Way back in 2018, Crunchyroll and Adult Swim announced they were going to team up on some new shows as part of the “Crunchyroll Originals” line. Unlike, say, High Guardian Spice which was a Western-oriented, Western-produced production, these Originals were animated by Japanese studios. However, as Crunchyroll handled the Japanese subbed version while Adult Swim had the rights to the English dubbed version, some of these shows didn’t air on TV in Japan until after premiering on Adult Swim’s Toonami block.
But through this partnership, Adult Swim and Crunchyroll helped create Blade Runner: Black Lotus, a series set in the same universe as the Blade Runner films, Shenmue the Animation, an adaptation of the Sega video game series, and Fena: Pirate Princess, an original production.
Now, though, the future of these series looks limited.
The original partnership between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim made a lot of sense. Cartoon Network, which Adult Swim was spun off from and shares the TV channel with, is credited with a lot of the 90s/00s anime boom thanks to shows like Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, and Sailor Moon. The weekday afternoon block that hosted these series and more was eventually discontinued, but in 2012, it was relaunched for Saturday late nights. Still, Toonami continued its heavy anime focus.
As anime interest among the populace seemed to spike higher each year, media conglomerates also took notice. Crunchyroll would eventually wind up in the hands of AT&T in full in 2018, two years after it had finished acquiring Time Warner, who owns Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. Having Crunchyroll use its knowledge of Japanese productions while letting Adult Swim produce a dub to air and advertise in English-speaking nations seemed like a natural progression as media conglomerates look for global appeal for IPs, especially as the Great Streaming Wars were heating up.
But, of course, Crunchyroll was sold to Funimation owner Sony, and AT&T sold WarnerMedia (the former Time Warner) to Discovery. The two were no longer under the same umbrella, and while Sony currently doesn’t have a streaming service and produces a lot of content for other platforms, the hurdles for new content certainly seemed high.
And now, they seem impossibly so. Jason DeMarco, Adult Swim executive who leads the anime and action series department, has now stated a second season of Shenmue the Animation is unlikely. Why? Because Adult Swim has pulled Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Fena: Pirate Princess, and Shenmue the Animation from its streaming service. Crunchyroll still has their subbed versions to stream, and digital platforms have the English dubs available to purchase, but who knows for how long.
Again, why? Well, as you may have noticed, the Great Streaming Wars are fizzling due to the ending of lockdowns, rising costs, and intense competition. But beyond that, the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger, who now operate under the name Warner Bros. Discovery, is bleeding money, with the combined companies worth much less than what Discovery paid for WarnerMedia, and now they’re being sued for exaggerating the number of subscribers to HBO Max. The combination of debt on top of the Great Streaming Wars issues only exasperates their problems, which is why they’re cancelling many productions, including the $90 million, nearly complete Batgirl film. The company is now pushing back against rumors Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to sell itself. But with huge projects like that being canned and even limiting the number of movies set to hit the theaters this year to just two, it’s no surprise shows produced with a now-rival and in traditionally less profitable genre like animation are on the chopping block.
Yes, it does seem strange that, for years, media companies operated on the idea that it’s better to stuff streaming services with as much as possible, but now it’s more and more common for shows to be pulled. But businesses are tightening their wallets, and they’d rather not have to pay for residuals when less popular shows are streamed. And obviously, Warner Bros. Discovery (and probably most companies) find tax benefits more valuable than worrying about if certain media is destined to be lost to the masses.
Fortunately, because of Crunchyroll’s backing, the anime listed here aren’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon, but if you love the dub, you might want to grab them now just in case Warner Bros. Discovery decides it’s no longer worth the time, money, and effort to keep those episodes available on digital platforms. Perhaps Crunchyroll can somehow obtain the rights for the dubs, but I’m sure they’d rather focus on their new, self-produced productions. Even if Crunchyroll sponsored new seasons of Shenmue and the rest, we already know they’re okay with recasts if it suits their pocketbook.