Well, it’s been a long time coming, but the video streaming site known as VRV, will be shutting down next month. VRV is owned by Crunchyroll but run by Sony and its subsidiaries. The service was meant to bundle together anime, speculative fiction series, and gaming. In the beginning VRV boasted a rather robust catalogue from all sorts of creators and shows. It was even the service where the hit show Final Space, first made its big day view before quietly moving to other platforms. 

The Vrv (Veerv) logo where many could watch anime

A Brief History of VRV

Ellation, the owners of Cruncyroll, launched VRV on June 14, 2016. Initially, when the service started it had numerous partners like Rooster Teeth, Seeso, Nerdist, Geek & Sundry and Frederator’s Cartoon Hangover. This were only the first partners to hop on board to vrv. Soon as the service continued so did the partners on the app. Later Funimation was also added. Giving anime watchers an even greater reason to buy VRV. Having all of crunchyrolls, catalogue of anime combined with Funimation set the platform up to be the best source of watching anime in the West at a fair price cheaper than Crunchyroll and Funimation subscriptions. Also having old animation shows like Nick Rewind which included shows like Rocket Power and Hey Arnold. Also having access to Boomerang so old cartoon shows like Codename: Kids Next Door could also be watched. It truly could’ve shaped up to be the best place to watch animation of all kinds. 

However, on November 9, 2018, Funimation left the platform taking with it a portion of its catalogue with it. This was a heavy blow to the platform as it was the first to leave the service. Funimation already had a streaming app, that was launched 2014. So all their content soon moved to their app. However, it started a domino effect as soon, Geek & Sundry were the next to leave the platform. Boomerang and Nick Rewind were lost in the same year of 2020, when people were definitely sitting in front of screens. In a time where the streaming wars were heating up, Vrv had been set up to be a big player. However, seemed to have lost all its strength to survive in a climate when people needed an escape. 

Those who log in to VRV will now see this.

The End, But Beginning with Crunchyroll

Those who have the service still, the VRV twitter account assured that their accounts will roll over into their VRV account automatically on May 8. This includes your anime watchlists. May 8th is also when the VRV service will officially shut down for good. If a user already has a Crunchyroll account, or perhaps had a free account linked to the same email address. It will practically be done all on its own. Crunchyroll services have improved over the years also including anime, manga, and other perks so though no real lost. A rather sort of bittersweet end to a platform that could’ve honestly been more.