Summary
- Hulu removed several Toei anime, including Dragon Ball, Digimon, and select One Piece seasons.
- Some Toei series remain on Hulu, but availability is subject to licensing deals.
- Negotiations with Toei could bring back removed titles, but it depends on mutual agreement on terms.
Fans of Digimon, Dragon Ball and/or One Piece who prefer Hulu to other streaming services started February in a sad way, as many series and seasons from these franchises left the platform.
A few weeks ago, the service started listing an expiration date for Dragon Ball series (and likely the others) – subscribers then asked Hulu's official support account on social media about it, and the account seemingly confirmed they would be removed. However, some still hoped it was a misunderstanding or miscommunication inside the company.
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Turns out it was true. Yesterday (February 1) many Toei anime left the catalog:
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball GT
- Dragon Ball Super
- Digimon Adventure
- Digimon Adventure 02
- Digimon Tamers
- Digimon Frontier
- One Piece (select seasons)
What's Still On Hulu?
While this is a major blow – especially the Dragon Ball titles that made a great addition to a service that is also streaming Dragon Ball Daima – not all Toei series left the service. Fans can still watch Dragon Ball Daima (2024), Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009), Digimon Adventure: (2020), Toriko (2011), Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (2020).
One Piece fans can still check some episodes on Hulu, but it's not possible to start the anime from scratch anymore. The remaining seasons are Season 2, Season 4, Season 8, Season 10, Season 11 and the dubbed version of the crossover episode "History's Strongest Collaboration Glutton of the Sea", featuring Toriko and Dragon Ball characters.
Can Any of Those Series Return to Hulu?
As none of them are owned by Hulu, their availability depends on licensing deals. Presumably, everything that left the service on February 1 was included in the same deal, while the remaining titles are part of other deals, with different expiration dates.
This means that Hulu can negotiate with Toei once again to get these titles back in its catalog. However, that depends not only on Hulu seeking to re-add these shows, but also on the deal Toei wants to make. For example, if Hulu feels that Toei is setting the bar too high, the company may drop the negotiations. So, basically, it depends on both parties agreeing to the same terms.
Most of the series that left Hulu can be watched on other services, like Crunchyroll and Netflix.
Source: Hulu via X (formerly Twitter)