Cineverse's RetroCrush Acquires Exclusive Streaming Rights to Classic Sci-Fi Anime Series "Future Boy Conan" from GKIDS

Hayao Miyazaki's Post-apocalyptic Series Joins Growing Streaming Service as RetroCrush Celebrates its 5th Anniversary

RetroCrush Podcast to Include Weekly Anime Club in Friday Episodes, Dedicated to Future Boy Conan

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cineverse (Nasdaq: CNVS), a next-generation entertainment studio, announced today the acquisition of streaming rights for the animated series Future Boy Conan for RetroCrush — its streaming service dedicated to classic anime. Exclusive to RetroCrush, which is celebrating the 5th anniversary of its March 30, 2020 launch, all 26 episodes of the series were licensed via a multi-year deal with GKIDS.

The series, which marked the directorial debut of Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron), will be available to stream in the U.S. for the first time ever, with episodes released weekly to recreate the anticipation and excitement of its original 1978 broadcast. It will premiere exclusively  on the RetroCrush subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service on April 18, 2025.

Additionally, the free, ad-supported, streaming television (FAST) version of RetroCrush — available as a linear channel on several popular platforms — will showcase the Future Boy Conan during the "A Very Hayao Miyazaki Earth Day" marathon on April 20, 22, and 27 (beginning at 8 a.m. ET and ending at 4 a.m. ET the next day).

RetroCrush launched as a standalone streaming service five years ago, following a successful debut as a YouTube/social video channel. As of this month, its social media footprint counts 2.2 million followers across platforms, having doubled since Cineverse acquired the streaming brand three years ago. Since 2021, paid subscribers have grown +137%.

"We're thrilled to bring Future Boy Conan to RetroCrush, offering fans the chance to experience a foundational work in animation history," said Cineverse Chief Content Officer Yolanda Macias. "With its blend of breathtaking action, quiet moments of wonder, and a timeless story about survival and resilience, Future Boy Conan is a must-watch for Japanese animation enthusiasts, newcomers, and especially fans of Hayao Miyazaki."

"We are so happy to be working with Retrocrush to celebrate Miayazaki-san's directorial debut and to share this special, landmark program with a combination of loyal fans and new audiences," said GKIDS Director of Home Entertainment Alison Kozberg.

Future Boy Conan takes place in a new world where, twenty years ago, a terrible war fought with magnetic weapons caused the earth's axis to tilt, and earthquakes and tidal waves destroyed civilization. Conan is raised by his adopted grandfather on an isolated island, but his life is forever changed when a mysterious girl named Lana washes ashore, pursued by shadowy operatives who seek to use her in a new scheme to control what's left of the world.

Future Boy Conan marks Cineverse's second RetroCrush exclusive deal with GKIDS, the first being Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. The deal was negotiated by Mary Gibson, acquisitions director, on behalf of Cineverse and Alison Kozberg, GKIDS director of home entertainment, on behalf of GKIDS.

Additionally, the RetroCrush Podcast, hosted by social media stars Tha Storm (250K+ followers, 15M likes on TikTok), will launch a weekly anime club dedicated to Future Boy Conan. Every Friday, as new episodes drop on RetroCrush, they'll recap and discuss the latest batch while exploring how the series helped shape globally beloved anime like One Piece and Hunter X Hunter.

Since its launch in late 2024, the RetroCrush Podcast has released 30 episodes, offering fans deep dives into the classic and influential anime that define RetroCrush's library.

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About GKIDS
GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's acclaimed feature, The Boy and the Heron. The company's previous nominations include The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, Wolfwalkers in 2021, and The Boy and the Heron in 2024. For more than a decade, GKIDS' influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai, Belle), Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Wolfwalkers), Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine), Makoto Shinkai (Weathering With You), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), Alberto Vázquez (Unicorn Wars) and Masaaki Yuasa (Inu-Oh, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl), among countless others. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. www.gkids.com

About RetroCrush
RetroCrush is dedicated to the Golden Age of anime, highlighting classic anime movies and series for old and new fans alike. The RetroCrush line-up includes more than 200 series and features. It is available at www.retrocrush.tv and as a standalone app; as a SVOD option on Prime Video Channels, Comcast and The Roku Channel; and as a linear FAST channel on Fubo, Philo, Plex, Pluto TV Canada, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, TCL+, The Roku Channel, Vizio WatchFree+, and Zone TV.  Additionally, the RetroCrush Podcast is available as a video show on YouTube and Spotify, with audio streaming available on all major podcast platforms. Fans can follow RetroCrush on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and on Discord.

About Cineverse Streaming

Cineverse owns and/or operates a wide range of premium streaming brands, from free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) apps. These span fandoms – from single IP channels around pop cultural icons such as Bob Ross, The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan, Garfield and Barney, to channels curated for fans of Horror (Screambox, Midnight Pulp), Pan-Asian and Anime (RetroCrush, AsianCrush), Comedy (Comedy Dynamics), Documentary and Crime (Crime Hunters, Docurama), Independent Film (Fandor), Romance and Rom Coms (Dove Channel), to name a few.

About Cineverse

Cineverse (Nasdaq: CNVS) is a next-generation entertainment studio that empowers creators and entertains fans with a wide breadth of content through the power of technology. It has developed a new blueprint for delivering entertainment experiences to passionate audiences and results for its partners with unprecedented efficiency, and distributes more than 71,000 premium films, series, and podcasts.  Cineverse connects fans with bold, authentic, independent stories. Properties include the highest-grossing unrated film in U.S. history; dozens of streaming fandom channels; a premier podcast network; top horror destination Bloody Disgusting; and more. Powering visionary storytelling with cutting-edge innovation, Cineverse's proprietary streaming tools drive revenue and reach to redefine the next era of entertainment. For more information, visit home.cineverse.com. 

CONTACTS:

For Media, The Lippin Group for Cineverse
[email protected] 

For Investors, Julie Milstead
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SOURCE Cineverse Corp.