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Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top Streaming media service owned by Sony. The service primarily distributes Anime television series and films, as well as other East Asian media, with the service also hosting anime content from other providers, content add-ons, live events, music, video games, and video channels.
Launched in May 2006, the service has more than 120million registered users worldwide. Crunchyroll was previously a subsidiary of Otter Media, itself a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia; from 2016 to 2018, the service partnered with Funimation, which Sony acquired in 2017 and would eventually merge into its brand in 2022 after Sony acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021.
Crunchyroll is a member of The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA). "Crunchyroll-Hime", also known as "Hime", has been the official mascot of Crunchyroll since June 2013.
Crunchyroll offers more than 1,000 anime series, more than 200 East Asian dramas in more than 18 languages, and formerly offered around 80 manga titles through its Crunchyroll Manga anthology, although the number of available titles varies by country due to licensing restrictions. Crunchyroll passed one million paid subscriptions February 2017, and has more than 17million subscriptions .
In 2008, Crunchyroll secured a capital investment of $4.05 million from the venture capital firm Venrock. The investment drew criticism from anime distributors and licensors Bandai Entertainment and Funimation as the site continued to allow users to upload unlicensed copies of copyrighted titles.
In 2010, Crunchyroll announced its acquisition of the North American DVD rights to 5 Centimeters Per Second. This was the first DVD release licensed by Crunchyroll.
On October 30, 2013, Crunchyroll began digitally distributing 12 different manga titles from Kodansha through Crunchyroll Manga, including Attack on Titan and Fairy Tail.
On April 22, 2014, AT&T and The Chernin Group announced the formation of a joint venture to acquire, invest in, and launch over-the-top (OTT) video services. Both companies committed more than $500 million in funding to the venture. The new company was named Otter Media and became the majority owner of Crunchyroll. On August 3, 2015, Variety reported that Otter Media would unveil Ellation, a new umbrella company for its subscription-based video services, including Crunchyroll. Ellation's services included VRV, which debuted in 2016, a video streaming platform described as targeting "geeks, gamers and lovers of comedy, fantasy and technology."
On October 22, Anime News Network reported that Crunchyroll had achieved 700,000 paying subscribers. In addition, the company announced that they and Sumitomo Corporation had created a joint venture to produce and invest in anime productions.
On April 11, 2016, Crunchyroll and Kadokawa Corporation announced the formation of a strategic alliance that gave Crunchyroll exclusive worldwide digital distribution rights (excluding Asia) for Kadokawa anime titles in the upcoming year. It also granted Crunchyroll the right to co-finance Kadokawa anime titles to be produced in the future.
On February 9, 2017, Crunchyroll announced that it had reached one million paid subscribers. On March 22, Kun Gao took over as representative director of its Japanese branch, succeeding Vincent Shortino. On March 30, Crunchyroll began to distribute anime through Steam. On November 4, a group of hackers managed to DNS hijacking the official site for almost six hours. Users were redirected to a fake lookalike site that prompted them to download ransomware under the guise of "CrunchyViewer". Crunchyroll filed a first information report against the hackers. On July 18, Crunchyroll began collaborating with the video-streaming platform Twitch.
On March 4, 2019, it was announced that Otter Media would be placed under Warner Bros. as part of their reorganization efforts. As a result of said reorganization, the company and Crunchyroll became corporate sisters to the American cable channel Cartoon Network and its nighttime programming block Adult Swim, which broadcast anime under the Toonami brand. Due to a subsequent reorganization, Crunchyroll was moved under WarnerMedia Entertainment, owner of networks such as TBS and TNT, in May 2019 so that Tony Goncalves, CEO of Otter Media, could oversee the development of HBO Max.
On July 3, Crunchyroll announced that they had partnered with Viz Media to distribute select Crunchyroll-licensed titles on home video and electronic sell-through in the United States and Canada. In Summer 2019, independent Australian production company Glitch Productions announced that they had partnered with Crunchyroll to produce their YouTube original series, Meta Runner. On September 6, Crunchyroll announced that they had become the majority investor in Crunchyroll EMEA. Crunchyroll solidified this deal on December 4, becoming the majority owners of Viz Media Europe Group and appointing former Viz Media Europe president John Easum as Head. It was later rebranded as Crunchyroll EMEA, with former Viz Media Europe brands becoming Crunchyroll brands.
On October 15, it was announced that Naver Corporation's webtoon publishing portal, WEBTOON, was partnering with Crunchyroll to produce animated adaptations of its series. On February 25, 2020, Crunchyroll announced a slate of several programs under their new "Crunchyroll Originals" brand, including anime adaptations of the webtoons Tower of God, The God of High School, and Noblesse.
On September 5, Crunchyroll announced that they had entered into a partnership with Sentai Filmworks to distribute Crunchyroll licensed titles onto home video and electronic sell-through, with Granbelm, , Ascendance of a Bookworm, and World Trigger being the first titles distributed through the partnership.
