Andy has been writing for UK Anime since 2006, and was the site's editor-in-chief until August 2017. Contrary to popular belief, Andy is not actually a robot.
We've spent plenty of podcast minutes and column inches discussing Funimation Entertainment's entry into the UK streaming market via FunimationNow, but one thing we haven't talked about in the wake of the North American distributor ending their sub-licensing agreement with Manga Entertainment is what this means for Funimation titles on home video in our territory.
While some titles have been acquired by Anime Limited (with at least some of those acquired directly from Japan) there's still a swathe of titles slated for a US release left untouched... until now perhaps.
Today has seen Amazon UK performing one of their frequent updates to titles listed for pre-order or pending release, and in the latest batch of anime titles to get that treatment we've seen a number of Funimation Entertainment licenses in their number. What's more, these titles actually list Funimation themselves as the distributor.
At this time the following Funimation Entertainment titles have appeared on Amazon UK:
Mikagura School Suite - DVD/Blu-ray combo, release due 8th Feburary 2016 (!!)
Daimidaler: Prince vs Penguin Empire - DVD/Blu-ray combo, release due 9th May 2016
Rainy Cocoa Seasons 1 and 2 - DVD, release due 9th May 2016
No-Rin - DVD/Blu-ray combo, release due 25th July 2016
Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! - DVD/Blu-ray combo, release due 7th November 2016
High School DxD Season 3 - DVD/Blu-ray combo, release due 9th December 2016
So, are Funimation Entertainment entering the UK market wholesale to release products under their own banner on home video? Are they working alongside other existing entities to enable these releases? Is someone else actually sub-licensing these titles? Or is this all an administrative mistake by Amazon? The latter is certainly a possibility when you consider the February release date for one of these titles (which has long since passed of course) and the lack of data on the BBFC web site for some of the close at hand titles.
We'll be honest, we have no idea of this exact moment in time, but we'll be sure to keep you appraised as and when we hear more. For now though, let the speculation commence!
Thanks to NormanicGrav on Twitter for pointing out this oddity
