Crunchyroll has almost single-handedly popularized anime in America. There isn’t an anime fan in the United States that hasn’t heard of the streaming service, as it has been the easiest way to watch anime in the West for years.
Crunchyroll has played a major role in anime’s new mainstream status. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle might be the single highest-grossing movie all year in America, and Crunchyroll worked hard to make that happen. Unfortunately for the platform, it might not be the giant of anime it once was.
In a way, Crunchyroll might have become its own worst enemy. Before Crunchyroll’s success, no other streaming service was willing to invest in anime. They all thought that it was a niche topic with too small a market share to dive into. After Crunchyroll’s massive success, however, the other titans of streaming are beginning to change their opinions.
Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ are all investing heavily in the art form, taking away from Crunchyroll’s base. Missing out on One-Punch Man is a prime example that Crunchyroll might not be the king of anime for long.
Crunchyroll Popularized Anime in the West
It Started with Adult Swim, Then Crunchyroll Continued the Trend
If Adult Swim brought anime to America, Crunchyroll made it cool. For less than $10 a month, Americans gained access to some of the greatest anime series ever made for the first time ever.
Anime was incredibly niche in the early 2000s, but by the 2010s, series like Attack on Titan, Naruto: Shippuden, and Bleach were taking over, creating a foothold in American culture that other anime series could use, and it all happened because of Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll has been incredibly reliable over the years. While they’ve never gotten rights to every great series out there, most of the best can be found in their library. Series like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z can be streamed from start to finish for just a few dollars every month.
Crunchyroll even had niche anime series for the veterans of the art genre to check out. The streaming service has often offered a large variety of well-known hits and lesser-known gems, creating a phenomenal variety for every level of anime lover.
Crunchyroll Brought Some of the Best Anime Series Ever to America
Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and So Much More
Nowadays, some of the best shōnen series of the latest generation can be watched on Crunchyroll. Series like Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer can be seen on Crunchyroll, creating great value for anyone who rightfully wants to check out all three.
There are also a plethora of amazing series across other genres on the site as well, including Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, the record-breaking sensation Solo Leveling, and one of the best isekai series of the past few years, Lord of Mysteries.
Not only does Crunchyroll have a great range of anime for veterans and amateurs of anime, but they also have a range across genres. It’s a great site overall, but lately, they’ve missed out on some of the biggest anime series of the year.
Lately, Crunchyroll Has Missed Out on Some Hits
The Eminence in Shadow, Sakamoto Days, and Too Many More
Unfortunately, Crunchyroll’s success taught other streaming services how lucrative it is to dive into anime. Before Crunchyroll, anime was nearly impossible to find on platforms like Netflix; now, that’s a different story.
Not only does Netflix have a ton of great series, they’re also the platform with the best exclusives around. Not even Crunchyroll can compete with the behemoths that Netflix has exclusive rights to. The best Netflix exclusive anime series include Sakamoto Days, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Dorohedoro.
Netflix also has some of the best romance anime series around, including Blue Box, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Violet Evergarden. These series are all amazing, and the fact that Crunchyroll doesn’t have access to them whatsoever is pretty brutal.
Netflix isn’t the only streaming service withholding great series from Crunchyroll, as Hulu has The Eminence in Shadow and Amazon Prime has City the Animation. They’re two more series that would do well on Crunchyroll, and they’ve given the streaming services some legitimacy.
Missing One-Punch Man Is Huge
Crunchyroll Missing Out on the Biggest Anime of the Season Is a Big Deal
For better or worse, the biggest anime of the Winter 2025 season is One-Punch Man. It’s a series that somehow exists as both the biggest excitement and biggest let-down in anime, and while fans are torn about its very existence, the fact that Crunchyroll isn’t streaming it is massive.
The first season of One-Punch Man is one of the best of all time. While the second and third seasons fell off massively due to animation studio J.C.Staff’s acquisition of the anime, it’s still an incredibly popular franchise. Right now, Americans can only watch this series through Disney+, a service not necessarily known for its anime catalog.
Crunchyroll used to have all the major seasonal hits. Its failure to acquire One-Punch Man is a sign that shouldn’t be ignored. While Crunchyroll has reigned as the one-stop-shop for anime lovers in America, they won’t reign for long.
Crunchyroll Won’t Be the King for Long
Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ Are Catching up Quickly
Crunchyroll has dominated anime in America for the last decade, but that might not be the case going forward. Their own success has turned against them, as they’ve proven to other wary investors and streaming services that there’s a large market for anime in the West. They’ve never really had any competition, but now, it looks like every major platform wants exclusive rights to major anime franchises.
Netflix looks to be their biggest competitor, snagging rights to some of the best anime series around away from Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll still has amazing exclusive anime series, but they’re going to have to fight if they want to keep their catalog fresh.
While competition is almost always good for the consumer, in this case, it might not be. Crunchyroll has always been affordable, so it wasn’t a major issue that they had the market cornered. That was 10 years ago; now, if a fan wants to see all the best seasonal anime, they’ll have to subscribe to at least 3 different streaming services.
The future of anime is up in the air. There’s no telling how the art form will change American streaming services, but one thing is for sure: Crunchyroll won’t be the king of anime for long.