On August 9, Sony announced that it had completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll. Following the acquisition, Sony stated that they wanted to create a unified anime subscription experience using their existing anime businesses as soon as possible. Crunchyroll confirmed four days later that VRV was included in the acquisition. On September 23, Crunchyroll announced that they had entered into a partnership deal with Fuji TV for anime content development and production. The partners planned to start work on the new slate in April 2022 with anime-focused developer and producer Slow Curve.
On March 1, 2022, it was announced that the Funimation, Wakanim, and VRV SVOD services would be consolidated into Crunchyroll. Additionally, Funimation Global Group, LLC rebranded as Crunchyroll, LLC. On the same day, Crunchyroll began adding new anime titles, including Hindi or Indian English subs and dubs for India. In the wake of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Crunchyroll and Wakanim announced that they would suspend their services in Russia as of March 11. Its parent company, Sony, donated $2 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
On March 24, Crunchyroll announced that starting with the Spring 2022 season, a subscription would be required to watch new and continued simulcasts, with older titles featured on the site prior to this season remaining free to watch. It was also announced that the first three episodes of select titles would be free a week after their premiere until May 31.
On April 5, the company announced that Funimation's YouTube channel had been rebranded as Crunchyroll Dubs and that it would serve as Crunchyroll's channel for English-dubbed content, while English-subtitled content would continue to be uploaded on their Crunchyroll Collection channel. The company also stated that they would release an English-dubbed first episode of an anime series every Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET on the Crunchyroll Dubs YouTube channel, starting with on April 9. Three days later, Crunchyroll announced that the Funimation Shop would be moved to the Crunchyroll Store. On November 2, Crunchyroll collaborated with the instant messaging social platform Discord. The integration allows Crunchyroll users to link their accounts and display the movie or show they are currently watching on their Discord profile.
On March 1, 2023, it was reported Crunchyroll received a dedicated button on new Sony Bravia TVs remotes. A couple days later, Crunchyroll launched a feature where users with subscriptions could watch J-pop and anime music videos and live concerts on the site. It primarily features artists from Sony Music Japan.
On May 15, Crunchyroll partnered with the language learning app Duolingo to help users learn Japanese while watching anime.
On October 6, Senior Vice President of global creative marketing Markus Gerdemann stated that some of Crunchyroll's fastest-growing markets outside the United States were Brazil, France, Germany and Mexico, and more than 800 million people were interested in anime worldwide.
On February 16, 2024, Crunchyroll launched its official weekly podcast Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect on all major audio streaming platforms made to discuss anime and its impact on worldwide popular culture. Throughout February 2024, Crunchyroll launched its application for LG and Samsung globally.
In February 2024, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said that relying on artificial intelligence to produce subtitles faster was "definitely an area where we are focused on". He said, "Right now, one of the areas we are very focused on testing is our subtitling and closed captioning, where we go from speech to text and how do we improve and optimize our processes where we can get the subtitles done in various languages across the world faster so that we can launch as close to the Japanese release as possible".
On July 8, Crunchyroll removed the comment section across all platforms, stating that it was done to "reduce harmful content", presumably in response to backlash from certain users being against Twilight Out of Focus. On the next day, Crunchyroll announced that its store would be available across 34 European countries. In mid-July, Crunchyroll unveiled a new brand identity, among them a new logo and new graphics, which took effect one week later at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. The new logo was made using a slightly adjusted eye symbol, while the wordmark was rendered in a brand new typeface.
On August 15, Crunchyroll began rolling out the campaign on Crunchyroll official launch in Indonesia, complete with local subs and dubs in most of the newly added titles for the Southeast Asian regions including Indonesia. On August 19, Crunchyroll collaborated with Spotify by launching its themed and curated playlists within the Spotify's Anime Hub.
On December 7, Bloomberg reported that Crunchyroll was seeing its early lead in anime streaming come under threat from rising competition as rivals like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video continued to expand their anime catalogs, often taking away exclusive licensing deals.
On January 7, 2025, Crunchyroll announced during Sony Group Corporation's CES 2025 press conference that a new digital manga application would join the service as a premium add-on, launched on October 9. The app launched as a standalone, called Crunchyroll Manga, on iOS and Android with web browser support planned for the future. Crunchyroll Manga first launched in English in the United States and Canada, with other language options planned.
In April 2025, Purini told Forbes that Crunchyroll was "not considering AI in the creative process, including our voice actors."
In October 2025, Crunchyroll announced that it had partnered with Delta Air Lines to bring its catalog into the latter's in-flight entertainment system starting in November. It then announced a global collaboration with HoYoverse for an exclusive collab, which began on November 6 to coincide with the game's Version 3.7 update. During the collaboration, the HoYoFair program's commissioned Chimerric Park fan work event streamed exclusively on Crunchyroll.
