We’ve known this day was coming for a few years, but now we finally have an end date: Funimation is officially closing on April 2, 2024 – and it could spell bad news for your digital library.
A post on Funimation assures subscribers that "this transition will not impact your access to the vast library of anime available on Crunchyroll." However, it appears that Funimation subscribers will lose access to digital copies of purchased anime Blu-rays and DVDs.
"Please note that Crunchyroll does not currently support Funimation Digital copies, which means that access to previously available digital copies will not be supported," the post reads.
Aside from that, here’s the top-line info to worry about: those without a Crunchyroll account will see their watch history and queue transferred automatically. Easy. Funimation users with a Crunchyroll account will be given one of three options upon logging in: combine Funimation and Crunchyroll data, replace Crunchyroll data with Funimation data, or only save Crunchyroll data.
You may have also seen talk of price increases for Funimation and Crunchyroll users. While the End of Services announcement is decidedly vague ("Going forward, the subscription fees will be reflected in the next billing cycle through Crunchyroll or the third-party access platform, following Crunchyroll's pricing") it seems that only those with a cheaper multi-year legacy subscription will see an immediate price hike.
Funimation states: "As part of our transition to Crunchyroll, the price of your new Crunchyroll plan will increase on your next billing cycle and charge your current payment method on file. Future billing will be provided by Crunchyroll. You will receive an email with more information."
We’ve reached out to Crunchyroll PR for clarification but, in the meantime, be sure to check your billing details once the switch happens.
For more from the world of anime, check out the new anime coming in 2024 plus the latest on Demon Slayer season 4 and Jujutsu Kaisen season 3.
