One of the most prominent distribution companies for anime plans to expand its market. Funimation will make its streaming service available in Mexico and Brazil this fall, Deadline has confirmed.
Funimation is one of the oldest distribution companies for anime, established in 1994. The company was initially conceived as a way to translate and distribute the Dragon Ball anime in the United States. Funimation licensed Dragon Ball and its sequel series Dragon Ball Z to Cartoon Network for its action-oriented programming block Toonami, where they were met with considerable success. The series follow a superpowered warrior named Goku as he trains and searches the world for legendary items called Dragon Balls that can grant any wish. The franchise became a major grosser on home video as well, firmly establishing Funimation as a major player in this burgeoning field.
Funimation launched their streaming service as FunimationNow in January of 2014. After seeing considerable success in translating and distributing anime for home video, syndication, theatrical releases, and streaming, Sony Pictures Television bought Funimation in July of 2017. Soon after, Funimation partnered with Hulu, which allows Hulu to stream Funimation’s content.
Funimation’s streaming service, now called simply Funimation, is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. The expansion to Mexico and Brazil will bring the entirety of Funimation’s catalog in both Japanese and English, alongside brand new translations in Spanish and Portuguese.
Funimation’s streaming service is home to popular series such as Attack on Titain, One Piece, and Lupin the Third. Funimation announced this week that they acquired the entire original run of Naruto for its streaming service. Funimation is available for $5.99 per month, and a yearly subscription with additional perks such as offline downloading is available for $99.99.