quite sad to see a titan of the industry go.

The official website of Funimation disclosed the specifics of the shutdown and reassured s that they could still enjoy all the anime through their sister app Crunchyroll.

Funimation will officially be shut down on April 2nd 2024 and will merge with Crunchyroll. Funimation s will be able to transfer their history to Crunchyroll.

Funimation's Service Shuts Down on April 2nd

Crunchyroll was acquired by Sony, which was the parent company of Funimation. This acquisition changed the anime streaming game forever, as the two largest providers of the medium were under the umbrella of a single company. Shortly after, every anime licensed by Funimation were also made available on Crunchyroll, ensuring that fans had a centralized platform to access their favorite series. Crunchyroll and Funimation were reunited after parting ways in 2018, and this proved fruitful as Crunchyroll s got access to more anime than ever, such as My Hero Academia, Cowboy Bepop, and Jobless Reincarnation.

Funimation subscribers will be able to transfer their subscription to Crunchyroll smoothly, but there is a large hike in price. The subscription will now cost $99 per year instead of the usual $55 on Funimation, almost doubling the price. Additionally, any digital products purchased on Funimation will not be ed on the Crunchyroll platform. No statement regarding refunds has been made yet. Although the transition to Crunchyroll will be made very easy and the 's history will be transferred over, there are quite some downsides.

There are still some series that are available only on Funimation, such as the Dragon Ball dubs and many older anime films.

Crunchyroll will now have a majority share in the anime streaming industry. While Crunchyroll does face competition both from rival anime streamers like HIDIVE and from larger streaming services like Netflix, Crunchyroll is still the biggest name in of streaming anime.

Crunchyroll Becomes the Undisputed King of Anime Streaming

Crunchyroll has also taken measures to increase its offering of anime and manga, which makes it easier for fans to access content easily and hassle-free. Furthermore, Crunchyroll is more widely available globally, with only 10 countries not having access to the platform, while Funimation is only available in 11 countries, and few others can access it through Wakanim. Still though, given the price increase when transitioning to Crunchyroll and the lack of for digitally purchased goods, it's no wonder that Funimation's closure has drawn so much controversy from anime fans.

Source: Funimation