Funimation Officially Acquires United Kingdom's Manga Entertainment

If you are living abroad and want to enjoy all the anime comforts of the U.S., then it looks like one company has got your back. Today, an announcement went live by Funimation confirming it has acquired Manga Entertainment Limited, a popular anime distributer in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

According to the report, Manga Entertainment has been a consistent partner of Funimation over the years. Now, the latter is folding the foreign distributor into its catalog and will begin sharing over titles immediately.

Right now, a slew of anime series from FunimationNow have just become available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. You can read up on the full list below:

• A Certain Magical Index
  A Certain Magical Index II
  A Certain Magical Index: The Miracle of Endymion
  A Certain Scientific Railgun
  A Certain Scientific Railgun S
  Akira
  Bayonetta: Bloody Fate
  Casshern Sins
  Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
  Samurai Warriors season 1
  Soul Eater Not!
  Summer Wars
  Sword Art Online season 1
  The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
  Wolf Children

According to the press release, Manga Entertainment has turned over gears to represent Funimation U.K. as of today. This means a bevy of anime titles housed under Funimation will trickle into the U.K. in the coming months.

This deal does mean that FunimationNow is available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The subscription offered to fans is known as Premium Plus and allows fans to either pay a monthly £4.99 or annual £49.99 fee.

"With this acquisition, we will create a truly immersive anime experience for fans in the UK and Ireland. This begins with providing fans access to Manga's library of titles to enjoy whenever and wherever they want on FunimationNow," said Mitchel Berger, vice president of sales and distribution for Funimation. "Together with the Manga team, Funimation will bring its fan-first omnichannel approach to serving anime fans – engaging with them directly through the widest array of touchpoints."

Continuing, the managing director of Manga Entertainment shared their excitement about the newly announced deal.

"On behalf of Manga Entertainment, we're thrilled to join Funimation and their expanding global business," said Jerome Mazandarani. "We're excited for the new opportunities that lie ahead and to serve anime fans in the UK and Ireland in a bigger way than ever before."

So, are you surprised by Funimation's latest anime purchase? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!