Notes

"Anime" Subscription Services Ranked:

1. Funimation - Oh, kay. Let's get one thing out of the way, the ranking for Funimation may not even matter, as Crunchyroll is their priority, but I'll rank it anyway. At it's core, it's not bad. Funimation does a relatively good job streaming content. Its library isn't as "DIVERSE" as Crunchyrolls, in fact, it's pretty weak, but I still think it was a good service. The library focuses on getting big names, while offering smaller names. It treats itself as the, "Big Wig" service, the service you'd go for to see the big names like Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan. Fittingly so, considering many of these shows have better versions on Funimation with Uncut releases and Dub + Sub versions. I say, "It treats itself as the, "Big Wig" service", because the service doesn't encourage exploration, and the service focuses on promoting popular shows. While it does promote shows in the season, most other services do that, it's not really something new. The one thing that gets people, not the pricing, but the interfaces. There are four different interfaces. A TV Ui, A Tablet Ui, A Website Ui, and a Phone Ui. With different versions depending on the platform and even the version.

Android TV (Google TV), Roku TV, Fire TV, and Apple TV all share the same User Interface, with other platforms doing something different. Sony introduces a new Ui for select Smart TV platforms. Including consoles (PS4 & PS5, Xbox One, S and X, and Nintendo Switch) and VIZIO Smart TVs. The user interface isn't universally available, and Sony kinda gave up on introducing the UI to other platforms despite creating pages for them (androidtv.funimationapps.com - Android TV App) and even planning a WebOS Version (webos.funimationapps.com). Those other four platforms I mentioned haven't yet got the UI, and might never will.

Mobile also had a tricky road. As Sony introduced a new UI for smartphones and tablets. Only on the App Store. Only on iPads and iPhones. No announcement of any Android version in sight, and the Android version is still different from the iOS release. Every version is different, heck, the website is also completely different. So, problems throughout.

The pricing isn't bad, through, I'm not a big fan of the numerous pricing plans, with one of the statements not being true.

- For 6.99/month (59.99/year) you can get Premium. Which removes ads, allows different versions of a show to be watched, allows you to keep up with Simulcast cuts, and allows you to watch on 2 devices at the same time. It DOESN'T however allow you to download shows to watch offline.

- For 7.99/month (79.99/year) you can get Premium Plus. Basically the same shtick as Premium, but you can watch on multiple platforms and you can download shows to watch offline. With fan-only things thrown in there.

- For 99.99/year you can get Premium Plus Ultra (I hate the name), which includes only fan-likable things. Also offering the chance of getting a free "thing". I say thing becuase not even Sony is offering it. So, it's something that you can't get.

To be honest, not too bad, could be better, but I'll accept it for what it is. For 6.99/month you get big names, small names, with some variety here and there. Though, I still think the service could do a better job at offering recommendations.