Funimation

Crunchyroll, LLC (formerly known as Funimation Global Group, LLC), is an American anime distribution and dubbing company headquartered in Coppell, Texas, USA. It was founded by Gen Fukunaga and his wife in 1994 to produce, merchandise, and distribute anime and other entertainment properties in the USA and international markets. Funimation was owned by Navarre Corporation between May 11, 2005, and April 2017, and was subsequently acquired by Sony Pictures Television on October 27, 2017^[1] and since 2019, it is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Television and Aniplex.

Crunchyroll holds the rights to the One Piece anime in North America for streaming and home video, and records their own in-house English dub which has reached Episode 1086. The Crunchyroll streaming service hosts every episode of the series with English subtitles (with the exception of the Dragon Ball Z crossover) and adds new episodes the day they air in Japan. Additionally, they have released six TV specials and five movies in both subtitled and dubbed formats. Crunchyroll's English localization is also used in Britain and Australia.

Crunchyroll obtained the One Piece license in 2007, when they were known as Funimation; their English dub began airing in June 2007 with the Jaya Arc, continuing from where the edited 4Kids dub had left off. While the version initially broadcast on Cartoon Network was edited to the channel's standards, the streaming and home video versions (and the Adult Swim broadcasts) are uncensored. Between May 2008 and May 2010, Funimation released uncut versions of all of the episodes previously handled by 4Kids with their own, newly recorded, English dub.

History of Crunchyroll's English dub[]

Acquisition[]

Crunchyroll (then named Funimation) was one of the bidders in the original war over the rights to One Piece, even registering a URL for it (among other anime) despite not owning the rights to the series at the time.^[2] In December 2003, Funimation dismissed rumors that they had licensed the series but stated that they "[remained] in the top companies still in negotiations" for it.^[3] They were unsuccessful and, in June 2004, 4Kids Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series.^[4]

After producing 104 English-dubbed episodes (cut down from 143 Japanese ones) 4Kids dropped the One Piece license in December 6, 2006.^[5] On April 12, 2007, Funimation Entertainment announced they had acquired the license to One Piece, and would premier their own dubbed English version on Cartoon Network on September 29, 2007, with Episode 144.

Cartoon Network and Uncut DVDs[]

Although Funimation's dub would directly follow the 4Kids version for the series' Cartoon Network broadcast, the production team behind the new dub was entirely different. Consequently, Funimation replaced every cast member, used less strict editing than 4Kids, and retained the original music (with the Japanese theme music replaced with an English cover of the same song). Funimation's dub was well received for its voice acting, dialogue and music.

Episodes would still be edited to meet Cartoon Network's standards; for example, Sanji's cigarette, which 4Kids had re-drawn into a lollipop, was removed entirely. The broadcast version of the dub retained previously established names and terminology from the 4Kids dub and video games, while the "Uncut" version intended for home video would use more accurate naming; for example, while "Zolo" was used on the Cartoon Network broadcasts, "Zoro" was used in all other releases and the Adult Swim broadcasts of the same episodes. In North America, Funimation's edited dub concluded with Episode 167 in March 2008; the dub would continue to air in Australia, where it soon switched from edited to uncut versions. Episode 195, the last episode of the Skypiea Arc, aired January 7, 2009, and has rerun once before being put on hiatus again.

In May 2008, Funimation released their first uncut DVD of the series, starting from the first episode and catching up to "Season Three", the batch of episodes that they had initially dubbed. In April 2011, the DVD release of Funimation's Season Three was concluded. The release of new dubbed episodes continued in August 2012 with Episode 206, the beginning of "Season Four". From this episode, the dub would be produced for home media rather than television, although many of these episodes would be broadcast in English months or years after their DVD release.

Adult Swim[]

One Piece returned to Cartoon Network on May 19, 2013, this time as part of Adult Swim's Toonami block. Adult Swim skipped ahead to Episode 207, the start of the Long Ring Long Land Arc, which had been available on DVD for several months. The series aired at 1 AM without edits for content; however, as per Toonami practice, the opening and ending credits were shortened to 30 seconds (or more for some openings and endings) and the next episode previews were removed. An "Ask Toonami" segment established that most of the intro/outro material the block receives from Funimation and other sources is already cut down for broadcast, and was not their own doing; as the full opening was used for the first available episode or as the lead-off program of the block, with the short opening being used in the rest of the available episodes, if the program doesn't lead off the block. The short version of the ending is always used, regardless of that. The series ran on Adult Swim until March 17, 2017, with the airing of Episode 384 (Spa Island Arc), and was replaced by Tokyo Ghoul.^[6]

