Because anime is typically released in Japanese with subtitles, you may have to wait longer for a series or film to arrive dubbed in your chosen language. When you first set up your Crunchyroll account, you can select the language for content subtitles and the app itself. Content will default to those settings every time you open it, but for the mobile version, you have the ability to change the audio settings while an episode is playing, by clicking the gear button. For example, when I streamed an episode of Hell’s Paradise, I tapped the gear icon, clicked audio, and I could switch to Japanese, English, Dutch, Spanish and several other languages.

While there is no prominent menu option that displays subbed and dubbed content separately, checking the thumbnail can give you an idea. Additionally, Crunchyroll’s calendar lets you know when a series will premiere in a specific language. 

The search function is fairly straightforward if you need to drill down to a certain title, genre or, in some cases, episode. If you can’t remember a series name or you want to dig through vintage anime or search for a specific character, the search function won’t be much help with Crunchyroll’s massive library. For instance, I tried typing in the popular character’s name Deku, and while five titles popped up, none of them were My Hero Academia. 

I didn’t have any playback issues during my tests, and I left the autoplay feature enabled. One cool thing about the phone and web app is that you can view comments from other anime fans under the episode/movie. Crunchyroll’s phone app — for Android and iOS — will also allow you to mark an episode as watched or share links for series and episodes via text. The link will automatically open for the recipient.

As far as downloads, it took a couple of minutes for a single 23-minute episode of a Jobless Reincarnation to hit my phone — though it still has 256GB of storage as I don’t have a lot of apps clogging it up. I was able to stream the download without any problems, but I noticed there’s no option to download entire seasons with one click. 

I tested the app on the web, Roku Stick, an iPhone, Android phone, Fire Stick, Apple TV and Google Chromecast. The Crunchyroll app is not available for every smart TV model, but you can download it on iOS and Android mobile devices, PS4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Roku, Google TV, Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV devices, Android TV and Windows.

Harness features for specialized organization

Watchlists may seem like a straightforward thing for most streaming services, but Crunchyroll does something unique for mobile and web users. When you tap on My Lists or the watchlist icon, your basic watchlist pops up with titles you’ve added. But if you click on Crunchylists, you can make up to 10 lists that can hold 100 titles. It works similar to a Spotify playlist. For example, I created one Crunchylist and added two entire series, with the ability to add 98 more. You can name and delete these individual lists as you see fit. It’s an easy way to curate and track what you’re watching, or if you’re sharing an account, it can keep things separate. 

The app also has a history feature — located on the main menu or under watchlists for the mobile app — that enables you to easily check out shows you’ve already watched or titles you may have started and stopped. If you click on something in your history, it picks up exactly where you left off in any series, episode or movie, avoiding the problem of having to watch from the beginning. Whereas Continue Watching picks up the most recent episode or movie you’ve watched, the history section can track multiple episodes from one series. That means if you’re in the middle of three different episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen, you can resume any of them from the history page. 

What’s missing from Crunchyroll

Unlike other platforms such as Netflix, Max or Disney Plus, Crunchyroll does not have a parental controls setup allowing you to manage what types of content younger viewers can watch. There is a button you can toggle in the preferences section of your account that enables mature video or manga content for viewers who are 18 and older, but that’s it. It defaults to the off position, so kids can’t watch this type of content off the bat, but it would be useful if the company added configurable controls.

Whether you decide to stream Crunchyroll on your TV, phone, gaming console or laptop, there’s one constant: You get a single profile for your account. Yes, there are cute avatars to choose from (mine is Fushi’s vessel Joaan from To Your Eternity), but it’s not like Hulu or Netflix where you can set up multiple profiles for everyone using your account. The premium subscription does allow four or more screens so people can stream on multiple devices at the same time. And using the Crunchylists feature is a workaround to create individual watchlists that are not connected to the account’s main watchlist.  

Another area where Crunchyroll can improve is accessibility features. There is no audio description option, which provides narration for scenes in between dialogue; Hulu, Netflix, Max and Disney Plus all offer this. Some users complain that the service doesn’t provide closed captions while watching English dubs, even when subtitles are toggled on. However, if a title streams in Japanese and subtitles are available in a select foreign language, you can read them whether closed captions are toggled on or off. For those with light sensitivity issues, there’s no way to change the brightness settings within the app, which is something you’re able to do with Netflix. 

Should you get the service?

Crunchyroll’s extensive catalog might be overwhelming for those new to anime. But the impressive selection is what makes it so good, and with plenty of content to watch for free, it’s an effortless way to start exploring. For diehard anime fans who love to catch the latest releases as soon as they arrive, a paid Crunchyroll subscription is well worth it, especially since the paywall prevents you from enjoying everything in its fullness. Additionally, a premium subscription comes with free, unlimited access to the Crunchyroll Manga app (though there are other options for that, too). The streaming service is our first pick for anime based on its huge catalog, availability of new simulcast episodes and its affordable price.

4.6/5 - (26 votes)