For many anime fans, April 2nd, 2024 will mark the end of an era. Funimation, one of the pioneers of anime streaming and distributor of classic shows like Dragon Ball Z, announced that it will be shutting down operations on that date after over 25 years in business.

What does this mean for subscribers? Essentially, Funimation will be migrating all accounts over to Crunchyroll, the anime streaming platform that acquired Funimation back in 2021. But this transfer of power is not without casualties. Legacy subscribers accustomed to grandfathered discount prices are facing stiff price hikes, in some cases nearly doubling their monthly or yearly fees.

Funimation Premium Plus was previously offering an ad-free streaming service for $5.99 per month. However, after switching to Crunchyroll’s Mega Fan plan, the monthly subscription fee rose to $9.99, which represents a 67% increase in price. Some users experienced even more drastic price hikes when transitioning from legacy annual plans. Additionally, subscribers who pay through certain platforms or regions may also see additional price differences that are not clearly communicated.

More significantly, years of collected digital libraries through the Funimation digital copy redemption program will vanish overnight. This initiative rewarded fans who purchased Blu-rays and DVDs by providing a digital version to store and stream through Funimation forever. Or so we thought. Buried in the shutdown announcement was the news that “previously available digital copies will not be supported” on Crunchyroll. Just like that, access is being revoked.

This loss of grandmothered savings and downloads feels like a betrayal for loyal customers who helped propel Funimation to success over the decades. Sony made vague allusions to combining forces with Crunchyroll eventually when they acquired the platform way back in 2021. But there was no transparency about subscription and library impacts at the time, likely by design.