If you’re a fan of anime, Crunchyroll seems like an immediate addition to your streaming plans if you’re cutting the cord and building your dream streaming bundle. A fairly low cost for more Japanese animation than any human being could possibly consume. Sadly, the service suffers from a major technology oversight, which becomes even more glaring the more you pay for it. Join us as we dive into the ins-and-outs of the service in our Crunchyroll review.
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Content
When it comes to content on Crunchyroll, this is the home run of the service. The service has numerous recent and classic anime series for you to choose from and simulcasts of some of the hottest new titles. They are available at nearly the same time as Japan, and will keep you up-to-date with all the other fans.
In addition to the massive selection of anime, Crunchyroll also offers ‘simulpubs’ of Japanese manga. The selection in this category is not nearly as large as the amount of anime that is offered.
In addition to anime, you will also find a smattering of live-action Japanese TV shows, music videos, and even a few concerts. If you’re well into your journey with being a fan of Japanese media, or just starting out, there seems to be something for everyone on Crunchyroll.
Of course, you can’t discuss an anime streaming source without delving into the debate of sub vs. dub. Not to fear, both factions will find content to enjoy, but subtitled fans will have far more to watch than the consumers of dubs.
Navigation
Crunchyroll provides a wide-selection of content, and, thankfully, has made it fairly easy to navigate. You can quickly jump to the Popular or Newly Added categories, but if you want to delve deeper, you have plenty of options.
You can go old school and list everything alphabetically, but that is pretty overwhelming. Instead, you may want to break things down by theme, and that includes headings such as Fantasy, Music, Shonen, and more. Clicking on a title brings you to a page about the series with a brief blurb, the ability to add it to a watchlist, or dive deeper with a Details page. You will also find a handy “More Like This” tab so you can continue your discovery.
Where Crunchyroll truly falters, however, is the lack of profiles. If you have more than one person in your home trying to enjoy the service, you had best enjoy different series or always watch together. Wherever the other member of your household left off it where you will find yourself if you are both watching the same series.
It seems like such a simple concept, but one Crunchyroll has never embraced and is a major downside to the service.
How Much Does Crunchyroll Cost?
Crunchyroll offers a fourteen-day free trial that lets you try out the service. If you decide to keep it, the price is $7.99 monthly for the Fan tier. A premium tier, Mega Fan, is available for $9.99 a month and adds offline viewing, and four concurrent streams. The Ultimate Fan level is $14.99 a month and ups the concurrent streams to six.
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Who is Crunchyroll For?
All of the major services offer at least a smattering of anime, but if you’re serious about diving into the medium, Crunchyroll is essential. There is an ad-supported tier, but you will quickly see the advantage to signing up to a premium account.
If there are two or more people in your household however, discuss from the moment you subscribe how you are going to watch series so you don’t come up against the lack of profiles.
Crunchyroll Review Verdict
What’s the conclusion of our Crunchyroll review? We suggest you subscribe Crunchyroll no matter what level of an anime enthusiast you are.
Crunchyroll Stats
- Devices Available On:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android Devices
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Computers
- Google TV
- iOS Devices
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5
- Roku
- Windows Apps
- Xbox
- Login Method: Onscreen Keyboard and/or voice
- Concurrent Streams: No on Free and Fan accounts. Four on Mega Fan, and six on Ultimate Fan.
- Profiles: No
- Offline Viewing: No for Free and Fan accounts. Yes, for Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan.
- Streaming Device Reviewed On: Roku
- Region Tested: U.S.
Disclaimer: We tried Crunchyroll out over three months. The subscription was paid for with company funds.
