Fans in Australia and New Zealand are not happy now that their favorite anime streaming site, AnimeLab, is getting rebranded.
It seems like Sony is out there on a hunt for all the major anime streaming services there are, and the fans are not taking any of it. After introducing anime streaming giants such as Aniplex and Funimation, Sony started acquiring other streaming networks.
The Australian – New Zealand anime streaming service, AnimeLab, is now acquired by Funimation. Starting from June 17th, 2021, AnimeLab will operate under the Funimation name.
Furthermore, Funimation will only rebrand and rename AnimeLab to Funimation across all platforms and retain the AnimeLab team and staff. However, the AnimeLab blog will be discontinued and replaced by the Funimation blog.
All the users of the streaming service are disappointed with this new upgrade. Why, though? As someone who hasn’t used an anime streaming service, you would think that a more prominent brand acquiring a local one would be better.
But that is not the case here. AnimeLab is considered one of the best anime streaming services due to its interface and so-called superior video player.
Whereas, Funimation is known to have technicalities, an inadequate interface, and most likely an unsatisfactory catalog.
Not only this, but the users have a lot of questions regarding the sudden transition. Will their AnimeLab subscription and account be transferred? Will they have to get a new Funimation subscription instead?
They are worried that this is not the upgrade that Funimation thought everyone would love and accept. On the contrary, it’s facing harsh criticism right now.
It’s not a surprise that people have noticed that Sony is trying to create a monopoly and assert dominance in the anime streaming market.
Just recently, Sony announced their plans to acquire Crunchyroll , which is known to be the king in anime streaming and news domain.
It wouldn’t have been so much of a disappointment had it not been for Funimation’s bad streaming service and the controversies it has been in.
Whatever may be the case, otakus in Australia and New Zealand will now have to use Funimation with AnimeLab officially gone.
Source: AnimeLab Blog
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