News
Funimation Licenses Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star Anime; Strike Witches, Steins;Gate Films
posted on by Karen Ressler
FUNimation Entertainment announced at its industry panel at Otakon on Saturday that it has licensed The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2006 and 2009 series, The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya, Nyorōn Churuya-san, Lucky Star and its OVA, the Strike Witches film, and Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu. The company has also acquired the home video rights for D-Frag!, BlazBlue Alter Memory, Riddle Story of Devil, Freezing Vibration, and Unbreakable Machine-Doll.
The first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya premiered in 2006 and was rebroadcast in 2009 with new episodes. The story adapts Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito's The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya light novels. Bandai Entertainment previously held the license both series.
The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya anime series adapts Puyo's "official gag manga" of the original light novels. Similarly, Nyorōn Churuya-san adapts Eretto's manga about a super-deformed version of the Haruhi character Tsuruya in 2008.
The Kadokawa Anime Channel on the YouTube video-sharing website premiered the two net anime series with English subtitles in 2009. Bandai Entertainment previously licensed both and released them together on two DVDs.
Crunchyroll streams both the first and second season of the show, as well as both spin-offs.
The moe comedy series Lucky Star premiered in 2007. Bandai Entertainment previously held the license and Crunchyroll streams the series. The OVA sequel from 2008 is a series of short vignettes with the same characters.
The Strike Witches film opened in Japan in 2012. Like the television series, the film adapts the mixed-media project with art by Humikane Shimada.
The Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu film opened last year in Japan as a sequel to the 2011 television anime series. The film reunites the television series' cast and staff with a completely new story set after the "true end" of the television series.
Funimation streams Steins;Gate and the first and second seasons of Strike Witches. The company also released both on home video.
Funimation streamed BlazBlue Alter Memory, Freezing Vibration, and Unbreakable Machine Doll last fall, D-Frag! this past winter, and Riddle Story of Devil this past spring.