Funimation announced in a blog post yesterday that Skate-Leading Stars will join their winter simulcast lineup. Not only that, new episodes will stream two weeks ahead of the Japanese broadcast.
They describe the series:
“Kensei Maeshima . . . is swept back into the world of skating when his rival (who also led him to quit figure skating in the first place) Reo Shinozaki announces he will be competing in the team sport of skate-leading.”
This isn’t the first time Funimation premiered an anime before Japan. It’s not even the first time this season. Last week, they announced plans to stream Cells at Work!! Season 2 and Cells At Work! CODE BLACK two days ahead of Japan. In 2013, Space Dandy aired on Toonami a day early.
I can’t help but wonder how this will impact the already tight deadlines that animation studios deal with. A day or two early is one thing, but two weeks is a significant amount of time. This could potentially lead to a situation where Funimation streams a different version than what airs on TV in Japan.
[Source: Funimation’s blog]
