All articles tagged with #crunchyroll
The third season of The Apothecary Diaries began streaming on October 2, 2026, introducing a new arc centered on a locust plague and political intrigue. The season features new music by Yorushika and Eve, and is being animated by OLM.
Crunchyroll revealed its fall 2026 anime lineup, detailing premieres and returning seasons (with multilingual streams) from late September to mid-October, including A Wild Last Boss Appeared! Season 2, Overgeared, The Apothecary Diaries Season 3, Black Clover Season 2, A Tale of the Secret Saint Magical Explorer, Romelia War Chronicle, and Vertex Force I’m Looking For a Zombie, plus continuing titles Red River, The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System, and Please Excuse My Younger Brothers.
US PS5 owners can now access over 100 ad-supported FAST channels from Sony Pictures Television, plus on-demand options, via the Media tab, with movies, shows, anime (Crunchyroll), sports and more; Sony will refresh programming and roll the service out to Canada and other regions, aiming to keep users on PlayStation and boost ad revenue amid licensing and disc-deprecation debates.
Crunchyroll announced its inaugural Anime Future Forum in New York on Oct. 7, headlined by Guillermo del Toro and James Gunn alongside senior executives from MAPPA, Toho, Shueisha and Aniplex; the one-day summit, themed 'Designing for Anime’s Future,' will explore transmedia storytelling, the evolving theatrical experience, manga’s future, and IP protection, with Sony leaders and Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini delivering remarks as roughly 400 industry figures attend ahead of NYCC at the Javits Center.
Crunchyroll is staging its first Anime Future Forum at New York’s Javits Center on Oct. 7 as a prelude to New York Comic Con, with Guillermo del Toro and James Gunn among the speakers, along with leaders from Toho, MAPPA and Aniplex. The event will explore four tracks—fandom, technology, storytelling and IP protection—and feature Sony Pictures Entertainment executives, Sony’s Hiroki Totoki and Ravi Ahuja, and Rahul Purini of Crunchyroll, signaling the platform’s deepening integration into Sony’s entertainment strategy.
Crunchyroll’s store is now paywalled for Mega/Ultimate subscribers and has dramatically reduced its physical lineup, removing most manga, light novels, manhwa, and danmei titles along with the vast majority of Blu-ray/DVD sets. What remains mostly consists of merchandise, with only a handful of Blu-rays from Sony-owned labels (Funimation), Crunchyroll, and Aniplex still listed. Fans blame Sony’s wider push away from disc-based media and acquisitions like The Right Stuf International for the shift, viewing it as part of a broader move toward subscriptions over physical purchases. It’s unclear whether this is temporary or permanent, and Crunchyroll hasn’t publicly explained the strategy beyond noting the paywalled shift. The online backlash has been swift and vocal.
Sony-backed Crunchyroll’s store update reportedly removes all physical books and drastically trims the Blu-ray lineup, prompting fan backlash and underscoring Sony’s shift toward digital distribution and the decline of disc-based media.
Crunchyroll and Starz rolled out a US bundle via Amazon Prime Video priced at $16.99 per month, with Starz’s standalone bundle at $11.99. The move follows Crunchyroll’s recent price hikes across its tiers, and the bundle allows access to Crunchyroll and Starz through Prime Video with the usual tier perks for Crunchyroll (Fan to Ultimate Fan).
Sony-backed Crunchyroll is drastically downsizing its physical anime store, transitioning to a subscription-tier-exclusive experience focused on collectibles, after acquiring Right Stuf in 2023. The move has angered fans over reduced disc availability and stalled licenses (e.g., Gundam, Macross), fueling concerns that Sony's push to end physical media could threaten future physical releases.
Crunchyroll’s store overhaul will require a paid subscription to browse the shop, with reports of a $14 monthly access fee and Ultimate subscribers at $17.99/month receiving manga-library perks; the change aligns with Sony’s broader push away from physical goods, and is accompanied by a temporary 50% off sale and new final-sale terms as the store transitions, even as some inventory appears missing.
Crunchyroll will stream the Kagurabachi TV anime worldwide (excluding Japan, Mainland China, North Korea, and South Korea) beginning April 2027, with Katsuyuki Konishi cast as Togo Shiba. A 20-minute world-tour preview will screen at major conventions this July–August before the Japanese debut in spring 2027. The manga is published in English by Viz Media's Shonen Jump and Shueisha's MANGA Plus, and has over 4 million copies in circulation; staff includes director Tetsuya Takeuchi (Cypic) and Keigo Sasaki as character designer, with Shochiku and CyberAgent on the production committee.
CableTV.com's 2026 roundup crowns Apple TV as Best of the Best for premium, ad-free content, while Crunchyroll earns Editor’s Choice for anime; MGM+ is named best bang-for-buck, Netflix tops for kids content, and Shudder leads horror, with a slate of honorable mentions (HBO Max, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, STARZ, AMC+) — weighing price, simultaneous streams, content libraries, exclusive titles, and trial options to guide viewers’ choices.
The 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, held in Tokyo, crowned My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON as Anime of the Year, with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle taking Film of the Year; Kenshi Yonezu earned Best Anime Song for IRIS OUT from Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and the ceremony featured a slate of wins across categories and performances.
Crunchyroll crowned My Hero Academia (final season) as Anime of the Year at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards held in Tokyo, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle winning Film of the Year, One Piece taking Best Continuing Series, Lazarus as Best Original Anime, and Gachiakuta as Best New Series, plus numerous wins across categories for opening/ending sequences, score, voice acting, and design, all decided from a global vote of 73 million ballots; the ceremony will stream on Crunchyroll and YouTube.
Crunchyroll’s 10th Anime Awards for 2025 handed wins to Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and My Hero Academia, with Gachiakuta scoring several wins and Lazarus winning Best Original Anime despite not airing on Crunchyroll in 2025; the lineup sparked debate over originality and surprising nominees, highlighting the awards’ chaotic mix of favorites and curveballs.