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Unfolding Stories
From sharing site to anime giant, Crunchyroll marches forward
Once a semi-legal sharing site, Crunchyroll is now a streaming giant credited with helping Japanese anime transform from a nerdy subculture into a lucrative global industry.
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This picture taken on March 3, 2023 shows Crunchyroll CMO Gita Rebbapragada (L) and COO Brady McCollum (R) posing for photographs following an interview with AFP in Toyko. (AFP/Yuichi Yamazaki)
O
nce a semi-legal sharing site, Crunchyroll is now a streaming giant credited with helping Japanese anime transform from a nerdy subculture into a lucrative global industry poised to conquer new markets.
This year, the US-based company held its annual Anime Awards in Tokyo for the first time, with the art form's heavyweights gathering for what have become some of the industry's highest accolades -- and a sign of Crunchyroll's influence.
Sony acquired the company in 2020 for $1.17 billion and Crunchyroll now offers anime in over 10 languages on 15 platforms.
Its evolution from a site featuring user-generated content that faced copyright claims to a platform with over 10 million paying subscribers has helped drive an explosion in the popularity of Japanese anime.
"We are really excited to see it become a global movement and be adopted across the globe," Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini told AFP at the awards.
Presenters this year included Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, a testament to "how anime has not only grown but become such a part of the mainstream cultural zeitgeist", chief marketing officer Gita Rebbapragada said.
While classics like Spirited Away and One Piece have long had devoted followings, anime has grown exponentially in recent years, helped in part by a pandemic-fuelled demand for indoor entertainment.
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