One Piece made its second return to Adult Swim's Toonami block on January 23, 2022, skipping ahead to Episodes 517-518, the start of the Return to Sabaody Arc and the Fish-Man Island Saga, as it was considered the best starting point for new viewers, those caught up with the simulcast, and people who watched the show on previous television runs.^[7][8] In addition, two new episodes aired on the block each night instead of the standard one up until episode 593, with every airing of the block since only premiering one a week. In March 5, 2023, Toonami aired Episode 590; as the DVD releases had skipped this episode, this was its first release with an English dub. Toonami did not air the corresponding Torkio episode, which comprised the first half of the hour-long special in Japan.

Funimation Rebrand to Crunchyroll[]

Sony Pictures Television acquired a majority stake in Funimation in July 2017,^[9] and acquired the international streaming service Crunchyroll from AT&T in August 2021.^[10] Consequently, in March 2022, Funimation announced that they would rebrand as Crunchyroll, LLC. From this point, One Piece's dub and home media releases would be released under the Crunchyroll brand name, starting with the DVD Season 11: Voyage 8 on June 7, 2022. Crunchyroll replaced the Funimation and Wakanim brands in both North America and Europe, respectively, while the Kazé brand will be kept in France and Germany.^{[citation needed]}

Localization[]

The uncut version of the English dub doesn't use the censored dialogue from the television broadcast and reverts the majority of the 4Kids terms to more accurate transliterations of the Japanese names. None of the in-episode animation is edited for the English home video releases, but Mirai Kōkai and the footage associated with it are substituted with Eternal Pose due to licensing issues. For the dub, English covers of the theme music were initially used, but they were unable to continue this practice from Episode 207 onward due to licensing issues.

As part of the English dub, Crunchyroll produces a localized English video track with minor branding and translation changes. For the English video track, the Japanese logo is replaced by a gold-colored variant with the Shonen Jump branding and the credits and episode titles are replaced with English translations. From Episode 361, other captions, such as those introducing characters, are replaced with English versions too. As a consequence of the logo change, any of the logo's animation is recreated and in BON VOYAGE! a few seconds of animation behind the logo are substituted. The English opening credits also omit the alternate variations of Brand New World and One Day. Additionally, a version of Zoro's eyecatcher is used for the first 26 episodes which erroneously reads "Zolo".

For the first 574 episodes, the English-language credits reference the cast and crew for both languages, although not every credit from the Japanese version is translated. Additional credits covering the Japanese production, such as the theme music, are included from Episode 206. From Episode 575 onward, the translated credits only refer to the Japanese production and credit fewer people than previous episodes did; silent English dub credits follow each episode, again with fewer credited cast and crew than before.

On DVD and Blu-ray, the anime series only includes the English video track, with the original Japanese logo included in the "Textless Opening" special feature from Kokoro no Chizu onward; for previous textless openings, We Are! and Believe swap between English and Japanese variants but Hikari e and BON VOYAGE! only use the English logo. The movies and TV specials swap between Japanese and English credits on a case-by-case basis, with Japanese-language credits generally followed by silent English ones. The Crunchyroll streaming service generally uses whichever video track is relevant to the language selected.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases[]

All of Funimation and Crunchyroll's disc releases contain the uncut English dub and original Japanese audio with translated English subtitles. While the Japanese TV series and specials are mixed in stereo, the English dub was up mixed to 5.1 for the first 628 episodes. Where applicable, the English video track is used.

The three crossover episodes (Episode 492, 542, and 590) are skipped, although a dub of Episode 590 was subsequently aired on Toonami. The first two crossover episodes do not have an English dub, nor do any of the three Toriko episodes which comprised the first half of each crossover special.

