Hulu has just begun streaming episodes for the recent seinen, vampire anime series, Devils' Line. Previously, the highly anticipated Spring 2018 show was exclusive to HiDive as part of their exclusivity agreement with Texas-based anime licensor, Sentai Filmworks.
Sentai previously had an exclusive contract with Amazon's Anime Strike but in the wake of their disbandment, Sentai signed with HiDive. However, it now appears that Sentai's deal with HiDive might be for "time-exclusivity" given Devils' Line sudden appearance on Hulu.
Two years ago,
Hulu discontinued their free-subscription and switch to a pay-only membership. As part of that restructuring, the streaming platform announced a lesser focus on anime. However, Hulu's recently increased their anime offerings, most notably "simulcasting" Attack on Titan season 3.
In reality, it appears that Hulu's renewed focus on anime stems for a recent deal its made with Crunchyroll (
https://www.hulu.com/network/crunchyroll) and Funimation (
https://www.hulu.com/network/funimation). It looks like Hulu has the ability to stream past season shows from both Crunchyroll and Funimation and a select number of series that are currently airing. Hulu might have also struck a similar deal with Sentai Filmworks based on some of the news shows that were just added to its anime catalog.
For a complete list of the recent anime offerings from Hulu, click the next button below.
Attack on Titan season 3 and My Hero Academia season 3
Two of the biggest continuing shows of the Summer 2018 anime season are Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia. Shonen anime fans who have a subscription to Hulu don't need to have a second account with Crunchyroll and Funimation if none of the new summer shows piqued their interest.
Overlord III and Angels of Death
Just behind Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia in the "most-anticipated returning series" department is the third season of Overlord. Hulu has also picked up the new 16-episode anime adaptation of the RPG Maker horror video game, Angels of Death. How new shows from Crunchyroll and Funimation are selected/omitted from Hulu remains a mystery.
Chio's School Road and How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord
In addition to Angeles of Death, Hulu is also airing two more Summer anime premieres, Chio's School Road and how NOT to Summon a Demon Lord. Both are comedy gag anime series but that's where the similarities end. Demon Lord is another entry in the long line of isekai series while Chio's School Road follows the daily antics of a female gamer.
Black Clover and Persona 5 the Animation
Black Clover started out as being hyped as the next big shonen anime series, following in the footsteps of Dragon Ball, Bleach, Naruto and so may shonen series before it. Sadly, no amount of marketing was able to save the show from its questionable voice acting and generic storyline. Still, the show does have a solid following, despite the fact that it's going the way of Twin Star Exorcist rather than My Hero Academia. Likewise, the anime adaptation of Persona 5 has been somewhat of a letdown following the video game's glowing reviews.
Devils' Line and Flying Witch
A lot of anime fans were intrigued by Devils' Line but were a bit miffed to see it become a HiDive exclusive for the Spring 2018 anime season. Its appearance on Hulu is causing many anime fans to wonder if the streaming platform has struck a similar deal with Sentai Filmworks. Likewise, Flying Witch is another Sentai-licensed series, albeit an older one.
Amagi Brilliant Park and Hakumei and Mikochi
Just like Devil's Line and Flying Witch, Amagi Brilliant Park and Hakumei and Mikochi are two anime series whose North American streaming rights are held by Sentai. It definitely looks like Hulu has struck a deal with the Texas-based anime licensing company. Don't be surprised if many anime fans soon start putting two-and-two together and realizing that Hulu is offering shows from Crunchyroll, Funimation and HiDive, raising the question of why not simply have a single subscription to Hulu instead of those three.