When Crunchyroll and Funimation merged, many anime didn’t make it back to their merged catalog. Among them was one of my favorites, Eureka Seven. This bummed me because I was thinking about revisiting it. Fortunately, I have the series on DVD, but not many people have that option. I will include the list of the discontinued titles at the end of this article. Fullmetal Alchemist the original series sits on the list. I have that collection too because in many ways I prefer the original over Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Anime disappearing the Crunchyroll’s catalog isn’t unusual. Titles disappear quietly. You don’t realize they’re gone until you go to watch them. Titles don’t always disappear because of lack of views. Sometimes licenses end. Streaming services enter into distribution agreements with the holders of a series, which is usually a larger company than the studio that originally produced the title. Once those agreements end, the anime rubberband back to the intellectual property holder. And because these holders have large portfolios, these titles can disappear into the archive. They’ve already made back their costs, or they’ve failed to do so. Both can serve as reasons to put the title on a cobwebbed, dusty shelf. And there it can sit (virtually or physically if you are dealing with master physical copies) until it disappears.
Titles can disappear when hard drives fail, when backup copies corrupt or disappear, or when the physical media ages. Magnetic tape storage can also age. The mechanical parts seize and manufacturers of those drives can stop producing them. We forget that cloud storage still uses hardware, mechanical hard drives and solid state storage chips. Material things wear out. Long-term storage methods like magnetic tapes have their own problems. Film degrades. I’ve had the privilege of working with acetate film (yes the super flammable stuff) and other types of film from the 1920s. Such film degrades even under the best conditions, and the film I digitized frames from wasn’t stored in those conditions. It takes people and time, and therefore money, to keep backups viable or to rescue otherwise lost content. And after a point, the amount of titles a holder has becomes difficult to manage, even if the titles are digital. This leads to content being lost to time. Content can also survive in later versions which have changed from the original. For example, Trigun on master tapes has different coloration than modern versions, which colors everything with a blue shift. I know a collector who owns a few of the Japanese master tapes with English dubs on the tapes. These were the tapes from which consumer VHS and laser discs (when those were a thing) were copied. The tapes can have Japanese and English audio encoding, depending on the purpose of the tape. If it isn’t for collectors, this content can disappear. It was wasn’t for collectors, we may not know differences between the original and current versions exist.
The disappearance of content isn’t isolated to anime. Movies and television shows disappear. Original versions of movies can become lost or scarce. I’m looking at you, Star Wars. Star Wars films, if you didn’t know, has changed over the years with scenes being cut or changed across different releases. Disc rot can hit consumer DVDs that are only a handful of years old. This exacerbates the problem.
People like to hold up piracy as the solution to this problem. Distributed network protocols like Bittorrent allows multiple copies of content to be stored around the world. This reduces the risk of content disappearing into a vault and rotting away. And this is true to a point. Consumer digital copies, however, remain inferior to the original copies intellectual property holders have. Inferior copies is better than content being lost. The local theater advertisements I salvaged rough frames from remain better than have no record of those local businesses. But you can’t rebuild the original from these salvaged files. There will be always something missing or off just because these pirated copies come from consumer-grade materials or from recorded streams. The original quality becomes lost. Plus, the consumer copies have changes across their versions. Music changes across versions. Scenes can be cut. The files can be poisoned with malware by unsavory pirates.
Of course, piracy is illegal. It violates the rights of the intellectual property holder to do whatever they want with the content. If they want to leave the content to rot and disappear, that is their legal choice. There’s a tension between this ownership and allowing access. People should be paid for their creative work. Consumers undervalue creative work because of the ease of consumption. Things that are easy to consume or don’t take a lot of time to consume, are seen as of lower value. Writing and painting and drawing and making music is hard. It takes thousands of hours to master the skills necessary to create a work that’s consumed in a few minutes to a few hours. And people aren’t willing to pay a lot for that work despite the immense investment of life the artist has imbued into that work. Animation takes dozens of people an immense investment of life to learn the skills necessary and to produce. Piracy prevents studios from recouping the cost (and so pay their employees) for this production. Without recouping costs and generating profit, studios can’t continue to produce content. But this argument has been used to the point of just eliciting eye rolls. Commercial interests work with and against preservation. It costs money to preserve content. Old content can be profitable. Those titles fund their own preservation as long as they generate profit. Most people who work in anime companies like anime. Many feel passionate about anime! They aren’t villains. There’s just economic realities they have to balance against their passion and love for the medium. Too often these companies are viewed as villains (and sometimes rightly so), but we have to remember that many passionate anime fans who believe in preservation work in these companies too. While I can’t speak for them, I surmise many want to preserve everything if they could. It’s just not possible.