Release Format[]

Funimation's first DVD release of the franchise was the movie Episode of Alabasta on February 19, 2008, with a Blu-ray release following on January 27, 2009. Funimation categorized the TV series into "Seasons" which are generally longer than those used for the Japanese DVDs; for example, Episode 264 marks the begging of the Japanese "Season Nine" but the American "Season Four". Each season is divided into "Voyages" containing 10 to 14 episodes over two discs, which retail at $49.98. 'Season One: First Voyage', containing the first 13 episodes, was released on May 27, 2008. In 2011, after releasing the first three seasons, Funimation began releasing 4-disc "Collections" bundling two Voyages in new packaging at an MSRP of $24.99; apart from the labels, the discs themselves are identical to the previous releases.^[11]

All movies and TV specials following Movie 8 would be released on DVD and Blu-ray simultaneously, mostly as DVD/Blu-ray 'Combo Packs' without a standalone DVD release. Initially, the series was only released on DVD, despite Episode 207 onward being animated in HD and Japanese Blu-ray releases being available for all episodes from 575. The Voyage and Collection releases changed format to DVD/BD Combo Packs with Episode 629, the start of "Season Eleven"; because Collection 26 bundles a DVD-only Voyage and a Combo Pack Voyage, it does not include Blu-ray copies for the first half of its episodes.

Bonus Material[]

In addition to the full episodes, the TV series includes a "Marathon Play" option which skips the theme music and previews between episodes. Most Voyages also contain episodes with audio (or video) commentary from the American cast and crew. From 'Season 4: Voyage 4', Funimation began also including interviews with the English cast in different formats. 'On The Boat: Behind the Scenes of One Piece' features are around 15 minutes long and feature ADR Director Mike McFarland interviewing a voice actor and discussing their character and overall thoughts on the show. 'One Piece in the Booth' features, which last twenty to thirty minutes, include cast and crew interviews, as well as footage of the English dialogue being recorded. Later features use a similar format and feature multiple voice actors. One Piece releases have also featured convention panels, outtakes from the English dub, and comedy sketches with the American cast.

Streaming Releases[]

Crunchyroll, LLC has streamed new Japanese and English episodes of One Piece since 2009, initially under their Funimation branding. When they they acquired the additional streaming service Crunchyroll, which was already streaming subtitled episodes of One Piece, they closed their original service and migrated the English dub from Funimation to Crunchyroll.

Funimation[]

In May 2009, Funimation announced plans to simulcast the Japanese version of One Piece (which was over 200 episodes ahead of the English dub) on their website with English subtitles. The simulcast was scheduled to begin with Episode 403 on May 30, 2009, an hour after the Japanese broadcast.^[12] However, on May 29, prior to the episode's Japanese broadcast, it was leaked from Funimation's servers and shared online. In response, Funimation shut down the video service and announced that fans will be "deprived" of One Piece for the "immediate future" and that they will also be trying to "locate and prosecute the perpetrators".^[13] The perpetrator was later caught and charged. On August 18, 2009, Funimation announced the return of their One Piece streams, which resumed with Episode 391 on Friday, August 21;^[13] three episodes were released daily, leading up to the August 29 release of Episode 415.

The One Piece simulcast would continue on the Funimation website, and later their streaming service, until the Funimation brand was discontinued in April 2024. On August 30, 2014, Funimation began simulcasting new TV specials with the release of 3D2Y. However, the crossover episodes (492, 542, and 590) were skipped and were not streamed on Funimation's own platform. Due to music licensing issues, Funimation's simulcast substituted and the ending Mirai Kōkai with Eternal pose; the opening Hands Up! was also initially replaced with We Go!, but this was later corrected. Prior to Episode 671, the simulcast also omitted the next episode preview at the end of each episode.

The English dub of Seasons 1-9 was also streamed by Funimation following the episode's DVD releases. This release order changed in 2020, when Funimation began releasing dubbed episodes, which had already been released on video-on-demand, on their streaming service prior to their DVD release.^[14]

On February 7, 2024, following their acquisition of Crunchyroll, Funimation (now themselves renamed Crunchyroll, LLC) announced that they would shut down the Funimation streaming service.^[15] The majority of Funimation's content was migrated to Crunchyroll and users of both services had the option to merge their accounts.^[16] However, the English dubs for the One Piece TV specials were not migrated before the service ended. The Funimation streaming service was shut down on April 2, 2024.

Crunchyroll[]

Crunchyroll, who were not yet associated with Funimation, began their own One Piece Simulcast on November 2, 2013.^[17] Their simulcast would have the same content as Funimation's, but would additionally include Spanish and Portuguese subtitle options. Eventually all Japanese episodes were added, with the exception of episode 590 (the Toriko/Dragon Ball Z crossover). As with Funimation's service, Mirai Kōkai is removed and Hands Up! was initially missing and later reinstated. However, for the Japanese-language streams Crunchyroll has also substituted Crazy Rainbow with We Are! (Straw Hat Version), and both We Are! (2008) and Share the World with Jungle P.

