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Official, Crunchyroll joins Funimation (Sony)

Jeeves

Member
Why not? Personally I hate that I have to pay for 2 anime subscription services.
I understand that point of view, but I worry about the consolidation of the localization industry. Plus Sony's been big on censorship lately and I think Funimation has had controversies recently about changing scripts or something (though I haven't been paying enough attention to know how valid those complaints are).

Anime's gotten pretty big in the west and now with one company holding such a large piece of the localization pie, I don't think it's irrational to worry that Sony could now hold more sway to potentially influence the whole anime industry for the worse.

I hope it doesn't play out that way, but those are the potential negatives I can think of, whereas the only positive is what you said. So yeah, overall this news feels ominous to me.
 

sol_bad

Member
They also own Animelab in Australia now. They should use Animelab as the basis for their new app. it's better than the Funimation or Crunchyroll app.
 

Graciaus

Member
I've been subbed to crunchyroll for years but I'll probably cancel if everything doesn't go through vrv. Funimation has always been garbage from service and subs.
 

YCoCg

Member
We got an early taste of this in the UK when Sony/Funi bought out MANGA, ...and then they didn't add the MANGA things to streaming, which is ironic because they stated these shows couldn't be streamed due to being owned by MANGA in the UK.
 
I understand that point of view, but I worry about the consolidation of the localization industry. Plus Sony's been big on censorship lately and I think Funimation has had controversies recently about changing scripts or something (though I haven't been paying enough attention to know how valid those complaints are).

Anime's gotten pretty big in the west and now with one company holding such a large piece of the localization pie, I don't think it's irrational to worry that Sony could now hold more sway to potentially influence the whole anime industry for the worse.

I hope it doesn't play out that way, but those are the potential negatives I can think of, whereas the only positive is what you said. So yeah, overall this news feels ominous to me.
If Sony thinks they can censor anime as they do games, then they should be prepared for a rise in anime piracy again. But ultimately, all those companies will end up ruining what the fans enjoy anyway.
 

sol_bad

Member
If Sony thinks they can censor anime as they do games, then they should be prepared for a rise in anime piracy again. But ultimately, all those companies will end up ruining what the fans enjoy anyway.

I'm confused why people are worried about Sony and censoring? I know that Sony the gaming division have censored things but that's a totally different division.
Are there any examples of the media/movie division censoring anything?
 

Jeeves

Member
If Sony thinks they can censor anime as they do games, then they should be prepared for a rise in anime piracy again. But ultimately, all those companies will end up ruining what the fans enjoy anyway.
What I'm getting at, which I'll preface by saying I have zero industry expertise, is maybe Sony could get to the point where they're influencing anime on a foundational level in Japan. For example, maybe a show doesn't get greenlit to be made in the first place because "no way Sony will bring this one west". Yeah there's other localization options but Sony's such a big one now.

Again, I'll gladly be wrong.
I'm confused why people are worried about Sony and censoring? I know that Sony the gaming division have censored things but that's a totally different division.
Are there any examples of the media/movie division censoring anything?
You have a point, as I believe it's just their gaming division that's headquartered in California now. I just wonder how much that division's culture might seep into the company's other arms over time.
 

Dabaus

Banned
So in terms of revenue and profit how much will this help sony? Anime is already a pretty big industry worldwide, how much can you realistically expect to make being the main provider of streaming content?
 

Dabaus

Banned
How much was that entertainment expansion budget for Sony and do we think that this billion is a part of it?
It was 18 billion for the next 3 years and no I don’t think this counted towards that.

Edit: So now that sony has boarderline monoply on anime distribution and each music acquisition they make coming under scrutiny for anti trust laws, do you guys think sony diverts most of their attention back to gaming now? They said they want to focus on mobile gaming, what mobile gaming developers are mildy successful and still independent? Or do you think sony is eyeing a publisher that already has a successful mobile game that also makes console games as well? (Cough square enix cough)
 
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Reallink

Member
Can't wait for Sony to start blackfacing characters, Returnaling all the women, and editing bulges into the pantsu shots to diversify the casts.
 
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ksdixon

Member
To me, it's silly if they don't combine both sites into one/replicate all content across both sites and just have the site logo and text blurb being different. No way I'd pay a CR sub and a FUN sub knowing they both have same parent company.
 

sol_bad

Member
To me, it's silly if they don't combine both sites into one/replicate all content across both sites and just have the site logo and text blurb being different. No way I'd pay a CR sub and a FUN sub knowing they both have same parent company.

I'm pretty positive that will be the plan. Give them time. The merger was just approved. There is probably a shit load they need to do before they can even start on a new streaming service.
 
The whole Vic debacle showed what a crappy company Funimation really is, almost as bad as their translations.
Crunchyroll is producing stuff like High Guardian Spice, so expect more of that lame stuff in the future.

Combining both is like the perfect blend of piss and vinegar. Coupled with Sony's censorious attitude towards anything anime, this is not a good thing as Sony basically has a monopoly on anime now:

Sony’s plan to combine Crunchyroll and Funimation into a streaming service to lead its anime empire seemed as simple as tossing AT&T a billion dollars. But now the plan is reportedly concerning enough that the US Department of Justice is extending its antitrust review of the $1.175 billion purchase into a full-on probe, according to three sources who spoke to The Information.
 
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