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Funimation to Stream Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Naruto, More Anime

Funimation announced during the FunimationCon 2020 online event on Friday that it will stream the television anime of author Kei Sazane and illustrator Ao Nekonabe's Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World (Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjō, Arui wa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen) light novel series this fall. Funimation also announced that it will begin streaming the Naruto television anime series in North America with English subtitles and a dub on Monday.

The following anime will debut on Funimation's streaming service in North America in July:

• SUPER HXEROS (Dokyū Hentai HxEros): July 3
• DECA-DENCE: July
• Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: July 10
• Lapis Re:LiGHTs: July 4
• Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Season 2 (subtitled): July 7 (all of Season 1 (subbed) launches the same day as Season 2 premieres)

The following anime will continue on Funimation's streaming service this summer:

• Fruits Basket Season 2
• Fire Force Season 2: July 3
• Black Clover
• One Piece (simulcast continues)
• Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld Part 2: July 11
• No Guns Life Season 2: July 9 with episode 13
• The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED: July 30 with episode 3 (similcast)
• APPARE-RANMAN!: July 24 with episode 4 (simulcast)
• A Certain Scientific Railgun T (simuldub resumes)
• Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater: July 28 with episode 4
• Bungo and Alchemist -Gears of Judgement-: July 3 with episode 8

The following anime will debut on Funimation's streaming service in North America in 2020 and 2021:

• By the Grace of the Gods: fall 2020
• Akudama Drive: October 2020
• Adachi and Shimamura: fall 2020
• Higurashi: When They Cry - New – fall 2020
• Maesetsu! Opening Act: fall 2020
• Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: fall 2020
• Ikebukuro West Gate Park: fall 2020
• Dropout Idol Fruit Tart: fall 2020
• MARS RED: 2021

Funimation Films is partnering with Aniplex of America to release Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen) in theaters in North America.

In addition, Funimation will expand its streaming service to Mexico and Brazil sometime during fall this year, with plans to offer select anime titles subtitled and dubbed in Spanish and Portuguese.

The streaming service is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Its content is available in Australia and New Zealand through AnimeLab (Funimation transitioned its titles to AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand in January, after shutting down its FunimationNow service in those territories).

Sony Pictures Television announced last September that it and Aniplex were consolidating three Sony-owned anime acquisition and distribution companies — Funimation based in the United States, Wakanim based in France, and Madman Anime Group based in Australia — into one joint venture. Madman Anime Group previously operated the AnimeLab service. Before the consolidation, Funimation was under Sony Pictures Television, while the other two companies were under Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex.

Colin Decker, who became Funimation's general manager in May 2019, leads the joint venture. The joint venture operates under Funimation's name and acquires and distributes Japanese anime through the three component companies. Variety reported in September that the joint venture would cover 10 languages in 49 countries with about 300 employees.

Sony Pictures Television Networks acquired a majority stake in North American distributor Funimation for US$143 million in 2017. Funimation ended its content-sharing partnership with Crunchyroll in November 2018, and signed a first-look streaming deal with Hulu. In March, Funimation and Chinese streaming platform bilibili announced a new partnership to jointly acquire anime licenses "over the next few years." Funimation bought Manga Entertainment, which primarily distributes anime in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in May 2019.

Madman Media Group sold the anime division of its business to Aniplex in an AU$35 million (about US$25 million) deal in 2019, after Aniplex invested in Madman Entertainment in February 2018.

In addition to Funimation, Sony owns the subsidiary anime production companies A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks through Aniplex.

Source: Email correspondence