The best stories tend to survive time. Lesser quality stories disappear. Now a lot of good stories and content have been lost thanks to time. We don’t know what has been lost throughout history. But what remains tends to speak to people and speaks to the human condition. As much as it pains me as a librarian to write: not everything needs to survive. Stories exist within a certain period. They serve a limited purpose and have limited value. Once those stories have ran their course, once they’ve fulfilled their purpose, they can disappear. There’s so much content now that if all anime, manga, TV, books, and video game production would stop–no new stories were ever made again–you still couldn’t live long enough to work through the content that already exists. In such a world, preservation would be production. But we live in a world where new content is produced on an amazing scale. Inevitably, this new content will push out the old because of the scarcity of resources. Resources moved to preservation takes them from producing new content. This isn’t entirely zero-sum. Some old content will fund new content, which is why companies have a limited interest in preservation.
There’s no solution to this tension. Some anime will disappear forever. Some will remain with us indefinitely. Piracy can help preserve content at the cost of legality and quality, but the original work won’t be preserved. The best compromise is for enthusiasts and companies to fund archives dedicated to long-term preservation of anime, video games, or whatever. Companies should release original versions to these archives and allow those non-profit archives to help fund themselves by streaming or through limited distribution of those titles. This would need to be negotiated so all parties can benefit. Copyright law also needs amended to allow for preservation. Fan preservation, while a good stopgap, isn’t the solution. Several nonprofit archives or libraries, that work together, provides the solution as long as intellectual property owners work with them.
Discontinued Anime as of 6/10/24:
1. .hack//Legend of the Twilight. (sub/dub)
2. .hack//Quantum (sub/dub)
3. .hack//Roots (sub/dub)
4. A Certain Magical Index II (dub)
5. A Certain Magical Index movie (dub)
6. A Certain Scientific Railgun S (dub)
7. A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd (sub)
8. Ai Yori Aoshi (sub/dub)
9. ALDNOAH.ZERO (dub)
10. Aliens vs Ninja (sub/dub)
11. Angel Beats! (dub)
12. Angel Links (sub/dub)
13. Appleseed XIII (sub/dub)
14. Aquarion (sub/dub)
15. Aquarion Evol (sub/dub)
16. Aquarion Logos (sub/dub)
17. ARIA The ANIMATION (dub)
18. AIRA The NATURAL (dub)
19. ARIA The OVA ~ ARIETTA ~ (sub/dub)
20. ARIA The ORIGINATION (dub)
21. ARIA The AVVENIRE (sub/dub)
22. Aria the Scarlet Ammo Season 2 (sub/dub)
23. Armitage III OVA (sub/dub)
24. Armitage III Movies (sub/dub)
25. Astro Boy
26. Athena: Goddess of War
27. Attack on Titan The Movie Part 1 & 2 (sub/dub)
28. Bakemonogatari Episodes 13 - 15 (sub)
29. Baldr Force Exe (sub/dub)
30. Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (dub)
31. Ben-To (sub/dub)
32. BlazBlue: Alter Memory (sub/dub)
33. Blessing of the Campanella (sub)
34. Blood-C (sub/dub)
35. Boogiepop Phantom (dub)
36. C - Control (sub/dub)
37. Castle Town Dandelion (sub/dub)
38. Cat Planet Cuties (sub/dub)
39. Cheer Boys!! (sub/dub)
40. Chrome Shelled Regios (sub/dub)
41. City Under Siege (sub/dub)
42. Classroom Crisis (sub)
43. Code Geass - Akito the Exiled (sub/dub)
44. Confucius (sub/dub)
45. DAIMIDALER: PRINCE VS. PENGUIN EMPIRE (sub/dub)
