Geek Babble- The Big Anime Queue Purge, Part Six (Final)

 

At last the exploration and purge of my Crunchyroll anime queue has come to an end. However, the end of this series comes with a timely twist. Last week, Funimation and Crunchyroll announced they would be ending their content sharing partnership and FUNimationNow would also be removed from VRV. This was the partnership started in 2017 where both industry giants licensed shows with FUNimation doing the simul-dubs, and CR handling the subtitles. The deal also included adding a variety of shows to CR from Funimation’s catalog, some of which are on my list. The deal is ending because of Sony’s ownership of Funimation and a desire to make the anime distributor a global anime streaming site that includes both subs and dubs. Bigger shows like Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia, as well as shows licensed jointly by the companies are expected to remain on both services. Shows currently airing during the fall 2018 season will see the season finished. Lots of other shows will be removed from Crunchyroll on November 9.

While this may come as a blow to fans who like (nearly) all of their anime in one place at one low price, the competition could be good for the industry. After all, the threat that Amazon once posed with Anime Strike is gone, so the need to partner up isn’t as great as it was a year and a half ago. There are also other upsides to this breakup. Funimation plans to roll out its streaming service to more countries, and has plans to offer the service in non-English in the future. As for VRV users, FunimationNow will be replaced with HiDive. As of this writing, it is unclear if Funimation will also remove its offerings from Hulu and Netflix.

That news personally gives me more of an urgency to finish some of the FUNimation titles in my queue. This includes some shows on today’s list.

 

Untouched Recommendations:

Shows that were recommended to me by friends or were so hyped up by larger anime sites that I wanted to check them out. As you can guess, I never did. Feel free to tell me why I should, or shouldn’t bother with a particular show.

 

Occult Academy– In the days when I used to write Treasure Hunter, this show piqued my interest. An institute devoted to studying paranormal activities, plus time travel sounded like a fun adventure. This show was released more than eight years ago, and I’m not sure how many years it has spent sitting in my queue. If I’m being honest, I actually forgot what the show is about.

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou– This title is a romance series that would probably fall under my radar, as I’m usually attuned to action series. A dorm filled with weird, but exceptional students is probably an interesting change of pace. That said, this title was recommended by a now former friend. (Rule of thumb: once someone shows you their slimy underbelly get out of that friendship fast because it will become toxic.)  And no, I’m not holding the source of the recommendation against the show.

Usagi Drop– I honestly don’t remember where this recommendation came from. Probably another Treasure Hunter entry that caught my eye. When the show’s 30-year-old protagonist discovers his grandfather had an illegitimate child, he steps in as a parent. This show isn’t part of my normal preferences, but I don’t mind the occasional slice-of-life series.

Sound of the Sky– I definitely remember writing about Sound of the Sky for a Treasure Hunter column. The series about a female bugler soldier sounded interesting (pun intended), and 14 episodes seemed reasonable. Despite adding this series to my queue years ago, I never got around to a single episode.

5 Centimeters Per Second– I’m not big on director Makoto Shinkai’s works, but I’ve really enjoyed two movies bearing his name. The first being The Place Promised in Our Early Days, which was a slow burn, making it hard to recommend to most people. The other movie was Your Name. I’ve heard the joke that plot of 5 Centimeters Per Second moves that slowly, but I’d still like to give this slow burn a try one day.

Broken Blade– Amusingly enough, I was reading a review of Broken Blade in Otaku USA. The plot sounded very generic (giant mechs, people being able to control quartz, and un-sorcerers), but just fascinating enough to try. I ended up watching other mech shows, as the pull of un-sorcerers just weren’t strong enough.

 

Toradora!– Remember when NIS America published anime? No, that wasn’t a dream, as I covered them faithfully for Treasure Hunter for years. This romantic comedy struck me as something I really wanted to watch. I even bought the first half of the release from NIS. One day this show appeared on Crunchyroll and I added to my queue. At least I know if it suddenly disappears off the streaming service I still have access to the DVDs.

Pandora Hearts– To be honest, I actually can’t remember why Pandora Hearts ended up in my queue. I didn’t even know what the show was about until I looked it up. Basically a rich teenage boy is casted in a strange version of Alice in Wonderland. Square Enix is even listed as an owner. Giving this a try or removing it from my queue might be a toss-up.

Ristorante Paradiso– This show actually came as a recommendation from a really good friend. The premise didn’t sound bad either. A romantic slice-of-life about a young woman going to Rome in search of her mother. The woman struggles to understand her mother’s lover– a restaurant owner. One interesting aspect of this show is that the cast is filled with adults and adult topics. I do want to watch a few episodes of Ristorante Paradiso sooner than later.

 

Death Parade– If I hadn’t heard the hosts of ANNCast talking about Death Parade, it would have completely flown under my radar. Especially since it was exclusive to Funimation and then was made available on CR via the content partnership. A show about people sharing their stories in purgatory to a strange bartender has the potential to be interesting. I need to check this show out before it reverts back to FunimationNow exclusivity.

Tsugumomo– I took Tsugumomo as a direct recommendation from Justin (our friend at TheOASG). He noted it was a nice relaxing show. This show is part romance, part ecchi, part supernatural, and definitely a bit of a harem series. A boy is saved by a spirit in an obi left to him by his mother. The show itself does sound good, but the time is ticking on me trying out an episode as this is another series probably set to leave CR on November 9.

Alice & Zoroku– Another recommendation from Justin. This is a supernatural show of a different variety featuring a girl with superhuman abilities crossing paths with an old man. This style of story could be interesting especially with a clash of ages and personalities. If you guessed this is another series where the clock is ticking toward its removal from CR you’d be correct.

King’s Game The Animation– I haven’t seen a single second of animation from King’s Game, but I have read the first few chapters of the manga. From what I hear the anime is somewhat extreme in a way the manga might not be until later (if at all). I also hear the anime itself isn’t very good, but I’d still like to compare and contrast it with what manga I’ve read. One major turn off from the books was the protagonist’s romantic relationship with his first cousin. Though thankfully the series itself is about a deadly game and doesn’t focus too much on the romance.

 

Tsuritama– This show is all about fishing, adventures, and weirdness. I saw it being covered on Random Curiosity and I liked the look of it. Unfortunately, this show remained dormant in my queue ever since I added it in 2012. Given the fact that Funimation licensed shows now have a higher priority, this show may remain unwatched and untouched for a little while longer.

 

This dive into my queue has taught me if a series interests me I shouldn’t procrastinate. It could disappear from a streaming service in an instant.

Images courtesy of Random Curiosity.