In December 2025, it was reported that Crunchyroll was eliminating its free, ad-supported tier at the end of the month. In March 2026, it was reported that Crunchyroll suffered a security breach via their outsourcing partner, Telus Digital. Crunchyroll was subsequently sued a few days later.
Series released under the "Crunchyroll Originals" label included:
| In/Spectre | March 28, 2020 | 12 | Adaptation of novel series written by Kyo Shirodaira. | Brain's Base |
| Tower of God | June 24, 2020 | 13 | Adaptation of webtoon by SIU. | Telecom Animation Film |
| The God of High School | September 28, 2020 | 13 | Adaptation of webtoon by Yongje Park. | MAPPA |
| Gibiate | September 30, 2020 | 12 | Original work created by Ryō Aoki. | Lunch Box Studio Elle |
| December 19, 2020 | 12 | Adaptation of manga by Kenjiro Hata. | Seven Arcs | |
| Noblesse | December 30, 2020 | 13 | Adaptation of webtoon written by Son Jeho and illustrated by Lee Kwangsu. | Production I.G |
| Onyx Equinox | December 26, 2020 | 12 | Original work created by Sofia Alexander. | Crunchyroll Studios |
| So I'm A Spider, So What? | July 3, 2021 | 24 | Adaptation of light novel series written by Okina Baba and illustrated by Tsukasa Kiryu. | Millepensee |
| Dr. Ramune Mysterious Disease Specialist | March 28, 2021 | 12 | Adaptation of manga series written by Aho Toro. | Platinum Vision |
| Ex-Arm | March 29, 2021 | 12 | Adaptation of manga written by HiRock and illustrated by Shinya Komi. | Visual Flight |
| October 24, 2021 | 12 | Original work by Kazuto Nakazawa and Production I.G. Co-production with Adult Swim. | Production I.G | |
| High Guardian Spice | October 26, 2021 | 12 | Original work created by Raye Rodriguez. | Crunchyroll Studios |
| February 6, 2022 | 13 | Original work based on the Blade Runner franchise. Co-production with Adult Swim. | Sola Digital Arts | |
| FreakAngels | January 27, 2022 | 9 | Adaptation of webcomic written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Paul Duffield. | Crunchyroll Studios |
| May 1, 2022 | 13 | Adaptation of the Shenmue video game series by Yu Suzuki. Co-production with Adult Swim. | Telecom Animation Film | |
| March 24, 2024 | 10 | Original work created by Tsukasa Sakurai and Naoki Tozuka. Produced under the working title Meiji Gekken: Sword and Gun. | Tsumugi Akita Animation Lab |
The linear channel launched on October 11 for The Roku Channel, LG Channels, and Vizio WatchFree+ platforms. The channel later became available on Amazon Freevee on October 17 and on Pluto TV on February 5, 2024. The initial programming lineup featured English-dubbed versions of anime titles such as Horimiya, Ranking of Kings, Moriarty the Patriot, Psycho-Pass, , Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, To Your Eternity, and Code Geass.
Crunchyroll Originals have been less well received. Callum May of Anime News Network outlined the production issues that Originals have faced, both for internal productions and U.S.-Japan co-productions.
Since the Sony acquisition, the United States Department of Justice reviewed Sony's plan to combine Funimation and Crunchyroll into one service as a possible antitrust case. The Coalition of Dubbing Actors called the merged company a "chokepoint of power" in the dubbing industry. Comic Book Resources called the merger a monopoly and observed that it resulted in increased prices for existing Funimation customers, despite being available in fewer countries. In February 2024, Crunchyroll announced that it would not be honoring Funimation customers' digital purchases of anime, leading to a backlash.
In October 2024, Crunchyroll was accused of Mail robbery by voice actor David Wald. According to Wald, for five years the company received fan mail meant for him and gave the items to staff instead. Crunchyroll stated that they did not intentionally open mail intended to others and were investigating the situation. A couple of weeks later, Wald announced he left his role as the English voice of Gajeel Redfox in Fairy Tail and he would not return to Crunchyroll's studio following the accusation.
In July 2025, Crunchyroll faced controversy when the company allegedly used generative artificial intelligence for some of its subtitles, with The Verge and Engadget highlighting the German and English subtitles for Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show. Company president Rahul Purini previously denied using artificial intelligence in its translations. A spokesperson for Crunchyroll later blamed a third-party vendor, acknowledging that the subtitles were AI generated. The company faced further backlash in October 2025 when their subtitles for the Fall 2025 anime season were either missing or featured different fonts among other issues.
In March 2026, Crunchyroll was sued for violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). According to the lawsuit, the company allegedly disclosed user information to a third-party marketing company without consent. They previously settled a similar lawsuit in 2023.
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