News culture Crunchyroll is increasing its prices! One of the leading anime streaming platforms explains why
Crunchyroll is undoubtedly one of the most important platforms in France for anyone who wants to watch current Japanese animated series. It offers a subscription system that allows you to enjoy this content without ads barely an hour after it airs in Japan. She just increased her prices.
Crunchyroll: an essential platform for fans of Japanese anime
While Japanese animated series and films have been broadcast in our homes for almost half a century, the genre seems to be becoming increasingly popular in France. A phenomenon that can be explained by the distribution of quality content. The health crisis that occurred between 2020 and 2022 has probably led to greater consumption of these products and managed to attract a new audience. Reference platforms on the fingers of the hand: Netflix, ADN and Crunchyroll make up the top three in France.
If Netflix stands out for the quality of its original productions in this area (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Pluto or even Castlevania), Crunchyroll is probably the platform of choice for those looking for regular new releases. They are available an hour after their broadcast in Japan, sometimes accompanied by their French version. Arguments that justify the subscription of several fans of the genre… until the price increase is announced.
“Two years to see everything”
On May 1, the Crunchyroll platform announced the increase in subscription prices for third-party fan and mega-fan subscriptions, which approximately allow you to enjoy the Crunchyroll catalog without advertising an hour after broadcast in Japan. Revised tariffs affecting Colombia, Portugal, Argentina, the United States, but also France.
- Subscription fan : from $4.99 to $5.99 for the monthly plan / $39.99 to $59.99 for the annual plan
- Subscribe Mega Fan : from $6.49 to $7.99 for the monthly plan / $64.99 to $79.99 for the annual plan.
In addition to the price increase, the test period will also be revised: it will be extended from 14 days to 7 days. Something Crunchyroll justifies as follows:
The price increase reflects the increase in content on the platform in recent years, expanding its catalog to more than 45,000 episodes across 1,400 series and films. That means it would take almost two years to watch everything on Crunchyroll. Big news includes the latest spring 2024 anime season with more than 50 simulcast series (up to double the previous half of 20-25 series per season) and the introduction of clips and concerts thanks to the partnership between Crunchyroll and Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
A decision that doesn’t work for everyone. In the comments linked to the announcement on the official website we can read that the increase cannot be justified only by expanding the content. Several Internet users point out the malfunctions in certain synchronizations, the announcement of which will come into force on May 1st… from May 1st or the still unfulfilled promise to recover the titles previously available on Wakanim after the merger orchestrated by Sony.