Crunchyroll would eventually add One Piece content that had not been acquired by Funimation. The first two crossover episodes, 492 and 542, were streamed in 2014, alongside the two corresponding Torkio episodes (on the Toriko series page).^[18] In May 2015, they added the "Special Edition HD" version of episodes 1-206 for premium members.^[19]

As part of the migration of Funimation into Crunchyroll, the English dub for One Piece was added on July 3, 2023.^[20] Like with Funimation's previous streaming service, Crunchyroll adds dubbed episodes prior to their release on physical media.^[21] The dubbed versions on Crunchyroll use the English video track while the subtitled versions use the unaltered Japanese visuals. Starting at Episode 1049, both audio tracks use the latter's visuals.

Other Streaming Platforms[]

The One Piece simulcast is also available on Hulu from episode 391 onwards, originally with a two-day delay from their Japanese airing. Starting from episode 736, the episodes were posted on Hulu on the same day as the original broadcast. Eventually, after years of DVD releases, all the prior episodes were eventually added in as well when the seasons they were grouped in were released. Also available are a regularly changed selection of dubbed episodes. These are identical to the Funimation.com versions and are all in SD only. Hulu's license with One Piece was set to expire on April 28, 2017.^[22] However the rights were later re-negotiated, allowing One Piece to remain on Hulu, although Hulu no longer has the rights to the series beyond episode 750 and as such the episodes for the Zou, Marine Rookie, and Whole Cake Island arc were removed. Eventually the series expired from Hulu on April 13, 2020.^{[citation needed]}

Daisuki also streamed subtitled episodes, starting from episode 1 and adding a new episode each week, until it was later discounted when Daisuki officially ceased all operations on October 31, 2017.

On June 12, 2020, Netflix started streaming both Crunchyroll's One Piece dub and the subtitled version with the first four seasons, using the Special Edition print.

The movie Episode of Chopper + was streamed in Japanese as part of the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo on September 4, 2020, alongside a "Voice Actor Showcase".^[23]

Video On Demand[]

The series is available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video: episodes 1-78 are available in English or Japanese and episodes 337 to 371 and 575 -587 are available exclusively in English.^[24][25] One Piece Film: Gold is available to rent or purchase in English or Japanese from Amazon, Playstation and Microsoft.^[26] In both cases, the English-dubbed and Japanese versions are listed as separate titles. One Piece: Stampede is simarily available on these services, however only with the dub track.

Reception[]

Funimation's announcement of replacing 4Kids as licensee of One Piece was praised by online fans even before its release. While editing and censorship continued for the TV version, Funimation's statements that they would release uncut bilingual DVDs was taken positively by One Piece and anime fans. Funimation's English dub and DVD releases have generally received positively by critics, with many commenting on their uncut approach in comparison to the 4Kids version.

Reviews of the 8th movie were positive of the new English cast, with Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk saying that Funimation "[did] a great job of capturing the spirit and personalities of the show's characters".^[27] Other critics were similarly positive about the cast, although Carl Kimlinger still preferred the Japanese version, awarding the English version a C+ and the Japanese version a B- in his review for Anime News Network.^[28] Many critics were confused by Funimation's decision to release a continuity-heavy film before the series, and found the story difficult to follow,^[29][30] with Kimlinger also conceding that the release made an uncut version of Arabasta Arc available long before the DVDs of the TV series would reach that point.

Reviews of the TV series and later movie releases were similarly positive,^[31][32] and some critics noted the option of a 5.1 mix for the English version.^[33] Anime News Network would frequently award equal marks for the dubbed and Japanese versions of the series, and commented on the dub's improvement from "Season Four" onward, particularly Sonny Strait's Usopp and Stephanie Young's Robin during the Water 7 Saga.^[34][35] Reviewing 'Season Five: Voyage Six', Rebecca Silverman summarized that "dub or sub is really going to come down to the viewer's personal preferences, with strengths and weaknesses on both sides".^[36] Some critics were impressed with the consistency between the end of "Season Two" and Funimation's earliest dubbed episodes the beginning of "Season Three".^[37][38]

References[]

External links[]

• One Piece Official(Archive) Official Funimation site about One Piece. (Region-restricted site)
• Funimation(Archive)
• Its Coming Back!

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