Who sits where? And how do each of the streaming services look for the upcoming year?

Netflix

What Went Right?

Returning series were excellent. BoJack Horseman and F is for Family, two bedrocks for Netflix’s animated future that the network can build on as the Disney-FOX deal begins to chip away at the catalog of content the streaming service has now. BoJack Horseman is as good as any show on any network, if not better than most all of them. And slowly, you can see the franchise is starting to ante up the merch a bit in a bit more unconventional way than say your South Parks or Family Guys, and is usually one of the shows that is featured in commercials using to promote Netflix like T-Mobile or FiOS. F is for Family is getting stronger each season and is continually showcasing Bill Burr as a fierce voice actor that can deliver the laughs (which we already knew) and also the cries.

New programming. Despite the fact that the series premiered at the tail-end of the third season of Rick and Morty, dare I say Big Mouth stole a bunch of the social media thunder that the Adult Swim series had. The #puberme craze went nuts and as time went on, Big Mouth was starting to gain accolades not just for its anatomical humor but for its heart as well.The streaming service also started to continue its anime/action series stronghold with solid efforts from ID-0, Fate, and Castlevania and thereby establishing the streaming service as not just a great place for animated comedies and dramedies, but also as an excellent alternative to Toonami or Funimation for those looking for a little more seriousness in their animation.

What Went Wrong?

Neo Yokio. The anime purists hated Neo Yokio. The curious fans of BoJack Horseman were way more forgiving of a serious that really was a parody at its heart.  But one has to still love the set of balls on Netflix to release a show like that. It’s like the streaming service can give ZERO fucks what the critics think because people are still watching it. Don’t believe me? Will Smith’s Bright just got greenlit for a sequel.

What’s next?

On an earnings call posted last year, Ted Saranados noted that he plans to release 30 anime over the next year. Plus, we’ve got new seasons of Big Mouth, Castlevania, BoJack Horseman, and F is for Family on the way. Last but not least, Disenchantment from Matt Groening (The Simpsons) will premiere. Also, the one streaming service that can come close to matching Netflix on users, Hulu, doesn’t appear to be very interested in original animated content offerings anytime soon, so it may be a while before Netflix sees any REAL challengers in this space.

Grade: A-

 

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VRV

What Went Right?

HYDRA. Fans of the Marvel Universe know the eponymous line that comes with HYDRA. “Cut off one head, three shall take its place”.  And that’s what I get from Crunchyroll’s VRV streaming service. You have Mondo, you have Cartoon Hangover, you have other premium services, and then VRV Select comes along and mops up what was left over from the death of Seeso.

Mondo. There is no premium channel on VRV that has shown a working business model of how to do it than Mondo. The last couple of years, the house that the Dick Figures built have done a great job of mixing up their offerings with acquisitions (Lastman), new original programming ( Deep Space 69) and a library of original properties that is rather potent(Happy Tree Friends). 

What Went Wrong?

VRV should let its streaming partners know of strong recommendations. So, before Shudder brings over a South Korean animated horror movie, MAYBE, let’s tell Shudder to pay for the English dub thereby making it way more attractive. Also, I would like to see some sort of a guide that has intended audiences associated with animated programming. For example, Mondo does this correctly by making sure subscribers know that Lastman and D69 are TV-MA audiences whereas Cartoon Hangover’s lineup is a bit more polarizing on intended audiences.

What’s Next?

Mondo’s got Cat Agent on the way, and both Deep Space 69 and Lastman are wrapping in January. I also loved parent company Crunchyroll’s recent foray into original acquisitions that were English speaking. Hopefully, this is just the start, because I would have to imagine that post-Sony buy of Funimation, how the “content share” between the two companies will fare into the new year.

 

Grade: B+

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Rooster Teeth

What Went Right?

And counting…Rwby and Red vs Blue had very strong seasons and the Rooster Teeth empire is growing as the RTX show has traveled from the United States to London to Australia.  Rooster Teeth has about 500,000 paying First subs along with 35 million Youtube subscribers. It’s also not uncommon to see their more valuable franchises on home release in retail outlets both brick and mortar and digital.

What Went Wrong?

RwBy Chibi, Camp Camp, Sex Swing and RT Animated Adventures. All garbage. Every one of those series should be taken out back and slaughtered. Fortunately…

What’s Next?

Gen Lock. Wait, the producers of RwBy are bringing us a mech-anime series? Yes, please. A new season of Red vs Blue? Yes, please, please.

Grade: C

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Funimation

What Went Right?

Release schedules. Funimation is the only streaming service, aside from Netflix, doing it correctly. HiDive, Amazon, and maybe Hulu now, really just acquire libraries so they seldom bring out new content. Moreover, the one service that DOES stream new content, HiDive, usually does so with in a week or so of the home release which really shows decreased value for both sides of the equation. Funimation’s method of usually streaming the series, or selling it to Toonami first and then streaming it, before it comes out on home release is the correct way to go.

What Went Wrong

LOTS of bad intellectual property. One might be worried about the Sony-takeover, but you shouldn’t (see below). But sometimes the streaming network is known to throw up a LOT of terrible shit. Fanservicy, slice-of-lifey, and sometimes dripping with “we’ve seen this show done a bunch of times”, Funimation should start dictating more quality over quantity. Give us more My Hero Academia and Ancient Magus’ Bride and less In Another World With My Smartphone. 

What’s Next?

Funimation was acquired by Sony which should give the streaming service additional access to resources it didn’t have before for acquisitions and expanded distribution of anime movie acquisitions which was already a success in 2017. And really other than Netflix, Funimation has no real competition in first-run English dubbed anime on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.

Grade: B