If you're a big anime fan, there's almost no way you won't have heard of Crunchyroll - a huge streaming platform that is probably the best mainstream place to catch up with shows both old and new.
If you're wondering how much anime Crunchyroll has to offer, whether it's free, and how you can sign up to watch it without ads, this article should have all the answers you need.
What is Crunchyroll?
To put it simply, it's a streaming platform much like Netflix or Disney+, but focussed entirely on the world of Japanese animation - anime.
This means it has a tight focus, and if you're looking for anything that isn't either anime or manga, you'll want to look elsewhere.
It adds episodes of anime more quickly than basically any other service available outside of Japan, and is a reliable place to watch new and ongoing series.
What anime is there on Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll is home to a huge swathe of anime, both in the form of vintage series and new episodes being simulcast.
It has over 30,000 episodes for you to browse and check out, and over 1,000 movies.
There's also manga to check out if you prefer your action in the static form, and much of the anime on offer can be viewed either in the original Japanese with subtitles, or dubbed with other languages' voice acting.
Is Crunchyroll free?
Crunchyroll has a really interesting approach to monetisation that means you can watch a lot of anime on it without paying.
Provided you set up an account, you can watch large amounts of its anime with ad breaks for free, although some series and episodes are only for Crunchyroll Premium subscribers.
This tends to cover the newest and most popular releases - free accounts can only catch up a week after something airs in Japan, instead of the moment it's added to Crunchyroll.
It costs £4.99 a month in the UK or $7.99 a month in the US for the most basic package - Fan. A more expensive option lets you stream on more devices at once, and gets you discounts on any merchandise you buy through Crunchyroll.
This more expensive plan is called Mega Fan (£5.99 or $9.99 monthly) and can also be paid for in a 12-month batch to get a discount and some extra benefits including a swag bag.
Where is Crunchyroll available?
Crunchyroll is available in over 200 countries around the world, meaning it has a pretty wide rate of availability at this stage.
However, because of licensing complications, you will find that, much like Netflix, it has a slightly different range of anime in different countries. You'll have to log on or create an account to get the most up-to-date sense of what is available in your area.
What devices is Crunchyroll on?
Crunchyroll works on a big list of devices - we'll cover them off in the list below for you to check. You can find the full range on Crunchyroll's website here, too.
- iOS phones and tablets
- Android phones and tablets
- PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles
- Nintendo Switch
- Android TV
- Windows PC
- Chromecast
- Apple TV
- Roku devices
- Amazon Fire TV devices
One thing to note from the above list is that this makes Crunchyroll one of only a select few streaming apps that work on the Nintendo Switch - it's basically just Crunchyroll and YouTube, in fact!