Today, the anime fandom was given a grim reminder, and it had nothing to do with Attack on Titan. Not long ago, reports informed the world Funimation and Crunchyroll were ending their partnership. And, as you can imagine, fans are taking to social media to mourn.
According to a post by Variety, Funimation and Crunchyroll are going their separate ways. The decision stems from the former being recently acquired by Sony Pictures Television. With the parent company hoping to turn Funimation into a global brand for subtitled and dubbed anime, its content relationship with Crunchyroll has ended, and fans are feeling distraught.
As you can see in the slides below, the grieving process is hitting fans at all different stages. Some are in denial. Others are ready to bargain with both services, and then there are those trying to figure out which site they will continue subscriptions with.
At this point, there is no word on the titles being effected by this split. In a recent memo obtained by Variety, the CEO of Funimation said hundreds of subtitled anime will be moving back to it streaming catalog once the partnership dissolves in full.
"We have enormous respect for the relationship we forged with Crunchyroll and will be working with them closely over the next several months to ensure a seamless transition in terms of our respective catalogs and offerings. That said, there will be some immediate changes ahead as we unwind the partnership," Gen Fukunaga explained.
"On November 9, 2018, our subscribers will have access to several hundred subbed titles when our catalog reverts to Funimation, while a handful of dubbed titles will no longer be available on FunimationNow. All the titles licensed during the partnership will continue to be shared with Crunchyroll and available to FunimationNow subscribers."
A released statement by Crunchyroll seconded the announcement and reassured fans all home releases pre-ordered as part of the partnership with Funimation will be upheld. The service also told fans on-going simulcasts started under the team-up will continue, giving fans of My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan some good news. To top things off, a new report also confirmed Crunchyroll's sister site VRV will be adding Hidive as a channel in the coming weeks, giving users the opportunity to binge series like Legends of the Galatic Heroes.
So, how do you feel about the deal's dissolution? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!