Crunchyroll Takeover: Funimation App Shuts Down, Users Furious
The Crunchyroll takeover has been looming on the doorsteps of Funimation subscribers for a while now. After all, it was in March of last year that Funimation announced it would be merging with Crunchyroll.
Shortly after the announcement, Crunchyroll subscribers could also use Funimation. But, Funimation subscribers couldn’t also use Crunchyroll. For the past year, many Funimation users have continued to subscribe to that app for a plethora of reasons.
Why Didn’t Funimation Subscribers Make The Switch?
For some Funimation subscribers, making the switch to Crunchyroll was inconvenient. Vizio Smart TV, for example, has a Funimation app for subscribers to use. The smart TV OS, however, does NOT have a Crunchyroll app. Likewise, many subscribers are complaining they never made the switch to Crunchyroll because it caused their devices to freeze up and glitch.
Many subscribers are also arguing the Crunchyroll app is unorganized and extremely difficult for someone interested in watching dubbed anime to navigate.
Crunchyroll Takeover: Funimation App Shuts Down
Many Funimation subscribers were hit with massive disappointment today when they logged in to continue streaming an anime series they fell asleep binging the night before. Upon logging into the app, the subscribers were hit with a message. The time had finally come. The Funimation app was being shut down and subscribers would need to move to Crunchyroll. Now, for subscribers on platforms such as Vizio, this presented a problem as a Crunchyroll app does not exist for them.
Unfortunately, the Funimation website itself (in regard to the subscription plan page) has become unstable following the shutdown. Subscribers are reporting having to fight through errors to cancel the subscriptions which are still saying they will automatically renew despite the streaming platform no longer existing.
so the funimation app is no more 😢… i get crunchyroll has taken over and the app was already getting more series but man i just loved the look of the funi app, the ui was nice and loved the option of choosing the size of the subtitles without the black outline
— Yulkis ∘˚˳°∘° (˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥⋆) ∘˚˳°∘° (@BottlefullofH) July 31, 2023
Outraged Subscribers Flock To Social Media To Complain
Both Funimation and Crunchyroll are being tagged in droves on both Twitter and Facebook as subscribers realize the Funimation streaming app has been disabled and they have to make the switch to Crunchyroll. Naturally, fans who just subscribed or are in the middle of a subscription plan are demanding some sort of compensation for the amount of time they paid for a subscription on a platform that no longer exists.
Many subscribers are also frustrated because are losing their watch list and their watch history with the platform being shut down. So, if subscribers decide to move to Crunchyroll and happen to find themselves several hundred episodes into a series (such as One Piece), they may have to do some digging to figure out which episode they watched last.
First twitter now @Funimation . I don’t like @Crunchyroll & they’re app is not user friendly especially for dub users and it’s unorganized ASF. 😭😫 pic.twitter.com/i51RSNjD9M
— Princess Consuela BH (@_BGoode_) July 31, 2023
One of the biggest reasons why Funimation subscribers are so upset is because they were warned this situation was coming. But, they were never told when it would happen. So, they had no chance to prepare for it.
Why my funimation account asking me to sign up for Crunchyroll
— Rajvir singh (@nolimit_raj) July 31, 2023
One fan raged: “dude you gotta be kidding me, last night i resubscribed to funimation because i wanted to watch jujutsu kaisen (without ads) and i like it better than crunchyroll as it always crashes on my roku, well since the switch i guess is going into affect or something, i can’t even watch”
@Funimation hi, so I have a PS5. And my app tells me to move to crunchyroll, but my phone app still lets me watch Funimation. Why is that?
— soap (@chad_sopatyk) July 31, 2023
Many anime fans have also taken to Twitter and Facebook to say “Rest In Peace” to Funimation on this somber day.
RIP Funimation 🫡 pic.twitter.com/zf2HUBfvAD
— Dnpnkz 🐦 (@danypunkz) July 31, 2023
Update: Some Funimation subscribers are reporting they can still use the platform via the web or mobile devices. But, Smart TV users and gaming console users are reporting the app has been completely shut down.
Were you still using the Funimation app when it got shut down? Are you hesitant to switch to Crunchyroll? Let us know in the comments down below. And, keep coming back for more anime news.
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I left Crunchyroll for Funimation because of their unending censorship. I am well over 18 years old and selected the mature filter off but it didn’t matter because (quoting Crunchyroll customer service) “This is how it was displayed on Japan TV.” Fine, but aside from the most recent products, uncensored versions are now available but Crunchyroll wouldn’t show them. So I left for Funimation which has the same problem but not nearly to the extent of Crunchyroll and Funimation’s customer service actually talked to you rather than regurgitating talking points. Now I’m being forced back under the control of THE EMPIRE (Crunchyroll). Where can I jump ship and join the Rebel Alliance? I’ve got a couple of proton torpedoes for their Death Star! All joking aside, Crunchyroll is borderline propaganda but, if I want anime, it looks like I’m stuck!