So, Who Bought Who in the Crunchyroll/Funimation Merger?
By now, most anime fans have heard that all of Funimation’s content is moving to Crunchyroll in April. The hassle of trying to merge one’s account and figure out what can or can’t be transferred likely has users wondering about the exact situation between Funimation and Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll and Funimation are two of the most popular streaming services for anime. While Crunchyroll is the anime streaming service with the most extensive content library, Funimation gained notability for its larger dub selection of popular anime. As a result, the two were significant competitors in the race to become the world’s leading anime streaming platform. The news that Funimation will be no more on April 2 and is moving over entirely to Crunchyroll will have many users wondering what exactly happened and how it may affect their anime-viewing habits.
Did Funimation and Crunchyroll merge?
For those wondering if Funimation bought Crunchyroll or vice versa, the answer is no. The reason why all of Funimation’s content is moving to Crunchyroll is because the companies are merging. Additionally, the merge was actually already announced two years ago. In 2017, Sony acquired Funimation before acquiring Crunchyroll in 2021, thus giving the animation platforms a shared parent company. By 2022, the companies announced that they were merging.
The purpose of the merger was essentially to allow users to have all of Funimation’s and Crunchyroll’s content unified under one umbrella. However, while the deal happened in 2022 and Funimation’s content immediately started moving to Crunchyroll, Funimation remained active to allow it to finish up series already on the platform. The idea from the onset was to eventually phase out Funimation and fully integrate the two steaming platforms into one. Now, the merger is close to reaching its final stage, meaning Funimation will end, and all of its catalogs will be available on Crunchyroll beginning April 2.
Of the decision to end its service, Funimation explained:
At Funimation, our mission has always been to provide our fans with an exceptional streaming experience and access to the largest anime library in the world. The collaboration between Funimation and Crunchyroll allows us to continue delivering on that mission and bring you the best of anime content.
However, the merger hasn’t been wholly without frustration as anime viewers learned that their digital copies on Funimation will not move over to Crunchyroll. Users were able to use codes on Funimation Blu-ray and DVD purchases, which then allowed them to store and watch the shows and movies on the streaming service. Unfortunately, Crunchyroll doesn’t support these digital copies, so they will all be lost when the merger is complete.
What is the Crunchyroll price increase?
Another issue with the completion of the deal is the significant price increase Funimation subscribers will experience. The price increase will largely impact legacy subscribers of Funimation, who are currently paying about $54.95 per year. When they move to Crunchyroll, they will be paying $99.99/year, beginning on January 28, 2025. The price doesn’t impact current Crunchyroll subscribers, considering their cheapest plan is already about $95.88/year. However, for those who opted for Funimation for the lower price, they’ll now be forced to pay almost double due to its merger with Crunchyroll.
Understandably, the price hike has not sat well with Funimation subscribers, especially since they are also losing their digital copies in this move.
Any subscribers who were content with Funimation’s smaller catalog will no longer have a cheaper subscription option and will be forced to upgrade to Crunchyroll regardless of whether they want the extra shows or not. However, the move to Crunchyroll is optional for Funimation users, and the merger won’t have much impact at all on current Crunchyroll subscribers.
(featured image: Takashi Aoyama / Getty)
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
