Today, Crunchyroll to launch some apps for Sony, Sentai Filmworks licenses Kokoro Connect, and Shorts HD acquires a library of anime from Funimation.

Sources:

• Story 1

  Crunchyroll, Inc., the leading anime and Asian drama streaming service is set to launch its own branded application for the PlayStation 3 system in summer 2012, with an application for the PlayStation Vita portable entertainment system to follow later this year.

  The Crunchyroll application for the PS3 system will initially be available in English for U.S. and Canadian audiences. Anime fans will be able to enjoy the latest Anime shows with subtitles within hours of Japan TV broadcast, including hits like NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, PRINCE OF TENNIS, and HUNTER X HUNTER. Crunchyroll will also offer a special 30-day free trial for PS3 users who download the application from PlayStation Network.

  Crunchyroll’s CEO Kun Gao said, “With more than 40 percent of our user base owning a PS3 system, we are more than thrilled to be able to cater to their console of choice, and translate the same great experience that they have on our site onto the PS3 system. Moreover, we think the Anime and gaming audience are a perfect fit, and hope more gamers will discover and enjoy our Anime titles.”

• Story 2

  ShortsHD is adding a catalog of high quality Anime
  titles to it’s channel lineup. The world’s only TV network dedicated to short
  movies has acquired a library of high quality Anime short movies from FUNimation
  Entertainment, the leading Anime company in the U.S. and the include such popular
  anime series and fan favorites as: Fullmetal Alchemist, D.Gray-man, Jyu Oh Sei, Ghost
  Hunt, Aquarion, Sands of Destruction, Kenichi, and Trinity Blood.
  “We are pleased to be offering an assortment of high quality Anime films from
  FUNimation on ShortsHD ,” said Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive of ShortsHD. “Anime
  and animation lovers nationwide are in for a real treat with this launch.”

  The announcement comes on the heels of ShortsHD teaming up with the British Film
  Institute (BFI) to world Vintage Jubilee Shorts, a series of vintage short films and
  documentaries from the prestigious BFI national archive film vaults. The airing of
  the Anime films on the channel is already underway and can be seen beginning this
  week.

• Story 3

  3 girls + 2 boys = a 5-way body swap in Sentai Filmworks’ latest acquisition: Kokoro Connect! Directed by Shin Oonuma (Dusk maiden of Amnesia, ef ~ a tale of memories.) and Shinya Kwamo (.hack//GIFT) with series composition by Fumihiko Shimo (Air, CLANNAD), character designs by Toshifumi Akai (Sound of the Sky) and sound direction by Toshiki Kameyama (Hidamari Sketch, Dusk maiden of Amnesia).

  The five members of the Cultural Study group that meets in class 401 have spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes. But they’re about to learn that there’s a huge difference between thinking about something and literally BEING in someone else’s shoes! Because that’s exactly what happens when, suddenly and inexplicably, they each find themselves inside the body of the girl (or boy) next door! What happens next? Well, besides bringing a whole new meaning to the term “Exchange Student” and the expected freaked out runs to the bathroom, it’s not hard to do the math: Take one wrestling geek, the resident cool girl, the class clown, the popular chick and one sultry maid of mystery, scramble thoroughly and divide, and you can bet that pretty soon they’ll be answering ALL of the questions they never wanted to know about the opposite sex in ways they never anticipated! Get ready for the wildest game of musical bodies ever as Taichi, Himeko, Yoshifumi, Yui and Iori have to survive seeing the world through each others’ eyes in: KOKORO CONNECT!

  Kokoro Connect will be available through digital outlets with a home video release to follow next year.