46. Dagashi Kashi Season 1 (sub/dub)
47. Darwin’s Game (dub)
48. Doamygar-D (sub)
49. Dragon Ball Movie Curse of the Blood Rubies (sub only streaming at this time)
50. Dragon Ball Movie Mystical Adventure (sub only streaming at this time)
51. Dragon Ball Movie Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (sub only streaming at this time)
52. Dragon Ball Movie The Path To Power (sub only streaming at this time)
53. Dragon Ball Z Special History of Trunks (sub only streaming at this time)
54. Durarara!! (sub/dub)
55. Durarara!!x2 (sub/dub)
56. Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 1 (dub)
57. Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 2 (dub)
58. ERASED (dub)
59. Eureka Seven (sub/dub)
60. Eureka Seven Movie (sub/dub)
61. Free! Orchestra Concert 2020
62. Free! -Road to the World- the Dream (Sub)
63. FLCL (sub/dub)
64. Galaxy Angel (sub/dub)
65. Galaxy Angel Z (sub/dub)
66. Galaxy Angel A (sub/dub)
67. Galaxy Angel S (sub/dub)
68. Galaxy Angel X (sub/dub)
69. Galaxy Angel Rune (sub/dub)
70. Gangsta. (dub)
71. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (sub/dub)
72. God Eater (dub)
73. Goemon (sub/dub)
74. Gundam Build Divers Season 1 (dub)
75. Gunslinger Girl - Il Teatrino (sub/dub)
76. Gurren Lagann (dub)
77. Hal (sub/dub)
78. Haruchika - Haruta & Chika (sub)
79. Heaven’s Lost Property Angeloid of Clockwork
80. Heavy Object (sub/dub)
81. Her Majesty
82. Higanjima: Escape from Vampire Island (sub/dub)
83. High School Fleet (sub)
84. Ikki Tousen (sub/dub)
85. Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians (sub/dub)
86. Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor (sub/dub)
87. Inari Kon Kon (sub)
88. Kamisama Kiss (sub)
89. Katsugeki Touken Ranbu (dub)
90. Kiddy Girl-AND (sub)
91. Kimba, the White Lion
92. Koyomimonogatari (sub)
93. Le Chevalier D’Eon (dub)
94. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
95. Luck & Logic (sub)
96. MAGI Season 1 (dub)
97. MAGI Season 2 (dub)
98. March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 (dub)
99. Martian Successor Nadesico (dub)
100. MEKAKUCITY ACTORS (sub)
101. Million Arthur Season 2 (dub)
102. Minami-ke: Tadaima (sub) (Only this season is licensed at this time)
103. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (dub)
104. Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA (sub/dub)
105. MoonPhase (sub/dub)
106. My Bride is a Mermaid (sub/dub)
107. NINJA SLAYER FROM ANIMATION (sub/dub)
108. NO-RIN (sub/dub)
109. One Piece Specials 8-13 (dub)
110. Outlaw Star (sub/dub)
111. Pandora in the Crimson Shell:Ghost Urn (sub/dub)
112. PUCHIM@S (sub)
113. Psychic School Wars
114. Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (sub/dub)
115. Rainbow Days (sub)
116. Rental Magica (sub)
117. Riddle Story of Devil (sub/dub)
118. Revolutionary Girl Utena: Adolescence of Utena (sub/dub)
119. Ruroni Kenshin Movies (sub/dub)
120. Samurai Flamenco (sub)
121. Sands of Destruction (sub/dub)
122. Seiyu’s Life (sub)
123. selector infected WIXOSS Season 1 (sub/dub)
124. selector infected WIXOSS Season 2 (sub/dub)
125. Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings Season 1 (sub/dub)
126. Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings Season 2 (sub/dub)
127. Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings Movie (sub/dub)
128. Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign (sub/dub)
129. Serial Experiments Lain (sub/dub)
130. Sgt. Frog Season 1 (dub)
131. Sgt. Frog Season 2 (dub)
132. Sgt. Frog Season 3 (dub)
133. SHONEN HOLLYWOOD -HOLLY STAGE FOR 49- (sub)
134. SHONEN HOLLYWOOD -HOLLY STAGE FOR 50- (sub)
