Funimation Finally Dies and Mid-Season Check In

Funimation’s streaming site will shut down as of April 2.

This is a good example of what happens when the assets of one division of a company get transferred to another division of the same company. The move of Funimation’s anime shows to Crunchyroll was announced back in February of 2022 and as of the time of this writing - there are still titles on Funimation that haven’t been moved to Crunchyroll yet.

I wrote about this in this blog post and also in this more recent blog post. It’s kind of hysterical that there are still straggler series left on the Funimation site, but since both Funimation and Crunchyroll are owned by Sony, I suppose one could have predicted this. Clearly Sony didn’t feel any urgency to get this done.

Anime News Network has a good article on this: Funimation App Shuts Down. In particular, I recommend reading the comments, as several people there posted lists of the titles that are still on Funimation.

As to how this worked out on the Crunchyroll end, when I recently logged in to Crunchyroll I got a pop-up window asking if I wanted to sync my Funi and Crunchy watchlists together. The window was unnecessarily dramatic (“Once you hit the button, the change is PERMANENT”).

I hit the button and waited. When it had taken effect, I scrolled down to look at my watchlist and it appeared that everything had transferred over from my Funimation account, including the not-so-important-to-me series that were on my Funi watchlist that I’d forgotten about. I haven’t logged in to Funimation in months but I’m fine with not bothering to check that account anymore.

I mean, really - enough. They’ve had two years to finish this. I stopped paying for Funimation last year when I made sure my favorite series had been ported over to Crunchyroll already. Some commenters to the ANN article cited above expressed doubt that everything would get transferred over by April 2 - and I don’t blame them for thinking that way.

I could go on about this, but I remember the old days when one’s favorite series was hard to find on the internet and one had to perform desperate YouTube searches and - when that failed - look for, ahem, gray streaming sites.

There’s that angle, but another and more sobering perspective is the antitrust one. Sony owns Crunchyroll, and now Crunchyroll has all of Funimation’s streaming assets and also Right Stuf’s catalog of anime merchandise. Not to mention the biggest anime catalog in North America and probably elsewhere too, basically, everywhere that isn’t Japan. I kind of hope that everything doesn’t get sucked up by Crunchyroll, because having competition and alternatives is a good thing.

As to the winter anime season - I’m still enjoying all of the series on my watchlist: Blue Exorcist, The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Fluffy Paradise, and Meiji Gekken 1874.

Blue Exorcist has the same feel as it did years ago back when season two aired. It’s a good shounen story with likable teenage characters. Demon Prince is a pleasant paranormal/shoujo/reverse harem show and Fluffy Paradise is a cute escapist fantasy.

Meiji Gekken 1874... well, it’s still violent (lol). I’m hanging in there with it though. I just enjoy seeing the juxtaposition of the fading Bakumatsu era with the brash, westernizing Meiji era. You really get a sense in this series of the discombobulation the Japanese must have experienced during those times.

My grandparents, believe it or not, were born in the Meiji era. All four of them emigrated to Hawaii (then a U.S. Territory before it became a state), where my parents were born. These eras in history may seem long ago and faraway but they really aren’t. I’m a descendant of Meiji-era Japanese people. The street scenes and architecture in Meiji Gekken depict Japan as it was when my grandparents were growing up there.

I don’t just love anime for itself - for the art of it - but also because it is a link to my own past, my ethnicity and my ancestors. I tend to forget this most of the time in my enjoyment of anime simply as an art form, but a show like Meiji Gekken helps me to remember.

Winter 2024 Anime Season - Anime Fan Revival!

Happy new year, welcome to 2024... and I am welcoming myself back to anime fandom. ;-)

I’m back in the groove of watching weekly anime episodes. I didn’t plan for it to happen, but certain winter season anime series have proven appealing enough that I’m in the game again.

But first - the leftovers from 2023.

I finished up the last few episodes of Heaven Official’s Blessing’s first season. A number of commenters were wondering if Xie Lan and Hua Cheng might actually get, uh, physical, as in maybe at least kissing each other?

Alas, it’s Chinese danmei. Despite some suggestive cover art for the novels, I fear we’re never going to see any direct romantic activity between the two. I am hopeful though, if only on the basis of the lovely covers on those sequel books:

And I still have to watch season two, which aired last fall.

I thought I’d finished Bureau of Paranormal Investigation last year but it turns out I didn’t. So I watched the final few episodes of season one… and was honestly impressed. It finished strong in terms of plot, action scenes, and character development.

Well... I could complain about a certain character who basically disappeared for most of the season, only to reappear at the climax like the ultimate DEUX EX MACHINA to save the day.

But even with that, it was a very good finish for this series and I hope more seasons are on the way.

Which brings us to the Winter 2024 anime season. I’ve picked an old familiar series as well as three new series to follow this season.

I’ve been out of the loop for a while, not even visiting Anime News Network every day like I used to. So I didn’t know Blue Exorcist was coming back.

Blue Exorcist is one of those series that I put in a certain tier. It’s up there with Haikyuu, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Durarara, Nurarihyon no Mago, and Polar Bear’s Café, among others. These are anime series that I enjoyed a lot and if I see that they have a new season, I’m like, “Oh, Blue Exorcist. Good.” It goes on my watchlist and I definitely watch it. In other words, it’s not “I’ll try this out” but a definite watch.

As opposed to the tier above it, which would be Gintama, K, The Unlimited/Zettai Karen Children, Hakuouki and certain others which would precipitate an immediate scouring of the internet for when the series will start airing and does it have the original seiyuu and what story arc will the season cover, etc., etc.

(And before you start... I know Gintama is technically finished, but hope springs eternal.)

