For the longest time, streaming anime online and doing that legally has been quite a challenge. Since anime is from Japan, streaming services are always third-party sites, and the translation issue is also always there. Official subtitles just aren’t as fun as fansubs. Sometimes they can even be downright irritating.  

But aside from all of that, the real issue has always been the library.  

Be it Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix or even Amazon Prime. You won’t find all of the anime you need to watch on a single platform.  

But what’s this. Is it finally happening?  

Two Anime Streaming Platforms “Crunchyroll” and “FUNimation” are coming together, and it’s something that’ll be genuinely benefitting the community.  

Though should you be worrying about your FUNimation subscription now that it’ll be merging with Crunchyroll? Is it time to cancel it and get a Crunchyroll Subscription instead?  

In this post, we’ll be talking about Everything You Need to Know about this Crunchyroll and FUNimation Merger.  

Well then, shall we begin?  

Alright, to put it simply, SONY acquired Crunchyroll from Warner Media for 1.2 billion US Dollars last Summer, and of course, since it also owns FUNimation, it’s only natural that they merge the two platforms together for greater good.  

Though why not talk about the history a little bit?  

Back in the day, and I am talking about in 2016, FUNimation and Crunchyroll used to have partnerships over stuff, where they brought over anime from each other’s platform and rewarded their users.  

This gave anime fans plenty of perks, but when Sony bought FUNimation in 2017. The occasional partnerships naturally had to end.  

Though, since Sony also acquired Crunchyroll back in 2021. Fans naturally expected those partnerships to resurface.  

Little did anyone know. It’s not just going to be a partner; it’ll basically be a Fusion of the two platforms.  

Still, one may wonder, why is FUNimation merging with Crunchyroll and not the other way around? 

It’s because of the name recognition.  

While anime fans are familiar with both FUNimation and Crunchyroll, and there’s definitely many fans who have subscriptions of both of them so that they can watch more shows, because obviously while one show may be available on Crunchyroll, but not all of them. It isn’t unusual for an anime enthusiast to jump from platform from platform in search for different anime. It gets even more tough when the user seeks “Dub.”  

When you consider someone who has only just heard about anime and ask them about Anime Streaming Platforms. You’ll hear Crunchyroll more often. It’s growth in the recent years has been phenomenal. Plus, there are many countries where FUNimation isn’t available, but Crunchyroll is there.  

And now, Crunchyroll is about to see a new phase of Glory.  

At the start of this month, Crunchyroll announced a humongous list of shows from FUNimation that are now available on Crunchyroll. This was when it became clear that it’s indeed happening.  

FUNimation will soon unify under the Crunchyroll brand as more and more shows from that platform are brought over to Crunchyroll. They say, by the end of March, the entire FUNimation library will be available on Crunchyroll.  

Not only will it allow the company to instantly grow the library of one of their platforms, they’ll also be able to establish “Crunchyroll” as the go to place for all anime streamers.  

Something anime fans have long since desired.  

Do you realize what that means?  

All dubbed seasons of My Hero Academia, The Promised Neverland, Tokyo Ghoul, Overlord, Mushoku Tensei, Hunter x Hunter and more dubbed stuff that wasn’t previously available on Crunchyroll is now going to be something that you can just head over to Crunchyroll and watch. Just like that!  

Honestly, this had come into play a lot sooner considering how even back in Fall of 2021. You could watch the Demon Slayer Mugen Train Movie as well as the Dubbed First season of the Demon Slayer anime on Crunchyroll.  

All because Sony had acquired Crunchyroll.   

This news is even better for Third World countries where FUNimation isn’t available, but Crunchyroll is.  

What do you say? Already loving the fusion? 

In FUNimation’s case, the Spring 2022 anime will continue to weekly release and the subscribers can continue streaming them, but that’s the extent of it. It won’t be brining in anymore shows from here on out.  

Alright, now let’s talk about your FUNimation subscription and what will happen to it from here on out?  

For starters. No, you can’t transfer your subscription over to Crunchyroll. It’s not happening just yet. The accounts for the two platforms are and will remain separate.  

However, FUNimation subscribers have been instructed to purchase the Crunchyroll subscription and they have also been given an exclusive offer. Those who don’t already have a Crunchyroll subscription will be getting a free 60-day trial of Crunchyroll Premium.  

This offer was relayed to FUNimation subscribers through email, meaning, it is only for those who are eligible.  

Now, let’s talk about those users who have both FUNimation and Crunchyroll. What can they do about their subscription and watch hours?  

Well, someone from Crunchyroll’s staff instructed such individuals to contact the Customer Service directly to see what they can do. Though they also claim that they are working on also transferring the user’s watch history and queue over to Crunchyroll, so sooner or later, you’ll have yours transferred too.  

And if you still haven’t purchased either subscription. Now seems like a good time to get a Crunchyroll subscription, considering how its basically now the single greatest anime streaming platform there is.  

Wait, let me correct myself.  

It is now the Single greatest “Legal” anime streaming platform there is.  

But piracy is. And will always be. It’s greatest adversary.  

As the great man, Gabe Newell has said,  

“One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue,” he said. 

The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting anti-piracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.” 

So, will Crunchyroll finally be strong enough to fight against the Anime Piracy websites?  

It depends on how much they can improve the service.  

This does make you wonder though, when all the merging is done and gone. Will they create a new website with a new brand name, and obviously, also raise the subscription prices?  

Well from a business standpoint that seems like the logical next step, especially considering anime streamers won’t be paying FUNimation anymore. It’s only natural that the authorities behind Crunchyroll would want to raise the prices now that they are offering an even greater range of anime.  

Plus, because of the merger, Crunchyroll will also be able to hoard a decent amount of English dubbed anime.  

So, while the prices are not rising yet. Simply because they want everyone to shift over peacefully. They will definitely rise when everything is said and done.  

Hopefully, the overall service can improve too, and they should also start paying translators decent wages so that the quality of subtitles can also improve.  

Crunchyroll as a streaming service, while extremely popular, is also often a disappointment. It’s finally time for them to change that and improve the standard of the service.  

To conclude it all. Crunchyroll will soon be offering everything available on FUNimation in addition to its own catalog, while FUNimation itself won’t be an anime streaming platform after the Spring 2022 anime releases end.  

As things are, it’s definitely good for the anime community, so let’s just hope that Crunchyroll also evolves as a streaming platform.  

Either way, the results of this merger will be clear in the next few months.  

That’s all folks!