The two biggest anime libraries, Funimation and Crunchyroll, are officially joining under one library and want fans to switch over with ease and can even get a special deal.
One of the biggest news drops for anime watchers worldwide was just announced today (Tuesday, March 1, 2022) from Crunchyroll—all of Funimation’s content has been immediately moved over to the Crunchyroll website. The Crunchyroll merger already took place back in August 2021, but the changes are now here for consumers. It may be a bit confusing for Funimation fans to transition, but Crunchyroll has created a FAQ section to help with many of the transition questions.
Funimation provided its services to millions of fans in over 52 countries and 10 languages—now bolstering the newly joined anime experience with subs, dubs, films and simulcasts series available in over 200 countries and territories. The company reported that about 80% of Funimation’s series should be on their site by the end of March 2022. Some of my favourite Funimation exclusive anime shows include Mieruko-chan and The Case Study of Vanitas.
The CEO of Crunchyroll, Colin Decker, shared, “When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first…Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga—all into one subscription. The new Crunchyroll is the realization of a dream, and we are grateful to the creators of anime and the millions of fans who have joined us in making the community what it is today.”
The Funimation subsidiary, Wakanim, has been added as well. With this big announcement, this means that shows like My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, Yu Yu Hakusho, Jujutsu Kaisen and more will all be in one place for the first time ever! It was also announced they will also be streaming the upcoming Spring 2022 series and episodes on their website. Funimation will only be adding new episodes to continuing series, so the transition is basically a no-brainer.
The best part about this huge change for anime viewers of the two streaming sites is that the subscription prices will remain the same for now. But, if Funimation customers are transitioning, they can redeem a special link to get 60 days of Crunchyroll ad-free premium for free. This link is expected to be in the inbox of all Funimation, Wakanim, and VRV subscribers in the next few days. Essentially, no more paying for multiple subscriptions as of today!
