Crunchyroll’s presence in the overseas anime industry continues to grow. The Owned by Sony the streaming service bought Right Stuf, which operates the largest online anime retailer in North America. The deal was announced on August 4, 2022, just before the Crunchyroll Expo event. Pricing and other terms are not publicly disclosed. [Thanks, ANN!].
The acquisition of Right Stuf boosts Crunchyroll’s burgeoning e-commerce business, expanding its selection in both anime and manga. The merger of Crunchyroll with Funimation also brings Funimation’s actual home video release under the “Crunchyroll for Home Video” label.
Right Stuf was quick to announce on its blog that the retail side of the business, headed by RightStufAnime.com, will not change much. There are no plans to rebrand or merge categories and all orders, current and future, will continue to be processed as normal. The Crunchyroll and Right Stuf online stores will also operate separately “for the time being”.
There is one exception: porn. Following the acquisition, Right Stuf will phase out its pornographic products and content gradually. It will honor existing orders, but will no longer accept future orders. All future products and orders in the now defunct Erotica section will be moved to a new business, EroAnimeStore.com. The EroAnimeStore’s store website is down for now, but the linked FAQ promises that all existing orders and products will be converted in time.
