By Deanna Nguyen
First up on the FunimationCon 2020 Friday schedule was the Funimation Industry Panel, hosted by Lauren Moore! Moore had a slew of announcements to share, from continuing shows on Funimation to what’s available for preorder at the Funimation Shop. Moore also teased a few surprises toward the end of the panel, but before that, let’s walk through everything that’s been announced!
For continuing shows, Fruits Basket will continue through summer with a second cour of Season 2. The Black Clover dub will be returning, and will take the characters to the Heart Kingdom. New dubbed episodes of One Piece were announced as well, with episodes 588 to 600 premiering first on Microsoft, Playstation and Amazon digital storefronts in August. They will stream on Funimation at a later date.
Without any pause to the rapid-fire announcements, Moore jumped right into returning shows on Funimation for Summer 2020, starting with Season 2 of Fire Force. Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Part 2 will also premiere alongside No Guns Life Season 2, which had a PV to show off. Shows that were postponed will also return with premiere dates, including The Millionaire Detective – Balance: UNLIMITED (Episode 3, July 30), APPARE-RANMAN! (Episode 4, July 24), Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater (Episode 4, July 28) and Bungo and Alchemist -Gears of Judgement– (Episode 8, July 3).
Moving onto new shows that will premiere on Funimation this summer, Moore shared a a PV for SUPER HXEROS, which will air on July 3. Next up was DECA-DENCE, which is helmed by the same creator and director as Death Parade. There were also first-look PVs of Lapis Re:LiGHTs and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, which will broadcast on July 4 and July 10, respectively. To cap off the new summer shows, Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Season 2 arrives on July 7, bringing along with it Season 1 as well!
New additions to the Funimation library are the English dubbed version of The Promised Neverland which premiered on July 1, and, much to fan excitement and a previously-hinted surprise, Naruto is arriving on Funimation in the US and Canada! The original 220-episode series premiered subbed and dubbed on Funimation on July 6.
After recovering from the exciting Naruto news, the panel gave us more amazing streaming news with a special announcement video–a teaser of Tokyo Ghoul:re with a Spanish dub. Shortly after, Funimation’s Josellie Rios shared, in Spanish, the news that Funimation streaming will be coming to Mexico and Brazil later this year! Tokyo Ghoul:re will be one of the first Spanish dubbed anime on the service.
Following this announcement was a look at a number of shows that will premiere this fall, including By the Grace of the Gods, Adachi and Shimamura, Maesetsu! Opening Act, Ikebukuro West Gate Park and Dropout Idol Fruit Tart. Other announcements that will premiere in the near future were Higurashi: When They Cry – NEW, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World and MARS RED, which has a 2021 premiere date and is the first anime to be adapted from a dramatic stage reading.
Moore then switched gears to Funimation Films and revealed a video clip of Justin Briner, the English voice actor for Deku, who shared his thanks for the success of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising in the United States. The panel also touched on the current theatrical landscape, and said that Funimation is monitoring the situation. With that came a highly-anticipated reveal, that Funimation Films is teaming up with Aniplex of America on the release of Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.
Nearing the end of the panel, Moore shared all the goodies that are either on sale or available for preorder at the Funimation Shop. Some highlights include Attack on Titan Nendoroids, Fruits Basket Kyo and Yuki figures, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Standard Edition Blu-ray Part One, a My Hero Academia All-Might FiGPiN XL – Glitter and My Hero Academia Bandai Styling Deku and Bakugo figures. Limited exclusive deals include the My Hero Academia Chrome Funko POP! collection, which is only available today, July 3, and the My Hero Academia Kawaii figures, available only on July 4.
And…there was one more thing! The final announcement was a collaboration between Funimation, K-Swiss and My Hero Academia for a special collection of shoes set for release this December!
Now, that’s an awesome way to close out the first panel of FunimationCon 2020 Day 1.
Wait. There was more? One final announcement came just after the Industry Panel, with the reveal that Studio Pierrot’s Akudama Drive is coming to Funimation this October.
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