135. SHOW BY ROCK!! Stars!!! (sub/dub)
136. Silver Spoon Season 1 (sub)
137. Silver Spoon Season 2 (sub)
138. Smuggler (sub)
139. Soul Eater Not! (sub/dub)
140. Space Adventure Cobra (sub)
141. STARMYU Season 1 (sub)
142. Steins;Gate (dub)
143. Steins;Gate OVA (sub/dub)
144. Steins;Gate 23β - Divide By Zero (sub/dub)
145. Steins;Gate The Movie (sub/dub)
146. Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist
147. Switch (sub/dub)
148. Tokyo Ghoul: The Movie (dub)
149. Tales of Vesperia (sub/dub)
150. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 1 OVA (sub/dub)
151. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 2 OVA (sub/dub)
152. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 3 OVA (sub/dub)
153. Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe (sub/dub)
154. The Asterisk War Season 1 (dub)
155. The Asterisk War Season 2 (dub)
156. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Season 1 (sub/dub)
157. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Season 1 Shorts (sub)
158. The Heroic Legend of Arslan Season 1 (sub/dub)
159. The Heroic Legend of Arslan Season 2 (sub/dub)
160. The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (sub/dub)
161. The Legend of Legendary Heroes (sub/dub)
162. The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya & Nyoron! Churuya-san (sub/dub)
163. The Rolling Girls (sub/dub)
164. The Slayers (S1) (sub/dub)
165. The Slayers NEXT (S2) (sub/dub)
166. The Slayers TRY (S3) (sub/dub)
167. The Slayers REVOLUTION (S4) (sub/dub)
168. The Slayers EVOLUTION-R (S5) (sub/dub)
169. The Sword with no Name (sub/dub)
170. The Tatami Galaxy (sub)
171. The Vision of EscaFlowne (sub/dub)
172. EscaFlowne: The Movie (sub/dub)
173. The Wallflower (dub)
174. The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake (sub/dub)
175. TO Movie (sub/dub)
176. Tokyo ESP (sub/dub)
177. Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE OVA (sub/dub)
178. TSUKIUTA. The Animation Season 1 (sub)
179. Ultimate Otaku Teacher (sub/dub)
180. Unbreakable Machine-Doll (sub/dub)
181. Vexille (sub/dub)
182. Visual Prison (sub)
183. Vividred Operation (sub)
184. World Conquest Zvezda Plot (sub)
185. Yatterman Night (sub)
186. You're Being Summoned, Azazel S1
187. You're Being Summoned, Azazel S2
188. Yurikuma Arashi (sub/dub)
189. Zillion (sub)
I see some great works among those removed, and still have them on DVD (unless disk rot also claimed them, haven’t rewatched some series for many years).
Crunchyroll isn’t available at all in my region, so no problem for me (and there’s almost no legal channels to get anime – learned where to pirate it), but indeed sad for those who rely on it.
The lack of legal options remains a hurdle for many fans, sadly. It’s good to have a physical collection! I was saddened to see so many great works disappear, but all things are impermanent as Zen teaches. There’s an irony in how anime has many Zen themes built into its stories only to have those stories potentially disappear themselves!
Surprised by #71. A very underestimated work, in my opinion.
Your mention of “Japanese and English audio encoding” also brings to mind incompatibility issues, whether regional or in format. I’m reminded of the difficulty in trying to find a way to play the videotape in Cowboy Bebop’s, “Speak Like a Child”.
I agree that #71 is underestimated and overlooked. I have it in my physical collection. That was a great Bebop episode! VHS tapes last longer than the players. It’s getting increasingly difficult to find VHS players in good condition for a reasonable price.