“Growth at all costs”: Anime fans react to Crunchyroll ending its free ad-supported streaming service
Crunchyroll, the streaming site dedicated to all things anime, is making a major change. It was recently announced that they will end their free, ad-supported tier. Unsurprisingly, anime fans are disappointed over the news.
"Ad-supported streaming ends December 31, 2025. Upgrade now to ensure your viewing is 100% ad-free and uninterrupted," the site explained to users.
If fans want to continue using Crunchyroll, they will either have to pay for the Fan tier for $7.99 tier, the Mega Fan tier for $11.99 a month, or the Ultimate Fan tier for $15.99. These prices existed on the site before the announcement.
This news comes soon after anime fans declared a boycott against Amazon for using AI dubbing.
Anime fans react to Crunchyroll news
People are talking about Crunchyroll's big change on Reddit. User u/cmaia1503 shared the news on the r/Fauxmoi subreddit while user u/MarvelsGrantMan136 posted about it on the r/anime page. Many fnas are annoyed about the choice, while others are vowing to pirate their favorite shows.
"Man. They just couldn't resist getting more money, huh? F*cking hell," u/Rough_Programmer_997 commented. "Impossible in a capitalist society. Growth at all costs," u/OmniShinobi replied.
"So what do they think is the realistic amount of people that will move to a paid subscription instead of just pirating it for free?" u/MisterBlud wondered.
"And how long before they crack down on password sharing, too?" u/Thattimetraveler wondered.
"I hope that doesn't mean they turn the current subscription into an ad-subscription, and make a new one (more expensive) with no ads," u/8daniel7 shared. "Yeah, if they start showing ads on the current paid subscription, I'm done. I want to support shows getting simulcasts/official subs, but I cannot f*cking stand ads," u/rmg22893 replied.
Many anime fans are also talking about the change on Twitter.
"Crunchyroll formed to help combat piracy of anime, now they've just pushed more people toward it if anything. There's plenty of free sites out there. Happy Sailing," @spib234 posted.
"It's funny that they're getting greedier at the same time as they are getting worse," @RageGoldenEagle posted.
"Friendly reminder that Crunchyroll started off as a piracy site & had the audacity to ask for money while being one. Then, when Japanese companies were looking for western distributors, Crunchyroll positioned themselves as the perfect company for the job & they now shun piracy," @IanNBFYT added.
"Crunchyroll ending its ad-supported streaming feels like a Netflix move. With so many free options out there, expecting fans to accept this is unreasonable. Even as a premium member, I think it’s a bad decision," @Frankli02803466 tweeted.
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