Funimation is Now Streaming Mamoru Hosoda's Films in English

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the most respected directors in the anime film industry, and now every fan can go back through his history with the help of Funimation.

Funimation Entertainment has announced that Mamoru Hosoda's films will now be available for streaming with their English language dub on FunimationNOW. The "Mamoru Hosoda" collection includes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast.

This is a great time to go through Hosoda's library, as his next film Mirai no Mirai opens next July in Japan. Mirai no Mirai reunites Hosoda with many of his previous film collaborators to tell the story of a family living in a small town. The four year old Kun-chan is so spoiled, he thinks his new baby sister Mirai stole all of his parents' attention from him. Overwhelmed by new experiences he's experiencing for the first time in his short life, he stumbles on a magical garden which allows him to meet the older version of his little sister, Mirai.

For those unfamiliar with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, the film originally opened in 2006 and based off of Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel of the same name. Following the story of Makoto Konno, a girl who figures out she can travel backwards through time after coming close to colliding with an incoming train. She does what any carefree teenager with time travelling powers would do and uses the ability for selfish needs until she realizes the effects her powers have on the world around her.

For those unfamiliar with Summer Wars, the film originally opened in 2009 and follows Kenji, a guy who spends all of his time playing an online game. When his dream girl forces him to act as her fiance at her family reunion, things only get weirder as he receives an email that unwittingly unleashes an AI that wants to destroy the world.

For those unfamiliar with Wolf Children, the film opened in 2011 and follows Hana, a young woman who falls in love with a werewolf. After his death, she's forced to raise their children alone and has no idea how to properly integrate into society. Moving to the countryside, the family soon goes through all sorts of trials of tribulations Hana could never expect.

The Boy and the Beast originally released in 2015 and follows Kyuta, an orphan in Shibuya who stumbles on the magical world of beasts. Soon taken in by the grump Kumatetsu, the two form an unexpected bond of master and student. That bond is put to the test when a dark force soon challenges both the worlds of beast and man.