In other words, I have a god tier of anime that I would drop anything I was doing in order to watch. Blue Exorcist is not in that tier, but it’s on a high-enough tier that it went on my watchlist without question.

The setting is a magic academy and the main character Rin Okamura is the son of Satan. Uh, yeah. It’s a long story, but he is a positive and good-hearted protagonist. What keeps me hooked on Blue Exorcist is the complicated relationship between Rin and his younger brother Yukio. There’s history there and a lot of tension, but also love and friendship. It’s the element that anchors the story with emotional resonance and depth.

On to the new additions.

Well, this is an unusual choice for me given my anime viewing history. I don’t normally go for cutesy kids or animal shows. Sometimes I’ll make an exception for stories like Shirokuma Café (Polar Bear’s Café), but that series tempered its cuteness with some adult perspectives and sensibilities.

Akitsu Midori, a 27 year-old office worker, dies of karoshi (overwork). In heaven, she meets Kami-sama (I don’t need to see the credits to recognize Shinichiro Miki and his breezy tone), who asks her how she wants to reincarnate. Akitsu only has one condition: she wants to be able to pet fluffy animals!

So she is reincarnated in a fantasy setting on another planet as Nema, the young daughter of a duke and duchess in a kind and loving family that stands next in line to inherit the kingdom. And magic exists. And there are fluffy animals... many fluffy animals.

I’m liking Fluffy Paradise so far because - while it’s definitely more cute than serious - there’s also the beginnings of an adult storyline. As we are introduced to the royal court politics, we can see there are some potential villains around.

But the fluffiness appears to be the main factor still. Maybe I just need some fluffiness in my life...

The comments under the first episode of Demon Prince of Momochi House were comparing it to Kamisama Kiss and... Fruits Basket. I never watched Kamisama Kiss so I have nothing to say about it, but Fruits Basket is another matter.

Back when I was first an anime fan, I was totally and completely into shounen anime. Whenever I watched shoujo anime I would get irritated at the girl characters’ high-pitched whispery voices, and their submissive/passive natures irked me. I found nothing to like or admire about these characters and so I turned away from shoujo very early on in my anime fandom, including Fruits Basket, despite it being a favorite of many.

I wanted to see Ed and Al battle Envy and Greed, and Ichigo fight the whole Soul Society to save Rukia, and Naruto and Sasuke duel to the death at the waterfall in the Valley of the End. I found no excitement in watching teenage schoolgirls and their petty fights, their jealousies and scheming.

Later, I found this prejudiced opinion of mine contained a lot of holes. I loved Noir, for example, and even a series like Madoka Magica could hold my interest with its strong plot and characters. I never saw the original Sailor Moon but I did watch Sailor Moon Crystal and enjoyed it.

Still, I’ve always leaned towards the shounen and - of course - yaoi and boy’s love. But I realized something when I watched the first few episodes of Momochi House. And that was... REVERSE HAREM.

Of course, I already knew what reverse harem stories were before this. Hakuouki could absolutely be considered reverse harem, as well as a show like Hiiro no Kakera. I’ve enjoyed reverse harem animes in the past like Ouran High School Host Club and others.

But Hiiro no Kakera in fact highlights the reason why I stopped seeking out reverse harem animes to watch. There’s a tendency in reverse harem to have all the bishounen protect the sole female protagonist... who then remains passive and more of an observer in her own story than an active protagonist with agency. Hiiro no Kakera was especially an offender in this regard since the protagonist had immense paranormal powers of her own, but she always hung back and let her boys fight to defend her (and get severely injured), which irritated me to no end.

And if I’m being honest, Hakuouki had the same story dynamic... but with absolutely gorgeous male characters - so I let it slide. ;-) (Plus... the Shinsengumi as vampires. Who could resist that?)

Back to Momochi House. Himari Momochi discovers that her late parents left something for her in their will: a house in the countryside.

Once in the house, she finds that it’s already occupied by Aoi and his two retainers. Aoi is a wispy, delicate teenage boy with paranormal powers and the other two are similarly gifted spirit beings. The three try to convince Himari to leave but she’s determined to stay, despite the house being attacked by her family line’s spirit nemesis.

As it turns out, Aoi came to the house as a boy and was gifted with his spiritual powers. However, what came with the ‘gift’ is that he is unable to leave the house and its grounds, and the memory of his existence has been erased in everyone who knew him in the outside world.

So the plot twist - and motive for Himari to continue living there - is that she wants to free Aoi from his paranormal curse and be able to leave the premises again. That works for me, and also Himari is pretty spunky. She’s very active and determined, not passive at all. And of course... there are already hints of romance between her and Aoi.

This was a roundabout way of saying that maybe I was too hasty in rejecting Fruits Basket all those years ago. It is, after all, a reverse harem show. I’ll have to consider putting it on my maybe-watch list.

Finally, there is Meiji Gekken.

The Bakumatsu is my favorite Japanese historical era and my second favorite is a tie between the Warring States era and the Meiji era.

Meiji Gekken 1874 is a political thriller. I’ve only seen the first two episodes but I’m already loving the art direction. The Meiji era was when Japan started incorporating some of the architecture, technology, and clothing of the outside world, and the juxtapositions of the two worlds makes for fascinating visuals.

The thing is... from the first episode it was violent... like, really violent. As in, the first time we see Shizuma Origasa, the main character, he’s literally killing someone. Granted, it’s a flashback to a battle in the Boshin war, but still.

It’s a new era and Shizuma, a former samurai, is offered a job on the police force after stopping an assassination attempt on a government official. Much political intrigue (and scads of violence) ensues.

This show is like watching the Meiji era come to life. We’ll see how it goes. I may not stick with it due to the violence, but the visuals are truly captivating.