Big news for anime fans, because Crunchyroll is now official from Sony. After the acquisition was announced in December 2020, there were still a few observers to consider. It has happened and Sony can now add Crunchyroll to its affiliates. Crunchyroll is a platform where you can stream all the popular anime series and a lot of the lesser known anime series.
Crunchy Roll
Crunchyroll’s advantage is that it allows English subtitles, which is essential since most of the manga-based animations are told in Japanese. Sony already had an anime streaming service called Funimation. It’s not entirely clear if Crunchyroll will continue to exist separately, with Sony indicating that it wants to put together a united front in the form of an animation subscription.
Sony is paying $1.1 billion (938,000 euros) for the site, which was previously owned by AT&T. AT&T is an American KPN, but it doesn’t want to expand it and is primarily focused on its network, rather than the other companies it runs. Sony is pleased, saying, “With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver an anime experience on any platform they choose, from theater, events, home entertainment, gaming, streaming, to linear TV – fans everywhere and in every way want the experience their animation.
Japanese comics
The most popular shows on Crunchyroll are My Hero Academia, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Fate. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is very popular right now. By the way, the name Crunchyroll comes from sushi: Crunchy sushi rolls are a typical California fusion dish with Japanese cuisine. Crunchyroll is made in the US, but uses content from Japan, hence the similarity.
Fans fear that a lot will change in Crunchyroll’s subscription plans. For now, it’s kind of heaven for anime fans, who previously experienced poor quality streams and worse (if any) subtitles. Subscription costs €5 or €6.50 per month, which is why you get a Netflix-like streaming service available on Chromecast, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, iOS, Android and Windows Phone, Apple TV, and Roku Box.
Although Netflix itself now has more and more anime series available, you can find most of the anime on Crunchyroll. We’re curious about what the merger with Funimation would mean for both the services and their die-hard supporters.
