Crunchyroll: streaming for fans of anime and manga

crunchyroll Dragon Ball, Goku

If you are a manga and anime lover, you will have seen that platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, etc., do not satisfy your needs or, at least, not enough. Although you can find some anime in them, they do not have a very extensive catalogue. And, in the case of the manga, there is nothing at all. That's why you should know Crunchyroll streaming service, specializing in manga and anime, and which also has an app to enjoy on your mobile devices, wherever you are.

What is Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll interface

Crunchyroll is a video on demand streaming service. In addition, it also has its own app so you can manage your favorite lists with all the anime and manga you can imagine.

This platform began its journey in 2006, at which time it was simply a website where content such as fansubs, official versions, etc. was hosted. But it was illegal, since they lacked the rights to all that content. I mean, it was a pirate website. Although all that has changed today, and they no longer infringe copyright, since now they do own the rights to all the series and movies that they have in their catalog.

In 2008, some manga and anime distributors began to protest and sue Crunchyroll to remove all illegal content. The complaints came especially from the US, such as the companies Funimation and Bandai Entertainment. For this reason, the creators of the platform looked for an alternative way to be able to continue with the success and profits they had at that time. And that came in the form of deals with TV Tokyo, Gonzo, and other distributors.

This is how Crunchyroll went from being a web platform that hosted illegal content to a totally legal platform that has the rights to everything it offers in its catalog. In addition, the ambitions of its creators made the web expand beyond Asia, in places like Europe, the United States, and Latin America. It arrived in Spain specifically in 2013 and since then it has not stopped growing. Currently they already have 40 over millions of users, and more than 2 million paying subscribers.

What can be seen on this platform

crunchy roll

In general terms, Crunchyroll is a streaming platform like any other. Both its interface, its functions, or what it offers are very similar to Disney +, Netflix, etc. However, what makes this on-demand content service different is that it focuses exclusively on manga and anime.

In other words, with Crunchyroll do not expect to see documentaries, movies or series of all kinds, but you will find only anime series and movies, as well as many famous comics. And yes, there are also the most important titles, such as the successes of Naruto, Dragon Ball, Death Notes, Attack on Titan, and much more. The catalog has thousands of titles to enjoy, and new features are added regularly, including new releases from Japan.

You can also find sections with news on this topic, a forum to share things or answer questions, etc. And all at 480px quality on the free or standard account. While for those who use premium membership, they will have HD quality.

Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Developer: Crunchyroll, LLC
Price: Free

The prices for these subscriptions

If you are interested in registering and gaining access to the content that Crunchyroll has, you should know the account types and subscription prices:

  • Free account: you only need registration, and a large catalog with 480px quality can be accessed.
  • Premium account: in turn they are divided into three plans, and improve quality and possibilities.
    • FAN (monthly payment): for €4,99/month you can access content in HD, without advertising, unlimited access to the catalogue, with new episodes released 1 hour after their premiere in Japan, and for one device at the same time.
    • Mega FAN (monthly payment): includes all of the above, but also adds offline viewing, to download content and watch it offline on up to 4 devices simultaneously. Its price is €6,49/month.
    • Mega FAN (annual payment): Same as the Mega FAN, but you pay a single fee of €64,99 for 12 months of access, and with the advantage of having a 16% savings compared to paying monthly.

And remember, if you want to try, you can make a Premium account now and enjoy a free 14 day period. This way you can determine if you like it or not and unsubscribe before you are charged for the first installment.

Sign up to Crunchyroll – Official Website

Advantages and disadvantages

Crunchyroll

Although it may seem very interesting for manga and anime lovers, Crunchyroll is not free of drawbacks. Here you have the pros and cons of it to help you decide if it is what you are looking for or not:

Advantages

  • Huge catalog of manga and anime titles, with hundreds of comics and thousands of videos.
  • Releases almost immediately after the premiere in Japan.
  • Merchandising and exclusive items in your store.
  • Exclusive discounts for platform users.
  • Ability to watch offline in the Premium version.
  • Multi platform.

Disadvantages

  • Ads in the free version that can be annoying.
  • The content depends on the country. Available titles are not identical everywhere.
  • It is not the best streaming performance level.
  • Subtitles in Spanish (VO), without dubbing into Spanish, so if you don't like to read, it's not your platform.

Funimation: the alternative to Crunchyroll

Funimation

Crunchyroll is not the only platform with this type of content. One of his opponents is Funimation. This service will also allow you to watch anime without ads, both new series and movies as well as classics of this genre that were popular at the time. In addition, you will also have access to the premieres that arrive almost imminently after their presentation in Japan. In short, a streaming service with more than 1500 hours of entertainment. Of course, it is not available in all countries, in Spain it is blocked, but it could be solved by using a VPN.

Funimation
Funimation
Price: To be announced

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