Crunchyroll to stop offering free option for newer anime

[usamimi]

Well, looks like if you want to watch anything new to Crunchyroll after the Spring 2022 anime season starts, you'll need a paid subscription: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2 ... on/.184038

This won't effect older titles that are already up in their catalog--apparently these will all still have free-with-ads viewing options...for now, at least.

[mbanu]

Maybe it will given anime clubs a second wind, provided Crunchyroll doesn't double-down and start charging clubs rental-VHS prices to keep their memberships.

[usamimi]

Maybe it will given anime clubs a second wind, provided Crunchyroll doesn't double-down and start charging clubs rental-VHS prices to keep their memberships.

All the more reason to recommend people watch stuff on Retrocrush, lol

[mbanu]

It looks like they've locked up everything -- does Crunchyroll offer any ad-supported free shows anymore? I'm not against subscriptions, but this might be a barrier for younger fans who don't have an easy way to pay for access.

Supposedly now they have a "limited" amount of free titles non subscribers can view that changes every few months. Which is an ENORMOUS downgrade, but not surprising considering that it's now a Sony owned platform. They just expect everyone to sub now, regardless of age or income I guess.

[Drew_Sutton]

Following up on a two year old thread - yeah, I noticed not long after they initiated the change, it wasn't just new anime, it was a whole mess of their catalog because I lost access to most of my watchlist. And, since I don't want to pay for another service, I've just given up on CR for now.