AnimeLab was originally an Australian streaming service by Madman Entertainment, but it was sold to Sony's Aniplex in 2019, became a subsidiary of Funimation Global Group, and was later absorbed into Crunchyroll after Sony acquired Crunchyroll, unifying all three under Sony's ownership. AnimeLab's services were rebranded as Funimation in 2021 and eventually merged into the unified Crunchyroll platform.
February 2019, the Madman Anime Group is sold to Aniplex, Inc, a renowned Japanese entertainment company and subsidiary of the Sony Group. Former in-house streaming platform AnimeLab is transitioned into Crunchyroll.
Paul Wiegard. Paul is the Co-Founder and CEO of Madman Entertainment, a leading independent distributor in Australia and New Zealand.
The consolidation reorganised AnimeLab as a direct subsidiary of Funimation. The company changed its name to Crunchyroll Pty. Ltd. on 23 March 2022, following the rebranding of its parent company Funimation to Crunchyroll, LLC.
If you were an AnimeLab subscriber, you can access Crunchyroll using your AnimeLab email and password. That's all you need! As announced in March 2022, Crunchyroll embarked on a quest to unite anime fans under one banner, and waved farewell to the Funimation app and website on April 2, 2024.
This move by Crunchyroll marks an upcoming era of stricter licensing, where fans may get fragmented access to content. It might also be possible that a licensing issue is the reason behind the removal of the content. This is because many anime titles have reportedly left Crunchyroll's catalog due to similar issues.
Crunchyroll has a much larger selection than AnimeLab (I think around 600 available shows vs 300) but has a lot more ads if you aren't paying for premium. Personally I would recommend Crunchyroll if you want to pay for premium, AnimeLab if you don't. There are a few shows on Aus Netflix but really not worth it.
Now, it has been announced that AnimeLab will be officially rebranded as FunimationANZ, shutting down the AnimeLab service on June 17 and moving all of its users to Funimation's streaming platform.
Aniwave (formerly 9anime) shut down in late August 2024 due to intensified global anti-piracy crackdowns, with copyright holders like the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), Japan's efforts, and major anime studios taking down unauthorized streaming sites for copyright infringement. The site posted a farewell message encouraging users to support creators through legal services, acknowledging the legal risks of operating such platforms.
One such service is the Australian-managed Japanese animation specialty app AnimeLab. Serving Australian and New Zealand anime fans with content, AnimeLab has been running since 2014 and serves to strengthen local anime distribution powerhouse Madman Entertainment's DVD retail business.
By the metric of realised pay, Bill Beament of Develop Global is #1; while reported pay once again earns Macquarie Group's Shemara Wikramanayake the title of highest-paid CEO in Australia.
Menulog failed in Australia due to intense competition from Uber Eats and DoorDash, leading to significant market share loss, consecutive years of substantial financial losses, and inability to achieve profitability despite high marketing spend, ultimately prompting its parent company to strategically exit the market to focus on other regions. Factors like high operating costs, ineffective marketing compared to rivals, shifting consumer behavior post-pandemic, and challenges with driver costs also contributed to its downfall.
Gerry Harvey always wanted to be a farmer and even won a scholarship to agricultural college before a twist of fate saw him become a multi-billionaire retailer. To pay for his education, he studied part time and held a door-to-door sales job, where he met future business partner, Ian Norman.
The cross popping veins symbol was added to Unicode 6.0 as an emoji (💢) in 2010 with the name "anger symbol" and the code U+1F4A2. It is typically rendered with a bright red color. Older manga such as Doraemon use smoke puffs to represent anger rather than the vein insignia.
There's no single "top 1" anime, as it varies by taste, but Attack on Titan, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer consistently rank as the world's most popular and highest-rated, often topping lists on sites like IMDb and Crunchyroll due to their intense action, compelling stories, and global appeal. The best choice depends on whether you prefer epic fantasy, high-stakes action, or character-driven drama, with Attack on Titan often cited for its shocking plot and One Piece for its vast adventure.
On June 10, 2021, it was announced AnimeLab would begin the process of rebranding and transitioning its services to Funimation in Australia and New Zealand, on June 17, 2021.
The anime that famously took seven years to make is the 2009 sci-fi racing film Redline, known for its stunning, entirely hand-drawn animation with over 100,000 individual frames, produced by Madhouse Studio and directed by Takeshi Koike.
The safest anime websites are official, licensed platforms like Crunchyroll, HiDive, Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, and RetroCrush, which offer legal, ad-supported (Tubi, Crunchyroll free tier) or subscription-based viewing, protecting you from malware and pop-ups common on illegal sites. YouTube also hosts official channels (like Muse Asia, Ani-One) and Viz Media offers some shows legally for free in certain regions.
Widespread English exposure to the term came in 1988 with the release of Gunbuster, which refers to anime fans as otaku.
AnimeLab is a popular choice for anime fans, offering a massive library of anime titles with Indonesian subtitles. The app boasts a user-friendly interface and regular updates, ensuring a smooth streaming experience.
1. Crunchyroll – Best Overall Anime Streaming Service. Crunchyroll remains the top dedicated anime platform in 2026. It offers the most simulcasts, the deepest anime-only catalog, and strong support for both subs and dubs.
Crunchyroll has announced that viewing their content free with ads officially ends on December 31st, 2025. In order to view any Anime on their site, you will have to pay a subscription.